Page 9 of Intercept My Heart

“Well, I tried not to, but there wasn’t much I could do.”

“It’s all good. I can tell you’re solid, so I’m not worried about you saying anything.” The butterflies in my belly were going crazy, and my hands were sweaty. I’d had a crush on Dinero for so long, but this was the longest we’d interacted with each other. Dinero may have been a little rough around the edges, but he had a soft heart.

We rode around for a few hours before he took me to JJ’s Chicken and Fish. I should have been embarrassed by the way I inhaled those wings, but I wasn’t. Hell, Dinero couldn’t talk about me anyway because he ordered three ten-piece meals with fish on the side and fried rice as well. That was the best food I’d had in a long time. We sat in the parking lot, eating and talking about school and the stupid kids in our classes. I appreciated this time because only God knew what was waiting for me at home. I wasn’t in a hurry to return. Luckily for me, I had to work tonight.

By the time we made it to my house, it was around the time I would normally be getting home. I breathed a sigh of reliefthat neither Dennis nor Vera were home, because I would be able to get dressed and head right to work without hearing their mouths.

“Thanks for the ride.”

“It’s no problem. I appreciate you riding with me. I prefer to work in silence, but you made having company enjoyable.” I gathered my things and headed out of the car. I checked my surroundings because it was a habit of mine.

“Hey!” I heard Dinero call out to me. Slowly, I turned around to face him.

“You forgot something.” My brows dipped in confusion. I made sure everything was placed back in my backpack before I got out.

“What is it?” Dinero reached in the back seat and grabbed one of his to-go plates. This only confused me more because I ate my food already.

“One thing about JJ’s, you always need a plate for now and one for later.” Dinero smiled, causing feelings to stir down below.

I found myself mesmerized by his aura and handsome features. His smooth, dark chocolate skin left me captivated and in a trance whenever we were in close proximity. I was proud that I’d handled our time together so well because, on the inside, I wanted to scream like the teenage girl I was.

“Oh, wow. Thank you for thinking of me. I probably would have grabbed something at work, but this is much better.”

“It’s no biggie. You mentioned work. Did you need a ride, or is Drake gonna take you?”

“Yeah, right. I’m invisible to Drake. I can’t even get a ride to and from school and we live in the same house,” I vented. My eyes bulged when I remembered he and Drake were best friends. “Sorry about that. I?—”

“No need to explain. Your feelings are valid. Ain’t nothing wrong with expressing yourself,” he assured me. Nervously, I twirled my fingers around the end of my ponytail.

“Anyway, I appreciate the offer, but I’m okay. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

“You do the same. I’ll see you around.”

I stood there as he pulled off, watching as he made it down the street. Today started off terribly, but things turned around in a major way. Nothing could rain on my parade today. Not even my shitty ass foster parents. I walked into the house after stuffing my food into my backpack. Lord knew what would happen if they caught me with outside food. I planned to take it to work and then discard the empty containers on my lunch break.

“You knowthose new Jordans came out Monday, so it’s about to be packed in Footlocker.” Drake complained as we headed into the mall. I nodded but didn’t respond. My mind was on this game we had coming up next week. Coach told me scouts from three different colleges were coming to check out Drake, several other seniors on the squad, and me. We’d had a good season so far, but I needed to make these next few games count.

“Baby, can we get some food from Mr. P’s?” Brielle begged as she held onto my arm. She’d already spent a chunk of my money on some makeup, perfume, and a bunch of other things she didn’t need. I wasn’t tripping, because I had plenty. I just didn’t like wasting my money on dumb shit.

“We can go as soon as we grab these shoes.” She pouted, but I couldn’t care less. We’d spent enough time on the shit she wanted. Now it was time to spend my money on myself. Drake wasn’t lying when he mentioned how packed this place would be. The line for the sneaker store was out of the door and wrapped around the corner. However, I needed to pick up the shoes that I ordered, so I walked right up to the front.

“Aye, I came to pick up my shoes. They’re already paid for, so I wasn’t sure if I needed to stand in the line or not.” The girl at the cash register took one look at me and started grinning hard. I was accustomed to shit like this, and I wouldn’t lie and pretend like I didn’t use it to my advantage.

“Oh, umm. What’s your name?”

“Dinero Sutton.”

“Okay, Dinero. Give me one minute, and I’ll have someone go check.” She called someone over and whispered something in their ear. I stood off to the side while they talked. The young dude nodded before heading off to the back.

“Well, I’m going to look around to see if there’s anything here that I like.” Brielle walked off with her friend Nadia.

“Nadia’s crazy as hell if she thinks I’m buying her anything. The pussy is straight, but not enough for me to spend my cash on. I mean, she can get a meal, but that’s about it.” I shook my head, but it was no surprise to me. Drake was the flashy type. However, he was stingy as hell.

“That’s cold-blooded.”

“Naw, my father taught me to never give a bitch money unless she is carrying my child or my last name. She might want to hit her daddy up if she wants a sponsor.”

“I guess you don’t plan on dating then, because I don’t know a single broad that’s gonna date a man without you opening your wallet, especially once we make it to the big leagues.” Weplanned to get drafted into the NFL at the same time and take the world by storm.

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