Page 2 of Unexpected Pass

“His name is Carson. He’s a man she met at bingo.”

“Bingo?” she shouted. “He old?”

“No. He was there with his grandma.” I clarified. “Apparently, he’s pretty handsome and has a good job. He’s a sports agent or something. Hence the tickets to the Super Bowl.”

Lo stared at me for a moment. Her mouth opened and closed before she finally broke her silence. My best friend wanted to continue her rant, but she knew that was not what I needed right now.

“Change into the lime green dress I bought you for your birthday. It hugs your curves and flairs in the right places. You’ll be in team colors but won’t look like everybody else, and you can pair it with sneakers.”

“But what about the jersey?” I protested. “I like this.”

“Cut it down the middle and wear it like a cardigan.”

“Cut it!” I grabbed the jersey, shocked by her suggestion.

“Go change, Phileigh,” she demanded as she pointed toward my closet door. She wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“Okay, okay, I’ll change,” I replied, standing up and disappearing into my closet, leaving her and my phone on the dresser.

I rummaged through the racks until I found the lime green fit-and-flare dress Lo had suggested. The dress was gorgeous but drew too much attention to me and my body. I loved my body, every fat roll and curve, but I hated attention. I quickly undressed and slid the dress over my head and down my curves. I certainly felt better. Exiting the closet, I grabbed the jersey and a pair of scissors. Doing what Lo said, I cut the jersey down the middle, splitting the number twenty-six. I slid it on, and walked over to my dresser until I stood in front of the phone.

“Better?” I asked.

“Okay. Now, that’s my big, beautiful bestie!” Lo exclaimed, her eyes widening in admiration. “You look like one of those NFL wives!”

She snapped her fingers. I turned to catch my reflection in the mirror. I was thankful I wasn’t showing because I already had a little belly. I studied myself. I looked pretty. My freshly twisted wavy locs and full-face glam made me look like I’d stepped off a magazine cover. I was a tomboy in the way I dressed, but I stayed with my hair done and makeup on.

“I guess you were right,” I said.

“I’m always right.”

“Yeah, whatever?—”

The sound of the doorbell ringing cut me off.My date is here.My heart skipped a beat.

“That’s him...” I said.

“Did you turn your location on?”

“Yes, Lo.” I rolled my eyes at her extra ass. We were going to the most crowded place in the city.

“Well, okay. Good luck, bestie. Have fun, and go Warhawks! If you see your punk ass baby daddy, make a scene!”

I shook my head as I disconnected the call and walked toward my front door. I hadn’t even thought about the possibility of him being there. He wasn’t playing, so why would he attend? While I wanted to talk to him, a public venue was not where I wanted to do it. My phone buzzed just before I opened the door. Thinking it was Lolo saying something crazy, I glanced at it and froze as I read the message.

The number you texted is no longer in service.

My heart sank. Did this nigga block me? A wave of reality hit me. Reggie was ghosting me on purpose. He wasn’t even man enough to have a conversation with me. I felt instant disgust form in my stomach. How had I made the mistake of lying down with somebody who would do me like this?

“Coward,” I muttered, trying to shake off the disappointment.

Ghosting me when he was a professional athlete was crazy. I had half the mind to do exactly what Lo said and blast his ass on the internet. Reggie had never once mentioned having a girlfriend nor were there signs of her on his socials. The first day he’d come into my job to get his hair cut, I’d just had a video kind of go viral. He was charming and professional. He paid me a thousand dollars for his cut and invited me to lunch. He was the hometown hero. We had run in some of the same circles in high school, so I went.

I wasn’t expecting him to come on to me. I wasn’t expecting to sleep with him the next day. He seemed like such a good guy. He wanted to help me grow my clientele. He sent me NFL clients and flowers nearly once a week. I didn’t think twice about his motives or that he didn’t want anybody to know we were messing around. I thought it was because of his fame. I should have noticed the red flags, but he was a professional athlete, and he was interested in me. I thought he had real feelings for me. I didn’t know he would be the type to ghost me when I needed him most.

The doorbell rang again, reminding me I had a date standing outside my door. I took a deep breath, sucking in the tears that threatened to fall from my eyes. I didn’t have time to break down right now. Not wanting to leave Carson waiting, I dropped my phone in my purse and opened the door.

“Hi, you must be Phileigh,” he said, extending his hand. “I’m Carson.”

---