Page 15 of Caught off Guard

I ate a large house salad and baked sweet potato my chef prepared before watching a basketball game on the 80-inch TV in my family room. The Torch was playing the Stallions this weekend, and Quason “Red” Sawyer was a basketball prodigy who would be all up in our asses. Red dunked unlike any other player. My knees hurt watching him pound the court.

When I finished my meal and cleaned up in the kitchen, Zora still hadn’t contacted me. I was about to give up on hearing from her for the night until a message popped up. The biggest smile flashed across my face.

Zora:

Hello, Cairo. I’ve been running all day. How are you?

I paused, wondering how honest I should be with her polite greeting.

Me:

Cool. Worked out. Had dinner. Prepping for tomorrow morning’s practice.

Zora:

Sounds good. Could my sister and I come to your game this weekend?

That was fast.

Me:

Sure. Text me her name, and I’ll have tickets waiting.

Zora:

Thank you, Cairo.

Me:

Hold up. Does that mean you’re joining me for your staycation tomorrow?

Zora:

If that’s alright.

I couldn’t believe I would be in Zora’s presence again so soon. Instead of texting, I called.

“Yes, Cairo?” Zora’s voice was even sexier on the phone than in person.

“Hey.” I imagined running my fingers through her shiny hair.

I bet she was ready for bed and had on a nice pajama set that hugged her curves just right. I wondered if she wore her glasses at home.

“Hello.”

That crisp voice threw me for a minute, making me wonder if I shouldn’t have called.

“Am I interrupting you?”

“If you were, I wouldn’t have answered the phone.”

O…kay.I cleared my throat to pick up my ego off the floor.

“I’ll send my driver, Wayne, to pick you up tomorrow. What time will you be ready?”

“How about noon? Pick me up at the president’s mansion?”

“Yes.”

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