Page 18 of A Player's Prayer
“Okay, okay.” She giggled sweetly. “As you know, I’m from Central Florida, but attended college at Albany State for nursing school. I’m an only child whose mother died during childbirth, with a father who is in prison doing time on a drug charge.” She laughed weakly. “My upbringing wasn’t as pleasant as yours, but it wasn’t horrible. My dad did the best he could behind bars, while I was being raised by his mother. Nana died during my sophomore year at Albany, so it’s just me out here.”
“Damn, baby girl.” I pulled her toward me, wrapping my arms around her. “Just know your new best friend, Adrian, is here, and you’re not alone anymore.” I felt compelled to kiss her temple, so I did. “I’m here any time you need me.”
“Um, I have a best friend already.” She gazed up at me with misty eyes. I could see she was hurting but wanted to make light of the situation. “As you can see, I have my hands full with her.”
“The only thing that’s going to be full is her asshole with my foot,” I grumbled, causing her to elbow me. “For real, that girl got some shit with her. I know she’s your friend, but you need to watch her. The water is tainted there—trust me.”
Saying nothing, she nodded and allowed me to hold her. The breeze out here was nice today, and I did well by picking this place for our first date. I ran it by my mother, and she offered tomake lunch for me and help set it up. I knew I was going to hear about this shit from my brothers later, but holding Kodi right now was worth the shit talking.
“What are we doing?” she broke her silence and asked. “What do you want from me, Adrian?”
For some reason, my heart thumped rapidly at her question. Usually, when a broad asks me that, it’s because they want a relationship. That’s not what I’m looking for with Dakota, but I know I want her around.
“I just want to kick it with you,” I answered honestly as she brought her eyes to mine. “I want to go out to eat with you, have movie dates, and get to know you more. I just want to vibe with you… you know, be friends and shit.”
“So, you don’t want to fuck me?” She raised her brow and asked, “No sex?”
“I’m going to be honest— I’ll fuck the shit out of you right now if you want me to.” We shared a laugh, but I was deadass serious. “That’s not all I see when I look at you, though. To be clear, I do want to fuck you… just not before we establish the friendship shit.”
Shifting in my arms, she turned and faced me. With my elbows on my knees, I stared into her eyes and waited for whatever she had to say.
“This friendship will be chaotic, and will probably stress me out, but I don’t mind.” Her smile was so bright that it put the sun above to shame. “I don’t mind kicking it with you, but I don’t like drama, Adrian. I know it may seem like I’m rowdy and like to fight, but I’d rather not. I have a career, and I don’t want to lose it.”
“I apologize?—”
“And I accept it.” She placed her hand on my shoulder. “I know that you have a woman somewhere who doesn’t play about you. I get it but let them know this isn’t that. I don’t want to beatsomeone’s ass about a man that I don’t even want. Please make sure you reiterate that to them.”
“Oh, like you need to tell that nigga, Bear, the same?” Her eyes turned to slits. “Yeah, let that nigga know I’ll beat his ass out of both shoes if he plays with me on any day.”
Sitting back on her heels, she bellowed loudly as she resumed eating her fruit. She eyed me as she lifted her drink for a toast. “Cheers to a friendship full of chaos. I know it’s about to be awildtime with you.”
Rolling my eyes, I clinked my drink against hers and took a sip. Since she wanted something to giggle about, I gripped her neck gently before bringing her face to mine. Searching her eyes for distress, I didn’t find any, so I proceeded. I placed soft kisses on her lips, and I felt her relax underneath me. Taking a chance, I pried her lips apart and slid my tongue inside. I don’t know if it was the fruit or her, but she tasted so fucking sweet to me.
“Adrian,” she panted quietly, placing her arms on my shoulder, pushing me back slightly. “What was that?”
“Nothing, best friend.” I chuckled, wiping her bottom lip with my thumb. “Just sealing the deal with a kiss.”
Smirking at her confusion, she blinked a few times before placing her back on my chest again and admiring the lake’s ambiance. Once she was content, the smile I was sporting moments prior dropped. Feeling her in my arms and my dick busting through my boxers from a simple kiss was telling me this friendship was going to be harder than I thought. I made my intentions clear, and we were both grown. I didn’t ask her about the Bear nigga because Kodi doesn’t give me hoe vibes. If that nigga meant anything to her, she wouldn’t be here with me.
Did I want to add Kodi to my rotation? Hell yeah, but not at the expense of running her off. She is the first woman to want to be friends with me with nothing in return. She doesn’t want the notoriety that came with being attached to me, and she didn’twant my money unless I willingly gave it to her. That shit is what made me want to kick it with her even more.
Maybe for once, I could be Adrian Mills and not Wild. Something told me Kodi wouldn’t expect anything less.
“Thankyou for deciding to give little ol’ me some of your time today. I just knew this trip was going to be a bust.”
Sitting outside of the small café, I thought Zaria and I would enjoy a nice day of quality time and shopping, but she was making me regret my choices. I don’t know what’s going on with her and this bitchy attitude she’d had since her plane touched down, but I was at my wits’ end with it and her. Instead of causing a scene in public, I tried to change the course of the conversation.
“I’m glad you came to see me,” I spoke honestly as I bit into my club sandwich. There were so many people out here shopping today, but the Galleria is always like this. “I told you once you came down here to visit, you were going to love it.”
When I left Florida and decided to move here, she and I had the biggest fight. She felt like I shouldn’t have moved so far away from home, leaving everyone behind, but who was left? My dad was in prison, and my mom and grandmother were dead. Bear was a nonfactor, although she couldn’t get that through her brain. I was single with no kids, and she could visit me anytime. Moving from Florida to Milly Grove was the smartest decision I’d made since accepting my admission to Albany—Zaria had no way to convince me otherwise.
“It’s nice.” She looked around with her nose up as she sipped her lemonade. I offered to buy her lunch, and she immediately changed her mind from getting a salad to a steak. I didn’t mind; I loved Zaria, even though she was working my last nerve. “You must have money somewhere forallof this.”
“What?” I frowned, wiping my hands. “Say what’s on your mind, Zaria, and stop talking in codes.”
“I’m just saying?” She shrugged as she eyed me. “The new Benz, the three-story townhouse, and now, this fancy shopping center with steak for lunch… That little nursing job can’t be paying for all of this? Do you have something to tell me?”
Staring at her as if she were crazy, I shook my head at her insinuation. I’ve worked hard for everything I have, and I will never let her or anyone else minimize the investment I’ve made into myself to buy the things I purchase.
