Page 11 of A Player's Prayer
“I’ll see you later,” is all I said as the elevator doors opened.
Stepping inside, I pressed the ground button that led to the employee parking deck. As the doors closed, Dr. Morrison stared. Standing behind him with his hands in his joggers was none other than Wild. The look in his eyes was unreadable as he dragged them from me to the doctor. However, figuring out his issue wasn’t on my to-do list. He was part of the dilemma I was facing, and I needed to get away from him as well. This town is too small, and I didn’t know if I could stay here. I knew nothing about this man, and if I was going to have to fight for my life every time he and I crossed paths, I needed to get the hell away from here.
Snuggled on my couch in the biggest blanket I owned, I’ve been enjoying these past three days off from work. Martha has been calling me nonstop to the point where I blocked her. I sent her an email and told her I needed this time with no interruptions, and she reluctantly agreed. I’m not sure what happened with Tanessa, and I don’t really care. Times are hard, and while I’d hate for her to lose her job, she ultimately did it to herself. Fuck her.
“Who in the hell is this?” I groaned as my phone rang. I was binge-watching NCIS and hated to be disturbed. Looking at the Caller ID, I smiled when I saw it was Amelia. “Hey, boo,” I greeted her as I put the phone on speaker, placing it on my chest. “I haven’t heard from you in a few days.”
Amelia and I exchanged numbers the day I thumped Wild’s ass with money at Urban Sole, and she and I have been in touch since. The only thing I asked of her the first time she called me was to not mention her stupid-ass boss. She’d kept her word,and it was I who had to bring him up. I had to tell someone about the crazy shit I’d endured when I left the hospital.
“Hey, my girl,” she replied happily into the receiver. “What are you doing over there? I have a free night and was hoping you wanted to come out with me.”
“Absolutely not,” I answered immediately, causing her to laugh. “Every time I go out, I have to fight a nigga I don’t know. I’m tired, sis.” We shared a laugh, but shit, I was serious. “If you want to, you can stop by here.”
After she agreed to come by with plans to either stay in or convince me to go out, I texted her my address and disconnected the call. I never kept my place nasty, so I didn’t have to clean much before she arrived. I decided to shower since I’d been slumming all day on the couch, but before climbing the steps, I made sure a bottle of Tequila was in the freezer in case she wanted to pregame before her nightly adventures. After twenty minutes upstairs, I was fresh out of the shower, moisturized up, and simply dressed in a floor-length maxi dress. As soon as my feet touched the bottom step, there was a knock on my door.
“I’m coming, girl!” I shouted as I hustled to the door. “I hope you brought food because—oh, hello.”
Standing at the door was a very bulky deliveryman. I eyed him in confusion as he smiled at me with his clipboard in hand. “Miss Jenkins?”
“Yes,” I answered hesitantly, as I gripped the knob on the door. “How may I help you?”
“I have a delivery for you, ma’am.” He smiled again as he gestured toward his truck. “If you don’t mind, sign for me here.”
Skeptically, I did as he asked after skimming over the one-page document that indeed looked like a delivery invoice. Standing in the doorway, I watched as he jogged back to his truck, patting the side for the driver to lift the doors. My eyes expanded as I watched them unload box after box onto anoversized dolly. Before he brought the stack into my home, I had to stop him.
“I’m sorry, but what is all this? I didn’t order anything, sir.” It was then that I noticed the box labels from various brands such as Nike, Adidas, Apple, and one called Wild Kicks. “Are you sure you have the right place?”
“Yes, ma’am, we do.” He grinned as he bypassed me right as his coworker came with another dolly of boxes stacked high. “I was informed that you may be a little skeptical and to duck if you get a little physical. I assure you that all of this is yours.”
Sharing a laugh about me potentially hitting this man, I moved to the side and allowed them to do their job with no interference. By the time they finished, I knew it was Wild that had sent this massive delivery. My living room was flooded with so many boxes and bags that I didn’t know what to do with them all.
“What in the world is all of this?” I palmed my forehead and spun around. “This man is insane.”
Leaving the door unlocked for when Amelia arrived, I got comfortable in the middle of my living room floor and began to sort through the boxes that surrounded me. The first thing that caught my eye was the beautiful bouquet of Venus et Fleur roses. Plucking the card from the middle, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and simper.
Sometimes I like to act like I have the sense that God gave me, and my mother raised me to have. I’m not calling a truce so don’t get use to this nice shit. You just lucked up when I tossed my coin today.
Signed, HIM
“Stupid-ass nigga.” I giggled as there was a knock on my door. “Come in, Amelia.”
“Damn, girl! You’re brave sitting in here with your door unlocked like this.” Amelia chuckled as she walked in. She looked cute in her denim overalls and Vans. “Did you decide to go on a shopping spree and didn’t invite me?”
“Girl, no.” I waved her off as she walked further into the living room. “Grab a drink and take a seat. You can help me unbox this stuff.”
Jumping and clapping, I laughed at her enthusiasm as she rushed toward the kitchen. Like I knew she would, she came back with the entire bottle of Don Julio from the freezer.
“So, spill it!” She grabbed the nearest box to her, which happened to be from Wild Kicks. “I know damn well?—”
“Apparently, some damn coin told him to blow a bag on me.” I shrugged as I unwrapped some Nike sets in tissue paper. Ironically, it was the hoodie with the matching joggers I wanted from his store. “How did he know my size?” Thinking, I paused. “How in the hell did he know where I lived?”
“Don’t look at me!” she squeaked and held her hands up. “I was almost fired when I didn’t tell him your name, so Idefinitelydidn’t give him your address. Wild is crazy, boo. I’m not surprised he found your address. He’s a great boss, but that man is nuts.”
“Don’t I know it?” I mumbled as I locked eyes on the Louis Vuitton box. “Ohhh! Open that one! I didn’t see that on the dolly.”
Being a registered nurse has afforded me all the things I wanted out of life. From the nice townhome I was renting untilI decided to buy, to the brand-new Mercedes-Benz parked in the driveway, I’ve always been able to do for myself. Bear spoiled me sometimes, but it was almost like pulling teeth to get him to splurge. Even on holidays and birthdays, that man was cheap. Having someone drop a bag on me, even though said person was an ass, and I hadn’t given him anything for this dropped bag, was a nice gesture.
“Bitchhhh!” Amelia screamed, causing me to jump. “What did you do to that man?”
