Page 83 of Out of Bounds
“No, Masai.” He chuckled. “I don’t hate you. I’ve been where you are. Not the infidelity, but the wondering if you should goback. Divorce is tricky, but so is rekindling. If you can make it work, then I say go back.”
“Thank you so much, Lamar.”
“You’re welcome.”
Our conversation made me feel at peace with my decision to end things. The soft weightlessness of being able to let go without there being any ill feelings gave me relief. There was a lot of validity to what Lamar had said, and I fully planned on taking heed to his advice.
As I told him, even if I decided not to give my marriage another shot, I still needed to heal to remain single until my feelings were absolved.
“Zone right, on one,”Jrue called.
I nodded—heart steady, mind locked in.
Watch the edge, trust the line, cut backside if it closes.
The play was clear and concise. I knew my role, and now it was time to perform. Dropping into position, I blew out a deep breath. “Blue 19… Blue 19… Set... Hut!”
The ball is snapped, and as soon as I see it fly into Jrue’s hands, I run toward him. With precision, he passes it to me. Rushing down the field with the ball clutched to my chest, I dip to the side to avoid getting hit. The fans are screaming, and my cleats are digging into the ground with every move I make, but I’m so laser-focused that I tuned all of it out. The more I advanced down the field, the more my lungs felt like they’re on fire. As I inch closer to the end zone, it hits me. The silence in my head, the roaring of the stands, the rush in my veins—motherfucking touchdown! The cannon boomed throughout the stadium, solidifying our win. The Demons had defeated the Buccaneers by six points.
All week long, we had heard how the Demons weren’t going to win. Nobody picked us. They talked about how all season I’dlet my personal life interfere with my game, and how I needed to lock in. Game after game, the fans showed up and cheered us on, so this one was for them. This game felt personal. We’d beat the Saints last week, twenty-eight to fifteen, but even that wasn’t enough to satisfy the analysts and bettors. Coming out of the gate, I knew we had to show everybody who the fuck we were.
“They counted us out! Said you forgot who the fuck you was! Tell ’em this that big boy shit!” Deuce gloated as he ran towards me.
Passing the referee the ball, I slapped hands with him. “That shit hit different, my nigga.”
“Hell fucking yeah!” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
“We hitting the muthafucking strip club tonight!” Jrue yelled. “Magic City Monday! Please tell me you down?”
Pulling my helmet off, I shook my dreads. “I’on know, bruh. You know I gotta get my kids to school in the morning. Sai gotta be at the office early.”
“Nigga, use the driver.” He frowned. “I’mma get me some new friends. You and this old geriatric nigga right here don’t never wanna do shit.” He jested.
“Ain’t our fault yo’ girl prefer work over hanging with you,” Deuce said as he jumped on my back.
Jrue frowned. “See… you stay taking shit too fucking far.”
“Leave that man alone.” I chuckled. I was getting ready to head off the field when I spotted Ashton standing on the sidelines. “Aye!” I passed Deuce my helmet. “I’mma meet y’all in the locker room. I need to handle something really quick.”
Jogging over to where she was standing, I grabbed KJ out of her arms. “Why you ain’t tell me y’all was gonna be here? I would’ve had you set up in the suite.”
She looked like she was scared to respond. Shit between us had been cool since I took her ass to court. Timidly, she replied, “I didn’t know if your family was going to be in there or not.”
“You should’ve hit me up. What’s up, man?” I held him up and blew strawberries on his stomach. “Yo’ mama got you out here with all this noise.”
“I had his headphones on.”
“Cool. How y’all get here?”
“Uber Black.”
“That’s what’s up.” I nodded. “You good? You need anything?”
“No, we’re fine.” She sighed.
“Aight, bet. I’mma hit you up Thursday when I’m on the way.”
“Okay. About his party…”
