Read The Way We Roll Online

Authors: Stephanie Perry Moore

The Way We Roll (16 page)

BOOK: The Way We Roll
3.24Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads
15
POWERFUL
K
ade had managed to turn around his first performance and ended up impressing all the scouts. However, the second day he worked out for them, he went back into a little freeze. I didn't know if it was nerves or what, but as I sat in the hotel room and watched his performance, I could have jumped through the tube and choked him. He had it in him—I couldn't understand why he froze. And when he came to me, he was so distraught. I'll never forgethim saying how bad he'd messed up our future.
I told him to calm down. We were just college students. Sure, he was about to graduate, be in the world, start his life, but I was still had a couple more years of college left. I wanted to go to New York and intern, work with some top fashion designers. Really spread my wings before I even thought about settling down. I didn't want him to put everything in me, and when I told him that, our communication just sort of shut down. We barely spoke our entiretrip back.
“Okay, we're at your girls' house,” he said in a bitter tone when we arrived to Torian and Loni's place.
“I know, but I was hoping maybe we could talk a little longer.” I didn't want to leave him all upset over this weekend.
Reaching over and opening my car door, he said, “We've been together for five hours since I picked you up from your hotel. While we were waiting in the airport, you didn't talke to me. On the plane and in the car, you ain't said two words to me. What you need to talk about now?”
“Well, it seems you haven't said that much to me either,Kade.”
“Exactly. I'm not mad at you, Malloy, but I'm needing some alone time. Let's just talk tomorrow.”
Closing the door, I said, “I can't leave you like this. Everything is going to be fine with the scouts, baby.”
“You read the sports section of the paper on the plane,” Kade said as he grabbed the crumbled-up section from the backseat and shoved it in my face. “You think I'm supposedto be excited that my stock is slipping from being a top-five pick in this draft?”
“That could change tomorrow.” I snatched the paper from him and tossed it back to the backseat.
“Money talks. The higher you are on the board, the more money goes in your pocket.”
“I just hear you talking about money.”
Shaking his head, he said, “That's what it takes to make it in this life.”
“No, what you have to hear,” I said as I pointed at his chest through the open window, “is what it takes to be awesome in this world. You are a man with a heart of gold. Football does not make you. You are a player who plays with passion because it's inside your soul. You want to do amazing things for your mom, for us, and I was just trying to take off the pressure. At least to let you know you may not need to support me.”
“Yeah, but it feels like you're saying you don't want to commit to me like that.”
“No, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying you don't need to rush into anything so serious. Now, you don't need to be thinking about what I need or don't need from your finances.” He had to know I was self-supportive and not with him for his potential earnings. “I want you to get all you're supposed to get. I want you to be the number-one pick because I believe you're the best player coming out of the draft, not because I want you to give me some of what you make.”
“You're just so different, Malloy. I know you're a daddy's girl. I know he takes care of you. But I want to be able to do that, too.”
I just reached over and kissed him. I couldn't promise him a future I wasn't sure we would have, but I certainly knew right then with all my heart and soul that I was his in every way that counted. Even as I kissed him, I could tell he didn't want to quit sulking. However, I would not let up. I caressed his face and got a small smile out of him. Then I knew he was starting to feel me. I took my hand and slid it up his chest.
“Torian and Loni aren't home. We've got this big party tonight, and I know they're already there setting up. Why don't you come in?”
I got my bag out of the backseat. It didn't take Kade but a second to pull into an actual parking space, get out, and follow me closely behind. The brother was checking me out; I could feel his eyes on me. I used the key Torian and Loni had given me and let myself in. As soon as we got in the door, we were taking off each other's clothes. This was me giving in because it just felt right.
When I stood before him, he pulled back and said, “I ... I can't.”
“What? What do you mean, you can't?”
I was baffled. We'd been dating for months and hadn't gone there since that first night. We had now gone out of town, and though he had come to my hotel room, all he'd done was hold me all night. Now we had an opportunity to go all the way, and he was telling me he couldn't? What? No, uh-uh. I wanted him.
“I really can't explain it, Malloy. God's working on me here.”
“God? Are you kidding? He knows how much I care about you.”
“Sorry. I just can't. I'm asking Him to bless me, and I need to play this His way. Sorry.” He kissed my brow.
So I went into the bathroom and slammed the door hard. The Almighty had given my man a conscious. HonestlyI was mad.
 
“Come on, Malloy. Come on out,” Kade said, as I sat in the bathroom trying to calm myself. If he was still wearing nothing when I opened the door, the Lord and I were going to have a real serious counseling session. The brother would just be too fine to resist.
“Babe, you don't understand—all I've been doing is kicking it with girls during college. Girl, I want you so bad. I'm tortured at night sometimes thinking about it.” I heard him lean on the door. “But now I'm tryin' live to His standard. You're different than all those other girls.”
I came out wearing a bath towel and said, “It's cool, whatever. Um, could you drop me off at the spot on campuswhere we're having our party? I know my car is out there, but this way I can ride back with my girls.”
“So you're going to go out? You just got in. You aren't tired?”
“Naw,” I said in a ticked-off voice.
I couldn't believe I was being such a baby about it. But I was upset. I didn't want to be turned down. I just knew he would give in, not want me to go out, and allow us to continue finishing what we started. But when I heard someonefidgeting with the front-door knob, I looked back and saw he heard it, too. Kade picked up his shirt and dashed into the bathroom.
“Hey, girl. Glad you're back. They're going to use my strobe light at the party. Why aren't you dressed—you just got out of the shower? So many men at the party, girl, we're going to have a good time,” Torian said, as I put my finger to my lips. “What? What's going on?”
I pointed to the bathroom door and whispered, “My man.”
“Oh, Kade's here.” She laughed and then yelled, “Kade, you have to come to our party!”
“Naw, I have to get on back to Arkansas. I'm sure a lot of my teammates are down here, though.”
When he came out of the bathroom, Torian smiled and tried to help play it off. “Not many men there at all. Just a few.”
“Yeah, all right,” he joked.
I went into Loni's bedroom and got dressed. I was not gonna miss the fun. Kade knocked, and I opened the door.
He said, “Hey, sorry if I let you down. I just want everythingto be right with us next time. I don't want us having anger and animosity between us. I just need to feel it's the right thing to do. I don't know. A lot of stuff is on my mind. Maybe I shouldn't blame it all on God getting me back for being a freak, but I'm freakin' out!”
“Hey, if you want me to stay,” I said, coming out into the hallway and looking at my man in the eye, “I'm here for you. I don't need to go.”
“Naw, naw. Enjoy yourself.” He reached out and kissed me.
Nobody at the party would be able to make me feel like he could. That was for sure. About twenty-five minutes later, I was dancing in line with my sorority sisters. All the men and women were really feeling the party.
“Ain't no party like a BGP party, cause a BGP party's got it going on! We rock, we roll, got so much soul! All the men in the place want to get in our face! Yes, it's the jam!
Beeeebop!
”
When I got off the floor, Sharon came over to me. I wanted to walk the other way. I was finally stress free, dang!
“Can I talk to you?” I really had been having a good time, and I wasn't trying to get into any kind of tiff. But then she said, “We're sisters. We do have a bond. I'm just asking for a minute of your time. You're not going to give me that?”
Huffing, I thought I couldn't refuse her request. We stepped over to the ladies' bathroom. For a long while she just she looked at me.
“What's up?” I finally said.
“I hear you think I've been destroying your property. The first time that happened to you at that gig up there at the University of Southeastern Arkansas, I did think you deserved it. I didn't do it, but I think you deserved it. But then your place being ransacked—it wasn't me. My heart hurts thinking someone would do you like that.”
“Sharon, I know you're trying to put on an act because we're sorority sisters. We don't want to have any tension between us. Everybody knows or thinks you're such a good girl, but I know the real you. I know how bitter you are. But Kade is mine, and he and I have our own issues, so everythingain't precious in our world. What, you mad now because they say he's going on to the third round of the draft? You don't even know me. Talking about being sisters.Please, get out my face.”
“I didn't do it.” she yelled when I left her fake presence.“My love for my sorority is too strong to do somethingcrazy like that. For real, it wasn't me.”
I blew her off. She was just talking noise. She'd done it. I went back to the dance floor and started groovin' with the sorors I could trust.
 
It was funny because my place had been ready for a while, but I was still staying with Torian and Loni. But it was time; I wanted to get my own space back. After I helped clean up all the beer bottles, balloon pieces, and extra trash from the food we'd served at the party, I told Torian I finallywas gonna get my car and my things and head back to my place.
“Girl, I just don't think you're ready.”
“No, really, me staying in that hotel—it really helped.”
“What? Are we driving you crazy?”
“No, no, I'm just saying I need my independence. Y'all can come stay with me some nights.”
When I got to my place, the weather was a little breezy. Torian had insisted on following me over. She'd said she wanted to come because she didn't want to leave me in case I really couldn't take being there by myself. We walked in my front door and were immediately freezing.
“Why is it so cold in here? They left the air on or something?”Torian asked.
“I know right. It feels like Antarctica,” I said.
She walked around me. The new paint on the walls made my place look better than it ever had. My dad had been working with the landlord to get it straight, and he'd kept asking me when I was going to move back in so he could get his money's worth
“Oh, no!” I heard Torian frantically holler.
I dashed down the hall and saw that my back door had been kicked in. I sank to the floor; I couldn't even take it. The place was immaculate. Nothing had been harmed or touched except for my door.
“Why is somebody doing this to me?” I was clearly upset.
“I'm going to check around,” Torian said as she whipped out her cell. And then I heard her say to the phone, “Y'all have to come in here. We have trouble.”
“Who are you calling?”
“Sorors. We just need to make sure you're okay. And you aren't. We got to get to the bottom of this.”
“What's going on? What's wrong?” I asked as Torian handed me my Beta Gamma Pi jacket.
It was torn up worse than if a dog had bitten it tons of times. Knife gashes had ripped the jacket from one end to the other. I just held my jacket and rocked back and forth. My head started hurting as if someone were kicking me in it deliberately. I didn't understand any of this.
“Sharon would never do this to our stuff,” Torian said to me. “Do you think, Malloy? Really?”
“No, I don't think she did this.”
Hayden, Bea, and Loni came in. They yelled out that it was them so we'd know not to fear. I was so tense, I jumped when I saw them anyway.
Loni hugged me. “Y'all, I'm scared. This is crazy.”
“We got your back. We're going to report this to the police and let them come and get any evidence they can. And we're going to watch and find out what's going on here. Police can do their jobs. We're going to be in this together and make it happen,” Hayden said. “Someone comes up against one of us, they're coming up against all of us. You are our sister. You will not be tortured in this way.”
BOOK: The Way We Roll
3.24Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

A Charming Cure by Tonya Kappes
Caroselli's Accidental Heir by Michelle Celmer
The Story of Us by Dani Atkins
Best Buds by Catherine R. Daly
My Sister Jodie by Jacqueline Wilson
Unexpected Night by Daly, Elizabeth