𝙵𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙳𝙰𝚈𝚂 𝙻𝙰𝚃𝙴𝚁
"Ahhh!" Derek and 'Vonte both yelled aggressively as they jumped up and fought for the rebound ball. 'Vonte caught it and backed up to the half-court line before making his way back towards the hoop. Derek applied pressure, getting into position to block and steal.
"Yo ass getting fat, nigga..."
"Fuck you, nigga. Drop that shit." I couldn't hear their words clearly, but they were definitely talking shit while laughing with one another.
They pushed against each other, 'Vonte finally making it out of Derek's assertive grasp for a layup, the ball making a loud bang as it hit the backboard and dropped into the hoop.
"Soriyah, please stop cooking for this nigga... can't even keep up on the court no more!" Javonte yelled up to the bleachers where Jada and I were sitting.
I laughed and shook my head, my eyes shifting between them, Jada and my iPad.
We sat comfortably on the metal seats as we watched Javonte and Derek go head-to-head in a half-court game. I suggested it, seeing that Derek's nerves about having dinner with my parents tonight was getting to him last night.
He barely slept, tossing and turning next to me, his mind in overdrive. So I figured a game or two would shake the nerves off.
"I know my man is not blaming your cooking for Derek being slow," Jada said, shaking her head.
"Mhm, when he be right there eating with his ass too." I replied, my fingers gliding over the screen of my iPad. I was deep into studying sous-vide techniques for the Cooking Competition coming up.
The video showed how to perfectly cook a steak using the sous-vide method, and I took notes on the ideal temperature and timing.
"Exactly. What you working on now?" Jada asked, leaning over to peek at my screen.
"Just brushing up on some sous-vide techniques," I said, flipping to another video about vacuum sealing and precision cooking.
"Sous-vide, huh? Fancy shit," she teased, sipping on her Rock Creek soda.
"Mhm, but I might not even attempt this method... still good to know though, 'cause it's been a minute. " I said.
Their game continued, sneakers squeaking and the ball bouncing rhythmically on the court.
"Oweee!" I yelled right after Derek made a shot from the three-point line and Javonte groaned in frustration.
With his hand still up from his shot, Derek gave me a smile before biting his lip. I returned his gaze with the same, leaning back against the bench above us.
Biting my lip, I started smirking as his dark skin glistened against the afternoon sunlight, the sweat trickling from his forehead, down to the side of his neck, disappearing into his damp white t-shirt. He smiled again and averted his eyes back to the game.
Jada looked focused on their gameplay too. Javonte mainly, like she was thinking about something. Then she sighed quietly.
"Whatchu thinking 'bout?" I asked, observing the way she's looking at 'Vonte, and she turned towards me, smiling.
"'Javonte," she confessed, her gaze shifting back to the court. "He's been so good to me, doing so much for me... and I know he's been telling me not to lift a finger, but I wanna help contribute. We're a team now that we're engaged, so I've been thinking about going back to teaching again."
Instantly, I blinked and I sat my ipad down beside me and smiled at her all teary-eyed.
During the pandemic, Jada got really depressed, not being able to see her students face-to-face. She adored teaching, but online teaching wasn't doing it for her. Because seeing her kids light up with understanding as she explained something, that's what Jada lived for.
