The Deep End

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Tia groaned, placing a hand over her eyes to shield herself from the light. Shai had slept over, and both of them had managed to squeeze onto the twin size mattress. Shai was up and walking around, putting on clothes she pulled from Tia's closet. Shai was smaller than Tia, her waist tiny, her limbs petite. Tia's clothes were baggy on her body. Still Shai moved eagerly, pulling a hoodie over her head that draped on her. Tia sighed, sitting up in the bed as she watched her best friend move.

"Look who's finally awake. Remind me to never give you more than four shots of Hennessy ever again."

"I had a brownie too."

Shai froze, turning to look at her with an eyebrow raised. "Who the hell did you get an edible from?"

Before Tia could answer Shai raised her hand, "Was he short, brown skinned, no facial hair?"

Tia nodded.

"Girl, are you out of your mind? You never heard of stranger danger? That was Devon, don't take nothing he offers. He is a certified pot head, the kind of nigga that smoke blacks for fun. Black air force activity, hello!"

Tia rolled her eyes before laying back down. "How was I supposed to know that? Who the hell is Devon?"

"A nigga you shouldn't be taking no damn brownie from!"

"Stop screaming, I have a headache. Please. I didn't know, damn."

"Well, now you do!" Shai said before tossing a pair of yoga pants and a thin hoodie at her. "Now get dressed, we're going to the field."

"What time is it?"

Shai smiled at her, her lips spreading wide to show her teeth, "7:00am."

Tia frowned, "What? Why are we even up and what's at the field? And what about breakfast?"

Shai walked over to her microwave, popped it open and pulled out a hot pocket. "This is breakfast. Now get dressed!"

The stadium seats were mostly empty. There were a few girls seated in several of the open seats closer to the field. Each of them dressed in two piece sets of varying color, their hair neat and makeup on their faces. On the field the football team was in formation, bent low on their legs as they called out plays.

"Hut!" Was called out and then their bodies moved forward, hard cracks sounded out as they rushed. Their bodies collided harshly as they knocked into each other. Tia grimaced, flinching as she watched a guy fall backward after being tackled. The quarterback took several quick steps back before he raised his arm as if he were going to throw the ball. Except he didn't, instead he handed it off to a player that had managed to creep up beside him. The hand off was smooth, and as it happened the quarterback began to maneuver around the players headed for him before he was completely knocked to the ground.

The player holding the ball, with the number 26 on his jersey, ran, tucking the ball tight to his side. He dodged a tackle, hopping up high to jump over the body of his assailant. Suddenly he was cornered, several players on all sides of him, running at breakneck pace. He lifted his arm then, his posture straight... precise. Just as he was tackled he released the ball. It rolled as it sailed through the air, spiraling as if in slow motion. Number 26 hit the ground hard as his team mates landed on top of him. Another player ran alongside it before jumping up, his fingertips gazing at the ball before he picked up speed and wrapped himself around it. He hit the ground shoulder first, his opponents moving forward to tackle him as he went down at the 50 yard line.

The coach stepped forward, blowing his whistle, "That's what I'm talking about! Improvement! Y'all see why I had to drive it into your heads? Huh?"

"Aight, coach Cee, can we be done? We went an hour over, man...," one of the players called out as they all gathered around him.

"Yeah, I'm hungry." One said.

"You really be tryna kill us, for real. I thought we was cool, coach Cee." Another mumbled.

The coach grabbed one of them by the front of their helmet and pushed him toward the gates, "Yeah, yeah. Y'all can go. But you bet not forget we have practice Monday, and there better not be the same mistakes happening over and over again. Or I'll show you something cool. Know that."

"You always threatening somebody, coach. Dang." Somebody said with a chuckle.

Several of them laughed as they began to take off their helmets, many of them getting drinks from the large orange Gatorade jugs off to the side.

Tia turned to look at Shai, her brow raised. "This shit is barbaric. Like the damn stone age."

Shai laughed as she leaned back in her seat, "You're such a hater. You know you enjoyed it, you were focused."

"I don't even know what's going on. What are the rules?"

A slow smile slid across Shai's lips and she pointed a finger at one of the players as he pulled his helmet off. "Girl, I don't know either. I come to the games strictly for the band, but why don't you ask him? I'm sure he'll tell you all the rules."

Tia raised a brow before following her friend's finger to number 26. She stopped chewing the last of the hot pocket in her mouth as her eyes fell on a familiar face. Wyatt Anderson. She was silent for a moment, her eyes moving over him. He was wiping sweat from his face with a towel as he laughed at something one of the players said. She had looked at his face before but never with a clear head, always with a hint of anger or irritation. But as she looked at him now, her mind clear, she had to admit... he was handsome. His brown skin glistened in the peaking sunlight, his teeth were even and white. So straight that she was sure he had worn braces at one point in his life. His eyebrows were thick and lined with his almond eyes. His lips were full on both the top and bottom. His facial hair was neat and full. As he joked around with his teammates his arms flexed, showing off muscle she had never bothered to notice before. His legs in the tight gold colored compression pants showcased thick calves and firm muscle.

"Mhhm, I knew it." Shai said as she laughed again before pushing Tia lightly on the shoulder.

Tia tore her eyes away from the field to look at her friend, "What?"

"You like him."

"What?" Tia screamed, her eyes wide as she leaned back dramatically.

Her voice echoed through the empty stadium. Her voice carried and suddenly all eyes were on her. She turned in her seat, her eyes meeting Wyatts. They stared at each other and as recognition lit his eyes the slow smirk on his lips spread. One of his team mates slapped him on the back but he didn't turn away, instead he licked his lips and tilted his head. He raised a brow at her before crossing his arms over the expanse of his chest.

It felt like his gaze was burning holes into her. She turned away, her eyes falling on Shai. "I don't like him. He's probably the most arrogant motherfucker I've ever met. And he's my partner for group presentation in Ethics and he basically told me to do it on my own. He's never in class!"

Shai snorted, "Girl, bye. You were just looking at him like he was a prime rib sliding off the damn bone. You ain't got to lie, Cletus. You ain't got to lie!"

"I'm not interested. I like men that use their damn brains."

"He gave us a ride last night."

Tia blanched, "What?" She began to silently rake her brain for the hazy memories of the night before.

"Yep, I was gonna call Tiffany but when I mentioned it, he jumped in talkin' bout... I'll take you. Voice all deep, staring at you like your tiddy was out. He likes you."

"I doubt it." Tia snapped, "He doesn't even know me."

Shai shrugged, "He definitely wants to see what your booty looks like underneath your jeans..."

"Shai!" Tia laughed, unable to stop herself. "You're annoying. You know I'm not interested in that. Especially his ass."

Shai opened her mouth to answer but a deep voice overtook her, suddenly booming over them. "Damn, I see how you feel. Say it to my face."

Everytime I see you walkin' by, I get a thrill "I Wanna Be Your Man" Roger