Love Blitz

Chapter One

April 28, 2005
Draft Day

"With the number one pick in the 2005 NFL draft, the New York Kings select Malik Cooper, quarterback, from the University of South Carolina."

Jillian Peters and everyone crowded around her parents' television began shouting at the top of their lungs. Finally, the wait was over. The boy she watched become a man, the man she'd loved for seven years, was realizing his dream of going to the NFL. Being selected as the number one pick was the icing on the cake. It meant more money, more notoriety and even bigger prospects for the future.

"Congrats, Jill!" was shouted at her from every corner of the room as her family and friends celebrated the great news. All of them assured that this would mean VIP access to games and other high-profile events.

She waited for her cell phone to ring with Malik on the other end of the line, shouting as he shared the good news with her. He'd done it so many times before during the course of his high school and collegiate football career, it became a ritual she always looked forward to. He'd always go off into another room as everyone else celebrated his success, just so he could talk to her. So, he could tell her again how much he appreciated her support and how he couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life with her. How all of his success would mean a great life for them both. She would work as a doctor and he would wow football lovers on the playing field.

She grabbed her cell phone and ran into the next room so she wouldn't miss a single word of the night's call. This was the big one, his biggest achievement yet, and she knew that he'd be emotional. She wanted to give him her undivided attention.

Jillian sat on the edge of her bed with a smile as wide as Texas. She visualized her and Malik attending black tie fundraisers and other events celebrating his achievements. She visualized rubbing his back after he'd had a hard practice and she imagined them making love in their new home. Her heart was bursting with joy.

Her sister Ashley knocked on the door, "Jill?! What did he say? I wanna talk to my future brother-in-law!"

She felt flushed. It had been half an hour since the announcement and still no call from Malik.

"I'll be out in a minute and I'll tell you everything!"

She shouted at the closed door, happy for the cover it provided as she tried to push away the feelings of insecurity that were invading her mental space.

"Well, hurry up! We're waiting on you to come give us a report!" Ashley responded. The 18 year old had been picking out new cars for herself for weeks in anticipation of Malik's being drafted into the NFL.

"Okay, not much longer!" she shouted.

Jillian knew something was wrong. She picked up her cell phone and dialed Malik. It rang three times before a voice she'd never heard before picked up.

"This is Jake!" the man shouted. She could hear the noise of a filled room in the background.

"Hi, this is Jillian. I'm trying to reach Malik."

"Who?" the man coldly responded.

"Jillian. I'm his girlfriend..."

Her voice was unsure she was so shaken at the man's question. She'd just called a number she'd called more times than she could count over the last several years. Being questioned about it was the last thing she expected.

"Listen, sweetheart, you and everybody else wants to be Malik Cooper's girlfriend at this very moment. Hell, if I didn't like chicks so much, even I'd get in line this guy's gonna make so much money."

"No, I really am his girlfriend. If you'd just give him the phone, he'll tell you..."

"Look, sweetcakes, this room is swarming with reporters who want a piece of Malik Cooper right now. So, get in line. If he wants to talk to you, I'm sure he'll call."

Then, he hung up. She was stunned into silence. Her heart was thumping so quickly, she had to struggle to get her breathing under control.

What just happened? Why hasn't he called me?

She tried to convince herself that once he was done with the reporters, he'd call, but her instincts told her what her heart already knew. He never would.

In the weeks leading up to the event, when her family and friends asked her why he didn't have her with him at the draft, she gave them the same excuse that he'd given her. It would be too much to handle if he was, in fac,t the number one pick. Reporters would be swarming around and he'd be too busy to properly tend to her. So, he'd see her when he arrived back home to begin preparations for his new life. A life that they'd live together.

She sat on the bed for an hour waiting for a call that never came. When she went back into the family room, everyone looked at her anxiously for an update. When her parents saw her face, they knew. He hadn't called.

Jillian plopped onto to the sofa and began crying. Her mother quickly asked everyone to leave and her father went to her and held her in his arms.

"Don't you worry, baby girl. He'll call. He'll call," he told her.

First a week, then two, then months went by and Jillian had heard nothing from Malik. She finished out the last few weeks of her senior semester, then went home to her parents' to begin medical school. She went through the summer like a zombie, barely leaving her room, barely spending time with family and friends. She felt like a mere shell of herself. She kept hoping that Malik would eventually come to his senses, realize that they'd meant too much to one another. But, she never heard another word from him. The experience made her numb, but she knew that she would have to find a way to move on with her life.

When she arrived at her housing at the Medical University of South Carolina, to begin her journey towards becoming a doctor, she knew that it was time to leave the past in the past. She had to focus on ensuring the soundness of her own future. She'd done more than enough to help Malik prepare for his. It was a harsh reality that she'd have to swallow. Malik Cooper was hers, no more.