The Homeboy and The Virgin

18-Duke

Chapter 18—Duke

 

This was going to be hard.

     I waited for Junior Friday night, after my game, in nothing but my practice shorts and my Under Armor. Across the field, I could see Laila waiting on me, arms crossed over her baby bump. All week, I had led everyone along like I was taking Junior to homecoming. But I knew Wednesday night I wasn’t—Laila wouldn’t let me, and I had to listen to her. I felt guilty.

    I could see Junior heading across the field, followed by the rest of the gang—the other Homeboys, and then the add-ons, Honey and Rena. Rena and Chris were acting normal for once, just holding hands and talking to the others. Kyle’s eyes were glued to Honey’s butt, which was barely covered in a pair of blue jean shorts. And then Junior. Those Nike shorts looked damn good encasing her thighs and rounded ass. The t-shirt she wore was form-fitting and had my number on it. And with her hair pulled into that messy bun, she looked like a girl that could seduce me and watch sports with me.

   Junior sprinted over to me, launching herself into my arms. Somehow, she managed to get her legs around my waist as she held me tightly, grinning. “Good game!” Her voice had an excited, quick pitch. As she jumped down, she bounced on the tops of her toes, and I could see that her hands were shaking.

   “You alright, Junior?” I asked, looking at Rena.

   Rena rolled her eyes. “She was feeling tired, so she drink a Monster. My friend can’t have any kind of energy drink.”

   I looked back at Junior, who gave me a bright smile and nodded her head eagerly. She was in motion, even though she was still. Her hand all but vibrated, and her bun bounced with her trembling body. “Yeah, I can’t.” She paused, thinking. “So when you made that touchdown, and you got the ball from the quarterback, and you ran, like, eighteen yards from side-to-side, jukin’ errybody out like this—“ she demonstrated my movements, going much quicker and a lot more awkward than mines were—“and then you kept runnin’, and you spun like this—“ She spun in a circle, two times around, and then swooned.

    I reached out and caught her before she fell, amused. “You’re like a child.” 

   She shrugged. “Yeah, like a—ooo, kitty!”  She took off for a moment, but Dante grabbed her shirt, pulling her back. Junior stopped like she had hit the brakes and frowned at him. “Well!”

   He shook his head. “Calm your tits.”

   “They refuse to be calmed!” She shimmied, and I brought my eyes directly to the twin mountains on her chest. Nope, they didn’t need to be calmed at all. “You ready for the dance tomorrow?” The smile she gave me made me want to  melt into a puddle for what I was about to do.

   I ran my fingers through my hair, grimacing. “About that….” I didn’t know how to put the words. My eyes went up to Laila, who was glaring at me. I would have to break it to Junior quickly. Even though I didn’t want to. Maybe my boys would have my back and stop Junior from killing me. Not that I deserved anything less than murder.

   She turned her head, and her eyes followed mines to Laila. A little chuckle escaped her mouth. “Really, Duke?” She looked back up at me, and her eyes were guarded. I couldn’t tell how she felt. Especially with the way her voice sounded neutral. “You should’ve told me before I bought a dress.”

   Kyle turned his head. “Wait, what’s going on?” When he saw Laila, he shook his head. “Damn, Duke, that’s an asshole move.”

   Dante and Chris nodded their heads, while Rena and Honey just gave me the girl glare. I felt like a pile of shit. “I—“ I stopped helplessly. “I have to.”