The Kings II

44

Fred

I caught the ball flying towards me, nearly falling backwards as I made sure my hand wrapped around it.

"Odell Beckham Jr might be out of business by the time you get done," Aaron said, smiling as he rested his hands on his hips.

I threw the ball back to him and he just held it next to his side. "You good?"

I nodded and walked over to the bench, sitting down on it. I grabbed my water and noticed it was empty, making me sigh and throw it to the side. "Fuck."

"I don't think you're okay, man," he said, sitting down next to me.

"I made a stupid decision," I said, "and Alexis is pissed at me for it."

"Bro, if you cheated on her, that's the stupidest shit you've ever done-"

I just looked over at him with a dumbfounded look on my face.

"So you didn't cheat, okay, good," he said, nodding.

I shook my head, my elbows on my thighs. "She won't even speak to me. I don't blame her."

"Well, what'd you do?" He asked.

"You know the new guy, Wyatt," I said, nodding over at him.

He nodded. "Surfer dude from Miami."

"He wouldn't leave her alone," I said, "and it obviously got under my skin, so I... did something about it."

He just nodded. "Like what?"

I looked over at him. "I'm not evil."

He chuckled. "I know, tell me."

"Jo and I, we took him to a warehouse," I said, "and it was mostly me, but he got the hell beat out of him."

He just nodded slowly. "Not the method everyone would go with."

"Yeah, I know," I said, shaking my head, "it wasn't stupid to me. He deserved it."

"Did you do it to stand up for her?" He asked, looking over at me, "or prove to him that you could?"

I just flexed my jaw, shaking my head. "I had Alexis's best interest at heart, I mean that when I say it. I wasn't trying to prove anything to the guy. Maybe that I'd do it again if he didn't leave her alone after it."

He just sighed, looking away from me. "You know girls are wired differently than we are."

"I know that," I said.

I looked down and shook my head. "I know when to give her space."

"That's good," he said, patting my shoulder, "don't beat yourself up over it."

He stood up and held the ball down to me. "If you're getting into Chicago on that full ride, you need to make sure you're all buffed up."

I just stood up and grabbed the ball. "Thank you."

He just looked back at me as he jogged over to the machine that was shooting balls at me. "You ready?"

I didn't respond, my hands on my hips. "Should I call her?"

"You should focus on the task at hand," he said, "and you can call her afterwards if your mind isn't changed."

I just nodded and held up my hands, making him smile. "This is what you're going to Chicago for, man."

~*~

Fred

I walked into the coffee shop. It was late, and I was just ready to get in bed.