Chapter 4
I was tempted not to answer the unknown number, but since the area code was local, I swiped my thumb across my screen just before it stopped ringing.
“This is Aranda.”
“Aranda? Is this Randi Sampson?”
I immediately recognized his voice but wouldn’t let him know that.
“Yeah, this is Randi. Who is this?”
“My bad. This is Niko.”
“Who?”
“Niko Kemper. Captain of the BEU lacrosse team.”
“Oh, yeah. How did you get my number, and why are you calling me?”
“Coach Crawford gave me your number.”
“Why?”
“He wants us to meet to discuss the team.”
“I have the film from last season. I think I’ll manage. If Coach Crawford asks, I’ll tell him we met.”
“I believe I can give you more insight on the team than you’ll get from watching film.”
“That’s probably true, but I’d rather not deal with your attitude and not-so-subtle disrespect.”
“Randi—”
“Coach Sampson.”
“Coach Sampson, your first impression of me wasn’t the greatest.”
“Nor was the second or third.”
“Hold up. What was wrong with the second impression? I thought I gave you and your parents great service, and I know you enjoyed the food.”
“You didn’t cook the food, and the service was okay, but what’s your point?”
“Give me a chance to apologize in person and thank you for not throwing me under the bus with Coach Crawford.”
I sighed as I thought about what occurred this afternoon. When I stormed from the conference room, I ran into Coach Crawford. Not enough time had passed for my meeting with Niko to be over, so I had to give him a believable reason why I was leaving.
Instead of telling Coach Crawford that Niko was a chauvinistic asshole, I made up a lie about him having an emergency. Coach Crawford believed me, and I left it at that.
Niko and I had a rocky start, and since we had to work together for the next few months, it was only fair that I give him the opportunity to smooth things over.
“Fine. We can meet in the conference room tomorrow morning at ten.”
“I’ll see you then.” I ended the call without saying goodbye.
The next morning came too fast because I was up until two in the morning watching the film from last season. From what I’d seen, the team was solid, but we had to replace a few people who had graduated.
I finally rolled out of bed at nine o’clock. After a quick shower, I put my massive mane into a puff on the top of my head and dressed in a one-piece romper, cropped sweatshirt, and sneakers. Twenty minutes later, I parked in front of the building where the athletic offices were located.
Niko pulled up next to me before I could get out of my car. He exited his vehicle first and waited for me to get out.
“Good morning,” he said as I approached him.
“Hey.”
We walked silently to the building. Once inside, I let him lead the way because I was still getting familiar with the building.
“I assume you have the keys to unlock the door,” he said when we arrived outside the conference room.
I pulled the set of keys I’d received from my bag. “I guess one of these works.”
After trying a couple of keys, one of them finally unlocked the door. We went inside, and while I sat down, Niko connected his laptop to the large screen on the other end of the room.
“I don’t think all this is necessary. I went over the film last night and took some detailed notes.”
He grinned. “I’m sure you did a thorough job. What did you write about me?”
“That’s for me to know and you to never find out.”
“It’s cool. I’m confident in my skills and abilities, so I’m not worried about what you think.”
“I knew you were the cocky type. Let’s get started.”
I wanted to say a lot more about his overly confident attitude, but I had no intention of going back and forth with him or any of the other players. Niko was the star of the team, for sure, but he had some weak areas that he could work to improve.
“First, let me apologize for my behavior yesterday. That’s not really who I am, and?—”
“I don’t know if I believe that.”
“Let me finish. I’m not a male chauvinist. I was in the Navy for four years and had several women as my superiors.
I had no issues respecting them and following their orders.
Yesterday, I was surprised… shocked, even.
It was less about the new coach being a woman and more about the woman being you. Does that make sense?”
“What’s wrong with me?”
“Had we not bumped into each other?—”
“You bumped into me.”
“Right. I bumped into you. My point is, if my first time meeting you had been yesterday, my reception would have been more welcoming.”
“I wouldn’t say we met, but if we had, what does that have to do with anything?”
“If you recall, I asked for your number, and you turned me down.”
“I did.”
“I wasn’t expecting the woman I’d hit on a few days before to end up being my coach. Again, I apologize and will keep my ego in check moving forward.”
“Thank you. I’d appreciate that. Now, let’s get started.”
“I have to say, this meeting was very helpful. I’m glad you talked me into it,” I admitted. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad I could help. You want to grab a bite to eat?”
“No. I don’t think that would be appropriate. I’ll see you on Monday. Thanks again.”
I quickly hopped in my car and backed out of the parking spot. Niko was fine as hell, and I wasn’t foolish enough to spend any unnecessary time with him. Although our first interaction was horrible, I couldn’t ignore how my stomach fluttered in his presence.
I would need the strength of Jesus and all his disciples to keep my attraction to him at bay, so I would only allow myself to be in his presence when it was required of me, and never alone.
When my phone connected to my car, I called Montrell because he was my only real friend.
“Wassup?” he answered.
“Ugh. I just came from a meeting with the team captain.”
“I take it didn’t go well.”
“No, it went fine… today, but yesterday was a different story.”
“Oh shit! I forgot you met the team yesterday. I meant to call you, but the basketball game went to double overtime, and by the time I got home, I was tired as hell. Did it not go well?”
“Overall, it went fine. However, you wouldn’t believe who the star player and team captain is.”
“Umm, I don’t have a clue.”
“The rude guy from the other day.”
“The one you bumped into?”
“He bumped into me, but yeah.”
“No shit? What a coincidence.”
“You telling me. I didn’t notice him amongst the other players at first. I’m sure he was just as surprised, if not more, to see me as I was to see him.”
“What happened?”
I told him about my interaction with Niko the previous day and about our meeting today.
“Niko is lucky I covered his ass, but the last thing I need is for Coach Crawford to think there’s friction between me and the star player.”
“I don’t blame you, but at least he realized the error of his ways and apologized.”
“He did, and he seemed genuine.”
“Why do I sense there’s still a problem?”
I sighed. “The nigga is fine as hell, okay. I don’t mean like regular fine.
He’s like… a nineties kinda fine. His skin is the color of peanut butter and I swear I saw not one blemish.
His cocaine white teeth are encased in lips that I could kiss for days.
When was the last time you saw a man with a Caesar cut and waves? ”
“Oh, damn. That kinda fine?”
“Yeah. I don’t even wanna talk about his thick eyebrows, sexy, dark eyes, and tattoos. My stomach fluttered during our entire meeting today. Trell, I cannot be attracted to him.”
“You can’t help who you’re attracted to, but I understand. Aside from you being his coach, he’s a few years younger than you too.”
“Actually, we’re about the same age. He’s a senior and served four years in the Navy before attending Black Elm.”
“Oh, so he’s a nontraditional student. Interesting.”
“This is a dream job. Please pray I don’t fuck it up by lusting after one of my players.”
“Look at the bright side… He’s a senior, and soon it won’t matter.”
“True, but it would still be kinda scandalous. People would assume we messed around while he was on the team. Wait! What am I saying? I cannot hook up with Niko. He’s off limits, and that’s that.”
“I don’t know, Randi. We’ve been close for a while, and this is the first man you’ve talked about.”
“So?”
“So, it has to mean something.”
“It’s just my hormones talking.”
“If you say so, but I’ll pray for you anyway.”