Chapter 10 Aldrich
ALDRICH
IT HAD FELT good as fuck to be back in Cali ready to make memories and make history.
It felt amazing to step off the bus and into the locker room even if it was the visitors’ side, and get ready for the game today.
A year ago, things were hectic. My life was falling apart based on the direction I thought it would go.
But today I could reflect and be grateful for what had come from so much chaos.
The pain was still there, but with the amount of joy I had in my life, I rarely dwelled on it.
I had two reasons to keep a smile on my face: Amisha and Sterling.
My baby girl was the sunniest spot in my life.
Just looking at her would bring a smile to my face even if she was screaming because she was getting a new tooth or her mama was saying she couldn’t have something.
And her mama…if Ami was my sunshine then Sterling was my sky.
If she wasn’t straight, neither was I so I was committed to ensuring that smile never left her face.
In the few short months since Christmas, I felt like I’d lived a lifetime.
Watching Anthony and Aphrodite get engaged since he gave all of us the login so we could watch was beautiful.
Sterling’s ass was crying and then sent a bunch of flowers and shit to their house.
Aphrodite didn’t make it any better when she sent over Will you be my bridesmaid?
boxes. Ling’s ass was so emotional I had her take a test to make sure I hadn’t planted a seed.
I was disappointed as fuck when it came out negative.
Just gave me more time to practice, though.
I kneeled down on the ground just inside the tunnel and sent up a prayer.
Everyone was here and I was thankful that we made it back to the Super Bowl.
So much of this year could’ve held me back but it didn’t.
And as a team, we’d gotten here. I wouldn’t go another step without speaking to my father because I knew he’d carried me through the worst of my troubles.
Papi, Thank you for being with me. On my darkest days, you sent two angels to be here on earth with me to love completely.
To give me purpose and to give me strength.
I pray in every step I’ve taken this year, even when I’ve stumbled, that I’ve made you proud that I never gave up.
I’m doing my best to look out for everyone here on this side, keep watching over us in heaven.
I opened my eyes and made the sign of the cross over my chest the way he always did when he prayed.
I talked to my father almost daily in my mind since he passed.
I would normally ask for advice or ask him to look out for me but right now I just wanted to give him thanks for how he raised me.
My nerves settled as I stood up and shook out my limbs.
I could feel the excitement replace my other emotions as the fanfare kicked up as they started to announce our team.
“You ready for this?”
Runt was looking nervous and I could understand, because he hadn’t been with the Desperados any longer than I had.
He was older than me by a few years, but he’d been drafted by another team.
A fluke injury to his knee had them thinking he wasn’t going to be the asset he once was.
When he got traded to the Desperados, Rich went in and cleaned out his knee which set him back with starting.
But once he did, Runt was back even better than he was before he got injured.
Runt and his ability to block were one of the main reasons I was as successful as I was.
Lyric and Sterling thought it would be a good idea to gift the offensive line joint gifts from the both of us since their doing their jobs allowed us to excel at ours.
Runt, of course, got a bigger gift since he was the center and he was our homeboy.
Besides the heavy-duty off-road recreation vehicles we’d gifted them, we’d had them set up with whole cow deliveries for the year from the Chisholm-Love Ranch.
Runt was a country boy at heart and our additional gift to him was a horse, since Sampson had a connect.
Runt was in love with Sampson’s sister but they swore they weren’t serious yet.
It wasn’t my business to get into their business but everyone could tell that shit wasn’t going to remain unserious for long.
“Ready as I can be. Feel like I was preparing all year for this.” I was shaking out my limbs to ensure I didn’t get tight as I waited. Runt’s face was calm but it seemed like nothing but Reece ever fazed this man.
“To be real you have been. For a year. A lifetime. We’ve been here before but right now we’ve got more at stake. You got your girl watching you and I got mine. We gotta show out.”
I bumped him playfully with my shoulder and his big ass ain’t move a centimeter. “I ain’t know you had a girl, Runt.”
“Bruh, I tell you like I told ha’ ass. She can try me if she wanna. This money in the bank ain’t changed me from the half-feral boy from South Cack. She play wit’ my heart she get a root put onha’.” He looked down at me and the look on his face had me cracking up.
“Not a root.”
“Hell yeah. My ancestors don’t play ‘bout me. You saw Sinners. I got Hu ladies all up and down my bloodlines. Them Geechie roots run deep.” The pride on his face was evident and I understood how he felt.
My folks were from the south, but I knew that the Gullah/Geechie people were a special kind of spiritual.
“That girl might run away fast from you she hears you talk like that.”
He chuckled and worked his neck from side to side like it had gotten tight. “She can try. But even at three-twenty I’ll chase ha’ ass. And even more, I’ll catch ha’.”
I thought about how I would feel if Ling’s ass thought about leaving me and I felt a tightness in my chest.
“Heard.” The team started to file out and I was ready to get this game started. “Guess we better show the fuck out so they don’t have a reason to run.”
“You locked ya lady down wit’ a baby. Reece keeps on and imma do the same.”
When I looked at his big ass he looked completely serious. Like his idea of trapping that girl was logical instead of incredulous. “Nigga, that’s toxic as fuck.”
“I from Charleston, you ain’t seen toxic yet.
” He was laughing unbothered as he put on his helmet and I followed suit, cause what that man did with his dick was his business.
I was gone feel some kinda bad if he ended up in a ditch somewhere on the Chisholm-Love property for fucking with Reece.
But I wasn’t about to step into another man’s relationship.
We trotted out onto the field, forgoing the regular fanfare that we enjoyed at home.
When Stew put it to a vote, we all said that if we couldn’t all be announced, none of us would be.
We were sure that the league was still announcing us, but we weren’t running out one by one.
We were a united team and that’s how we were going to show up today.
I ran out onto the field behind Runt and the rest of the offensive line to the cheers of the Desperados fans that had traveled to be with us today. We were met with boos but that shit only made me more determined to show the fuck out today.
I turned my head to the suite level and saw the one where I knew our families were sitting.
Parker had pull so our immediate families were in between two of the largest suites.
Sampson had reserved a suite next to Parker’s unbeknownst to all of us at the beginning of the season because he had that much faith in us.
Between the three suites, the people who didn’t want to be in the crowd were tucked safely up behind the glass.
I was damn sure not about to have Ami, Ling, my mama and siblings in the stands.
I didn’t doubt that Teo could handle himself, but the fans here were heavily favoring our opponent since they were a California team.
His ass was as hot-headed as I was calm so I needed him in the suite and out of trouble.
Everyone had done their best to put extended family in ticket blocks surrounded by Desperados fans, but that was always hit or miss.
Folks had been reaching out to me trying to get a hookup for tickets and like always I left folks on read.
If you weren’t with me in the trenches, there wasn’t any need for you to be with me on the mountaintop.
I hit the sideline and stood next to Chris who was looking petrified.
“You good?”
“Nigga, hell nah. You see this shit? Where we are?” He glanced around like he was in awe.
My normal backup had a mildly sprained hamstring so I knew Chris was going to see far more playing time than he would normally.
They hadn’t said much other than his not wanting to give his nerves time to set in.
I just grinned and hit his pads with my fists like Donkey Kong to shake him out of his awe. “It’s what we worked for.”
He blinked and nodded again before running his hand over his curly fade. “Yeah but damn. I ain’t think—”
“Nah, don’t even think about it. You do. Let muscle memory and determination take over. That’s all you need. You meet the moment where it’s at and never let it think it’s bigger than you. We not doing this self-defeating shit. Not today.”
He was nodding and I was thankful that he was just taking in what I said without panicking. His breathing slowed down and I was glad that he hadn’t started to hyperventilate.
“You right. For a second I felt like my guts were about to fall out but I think I got it together.” Chris’ eyes didn’t look as blown out as before and his shoulders were back, his head held high.
“Good. Cause I might be trying to do big shit today, but I’mma need everybody behind me to make sure we get this shit. You ready to win your first ring?”
His eyes lit up like he remembered why he was here. When Chris’ head started to nod again I could tell he was going to be locked in for the rest of this game.
“Hell yeah.”