Chapter 9
“Why do you have me outside so early?” River asked as I opened the car door for her.
“Because we have somewhere to go.” I kissed her cheek, then closed the door once she was settled into the seat.
It had been a couple of days since Brielle’s birthday party, and we hadn’t had a chance to see each other. We talked and texted, but we both had been busy with work, so I planned a day for us to spend some time together.
“Where do we have to go this early morning?” she questioned as soon as I got in the car.
I chuckled and grabbed the cup I had for her out of the cupholder.
“To have some fun, and look, I got you a protein shake.” I smiled and passed the cup to her.
She cut her eyes at me and frowned. “Ooh, a protein shake.”
An amused laugh escaped me from the expression on her face. She did not look pleased. “Don’t be like that, Babygirl. I put real effort into that drink.”
River sucked her teeth, then took a sip. I waited to see if she had something else smart to say. Since she took another sip, I pulled away from the curb.
“It does taste good, but it still doesn’t make up for the fact that you got me out here and the birds are barely awake.”
“Stop being so dramatic. It’s not that early.”
Most Saturday mornings, I went to play disc golf with a few guys I met over the years through work.
Instead of going with them, I decided to take River to take her mind off things.
I knew she had been stressed over the situation with her dad, especially after noticing how much weight he had lost when we saw him the other day.
I had to admit that things weren’t looking great, but we all were still holding out hope that things would turn around.
It was hard keeping my distance from River, but I had to so nobody would become suspicious. It was bad enough that Jordan spotted us walking in together, but we managed to keep the attention off us.
“You still didn’t tell me where we are going.”
“Did you finish your shake?”
I tried to avoid River’s question because I had a feeling she wouldn’t want to go if I told her where we were going.
When I glanced in River’s direction, she had her body slightly toward me with her arms crossed over her breasts, and her eyes squinted.
“Coye Johnson, if you don’t tell me now, I know something.”
I couldn’t help the laughter that came from my stomach.
“Calm down, girl. We are almost there.”
She looked out the window, trying to determine where we were and where we could be going.
“How did you even know I was off today?” she asked instead of trying to pry for information.
“Don’t worry about all of that. Thank you for coming. And don’t worry, we will have breakfast at some point.”
I knew she would need to eat when we were done, but I didn’t want her to put too much on her stomach, and she be too full to play. People didn’t know that disc golf was as physical as it was. I didn’t know when they first told me about it.
“I would hope so. The shake was good and all, but it ain’t going to keep me full all day.”
“Right. We’re here, though,” I informed her when we pulled up to the course.
Her eyes peered out the window. “What is this?”
I pulled into a parking spot and shut the car off. Since it was still early, there weren’t too many people out, and that was what I was banking on.
“It’s the disc golf course.”
“What?” I heard her question as I got out of the car.
I got my bag from the trunk and went to open River’s door, but she’d already opened it, with one foot on the ground.
“First of all, don’t open a door again when you are in my presence. Second, we are going to play a little disc golf. Just a little something to take your mind off things for a bit.” I helped her get out of the car, then kissed her lips. “Okay?”
She playfully rolled her eyes and giggled. “Okay, and don’t be trying to put me in my place.” She walked away like she knew where she was going.
I shook my head and followed behind her.
My eyes were glued to her ass in the heather gray joggers she wore.
She had on a matching hoodie and sneakers with gray and some other colors in them.
Her kick game was one of the things that attracted me to her.
River was a true sneaker head. She probably never paid attention to how many pairs of sneakers she had.
After catching up to her, I showed her to the course. I dropped my bag on the ground, then proceeded to explain the rules to her.
“Any questions before we begin?” I asked her once I was done.
“No, sir.”
I nodded, then got out the things we needed to play. In the bag, I also had bottles of water. Even though it was chilly, we still needed to stay hydrated.
“Ladies first.”
I laughed when River took her first turn.
“It’s not funny. How the hell am I supposed to throw this thing?” She pouted.
“Let me show you. You have to start from where it landed.”
We walked the short distance to where the disc landed, and River picked it up.
I eased up behind her, and she slightly jumped.
“Damn, you smell good.” I inhaled her scent. She smelled like them damn cookies, and maybe that was why I was so addicted to them and her. I dropped a quick kiss on her neck.
“Coye.” She giggled. “Focus.”
I did as she said before my dick ended the date before we got started.
“My bad. Couldn’t help it.” I reached for her hand that held the disc, and it seemed like the world around us disappeared. I enjoyed the feeling of our bodies being pressed together as her sweet scent filled my nostrils.
I felt it the moment River’s breathing changed. She was just as affected as I was.
“Coye,” she whispered. “Are you going to show me?”
I bit my lip, and my dick jumped at the seductiveness in her tone.
“I’ll show you whatever you want me to, River,” I whispered in her ear. I kissed her ear, then inhaled. I needed to focus on the task at hand before someone came this way and caught us in a compromising position. “Okay. It’s all in the twist of your hips and leg movements. Let me show you.”
I took the disc from her hand, then showed her how to throw it properly. I wasn’t worried about the rules, so I grabbed the other disc and let her try it from where we stood, instead of picking up the one I threw.
I stood back, and this time, when she threw it, it went much further.
“I did it!” She jumped and clapped her hands.
I smiled at her and walked near her. “Good girl,” I said, then pecked her lips.
We continued on the course, and each time, River’s throw improved. Since it was her first time, I chose a shorter course with only nine holes instead of eighteen.
An hour and some change later, we were at a nearby diner to get breakfast.
“That was fun,” River said after we gave the waitress our order.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
I sat across from her in a circular booth at the back of the diner. I made sure to face the door, just as Pop Dean taught us. He emphasized that a man should never have his back to the door, especially when he was with a woman. We needed to be aware of our surroundings at all times.
“How did you get into it?” She glanced around the restaurant and leaned forward. “I noticed we were the only two black people out there,” she whispered.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, most of us don’t play or even know about it.
But to answer your question, a customer mentioned it to me one day.
He and a few of his buddies play all the time, and one weekend, he invited me.
I ended up liking it, and it became a hobby for me. You see how physical that shit is.”
River leaned back against the seat and picked up her cup of water. I watched her lips wrap around the straw as she took a sip. The simplest shit she did turned me on.
“Yes. It feels like every muscle in my body hurts.”
“I can give you a massage when we leave here if you want.”
I wasn’t even trying to be on no freaky shit, but if it happened, so be it.
She rolled her shoulders back, then stretched her arms over her head.
“I think that’s a good idea.”
“I got you.”
The waitress came and dropped our food off. We both settled on the breakfast sampler with pancakes, eggs, and sausage. I liked this place because they sold breakfast all day.
I had a protein shake in the morning before I picked up River, and I knew the one I gave her had worn off after playing.
We took our time getting our food the way we wanted it.
“Mm. These pancakes are so fluffy.”
“Let me try it,” I said.
“We have the same thing, Coye.”
“Yours look better,” I told her.
Our plates looked exactly the same, but I wanted to see if River would feed me since we were in public. I didn’t think anybody would catch us, but still. I knew she was still cautious about us spending time together.
She cut a small piece and put it on her fork. I leaned forward so she could feed me. Her eyes were trained on my lips when I licked them. I slowly opened my mouth and took my time removing the pancake from her fork.
“Mm, they do taste better than mine.”
River laughed loudly. “You’re full of shit.” She put her hand over her mouth and continued laughing.
“I probably should have asked before now, but you ain’t fucking with nobody, right?”
River immediately stopped laughing. “No.”
“There’s nobody who thinks he still got a chance, is it?”
I noticed she never answered the question her mom asked her about ol’ boy when we were at dinner.
“No.”
“Good. I don’t want to have to fuck nobody up behind you, River. And you already know that you don’t have to worry about anybody else. The dick is yours, baby.”
There was no way I would risk ruining my friendship with my best friend, just to fumble River. I was trying to be with her for real whenever she was ready.
She looked down at her food as her cheeks reddened.
“Coye, don’t lie.”
“No lies, baby. I already told you I’m not here to play games with you. I guess you’ll see in due time.”
“I guess so.” She returned to eating, and I did the same thing.
Knowing River for as long as I did, I knew she needed someone who was about that action, so that was what she would get.