Chapter 10
The day of the game came, and surprisingly enough, I was excited. After letting the advice my mother had given me sink it, I decided that being embarrassed was stupid. Denying myself the opportunity to enjoy time with a guy I liked was dumb.
When we arrived at the suite, Mr. Israel met us right inside the door. He greeted me with a hug. “Wyndi, Kaynaan told me you were coming. It’s good to see you again.”
“It’s good to see you, too.” I pulled my mother to me. “This is my mom, LaToya Castle, and my best friend, Maloah Kenton.”
They both greeted Mr. Israel. “You raised a golf phenom,” he told my mother, who smiled at me lovingly.
“She definitely took to the game. I’m not sure where her skill came from. Nobody in our family plays golf, but Wyndi was determined to master it.”
Mr. Israel laughed heartily. “That sounds a lot like Kaynaan. We tried to steer him away from football so many times, but he was adamant. Finally, we gave him an ultimatum: Find a safe way to play or give it up. Next thing I knew, he was practicing kicking in my backyard, and I was paying for a kicking consultant.” They laughed together before Mr. Israel caught the hand of a beautiful woman lingering close by.
“Wyndi, you got to meet Shiloh at the homecoming, but both of my daughters are at home this weekend. Instead, I was able to bring the best of the best with me this time.”
The woman simpered and touched him gently on the chest in an “oh, stop” gesture.
“This is Kaynaan’s mother, my wife, Bethany.”
I immediately became shy. I extended my hand. “Hi, Mrs. Israel. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
She gave me a thousand-watt smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Wyndi. I can see why my son is so taken with you. I heard he could barely hold the golf club properly in your presence. You’re gorgeous.”
It was my turn to simper. “Thank you.”
She extended her hand to my mother. “Bethany.”
“Nice to meet you, Bethany. Please call me Toya.”
Mrs. Israel introduced herself to LoLo, then turned back to my mother. “Your daughter and my son. Seems like we might need to talk. You drink wine?”
My mother bugged her eyes. “Now see, you’re my kinda woman.”
They walked off to the other side of the crowded suite.
Mr. Israel gestured around. “We got this suite when Kaynann was drafted to the Coyotes. We have one at the Londynville Leopards stadium at home, and it’s been a great incentive for our employees at Grand Aviation.”
“Wow. So, when they’re successful at work, they’re rewarded with tickets to your suite?”
He nodded. “The people you see here today are some of our top associates, a few are our most popular cabin crew members, and a few are our decorated pilots.”
“That’s a cool way for your company to recognize excellence,” LoLo commented.
“Thank you.” He gave her a genuine smile. “The food and drinks are set up. Please get yourselves something to eat and find seats. Kickoff’s in less than thirty minutes.”
LoLo and I got food, then found seats right in front of the panoramic windows. The field looked so different than it looked when I watched games on television. It was surreal to be here in person, in a luxury suite and as the guest of one of the players.
The game wasn’t even close. The Coyotes murdered the Portland Pioneers. Once the final whistle blew, the crowd dispersed, and soon, there was just me, my mother, LoLo, and Mr. and Dr. Israel.
“Let’s head down. Kaynaan will meet us after he finishes up in the locker room.”
When Kaynaan showed up, he was freshly showered, dressed in a suit, and wearing a big grin. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was the first one he greeted.
“Yo, let me see the back,” he said after he released me from the embrace he had me hemmed up in. I turned slowly and showed him the bedazzled letters that spelled out Israel, along with his number, 5. “I like it.”
I turned back to face him, went up on my tiptoes, and placed a quick peck on his lips. “I’m glad.” I took his hand in mine and steered him toward my mother who stood next to LoLo. “Kaynaan, you know LoLo.”
“What’s up?” He embraced LoLo.
“Hey.”
“Mom, this is Kaynaan, and this is my mother, LaToya.”
He looked at me and twisted his face before turning his attention to my mother. “I don’t know why she’s playing with both of us, telling me to call you by your first name, . . . especially when my mama is standing right there. I think she’s trying to get me popped.”
His mother leaned around to insert herself into the conversation. “Uh, Kaynaan Daniel Israel, I’d better not hear you referring to Wyndi’s mother by her first name. You know how we do.”
“Yes, ma’am. But that’s her.” He pointed at me.
“Snitch!” I hissed.
“Mrs. Castle, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He gave my mother a one-armed hug around the shoulder. “I’ve been trying to . . . spend time with your daughter for a little more than a month now. She was a little resistant at first. She seems to be warming up.”
My mother chuckled. “Yeah. She’s running around here with your name on her back; I’d say she’s warming up to you.”
“I wanna let you know that my intentions toward her are pure. She got a flip mouth.” Everybody laughed at that, and my mother had the nerve to nod her head. “And she’s stubborn as I don’t know what,” he continued.
“She gets that from her daddy,” LaToya lied.
“But having her around me is like having a little piece of sunshine. Like, she’s beautiful, but she’s got a good heart.
I just want you to know that I plan to take care of her .
. . in every way, if you know what I mean.
She be acting all suspicious of my motives, but I promise I’m not on no bull.
I’mma take care of her, and everybody connected to her. ”
My mother watched him silently for a few beats. “I’mma hold you to that, Kaynaan Israel.”
“You should.” He kissed my cheek. I yawned. “You should head out. I plan to spend some time with my parents before they head back to Kentucky. I’ll call you.”
We all said our goodbyes, then my mother, LoLo, and I walked to my vehicle.
After making herself comfortable in the passenger seat, my mother spoke. “I really like him, Wyn.”
“Me, too.” LoLo agreed.
I liked him, too. Even though I tried hard not to admit it.
“What’d you think about his mom, Aunt Toy?”
“She was really nice. She’s a very accomplished surgeon.
” She held up her hand. “She didn’t tell me that.
I looked her up after everybody in there kept skinning and grinning in her face, calling her Dr. Israel.
Her husband introduced her as Bethany, so here’s me, calling her Bethany.
Anyway, she was super humble and down-to-earth.
She told me she does a girls’ getaway every year to a warm weather locale during January.
She asked for my email address so she could send me the information. ”
“Yeah,” I said, “when I met his dad and sister, they were super cool. For the family to be so wealthy and for both him and his mom to be so accomplished, the entire family seems chill.”
The game and all its hoopla had worn me out. After I dropped my mom off and brought LoLo back to my place to get her truck, all I wanted to do was shower and lay down.
A little more than an hour after I got home, I was doing just that. I was stretched out on my sofa, covered with a soft blanket, waiting to doze off while the television watched me.
My phone chimed with a text.
Kaynaan:
I’m at the front door. Buzz me up.
I reluctantly left my cocoon to buzz him up. I met him at the door after he climbed the flight of stairs. He pulled me into a hug, letting his hands roam all over my ass and thighs.
“I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”
“I know. After I dropped my parents off at the airfield, you were heavy on my mind. I wanted to lay up.”
It was like he instinctively knew that I needed that. “You’re talking my language. I’m exhausted.”
“Baby girl giving you a run for your money?” He moved me into the apartment and closed the door behind us, making sure to turn every lock. That was when I noticed the duffel bag he carried.
I didn’t mention it. I liked going to sleep and waking up to Kaynaan.
Something about his long, hard body made me feel safe and allowed me to sleep as heavy as I wanted to.
Instead, I addressed his question. “I won’t blame it all on her.
It was a combination of all the excitement and all the walking.
I mean, those suites are far as hell from the parking lot. ”
He chuckled as he lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. He carried me into my bedroom. When he put me down on the bed, I finished my thought. “I guess she’s paying me back by making me sleepy as hell.”
He pulled the long-sleeved T-shirt he was wearing over his head and quickly followed that up with removing his undershirt.
Kaynaan was an African adonis. His smooth, whiskey-colored skin was covered in tattoos that I traced with my tongue every chance I got.
The muscles displayed in his arms, chest, and washboard abs literally made my mouth water.
The mold was broken, smashed, and crushed into unrecognizable pieces when this man was made.
There was none like him. I removed the lounge wear I had on.
He grinned, showing me the deep dimples that I liked so much. “Oh, okay. I see you ain’t too tired to ogle me and shit.” He ogled me.
“Shut up.” I forced my eyes from his upper body, concentrating on pulling the blankets back on the bed instead.
The cargo pants he wore started coming down. “You referred to the baby as she. You believe me when I tell you the baby’s a girl?” He set his phone on the nightstand on that side of the bed.
“I always thought she was a girl,” I sassed, climbing beneath the covers.
“Whatever.” He was down to his boxer briefs, which he stepped out of quickly. He slid into the bed and pulled my body up against his.