Ricardo Rocko Sanders
Current Day
I stepped out of the dressing room and turned toward the mirror closest to me.
My eyes scanned the pinstriped purple-and-black suit, the white collared shirt underneath, and the green tie.
Then my eyes went to the shoes on my feet.
They were heavy, black-and-white. I felt like I was about to go tap dancing.
I shook my head at my reflection staring back at me.
“Man, I look like a fucking fool,” I mumbled as I turned and looked at the fit of the suit. It wasn’t the best option in terms of looks, but it fit perfectly and wouldn’t require any alterations.
The attendant who had been standing to the side waiting came closer once I spoke.
“No, you don’t. You look like The Joker, and I think it’s the perfect costume for the event.
If you want, you can stop back by on your way there, and me or one of the ladies here can paint your face for you and spray your hair green for it to come together.
” She offered as she came closer, fixed the tie, and smoothed the collar down.
Before I could decline her offer, the door next to me opened and my teammate Speedy stepped out.
He was dressed in a cheetah-print suit, with a cane in one hand and a cup damn near bigger than him in the other.
Anyone could tell immediately that he was dressed as a pimp.
As soon as we made eye contact, we both started laughing at the other.
“I don’t know, Rock, I ain’t feeling this shit.” He scoffed and pushed the scarf tied around his head out of his face.
“Yeah, me either. I’m just staying at the hotel,” I shot back, unbuttoning the blazer so I could take it off.
“Hell nah. I didn’t come all the way here to stay in the hotel. We’re going; let’s grab this shit and get the night over with.” He disagreed.
I didn’t respond; I just went back into the dressing room to take off the costume and get ready to buy it, because I knew he was right.
Tonight was my coach’s annual Halloween party.
Although I had been on the team for years, this was my first year attending.
I wasn’t the partying type of nigga. I was always to myself and out of the way.
But my teammates always made sure to come back year after year and let me know that I had missed a hell of an event.
It was actually one of the first things that the vets told me when I was traded to Santa Clara.
It’s no secret that the coach throws the wildest Halloween parties, and this year it was in Sacramento.
Had it been up to me, I would have skipped the costume, but it was mandatory for entry.
Partying wasn’t my thing. Neither was dressing up and letting muhfuckas paint my face and spray my hair.
But I guess the costume wouldn’t kill me.
I put my regular clothes back on, packed up the costume, and opened the door to find Speedy already waiting, fully dressed. I ignored the goofy look on his face, kept the clothing in my hand, and went to the counter to pay for it.
He’s the only reason I agreed to come. Speedy was a couple of years younger than me, and he’s the newest addition to the team.
For the eight months that he’s been in Santa Clara, he’s been practicing and working out with me.
As soon as he heard about the Halloween party, he was all in.
We’re two totally different people; he’s wild as hell.
But of everyone on the team, I’m one of the only people that he fucks with outside of work.
The woman who had been assisting us came to the counter to check us out.
“Did you decide whether you’re coming back to let me paint your face?” She questioned.
“Nah, I’m good. Appreciate it.” I pulled out my credit card to pay for our things.
“I hate that for me. I needed an excuse to see you later.” She gave me a flirtatious grin and then handed me the receipt.
Out of pure reflex, my eyes scanned her body. She had been flirting since the moment that we stepped into the store. She was brown-skinned, with her hair slicked back into a bun. She wore green glasses that matched the color of her uniform. She was decent. But I wasn’t interested.
“If you’re not busy tonight, come to the Halloween party downtown.” I offered.
She nodded and then greeted the people who came in, and we left.
“Rock, you my nigga, but you tripping. I would have started the night off inside the party and ended the night inside her.” Speedy scoffed, and I shook my head at him, knowing that he wasn’t telling a word of a lie.
“I’m good.”
“You need to let loose. You are too fucking uptight and serious. You already turned the vacation into a business trip,” He grilled me, making me laugh.
He wasn’t wrong. We had a seven-day break before conditioning was supposed to start.
Aside from the party, I planned to spend the other six days looking at buildings so that I could open a youth sports facility.
Not only did I not need the distraction, but I wasn’t one of those niggas who thought that I had to have a woman in every area code.
Despite being a professional athlete, I never used it to my advantage.
I don't use it to get women, and I don't mention it right away when we talk. When I’m not in Santa Clara, women don’t even know who I am when we cross paths, and that’s cool with me.
Although it’s one of the highest-paid sports, baseball players aren’t as widely recognized as football and basketball players.
My focus had changed from women to my career. We were coming off the World Series, and I had just won MVP. Because of that, I signed the biggest contract of my career. Life was coming at me fast, and it was a big adjustment.
Speedy couldn’t understand my focus because he didn’t have the same upbringing I had.
I was born and raised in Compton. A place that I spent my entire life trying to escape.
Most niggas couldn’t understand it unless they lived it.
I had bust my ass for this moment, and now that I had it, it wasn’t time to ease up. Everything else had to take a backseat.
This Halloween party was going to be the only night that I put down the weights, sleds, and resistance bands and just chilled before it was back to work. I could only hope that whatever coach had in store tonight would be worth the distraction.
****
“You make this right. Man, right here!” I snapped at Speedy as he was about to bypass the turn the GPS was on. He slammed on the brakes, making us both jerk forward and me turn to him with a tight jaw.
“I saw that, Rock. It didn’t look right, so I was about to keep going. I can’t see through these tints.” He said calmly, like he had done nothing wrong.
I didn’t even respond, just rolled down the window so we could try to get a better look. The street was dark, but with the window down, I could see flashing lights in the distance, and I knew that after almost an hour and a half of traffic, we were almost at Coach’s party.
Once we made the right turn, we drove for about five minutes before we reached the start of the event.
The way the team described it didn’t match what I was seeing.
This wasn’t a normal Halloween party; this was an event.
It reminded me of Halloween Horror Night at the fairgrounds, except that it was taking place in one of the most popular areas of downtown Sacramento.
People were walking around doing magic tricks, walking on stilts, wielding chainsaws, and blowing fire.
We stepped out of the truck and gave the keys to Valet, who handed Speedy a ticket.
A DJ was playing music so loud I could feel the vibrations in my chest, even though we were nowhere near it.
We walked through the crowd, dapping up a couple of my teammates and hugging their wives every so often.
Then a woman walked up to us and tried to give us some adult treat bags filled with THC edibles, flavored condoms, and Don Julio shots.
Most of the stores downtown were closed, but the open businesses were part of the horror fest too.
The local businesses had changed their names to match the occasion.
The streets were damn near shoulder-to-shoulder.
Coach had brought the entire city out. He had artists performing, games, and every open restaurant had signs that said everything was free.
“Where the drinks at?” Speedy yelled over the music.
I shrugged. I barely drink.
“Nigga, you just signed a 120 million dollar contract. I don’t want to see a bottle of fucking water till next week. Flush your liver next week.” He argued as he walked in front of me and stopped at the pub.
“What can I get for you, my love?” The bartender asked Speedy.
“Don’t call me that. I’m easy.” He shot back, making her laugh. “Let me get Coke and Don Julio Reposado.”
Then she turned toward me.
“And you?” She asked.
“The same,” I said.
It felt like we walked a mile through the event.
Then we passed a dimly lit spot. It was named “Museum of the Forbidden.” A timer on the outside told you there were only five minutes until the museum closed.
There was no line on the outside like the other attractions.
So, I walked up to it and pulled the handle.
Speedy didn’t question it; he just changed direction and came behind me.
When I rounded the corner, it was empty; no one was there, just eight display cases. I was about to walk out when I read the sign on the wall: “Press the button if you dare.”
I pressed the button in front of the first display case, and it slowly opened to reveal a woman.