11. Ryder
11
Ryder
“ H ey man, it’s Ryder. I need to talk.”
“What’s going on? Where you at? Everybody else is here.” Daryl’s concerned voice carries through the phone, and I can hear the squeak of sneakers on the court in the background. He and the team are already in LA and running drills while I’m stuck driving through the dessert like an idiot.
“I’m on my way. Got caught in some weather last night and they had to reroute the flight.”
“Seriously? That blows. You missed drilling the new plays, but I guess coach will be updating you on the tweaks. We’re on downtime before the game now. When do you get here?”
I take a glance at my phone’s screen. “I should be there in a couple hours. I rented a car and decided to drive out from Phoenix.”
“Alright. Keep me posted if anything comes up. You know Marvin’s my man, but we got a tradition here, and I don’t like to throw things out of whack right before a game.”
I bob my head even though there’s no one to see. There’s no denying I live for the game, and there’s no way in hell I would willingly give up my starting position to Marvin or anyone else. Daryl and I are part of the Mavs’ five regular starters, and we have our own rhythm together, a little bit of magic. Frankly, they don’t pay me to sit on the bench. I take a deep breath before voicing my next thought.
“You know the photographer they’ve got working on the documentary?”
“Curvy girl? Yeah, I know her. She had me shooting layups last week. Easiest photoshoot I’ve ever done. Know what I’m talking about? Just goofing around, man. They can call me in for photo shoots all day long if it’s gonna be like that. Not to mention the view didn’t hurt. She’s easy on the eyes if you know what I mean. What’s going on?”
“This is personal man, you feel me?”
“Dude. What happened?”
“Just tell me you got this under wraps.” I’m more than a little annoyed when Daryl’s chuckle is the only thing I hear for several seconds.
“So, you slept with her.”
“Shit, Daryl! I told you to keep it under wraps!” I slam my hand on the steering wheel, ready to strangle him.
“Cool it, fool. Ain’t nobody around but me. The boys are stretching, and half of them are out grabbing lunch. What’s the problem? You think it’ll be a work liability or something? She’s a hottie. I would’ve done her if I wasn’t with Stacy.”
My blood boils at the thought. “I swear to God I’m going to break your nose, D.”
“Fuck, man… chill! I said I’m with Stacy.”
“Listen, I don’t know what to do. I know her.”
“No shit, we all know her man. It’s okay if you don’t want to see her again. How many photo sessions do you have left anyway?”
“It’s not that! I know her! She’s my little sister’s best friend!“ I cringe as I say it. What kind of moron am I? What the hell was I thinking? Only, I know exactly what I was thinking because I’ve been thinking it non-stop for two weeks, and now I’m freaking out.
“I just left her, man. We stayed in the hotel together last night.” I pause to try to describe what must be one of the best nights of my entire life, but I end up just shaking my head. “There are no words, man. No words. It’s never been like this before.”
“Is that so?” Daryl’s lilting tone says he’s clearing teasing. “Sounds like Ryder wants to ‘ride her’ again.”
“Man, the woman’s never going to talk to me again. I left her! I just…just left! I had the best night of my life, literally found the woman I want to be with for…forever! And what do I do? I panic! I panic like some kind of teenager, and I bolt for the hills. What the hell?! What kind of moron does this?!” I’m so anxious that I can’t get the words out fast enough. It’s like it wasn’t real until I said it, and now I can’t make it stop. Daryl’s voice interrupts my rant.
“Whoa there. Hold up. I can see she’s gotten under your skin, but this is fixable. There’s no need to panic. I once got a woman fired and accidentally broke her nose in the same day, and she still slept with me that night.”
“Dude, that girl was messed up in the head. I’m pretty sure she ended up in a psych ward after your roommate called the cops on her.”
“True. But all I’m saying is, these things can be fixed.”
“Look Daryl, she’s got me turned inside out. You know me. I’m hot on the court but cool as a cucumber with the ladies. I’ve literally never run out on a woman before. I’m telling you, we fucked. She blew my mind, and then I woke up and I was staring at her and I could see it all .
“I could see the future when I looked at her, and it was us going on vacations together, decorating a house, making babies. I’ve never once thought about getting married, and I woke up this morning thinking about it. It’s literally all I can think about. I want my ring on her finger.
“Daryl, level with me. Have you ever known me to skip breakfast for any reason?”
“ Hell , no.”
“Hell could literally freeze over, and I’d still sit there eating my breakfast burrito. You know that.”
“You have never said truer words.” Daryl’s response would be comical if I hadn’t possibly just ruined the best thing – next to basketball - that ever happened to me.
“I fucking fell for her man…I fell for her, and I started dreaming about church bells. And all of a sudden I didn’t know myself anymore. This isn’t me, and I don’t know how to handle this. What the fuck do I do?!”
I stare out the windshield on autopilot as I try to process my new reality.
“She’s got me…she’s got me by the balls.”
“Well, if we didn’t have the game I’d say to hell with it, turn around and go get your girl, but… it looks like you’re royally fucked.” Daryl’s answer isn’t comforting, and I feel my shoulders slump in defeat as I answer.
“I’m the biggest idiot of all time.”
“Yeah…but your three-pointers are the shit. So…” Daryl trails off for a minute and then after several seconds of silence, I hear him heave a deep sigh.
“Alright man, here it is. I don’t know what’s going on with Curves and Cam, but this is what you’re going to do.” There’s no give in his tone, and something about it calms the chaos in my mind. I subconsciously straighten in my seat and wait to hear his next words.
“You’re the champ. You hear me? You’re a two-time MVP, an All-star, and last year you were an All-NBA selection. You’re on a straight trajectory to the Hall of Fame, on a multimillion-dollar contract, and a man who sees the game better than any other player I’ve met in my life. You’re a god-damned visionary. You don’t just play for the Mavs. You work magic each and every fucking time you step on that court. You, Ryder Jones, can do anything . And if this girl is it, then you’ve got your whole life to make this right, all the time in the world. Ya feel me?”
“Okay…”
“You’re gonna come over here, get your shit together and play like the titan you are, and we’re going to pound these mother fuckers into the ground.” I nod my head again. Hell yeah. I can do that.
“Then you’re gonna go and buy your girl something nice. You’re going to take her out to a nice restaurant and you’re going to apologize like a grown-ass man. And then you’re going to woo your girl and show her why she can’t live without you in her life.”
“Woo her.” I mumble it to myself. The age-old plan, lay on the charm. I take a minute to process, and I can hear Daryl rummaging around, still with me but on the move. A second later his voice comes through again.
“So, she’s your sister’s best friend, huh?”
“Yeah, we’ve known each other since junior high. She was living with her aunt. She and my sister are about four years younger so we weren’t really close, but she was always there.”
“They good people?”
“Yeah…yeah, they’re good people.”
We end the call a moment later, and I stare at my phone before setting it on the seat beside me. It doesn’t help that I’m separated from the team the day of the game. Everything about this situation sucks balls.
I stare out the windshield at the road in front of me, hardly registering the scrubby landscape zipping by on both sides. I spend the next half an hour reliving every look, every touch from last night until I recall exactly why I’m in a car, driving across the country by myself. I heave a sigh while self-loathing washes over me for the fiftieth time since I walked out of that room.
I treat her like crap for two weeks straight and when I finally get a shot I turn right back into a jackass. I stare at my phone knowing I’ve got a lot of grovelling to do…and I don’t even have her number.