9. Khalil
One Week Later
“This is your last semester before you’re off to the NBA.
How are you feeling about everything?” the Athletic Director, Mr. James, asked me while we sat in his office.
Counselor Dickerson sat in the chair in the corner; the assistant Athletic Director, Mr. Adams, sat in the chair across from him; and Coach Eddie sat beside me.
They wanted to meet with me to go over a few things before the combine. This week had been up and down for me. Not only was Nia on bullshit, but Coach also having us practicing and conditioning for a game this coming Saturday was wearing me out.
Even though I wasn’t in the best of moods, partially because of Nia and Piper, I still sat up in the chair and smiled. “I feel good. Academically, I’m flourishing. Athletically, I’m still the best to ever do it. And physically, I’m built to last. No complaints here.”
They all chuckled.
“That’s good to hear. The combine is just a few short months away. You ready for that?” AD Adams asked.
“I am.”
“He’s more than ready. With his attitude, plus skill, I’m sure multiple teams are going to be coming for him,” Coach Eddie boasted as he slapped my shoulder, gripping it firmly with a smile on his face.
“I’m only playing for my home team,” I confirmed. Texas was cool, and even the California Mavericks and Atlanta Clips wanted me on their teams. But I missed home. I wanted to represent for my city, alongside Isaiah Walker. When I read his bio, it was crazy how much our lives mirrored one another.
He, too, was a young father, his moms married his stepfather, Asanti Lewis, and was drafted before he graduated college. He now played for the Detroit Vipers.
The shit was trippy. But I resonated with him in a major way, and I knew with us on the same team, we would be unstoppable.
“Then you better show out,” AD Adams said with a chuckle.
“You already know I am.”
“With the baby, Nia, and having commitments to the school, how are you mentally and emotionally?” Counselor Dickerson asked.
My smile faltered some. I honestly didn’t know how I felt.
All I knew was Kiyanne was my world and made me happy.
As far as Nia, I could never understand her.
I made it painfully clear that we were never getting back together, and although I had sex with her sporadically, it didn’t mean I would ever take her back.
Obviously, that wasn’t resonating with her. I couldn’t blame her, though. I knew if I continued to have sex with her, it would give her false hope.
I cleared my throat. “I mean, I’m good emotionally, for the most part. Aside from having so many responsibilities, I think I’m mentally prepared for what’s to come. Every obstacle, every late night, and every day I’m on the court is all for my daughter.”
I could see them all nod in agreement.
“Good. Just want to make sure you’re emotionally healthy and mentally prepared for your pending success. And as you know, my door is always open for a chat,” Dickerson said.
I nodded.
“Welp, I guess we’re done here. We’ll see you at the combine,” AD James dismissed.
“Thanks,” I replied and stood. I said my goodbyes to them and hurried out of James’s office to get to my business class on time.
All week, Piper had been avoiding me. I wasn’t able to see her the day everything went down, because I had to get back to Kiyanne. My people were blowing my phone up, telling me they were going to call the police on Nia because she had taken Kiy and locked herself in my bedroom.
I had to break the door down and force her out of my house. I’d never put my hands on a woman, but shorty was wilding and had me ready to choke her out.
After all that shit, I decided to take a mental health day, see my people off, and spend time with my nana and daughter. Of course, Nana and Moms had questions about Piper, but I honestly had nothing to give them besides the fact that I liked her. Even more now that I’d tasted her.
I was obsessed.
So obsessed, I found myself having to smell her panties she left over my house just to start my day off right.
Weird shit.
I know.
I couldn’t help it. Her scent, her taste, and her overall vibe had me wanting more of her. That was only if she stopped ignoring me.
We aced the assignment as I knew we would, but the whole time Piper ignored me, talked around me, or didn’t talk at all. When I tried to talk to her alone, she’d cling to her roommate and walk off as if I wasn’t talking to her.
It wasn’t cool how she was playing me, but I understood. Today, I had different plans for her ass. She wasn’t running from me today.
After attending my classes, I met up with Lamar and Keith in the study hall. Since these niggas were on academic probation, they needed my help with some assignments they missed because they decided to chase pussy instead of having their heads in the books.
I was tempted to leave their asses hanging, but I needed them on the court with me this Saturday. The three of us were a force on the courts, so I needed these fools to tighten up.
I walked inside the study hall and immediately saw Piper in the corner with Jaylin Griggs. They seemed a little too fucking cozy for me. The way they sat so close to each other had the green-eyed monster appearing inside of me.
I was usually a cool dude. I didn’t sweat chicks, because there were too many options. For some reason, seeing Piper after my tongue had been in her mouth, pussy, and ass had me wanting to crack Jaylin’s jaw just from the way he was smiling at her.
The nerve of her to ignore me after giving her the best orgasms of her life.
Instead of doing what my heart told me to do, I listened to my mind and continued my stride over to where my friends sat just a few feet away from their asses.
I made it my business to sit facing them to keep an eye on what the fuck they had going on.
“What up, my nigga? You good?” Lamar asked once I took my seat. I straightened my face, which had been set in a scowl I wasn’t aware of, and shook from my daze.
“Yeah, my bad. Just been having a bad week,” I partially lied.
“Nia still giving you problems?” Keith queried.
I shook my head. “Nah, but her ass keeps texting me and shit. I’m glad we never run into each other on campus, but somehow, I know she’s about to make it her business to find me.”
“We need to hit that frat party tonight, get our minds right, and have a little fun,” Keith suggested.
“Hell no. You niggas need to fucking focus. Y’all fucking partying is the reason we’re here now.
Tighten up because if you niggas leave me to hold the team together by myself, it’s gon’ be a fucking problem.
” Normally, when I threatened them, they would laugh it off, but today wasn’t the day for me.
The fact that the woman I never paid attention to in these three years we’d been attending True had me flustered, irritated me.
My eyes kept going over to their table while I pulled out textbooks and paper for my two partying-ass friends.
The way her smile lit up a room had me wondering why the fuck I hadn’t been paying attention sooner.
She was dressed down in one of her normal jogging suits, but because I felt the fatness of her ass and the soft yet firmness of those pretty-ass titties, the memory of it all had been burned inside my brain.
Jaylin touched her hair that she kept in two braids to the back, and I read his lips, asking her if her hair was real.
Clown-ass nigga can’t tell real hair from fake hair?
“Lilo?” Lamar called out.
“Why you staring at girly so hard? I saw her get in your whip the other day. You hit?” Keith asked, smirking at me. I could see them both waiting for me to confirm or deny either claim, but I wasn’t doing either.
“Man, fuck her little stuck-up ass.” Lamar snarled. “I see why Sabrina can’t stand her. Her attitude is shitty.”
“Watch ya mouth, bruh. You know I don’t like that disrespecting women shit,” I told him.
“She do kind of got a stank attit—”
“Focus.” I stopped Keith from continuing before I had to steal on his ass. “Let’s start with chemistry. Mr. Holcomb stay testing, and that’s one of the main subjects you niggas failing in.”
“’Cause that shit hard,” Keith mused.
“It’s only as hard as you make it, fam. So, with that being said, get that notebook and pencil out, and let’s get to work.”
It only took Lamar and Keith forty-five minutes to catch on to the work.
I was actually proud of these niggas because I thought I was going to have to spend hours teaching them what I considered light work, but they surprised me.
Lamar and Keith weren’t dummies, or else they wouldn’t have been able to attend True, but because this was our final year, they wanted to slack off and got put on AP because of it.
Being the one who always made sure my peers succeeded, I was going to help them in any way that I could.
The whole time we sat in the study hall, my eyes never left Piper and Jaylin.
I watched them study whatever the fuck they were studying, him going to the vending machine to get them snacks, and them looking at one another’s phones.
I didn’t like that shit, and I was happy when my tutoring session ended with Lamar and Keith.
“What you about to get into, Lilo?” Lamar asked.
“Possibly a little trouble. I’ll see y’all in a minute.” I snatched up my satchel and moved hurried feet over to the table in the corner that had me ready to knock a nigga’s head between the bookshelf and chairs.
When I approached them, Piper looked up at me with a frown on her face, but my eyes were locked in on Jaylin.
“Aye. Go find Ciara, my nigga,” I told him, swinging my head toward the exit. His eyes grew noticeably, and I watched the color drain from his face. I didn’t care who he cheated on his girl with; it just wasn’t about to be Piper Sawyer.
“Khalil, what’s up, bro? I didn’t know this was you,” he said, gathering his belongings and placing them in his raggedy-ass bookbag.
“It ain’t him,” Piper barked lowly.
“You will be,” I said with confidence.
She rolled her eyes at me and put them on Jaylin. “You don’t have to leave, Jaylin. This young man doesn’t own me or this study hall.”
Yo’ cute ass about to fuck around and find out, I thought, eyes going to Jaylin with a raised brow, face set in stone.
“You still standing here?”
“My bad. I’ll see you around, Piper. Thanks for the—”
“Bye, nigga,” I said, cutting him off. He smirked a little before shaking his head and walking off. Piper stood next and got her belongings as well. I didn’t say shit as I allowed her to walk away, and I followed. Once we made it outside, she spun around and looked at me with fury in her eyes.
“What are you doing, Khalil?” she asked, expression growing turbulent.
“I don’t understand your question, shorty.”
“You stare at me all day and then have the audacity to interrupt my study session, acting like you own me.”
I do own you. You just don’t know it yet.
I smirked at her. “Your words. Not mine.”
Her face softened a bit, and she let out an exasperated breath. “This isn’t a game, Khalil. What is it that you want from me? I have been avoiding you for a reason.”
“Yeah, about that. You let me get a taste of something good, and now you don’t think I want more of it? How that work, baby?”
“You have a girlfriend.”
“Who the fuck told you that? When was I present for that declaration, Mi Amor?”
“When the mother of your baby tried to square up with me. I’m not fighting over dick I haven’t even sampled yet.”
“You can have it whenever you want it, baby. But what you not gon’ do is try to play me like a sucka. I ate that pussy, so as far as I’m concerned, it belongs to me now.”
“No, it doesn’t,” she sassed. “And the sooner you realize that, the better off you’ll be.”
“Listen, I’d love to stand here and chat, but I have to get to Kiy. Come home with me. I’m not taking no for an answer either.”
“That sounds like a you problem. I’m not going anywhere near your house ever the fuck again.”
“She doesn’t live with me, Mi Amor. I would never play you out like that. Nana let her in because she didn’t know you were still there. I admit that we have sex from time to time, but I’m not on that with her no more. I want you.”
“Why?”
“To which statement, baby?”
“The last two.”
“Come home with me, and I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”
She shook her head and looked away. I knew she was skeptical.
I hated that she doubted what I was telling her, but I needed her to trust that I wouldn’t do that to her.
In just one week, she had been living rent-free in my mind.
I thought of the night we shared so many times.
This shit had to come to fruition, or I would have to take drastic measures to make it happen.
I wanted her. No matter what I had to do to get her, Piper was going to be mine.
“This is crazy, Khalil. You don’t even know me like that.”
“I do know you. Been knowing you. You want me to ruin my Versace jeans on this ground and beg you? Ain’t no shame in my game.”
I saw the mischievous smirk tickle the corner of her mouth, and I prepared myself to drop down on my knees.
“Don’t!” she exclaimed, grabbing me by my shirt and pulling me toward her before my knee hit the ground. “I don’t know why you’re doing this, but . . . ugh! Come on. And I swear, if your child’s mother tries to fight me again, I’m going to beat both y’all’s ass.”
I smiled and pulled her closer. “I’m going to protect you. Always.”
“Yeah, . . . we’ll see about that.”