Chapter 3 #2
When I woke up this morning, I had an ass of notifications and texts, along with missed calls. I had calls from everybody including my mama. Groaning, I called her back first to get that shit over with.
“Titan Maurice Samuels! What the hell is wrong with you, boy?” she fussed.
“Good morning, Ma. How are you on this lovely day?” I shot back sarcastically.
“Don’t play with me, little boy. I’m not one of these little whores you run around with,” she shot back.
“Ma, why you fussing? Damn, I just won a game yesterday and you’re calling me like I forgot to take out the trash.” I frowned.
“That’s the problem. You don’t know how to leave the trash alone,” she continued.
While she fussed, I scrolled my phone and saw exactly why she was fussing. The bitch from last night was on her knees sucking my dick at the club. She must’ve had one of her hoe ass friends record that shit.
“Fuck...” I huffed into the phone, forgetting my mama was on the line.
“Mhm. Now you see why I’m fussing. You need to tighten up, son,” she said with her voice much calmer now.
“I hear you, Ma. Let me call you back. I love you.”
“I love you too, son,” she responded before ending the call.
The next call was to my sister, but she didn’t answer.
“Fuck!” I bellowed.
My phone rang, and I answered it without even looking at it.
“Yeah?”
“Where are you?” Sasha snapped on the phone.
“I’m at the hotel,” I responded.
“I’m on the way,” she countered.
“Nah. I’m about to go home. Meet me there.” She hung up instead of responding.
I went to the bathroom to take a quick shower and grabbed my keys to head out. Graves was already waiting when I walked into the living room of the suite.
“Sasha gone fuck you up,” he laughed when he saw me.
“Man,” I dragged out. “My mama already been on my line with the bullshit. That hoe bet not let me see her ass again. I’m gone let Lani crack her shit.”
He laughed, and I followed his big ass out the door. When I made it downstairs, Paparazzi was every-fucking-where. Graves had to push them muthafuckas out the way. I hate that I didn’t drive last night. I had Graves drive, and he always parked up front.
By the time I got to my penthouse, Sasha was there, along with Danielle, my PR rep and her team. When they saw me, Sasha’s ass let me have it first.
“Titan, what the fuck were you thinking letting that girl give you head in a crowded club. Do you know how many eyes you have on you?” She fumed.
“Man, Sash. I was thinking about the nut she was providing. I wish these muthafuckas stay the fuck off my dick. They act like they wanna get on the muthafucka or some shit,” I snarled. I was over all this fucking public scrutiny.
“Well, too fucking bad Mr. Franchise. As long as you’re the top wide receiver, everything you do is their business,” she stated. “Now, we have to clean this shit up and try to get them to focus on the good shit,” she stated.
“They should’ve been doing that in the first place,” I mumbled.
“Well, they’re not, and that’s why I’m here,” Danielle spoke up.
“We need some photo ops of you at the site of the new youth center. Groundbreaking is set for the week after next, which is good because you’ll still be in town.
In the meantime, we need you to sit the fuck down and let us handle this.
Try to stay out of the way, Titan, damn,” she fussed.
I was tired of hearing this shit, so I left them upfront to do whatever the fuck it was they were going to do. Somebody would fill me in later. Right now, I was going to sleep. They knew how to let themselves out.
***
groundbreaking ceremony...
I was standing in front of a crowd for the groundbreaking ceremony of my new youth sports center, pretending like I wasn’t ready to go the fuck home.
Don’t get me wrong, I wanted this shit done.
I wanted the building... the programs, and everything else I’d been putting money behind since I came up with the idea.
I just didn’t care for the extra shit that came with it.
The cameras... the speeches... the city officials smiling in my face like they weren’t going to use my name for their next campaign flyer.
The Kinetiq reps were standing around in their suits like this was another stop on their corporate goodwill tour.
All of it was necessary, according to Darius, my agent, but necessary didn’t mean I had to enjoy it.
I had already spoken to my Sasha, Darius, two people from Kinetiq, Briggs, who was the team’s head coach, and three reporters before the ceremony even started. By the time I spotted my mama, I was ready to use her as my excuse to get away from everybody.
She was standing near the stage with my sister and my pops, looking proud as hell.
My mama had on one of those smiles that made me feel like I was eight again, bringing home a good report card while my pops stood beside her with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans, nodding at people who spoke to him.
I made my way over there, and my mama opened her arms before I could even say anything.
“There goes my baby,” she gushed.
I hugged her and kissed her cheek.
“I appreciate y’all for coming.”
“Where else were we supposed to be? This is big, baby, and I’m proud of you,” she praised.
“At least you’re doing something productive this time,” my sister joked.
“You sound like a hater,” I countered.
My pops stepped forward and gave me one of those firm handshakes he thought counted as affection. I let him have it, though.
“I’m proud of you, son,” he said, low enough for only me to hear.
I nodded. “’Preciate it.”
That was all I had for him, and he knew it. My mama must’ve felt the tension between us because she touched my chest and looked up at me just as Trey walked up with his tall ass, like he owned half the city. Technically, with the way the Generals were paying him, he probably did.
“Damn, Ma, you out here looking like somebody’s rich ass auntie,” Trey greeted, hugging my mama like he belonged to her too.
“Hey, baby,” my mama laughed. “You look handsome.”
“Thank you. It’s okay to say I look better than this nigga.” He smirked.
“Nigga, you wish.” I frowned at his dumb ass.
Before Trey could say something else stupid, Sasha waved me over from near the stage. I looked at her and frowned because I knew that meant it was time for me to go stand up there and act like I had practiced a speech I never wrote.
I kissed my mama again before walking off. “I’ll be back.”
“You better watch your mouth on that microphone, Titan Maurice,” she warned.
“I can’t make no promises.” I grinned.
She just shook her head in response.
When I got to the stage, Coach Briggs and Steele was standing with a few of my teammates.
Tatum, Kobe, had pulled up too, which I appreciated even though I wasn’t about to get sentimental with them.
Kobe was already looking around like he was trying to figure out which reporter was bad enough to risk his image for, and Tatum looked like he wanted to be anywhere but in front of cameras.
“Big day, Samuels,” Coach Briggs said, shaking my hand.
“Yes, sir.”
“This is a good look. Proud of you.”
“Preciate it, Coach.”
Miles slapped my shoulder. “Look at you being all community leader and shit.”
“Nigga, what?” I laughed.
“I’m serious. This is big.”
“Yeah, it is,” I countered.
A woman from the city got on the mic first and started thanking everybody who had anything to do with the project. Then another man got up there and said the same shit with different words. By the time they called my name, I was more than ready to get it over with.
The crowd clapped as I stepped behind the mic.
I looked out over everybody, then down at the first few rows where a bunch of kids who were wearing jerseys and some had footballs.
Some of them had on Cannons gear. A few had on Generals shirts because Trey’s big-headed ass couldn’t let me have one event without his team showing up somewhere.
I adjusted the mic and cleared my throat.
“I’m not about to be up here long because y’all already heard enough people talk.”
A few people laughed, and I saw Sasha close her eyes like she was praying I didn’t say the wrong thing.
“I just want to say I appreciate everybody for coming out. This center has been something I wanted to do for a while, and it means a lot to see it finally getting started. A lot of people look at sports and only see the money... fame... the endorsements, and all the stuff that comes with it. I get that because that’s the part everybody sees. ”
I looked toward the kids again.
“But before any of that, sports gave me somewhere to put my energy. It gave me structure. It gave me people who stayed on me when I needed it. It gave me something to chase. Everybody doesn’t have that, and everybody doesn’t have somebody pushing them in the right direction.”
My mama was watching me with tears in her eyes, and I looked away before she made me lose my train of thought.