Chapter 11 #2
“I didn’t like it, I loved it.” Bri positioned her body so that she was sitting up, and the glare from the TV shined across her face.
I didn’t care what anyone else thought about her but she was gorgeous as fuck.
It was so easy to get lost in the images of what you saw in your mind about a person, and you overlooked the flaws they may have had.
I’d seen Bri at every stage in her life from winning championship games to losing a family member. So, I’d been there for the good and the bad. None of it made me want to say she wasn’t the one for me. If anything, everything that happened only had us growing closer together.
“There was a lot of thought behind everything that I have planned, and I left Tuesday and Wednesday open to you.”
The warmth from Bri’s mouth covered my dick like a soaked warmed blanket. “Now I want to show you how much I thank you.” My head hit the pillows as she sucked me until she drained me dry.
brIANNA
"Brooklyn, if you don't take this blindfold off me."
He'd been driving for a while now, and with each passing minute, I was becoming increasingly nervous.
He called and told me to dress for outside, so I did in a simple pair of shorts, a T-shirt, and sneakers.
Whatever he had planned for me couldn't have possibly topped our trip to New York. I was still in the clouds over the trip, and I lowkey hoped it was something he and I could do again someday. We’d been back for a few days now and the unexpected surprises got me in a chokehold, real bad.
"We're almost there," he assured me.
"Are we going on a hike or something? 'Cause if so—"
"Stop tryna get me to spill, Baby, and just relax."
Sighing, I did as he asked since I couldn't see anyways. What seemed like forever later, the car slowed and came to a stop. I was sure we were at our destination when Brooklyn cut the engine.
"Aht, aht!" He caught me trying to remove the blindfold and chuckled. "Impatient ass."
"More like anxious. I have no control with this thing covering my eyes."
"That's the plan, Sweetheart. Do you trust me?"
"Brook—"
"Yes or no, lil’ mama. You trust me?"
"If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have hopped a plane with you."
He laughed. "Aight. Lemme ask this way; do you trust me with your emotions? The part of you that needs a little healing. You trust me to do what I can to help repair that part of Bronx?"
I sniffled; the blindfold caught my tears. Unable to speak, I nodded.
"Aight." Brooklyn's door opened and closed. Seconds later, he opened my door and took my hand.
The sound of a basketball hitting the hardtop had my heart pounding. When Brooklyn removed the blindfold, the bright sun caused me to squint. We were in the middle of nowhere, at a basketball court surrounded by trees.
I chuckled and waved at PJ and Zoo, then turned to Brooklyn.
"What're we doing here?"
"We're here to play some ball." He tugged me behind him until we were standing in the paint with PJ and Zoo.
PJ and I embraced, while the fellas dapped each other.
"Two on two," Brooklyn announced.
What?" I hadn't played contact ball in years. Fear gripped me.
"Yep," he confirmed. "You and PJ against me and Zoo. Shall we propose a bet?"
"Brooklyn, I can't—"
"You trust me, right?"
I nodded, remembering our conversation back in the car.
"Then, you can," he solidified.
Inhaling the fresh air, I listened to the birds chirp, and the trees tussled as a gust of wind blew through. As the wind washed over my skin, I released the fear I felt and allowed it to drift away with the breeze.
"Okay," I conceded.
"The bet?" Zoo asked.
"We get a shopping spree," PJ tossed out
"Pshh! That's light work—"
"—In Miami," PJ added, interrupting Zoo.
He grinned. "Still light work."
"Exactly," Brooklyn threw in. "When we win, y'all gotta join Naomi in the grillz gang."
PJ's face hilariously balled up as the two men bopped fists.
"Oh, hell muthafuckin' no!" she blasted. PJ couldn't stand Naomi's grill. I, on the other hand, thought it was cute on Naomi. A grill for me? I wasn't completely against it.
"Aight, bet!" Zoo's laughter earned him a glare from PJ.
"Gotta be fair, Baby," he said, holding his hands up.
Taking PJ to the side, I gave her a once over, focusing on her exposed and toned abdomen. "I thought you said you could be preg—"
"Shhh! Damn! I said I don't know."
"Okay, but still. I haven't played in too long, and you know you don't want no damn grill. Maybe we shouldn't."
PJ waved me off. "You see them?" She bent her head Brooklyn and Zoo's way. They were all smiles as if they'd already won. "Chile, we're 'bout to beat their asses. The Bri I know can't resist a challenge. Once you sink your first shot, it's gonna be like you never stepped away from the court."
Smiling, I accepted the basketball PJ tossed my way.
First to ten," PJ laid out.
"Ten?" Zoo laughed.
"Yes, ten," I agreed. PJ needed to sit her ass down somewhere if she suspected she was pregnant, but I guess she knew her limitations.
"We got first since y'all champions or whateva," Brooklyn said.
I threw him the ball, and just like that, the game was underway.
Brooklyn dribbled the ball to the three-point line, then chucked it towards the basket.It clanked off the front of the rim. Zoo thought he had the rebound secured, but PJ knocked it from his hand and hustled to catch it, knocking Zoo over in the process. She went up for a layup off the backboard.
"That's one," I celebrated.
Zoo climbed from the ground, grilling PJ. "Damn, yo' ass gotta be so rough?"
Yes." She giggled. "All I know how to do is hang with the big dogs, boo." When she smacked him on the ass, he almost lost it.
“Watched that shit, Peeg. You tryna’ show out, now!” Zoo fussed at her then walked over to Brooklyn. "Nigga, how you miss that wide open shot?"
"Let's just play," I requested. PJ checked the ball in.
Palming it, every instinct I used to have while actively playing, filled me.
Brooklyn stretched his arms out, defending the paint.Right in his face, I pulled up and sank a deep shot.
By the time he tried to block my shot, the ball was already near the rim.
"That's two!" PJ sang.
"Brooklyn, mane. That damn girl has the highest scoring record at her high school for a reason. Guard her ass!"
Brooklyn grumbled as PJ checked the ball in. This time when it touched my hands, Brooklyn got right up on me. According to the surgeon that cleared me once my injury healed, my knee was perfect. Today would be the first time I truly put it to use.
Bouncing the ball, I kept my eyes on Brooklyn's. He made the mistake of swatting for the ball. I took off around him and easily sailed through the open paint for a layup. PJ blocked Zoo out like she was his size. Battling in the paint took skill, and PJ knew it well.
"That's three!" she and I said in unison as we slapped hands. We hadn't broken a sweat, yet, Zoo and Brooklyn were breathing hard with their hands on their hips, trying to catch their breaths. It was comical to say the least. For two men who were in shape, they surely didn't seem like it.
"You really lettin' them beat our asses like this?" Zoo griped ten minutes later, when PJ sank point number nine.
"Me? Nigga, you talkin' allat shit and haven't spent one play off the ground. Yo' big ass lettin' PJ run all over you. Soft ass!"
"Nigga, I ain't the one who played ball in high school and college; that's you! If this was football, this shit would be another story."
Brooklyn and Zoo going back and forth had me and PJ hollering. They sounded like two pit bulls going at it.
"Fellas!" I called, grabbing their attention. "Chill out and let’s win this game.”
Brooklyn glared at me and shook his head, making me laugh harder.
"See, just disrespectful," Zoo voiced. "I got fuckin' bruises and scrapes all over me like a nigga beat my ass. We all know that's a muthafuckin' lie. Next time y'all ask to play, I'ma sit out. Got me outchea lookin' like a throwaway and embarrassing me... Nah, I'll pass next time."
PJ was on the ground laughing.
"You're so dramatic," I said.
"Brooklyn get yo' girl, mane. Now she's taunting me."
I smacked my teeth and inbounded the ball to PJ.
"Just for that..." In a play as smooth as silk, PJ crossed Zoo over, sending him to the ground again, then threw me a pass that was so tough it whisked past Brooklyn’s face, narrowly missing his nose as I went up, caught the ball, and gently laid it off the glass.
“Yasss!" PJ shouted. "That's what I'm talkin' about, Bri!"
We were both celebrating the fact that I had truly just played my first game since before my injury.
Not only did it feel like old times, but it felt right.
After PJ and I finished celebrating, I walked up to a still arguing Brooklyn, squeezed between him and Zoo, then wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Thank you," I whispered before kissing his lips.
"Don't even try it," Zoo said.
Glancing behind me, I saw PJ trying to hug him, but he kept dodging her.
"Not after you just dogged me like I wasn't the love of your life," he said.
PJ, Brooklyn, and I busted out laughing. Zoo was a fool.