10. Nyle Brown #2
Brittish lowly snickered before turning around to face him. “How would you feel if I told you we were more than friends?”
“It would be a little weird to me. He’s my coach.”
“I understand that, but him being my boyfriend won’t change anything about him being your coach. Our relationship is separate from that.”
In the rearview mirror, I saw AJ looking at me. His eyes were lowered into slits, and I could tell he was trying to process everything. I didn’t expect him to immediately be receptive, but I also hoped it didn’t take him long to accept it.
“Does he make you happy, Mama?”
Without hesitation, Brittish replied, “Happier than I’ve been in a long time, Son.”
“Is he mean to you?”
“Not at all.”
“Do you love him?”
“I’m getting there.”
All her answers seemed to satisfy AJ because he simply nodded his head and changed the subject to Zaina’s grandfather. I listened to them go back and forth about everything. Hearing the subtle pain in AJ’s voice gave me an idea.
Once we arrived at the restaurant, we were there for a good hour before we were all done eating and ready to go.
“Do y’all mind taking a ride with me somewhere?” I asked.
“Where are we going?” AJ interrogated.
“Somewhere special, if y’all don’t mind.”
Brittish shrugged. “We don’t have anything else to do today, so I’m good with that. What about you, AJ?”
“I’m good with it too.”
“Perfect.”
The ride to Camden Cove was a lengthy one, but it would be worth it to see AJ’s reaction.
He had fallen asleep on the way there, so I told Brittish where we were going.
She was shocked and excited. She’d been wanting to take AJ to the Cougars stadium for a while but never had the chance to.
As she was looking everything up, she saw that they had a game that night, so we decided to make it a day trip.
We arrived at the stadium, and Brittish woke AJ up. He sheepishly rubbed his eyes and looked around. When he realized where we were, he instantly perked up with the biggest grin on his face.
“Are we really here?” He all but yelled, unbuckling his seat belt and moving forward.
“Yes, we are. Nyle thought it would be a good way to keep your mind clear today.”
“Oh, wow! Thanks, Coach. This is dope. I can’t wait to tell my friends about this.” AJ gushed.
“Whenever we’re not on the field, you can call me Nyle. I don’t mind,” I informed him, and he gave me a thumbs-up.
I helped them both out of the truck and went to pay for our tour.
It had been years since I’d visited the stadium, and they had done some major upgrades.
AJ was fascinated with everything. The smile on his face never vanished, bringing an unexplainable joy to my heart.
There was a moment where he and Brittish were looking at something.
She had her arm draped over his shoulder while he rested his head on hers.
I couldn’t help but to take a picture and capture the moment for them. It was priceless.
“Nyle? Is that you?” AJ pondered, pointing at a picture in one of the cases.
Swaggering over to them, I leaned in close, and sure enough, it was. “Oh, wow. I didn’t even know they had that here.”
“You got to play here before?”
“I did in college. It was for the college World Series, and it was one of the best experiences. We lost by two runs, but it was probably one of my most memorable games. Playing on the field was awesome, especially seeing everyone in the stands.”
“Why didn’t you play pro?”
“It wasn’t meant for me, and I accepted that early on. Playing all throughout college was blessing enough for me.” I peered down at him. “Do you want to go pro?”
AJ smiled. “I do. I want to be great like Banks Callahan. He’s one of my inspirations.”
“You know you can do anything you put your mind to, right? If you want to go pro, put in the work. But do you know what the biggest thing is?”
“What?”
“Keeping God first through it all. With Him, anything is possible. He knows your heart and your intentions better than anyone. Seek Him first, and I bet He’ll give you the desires of your heart.”
“You sound like my mom. She tells me that, too, and so does Mama Z. I believe y’all,” he revealed, stepping closer to the case and scanning all the pictures. “I try to make sure I pray before every game. Sometimes, I forget, so I’ll pray while we’re playing.”
“That’s the perfect way to do things too, AJ. Not only pray for yourself but for everyone on the field and the opposing team. We’re all there for a reason.”
AJ turned toward me and gave me a once-over. “You know, Nyle, you aren’t bad at all. There’s a reason my mom likes you. I can see why. You gotta promise me that you won’t hurt her, okay? She’s very special to me, and I’ll be your enemy if you do.”
I held my hand out and waited for him to take it. “You have my word, AJ. I’ll never do anything to intentionally hurt your mother. She means a lot to me, and so do you. My words go for you as well. You’re a part of her, so it’s a must I treat you just as good as I treat her. You cool with that?”
“I’m cool with that.”
We dapped one another up, and he surprised me by giving me a hug.
My gaze went to Brittish who had been standing off to the side, watching us.
She blew me a kiss, and I winked at her.
Now that I had AJ’s trust, I felt everything would continue to go smoothly with us.
I wanted them to be able to put their love, trust, and faith into me.
While I was a work in progress, I felt I was on the right track, and I had Brittish to thank for it.
“Today was everything, Nyle. Thank you,” Brittish stated as we pulled up to her house.
Once again, the ride had gotten to AJ, and he was fast asleep. He’d worn himself out at the game. Between eating and yelling along with everyone else, I figured he wouldn’t be any good once we got in the truck.
“It really was. I’m glad we got to do this. I had fun with y’all.”
“I think it’s safe to say that AJ has warmed up to us. He barely talked to me at the game. I almost felt some type of way.”
I chuckled. “We just share the same love and passion, so of course, he gravitated to me in the moment.”
“That’s understandable. I guess.”
We shared a laugh before a comfortable silence fell over us as we sat there, gazing at one another. Grabbing her hand, I kissed the back of it and admitted, “I don’t want to leave you.”
“And I don’t want you to leave.” She glanced back at AJ then back to me. “How about I get him inside, in his room, then you can come in.”
“Why does it feel like we’re sneaking around?”
“Doesn’t that make it fun?”
“It does.” I couldn’t deny it. Brittish had me feeling like a horny teenager trying to sneak in her house without her parents knowing.
The corners of her lips curved. “Exactly. We gotta keep it spicy. Plus, AJ might be cool with it, but he’ll have a million questions if he sees you coming in with us.”
“No, I won’t.”