“Yeah, she looks like something right now.”
Earlier that day, she’d been in a bit of a hysterics as she’d forgotten to do one piece of homework. He knew her grades were important to her.
Blue slapped his friend in the chest. “Back off.”
He headed to where the coach was yelling the state of play he wanted them to practice. When he was in the zone, he didn’t look toward Laylah once, but it was hard. He wanted to kiss her.
After an hour of intense training, it was off to the showers.
Most of the guys were talking about the play or the girls they intended to screw at the next party.
“So, Blue, have you got into her pants yet?” Paul, one of the players, asked.
“Don’t,” Mitchell said.
Blue turned toward Paul. “Excuse me?”
“Come on, dude, this thing with Laylah can’t be serious. We’ve seen you screw the groupies. It’s got to be some kind of bet or something.”
Even though they stood in the shower, Blue’s anger surged.
“Dude, this isn’t funny,” Mitchell said. “Back off.”
“I’m not the only one who thinks this is fucked up. She’s a fat chick. I figured you wanted to see if you could bag even the most desperate of girls.”
Blue didn’t think about it, he reacted. Butt-ass naked, he charged forward and slammed his fist against Paul’s face. The guy didn’t hesitate and began to hit him back.
Within a matter of minutes, he had him pinned on the ground, but Mitchell was there, pulling him off.
“What the fuck is going on here?” the coach said.
“You be careful what you fucking say,” Blue said, spitting in Paul’s direction. “You owe me an apology.”
“I owe you shit.”
“No. You disrespect my girl, you disrespect me.”
“Oh, please, you can do so much better. We all believe it.”
“So that’s how it’s going to be.” Blue shoved Mitchell off. “Is that what you all think?”
He looked around at the guys. Some of them shook their head. Others averted their gazes.
“Then I’m out,” Blue said.
“Blue, dude.”
“No, I’m not doing this. You think that girl is beneath me. I love her, and this, I can’t deal with. Fuck you all and fuck this game.”
He turned on his heel as they groaned.
The coach followed him. “Son, you’re making a mistake.”
“I’m not.”
“I want you to cool off, and then come back and see me afterward.”
He shook his head. “No. You stay. Your parents are already pissed at me.” He squeezed her hand a final time before stepping away. Blue didn’t look back as he left the school grounds. The second time within a couple of weeks. His dad was going to be informed, but he didn’t care. All that mattered were his feelings for Laylah.
His father had warned him about how they could get when they found the right woman, but with Laylah, he never even realized he could feel this way.
He threw his sports bag into the back seat and glanced back at the school. Mitchell was just heading out the door, but he didn’t want to have a confrontation, so he climbed into his car and took off.
****
After Becky dropped her off at Blue’s house, Laylah debated going inside. She stared up at his mansion of a place and retreated a few steps before finding the courage to walk down the long driveway toward the front door.