“I mean … that shit doesn’t ever decline. It’s like you have no spending limit shit is always getting approved.”
“I don’t want to be just a pretty face.”
“I don’t see you that way.”
“You have to say shit like that. You’re my friend.”
Anytime she said that word it was like being inflicted with a thousand paper cuts. Yes, I was her friend. But the concept of being only her friend was taking some getting used to. “Are you calling me a liar?”
“No.” She drawled out the O and ended her statement with a pout.
“Nooooo,” I mimicked, nudging her with my shoulder. “So what’s it been like being back home?” We took to walking again.
“When I first came back, I had to move in with my mother. Anika was shacked up with some soccer player at the time.”
Frown lines creased grooves around my mouth. “Oh no.”
“Yeah, it was enlightening to say the least. I stayed with her for six weeks, and each one of those days I imagined burying her in the yard.”
“So you found your own place?”
“It was a studio. Tiny. But it was all mine. I own my place now, but I’m still so proud of that first apartment. The shower leaked and the landlord was creepy, but I got to make my own rules. And I didn’t have to bump into strange men on my way to the bathroom at night.”
“I can respect that. You’ve never been one for handouts.”
“In Jemini’s opinion, that is a moral failing.”
“She just wanted you to be her scam partner,” I joked.
“Do you know she’s currently dating a linebacker from the Raiders?”
“I mean … your mom is fine as hell.”
“Eww.” She shoved me hard. “I’ve heard that all my life. She’s forty-seven dating twenty-year-olds.”
“Momma’s gotta live too.”
Danessa pretended to throw up.
“You didn’t have to leave the party because of me.”
“Kinda did, you were freaking out over Colin.”
“I wasn’t freaking out.”
“You were all sweaty and zoned out.”
“Nah, that was about something else.”
“Did one of your exes show up unexpectedly?”
“No, you were my only ex in attendance.”
“Well, whatever it is, just know that if you ever need to talk I’ve got you.”
“I appreciate that.” I wasn’t prepared to see the disappointment in her eyes when I told her about my past.There were still hints of the young man Danessa fell head over heels for. The kid that was just happy to be out of his city and was using basketball as a means to escape. In my mind I was good at sports, and it allowed me access to some of the best schools in the country. Shit, these institutions made billions off the free labor of athletes. So while they were using me for NCAA championships, I was using them for an education and networking that could serve me in the future.
“You know … you’re not alone.”
