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“This is going to suck for the club.”
Angela tugged on the charm around her neck. She brought it to her nose and breathed in the lavender scent, but her stomach still churned. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“You better call Z. He shouldn’t be blindsided with this.”
Anegala nodded. But then another thought iced her over. What if Cory saw the story? He thought it was cool for Angela to date Isaiah, but the news wasn’t interested in the hows or whys of what happened. They would make it sound sordid and dirty. He didn’t need this embarrassment right after his parents abandoned him. She picked up her phone with shaky hands to call Z. Right now she had to trust in her feelings for Isaiah, because if he wasn’t as serious about her as he let her believe, then she’d succumbed to her heart for nothing but a whole lot of pain.
CHAPTER 18
Although the first practice didn’t start until two weeks after the summer camp ended, Isaiah met up with Will, Kevin and Jacobe at the Gators’ auditorium to work out and prepare for the start of the season. He hadn’t seen Jacobe much this summer. After his friend had proposed to his girlfriend, he’d spent a lot of his free time with her. Isaiah didn’t begrudge him. Jacobe had gone through some rough stuff with unfaithful women in the past and deserved happiness.
He and the guys worked out for a few hours, ran a few drills for another hour and were getting dressed in the locker room when Isaiah finally told them about Angela.
Kevin’s eyes widened and he put his fist over his open mouth. “Damn! You really let Bridget go? For good?”
Isaiah nodded. “I did.”
Will shook his head. “For a stripper?” His voice said he didn’t believe it.
“She’s not a stripper, she’s a bartender,” Isaiah said, defending Angela.
“In a strip club,” Will replied. He had one foot on the bench in the locker room and was tying the laces on his sneakers.
“She’s also a child advocate—she’ll have a master’s degree at the end of one more semester and she took in her nephew when his parents ditched him. She’s more than a bartender at a strip club.”
Kevin’s eyes narrowed. “Wait? Did she give you some sob story? You know you can’t believe the sad tales these women out here give you. They’re always looking for a come-up.” He pulled a black T-shirt out of his locker and covered his tattooed chest with it.
“She didn’t give a sob story. She’s not trying to get something out of me,” Isaiah said with more patience than he felt. Only because he understood his friend’s concerns did he not let his frustration show. Angela was more than where she worked, and he didn’t like that they immediately went to her job at Sweethearts. “We talk. We click. Y’all saw it that first night I went into Sweethearts. Hell, you teased me about it for days afterward.”
Jacobe shrugged. “Yeah, because you don’t typically go for the women we meet at places like that. I knew you were feeling her, but I didn’t think you’d dump Bridget for her.” He picked up his brush and ran it over the top of his low-cut fade. “That’s some serious shit right there.”
“None of you liked Bridget. I barely saw her over the past year. You can’t tell me you think I’m crazy for splitting from her.”
A chorus of no’s came from his friends. Will dropped his foot and pointed at Isaiah. “Bridget wasn’t right for you, but that doesn’t mean Angela is. You’re ready to get married and have a bunch of babies. You really want to make her your wife?”
He did. The idea scared the mess out of him. That was one admission he wasn’t ready to lay out to the world. “I’m with her. The end. We’ll see where the future takes us.”
Kevin chuckled. “Play on, playa. Enjoy your time with ol’ girl. She is fine. Just don’t start spending all your money on her until you know she’s legit.”
Isaiah shook his head. “I don’t know why y’all are talking to me as if I’m stupid. I know to wait and take my time before trusting any woman we meet.”
The door to the locker room flew open and the three of them stood up. No one slammed into the locker room unless they were ready for trouble. Coach Gray stomped in and all of their shoulders relaxed. He glared at Isaiah.
