AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I hear them rumbling about how I won’t just let them do what I asked them to do tonight, but I ignore them and trek to the front door.
Leslie and I have been running around like mad people for the past month, planning our upcoming nuptials for June. Since Les is having dinner with her folks, I’m gathering my best man and groomsmen for an evening of sports, food, and good vibes. It will be our first get-together at my home since the Super Bowl bash.
I open the door to find Terrance King standing on the other side of the frame, looking like he’s stepped straight off a GQ magazine cover. He doesn’t usually dress to impress, buttoday, the huge offensive lineman wears black jeans hugging his legs and a fitted tee highlighting his defined biceps. He moves with a contagious energy, and it’s clear something has shifted in him.
I clasp his hand and pull him in for a brotherly hug. “What’s up, T?”
“You got it, Mr. Off the Market,” he jousts, alluding to the huge yard ensemble my mother and Marjorie had delivered that reads “Off the Market in 30 Days.” Beside the sign is a huge image of me surrounded by bronze and beige balloons.
“My Mom and Godmother are guilty of buying the sign. I thought it was hilarious when I saw it, but I’m so damn proud to be a taken man in a month that I have no problem with my neighbors knowing I’m coming off the market as soon as Leslie can say, “I do.”
“I heard that,” Terrance says.
“And what about you? I didn’t expect you to arrive early. Thought you’d be spending every minute you could with your new lady.”
Unsurprisingly, that statement elicits an enormous smile from Terrance. The man is an absolute beast on the football field, but he appears to become putty in his lady's hands.
During the past season, there was speculation he was dating an internet personality named Clair LaFlair. Because of Clair’s subliminal posts, everyone knew she was linked to one of the Saints' players, but no one knew who it was. For a while, most players on the team found themselves called out by fans on social media. The Internet did what the Internet does and went into full investigation mode. Since only five players on our team are married, fans posted theory upon theory until they found old photos of her being linked with Terrance.
Terrance didn’t confirm or deny their status. But when we became Superbowl contenders, Clair Laflair posted some lovey-dovey messages and tagged Terrance, making it clear that’s who she was with. The image which garnered the most attention was one where she claimed to be “a part of his future” as tears streamed down her face like cascading waterfalls. In the tearful post, she announced they were getting married and verified the news with an up-close picture of her hand with an engagement ring.
Terrance’s engagement to Clair had to be the shortest engagement ever. The next thing I knew, we were being crowned champions of the NFL, and his not-so-officially announced engagement to Clair was off. Terrance pivoted, posting a picture of his high school sweetheart with the caption,I’m so glad a bad situation exposed the truth and led me to the real one that got away. Now, I have my heart, my forever, my Tee, my TT, the only one that ever mattered, one and only and mine for life, Terrica Thomas from the County.
This message caused another media swirl, but Terrance didn’t miss a beat. In the past few months, he’s been protective of Terrica and more open about their love and relationship than he has been about anyone.
He pats my back and steps back, shaking his head. “It was hard to leave her. Umph, umph, man. You just don't know. I’m ready to go back home now, just thinking about her, whew,” he drawls in his slow Southern vernacular.
Despite being relatively private before, he now seems to radiate happiness and vitality and wants everyone to know the source. As we walk towards the den, I can’t help but think about how Leslie has the same effect on me.
“Trust me, man, I have an idea. A good woman can change everything,” I smile. We laugh as we draw closer to the wet bar in the center of the room. I point toward it with a nod. “Have yourself a drink.” I hand him a glass and a bottle of whiskey.
Terrance shakes his head, his eyes crinkling at the corners with amusement. “I’ll take the glass, but I want sparkling water instead.”
“You’re not drinking with the fellas today?” I ask curiously.
He gets a bottle of sparkling water off the counter. “Maybe later. Chugging down sugary alcoholic beverages isn’t good for me. Terrica already has brought her Lowndes County, Alabama, smack-yo-mama cooking to Washington. I’m not complaining, but I eat Southern home cooking every day. I better go light on the alcohol before I’m too out of shape to protect the line next season.” A wistful smile tugs at the corners of his mouth, and he absentmindedly runs his thumb around the rim of his glass as if remembering something he’s eaten or something his woman said or did.
I pour myself a glass of whiskey and add a little Coke. “Sounds like things are going good for you. You went from a mystery relationship to engaged, unengaged, and ready to marry your high school sweetheart whenever she’s ready, all within a few weeks.”
The corners of his eyes crinkle in amusement. “Things are really going good. Good-good. Honestly, I don’t know how I let her escape. She was always the one.”
I walk over to the leather couch and take a seat. “Have a cigar?” I hold the box out to him.
“Now, that I will take.” He gets one of the large cigars and lights it. He takes a long drag from it and blows the smoke into the air. “Trinidad?” he asks of the cigar type.
“Yep.”
He sits on the reclining chair and takes another puff. “Good choice. I can tell by the chocolaty flavor.”
“They’re my favorite brand.” I take a cigar out of the box and roll it around in my hand. “Les has been showing me someof your photos on IG. You and Terrica are a good-looking couple. Almost as good-looking as me and Les together.”
Terrance chuckles. “Aw man, no competition. We’re just trying to be like y’all, man,” he drawls, then bites down on his bottom lip as if tasting something delicious. He seems lost in thought for a brief moment before returning to reality with a smirk. “Life has definitely been treating me real good. Believe me when I say it’s good.”
My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Dang, man. It’s that good, huh?”
He nods firmly and leans back in his chair. “Absolutely.”
“So, will there be two summer weddings for the Saints?”
