Page 18 of Guarding Our Love
“I got you, Coach.”
It’s crazy how much Sloan occupied my thoughts already. I needed to shake that shit off, so we could win this game. Coach walked away to talk to someone else. I sat down on the bench in front of my temporary locker.
“Aye, you good? The fuck going on?” Julian asked as he sat next to me.
“I’m cool.”
He looked at me like he didn’t believe me, but I assured him I was good. By the time halftime was over, I was ready to play and win the game.
“Warriors on three!” Coach shouted as we huddled around him.
“One. Two. Three. Warriors!”
We left the locker room and got right into action. In the second half, we were on fire. Each time I got the ball, I shot a three and made it in. We ended up winning by ten. The other team was good, and they made us work for it, but we got it done. I wouldn’t have heard the end of it if we had lost. Our losing during the first half wasn’t all on me, but I played a major part, and I didn’t want to let my team down.
“That was a close one, but we came out on top,” Julian commented as he sat next to me on the bus back to the hotel. “You ready to tell me what was on your mind?”
I looked over at him. “Nah. It’s nothing.”
He sucked his teeth. “It’s something. How’s Grandpop?”
“He’s good.”
“Okay. So, it ain’t that. It’s something, but I’ll leave you alone. You’ll tell me when you are ready.”
Julian put on his hood and leaned his head back on the seat. I would tell him at some point, but for the moment, there was nothing to tell.
I checked my phone and didn’t have any missed calls or texts from Sloan, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I sent her a text to the number on the card, put my phone in my pocket, and closed my eyes until we got to the hotel. There were bound to be multiple groupies out there, so maybe I could take one to my room to help me forget about Sloan for the moment.
It had beentwo weeks since I was sent pictures of my husband with other women and two weeks since I talked to or saw Calil. His grandfather had been transferred to a rehab facility, but he only stayed there for a week before he was sent to Calil’s house. I could no longer keep up with his case, but I knew he was in good hands.
Roy had been dodging me for the most part. He would come home when I was sleeping and would be gone by the time I got up in the morning. It seemed as though he knew what I needed to talk to him about and tried his best to avoid it. I had a trick for him, though. I woke up before he did and sat on the side of the bed, waiting for him to get up.
“Good morning. I’m surprised you’re up,” he noted as he stretched and wiped his eyes.
“Yeah, I figured I’d get up before you tried to sneak out again.”
He chuckled as he sat up and leaned against the headboard.
“Ain’t nobody sneaking out. I have this big case at work that’s been requiring all my time.”
It was my turn to laugh at his crappy excuse. I reached over to the table near the bed and picked up my phone. I unlocked it and went to the message that had the pictures.
“Or you’ve been spending time with her, or should I say them?” I shoved the phone in his face so he could see.
He squinted his eyes and stared at the phone. I waited to see how he would spin this. After he looked at it for a few seconds, he ran a hand down his face.
“There is no excuse that could make it look like it’s not what it is.”
“Thanks for not trying to lie. Why? Was it just these two or more?”
He inhaled and closed his eyes. His head fell back on the headboard as he kept his eyes closed. My heart pounded in my chest because I knew he was about to drop a bomb on me. I wasn’t prepared for it, but I needed to know.
“Sometimes I get bored, so I go to the strip club and fuck strippers.” Roy’s eyes were still closed, so he didn’t see the second the tears streamed down my face.
“Strippers? As in multiple?” It was a good thing I hadn’t eaten breakfast because it would have ended up on the bed or the carpeted floor.
“Sloan, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hu?—”
