Page 8 of Defending the Post
Shifting my body toward Ivey, my nose gave a slight raise.
“Marquise?” I asked.
“Who else?” she questioned.
I was hoping she had a brother I hadn’t met yet because Marquise’s ego was bigger than the arena.
“Don’t try my brother. He gon’ roll out the red carpet for you. After he gets over his denial. The stakes are high on this one. I’m betting Malcolm 10k he will be in love after a month. Make him grovel,” Ivey said.
I covered my mouth as I listened to her intentions to bet on me and her brother hooking up.
“I’m not interested in your brother. He is mean, and I don’t talk to mean people,” I informed, diverting my attention to my gummy candy.
“Denial pays the most. I’ll put an additional five thousand on you holding out,” she said.
“You are shameless, but I like it. Get ready to lose 15k,” I said, as I fumbled to get my bag open.
“He’s been looking for you since you left,” Ivey teased.
I scoffed before I offered her a few of my gummies, but she turned me down. As I looked for Jhae, I found myself in a peek-a-boo showdown with Khaira. She giggled every time I opened my eyes and wiggled my fingers. Anissa gave me a warm but inquisitive expression. I heard about the Shark, but I don’t have anything to hide or an agenda.
Chapter Three
New Territory
Marquise
Damn, she’s fine as fuck,I thought to myself as she extended her hand in my direction. The open rose tattoo on her brown skin called for my tongue to outline the vines. I knew better than to shake her hand as my dick would’ve sprung up, leaving me embarrassed. Leaving her hand dangling wasn’t the best response, but it’s all I could do given our environment. The sound of my brother cackling earned a side-eye from me as we approached the other end of the floor.
Malcolm lifted his jersey up, covering his mouth. Something we did to prevent people from reading our lips.
“When is the funeral for your player card?” he asked.
I scoffed before I found my opponent to defend before the ref tossed the ball in the air. My teammate, Chauncy, stood in the circle with Thompson from Seattle. After they jumped, Seattle took first possession of the ball, which made no sense. I swear Chauncy’s height didn’t give us any advantages. Gram tried passing the ball through the middle to Smith but I intercepted it and headed full speed down the court. Thinking about what Malcolm said pissed me off as I approached the net.
Gram called himself trying to track me down to defend but he couldn’t plant his feet in time for the charge. I leaped with my hand cocked back and slammed through the hoop. With my elbow still in the net, I opened my legs to give him a nut salad.
The crowd roared and pointed as I landed on my feet. I glanced over to see Erin watching the replay on the screen. She covered her mouth with the same rose tattoo covered hand she offered me. I stood smirking in Gram’s face, antagonizing him to do something. He tried walking up on me, but a ref and Seattle player gripped his arm. When Malcolm and Chauncy joined me, things got rowdy with the crowd yelling. Chauncy couldn’t play worth a damn, but he would scrap for me. The official called a time-out to cool the court.
Coach called us back to the sideline to clear the floor. Standing on the sideline, I couldn’t stop myself from staring at Erin. She snapped her fingers, quoting Icey’s lyrics. The thought of enjoying another man’s anything bothered me. Jealousy slapped me in my chest and I almost hurled at the emotion.
It didn’t make matters any better when she gave me an attitude. Malcolm egged the shit on by laughing as he followed me onto the court. Erin seemed naturally timid, but it wasn’t your usual shyness and for some reason it pulled at me. She had an edge, but it had to be drawn out of her, and I wanted the challenge. Erin being plus size raised the hunt within me. If I had to guess, she was maybe a size fourteen with those pretty lips and round breasts. The mohawk with the faded sides and three etched parallel lines highlighted her face.
“Bro, what do you think?” Malcolm asked, as the referee called a time-out to review a play.
I covered my mouth with my jersey. “Yeah, I’m staying away from her,” I said.
“My older brother is scared?” Malcolm teased, and I side-eyed him before separating.
The attraction to Erin was there, but something else within me stirred, and I didn’t like that shit. I needed to listen to the warning signs to keep myself safe. As the game progressed, I glanced over to see she was gone, and it bothered me. At first it was subtle, but it grew until I couldn’t focus on the play and caused a turnover.
I slapped the ball with my hand to get my mind back on the task at hand. After three missed shots in a row, I hit a mid-range jumper over Anderson. On the next ball possession, I passed to Malcolm after the play collapsed and he hit the three with ease.
We increased the lead to fifteen, forcing Seattle to take another time-out. I walked to the bench, sipped water, then searched the seats to see Erin was still gone. Catching the eye of Pops, he hit his chest with two fingers and pointed backward. It’s his way of telling me she was at the concession stand. He did the same thing with Mom sometimes when I couldn’t find her after extended plays.
“Don’t worry, your girlfriend hasn’t left,” Malcolm said, as we walked back on the court.
If he wasn’t my twin, I would’ve shoulder bumped his ass. Later tonight, I knew I would get a message from Pops. Not only did he ease my mind, but he smirked during the process. Yeah, I know for sure I need to either call Brittany or someone else to occupy my time. I’ve never searched for a woman in the crowd or gotten upset. Is this how Pops and Malcolm feel about their wives? I can’t put my finger on it. It’s something about Erin that’s different.
