Page 59 of In the Safety's Zone
HER POPS WAS gone shit a brick knowing I was here.
Hell, she might too.
I hadn’t told anyone I was coming besides my brother and Billy: not even AP. I wasn’t trying to be on the type of time where I distracted her.
That would’ve had her daddy after me even more. She messaged me this morning about telling me that her father had thrown up the knowledge of me in her face at lunch. She’d been distracted with what I had sent her and let it slip her mind. I’d gotten on a red-eye flight right after we’d hung up last night to ensure I got here on time. We’d been talking for months and she’d won two grand slams in that time. Now here she was in the finals for Wimbledon, killing it too. This nigga needed to let me be the wind beneath her wings and stop fucking with me.
Billy pulled some strings and got me a seat at the game. As an agent, she of course had access but she’d turned down the better seats up front. She was pissed that I hadn’t informed her of what was going on saying she could’ve gotten better seats or even put me closer to her family but that was the last thing I wanted. I was gonna chill with my hat low, watch her kill this final set and then hopefully go out somewhere and eat some of this nasty-ass British food. I couldn’t trust a country that considered baked beans breakfast food but I would try to find something edible for her.
The things we do when our noses are wide open.
I’d tried some shit on the plane that had me thinking the food was the reason their asses colonized the entire world: the shitwas depressing. Add to that it was only sunny like fifty days out of the year and I would’ve risked it all on a boat with rats and the plague to escape this place too.
They were still wrong for fucking up the whole world with their bullshit instead of just doing better on their island.
My southern ass thought I was gone step out in this weather and sweat but it was damn near cold out this bitch. I was thankful that I wasn’t quite as tall as Antwan and not nearly as well known because folks only gave me a cursory glance they normally reserved for all Black people, meaning checking to make sure we were one of the good ones, before they moved along. I hadn’t worn anything flashy and kept my clothes fairly neutral just so I could blend in. I didn’t want her to look up and see me and it throw her off her game. Phro was always focused and I didn’t want to be the reason she wasn’t. Without jewelry and wearing a white polo and light tan linen shorts, I blended in with everyone else. We had to wait for the horse-faced royals to take their seats before shit could get underway. The pomp and circumstance of those people irked my nerves but while I was in their country I kept that shit to myself.
I was glad for the shades I was wearing and that my seat was just slightly behind her line of sight. Her father was sitting mid court and I hoped he would keep his mouth shut and wouldn’t be shouting shit or talking to her crazy. ‘Cause if he did I was going to have to run up to his section and get him to settle down. By choice or by force.
I saw Aphrodite walk out onto the court and I could tell by the look on her face that she meant business. The girl she was playing had been throwing playful shots and I knew it would be her holy grail to knock Phro down off the winning streak she’d been on this year. She’d swept the majors so far this year after only winning two last year. That was the type of Cinderella storythat people loved to interrupt but I knew that this year was going to be marked my Aphrodite Harper’s success.
She looked beautiful with her locs off her face in the two strand twists that I loved. She’d pulled her hair up in a ponytail and wrapped the ends to keep her hair out of her face. She was nodding her head to something in the headphones I’d gotten her and I felt good as hell seeing her in the warm up jacket I had customized.
When I glanced back at her parents they were both too busy on their phones and talking to this extra creole looking muhfucka sitting next to them. His eyes were far too focused on Aphrodite in a way I ain’t like. The longer I stared the more I realized he was the one who’d been in them shitty pictures they took yesterday. The ex. The old ass nigga dating a little girl just to get her daddy to like him. I wasn’t trying to go to English jail so I prayed he kept his tongue civil and his distance far away from my ol lady.
My stomach was bubbling like I’d downed hot Cheetos, a milkshake and a greasy ass hamburger. I glanced at my neighbor because I knew my shit sounded like I was microwaving quarters but they had their eyes on the court. They finished the shit up and I saw Phro nodding her head as she shook her opponent’s hand. This shit was about to start and I prayed for her protection with my hand on the cross on my neck.
I wasn’t worried about jinxing her because nothing could stop her destiny. I felt blessed to witness this shit and be a part of it. I sat forward locked in, as Phro went to her side of the court awaiting the other girl’s serve.
Let’s get this shit, lil baybeeh.
That bitch wasn’t talking shit now. Phro had been on her game pushing herself harder than I’d seen her before. I loved that she was using that girl’s words to motivate herself to end this shit. My hands were gripping the hard ass seats because there was no yelling out and shit. I had to remind myself that I needed to be as inconspicuous as possible until the game ended. The folks sitting next to me had tried to make small talk but I really wanted them to shut the fuck up. I kept dodging their questions since they couldn’t take the hint that I was focused on the match and they finally just focused on one another.
My baby was up one set, and it was now match point. Her opponent was fighting for another point but she was fifteen down to Phro. When ole girl with the last name with more consonants than should be legal hit that shit, I could already tell that Aphrodite had studied her game. She forehanded it but it was soft as hell, meaning the girl had to come up to the net. When she returned it to Phro she sent her scrambling, but Phro hustled to get to it before she knocked that shit in the back left corner of the court. It was a spot Illegal Constants couldn’t get to, which meant that Phro was the new Wimbledon Champion. With her victory sealed, I got my ass up cause I was too hyped to sit. I’d watched plenty of games but having to keep my cool for the last three hours had me ready to get loud. My eyes were on the court and I watched Aphrodite go down. When the pain I could see from my seats flashed across her face my body was moving without me even realizing it.
I was racing down the steps and hurdling over the barrier running at full speed toward her. I heard the people screaming for me to stop but the fucking match was over. Her opponent had even waved over medical when she went to shake AP’s hand and realized something was wrong. In the confusion, I wasn’t stopped because I was sure they couldn’t understand if I was there with the staff the family or what. I was thankful I had thedamn pass from Billy around my neck so they wouldn’t arrest my Black ass. Security should’ve tackled me before I could even get this far though.
“AP!”
I eased a few people aside including the fucking camera men who were all up in her damn face blocking the aid that she could’ve been receiving. She looked embarrassed and petrified and I did what I could to get to her. When her eyes locked with mine I saw the relief in them. Without another word, I scooped her up and she wrapped her arms around my neck.
“I know you hurtin’ but we can get you to the locker room to check you out okay?”
She nodded into my neck and when I felt the dampness on my shirt I knew her shit had to be bad for her to be crying. Phro was one of the strongest women I knew so if she had tears, this shit was serious.
Fuck, maybe my ass had jinxed her.
Negative thoughts, memories of being called worthless and a curse tried to creep up but I had to put Aphrodite’s needs ahead of my trauma and take care of her.
All too late, I realized that I’d made a spectacle of this moment as cameras were flashing and people were trying to put a mic in her face. I saw someone who looked pale enough to be a part of this organization and headed toward them.
“Locker rooms so a doctor can check her out?” She was looking around like this wasn’t the country English originated in. I knew my ass had an accent and shit but if they could understand a Cockney muhfucka they could understand a nigga from N.O. no problem.
“Who are you, sir?”
“I’m her boyfriend.”
I felt her arms squeeze me almost in agreement and I hadn’t thought twice about saying those words. I hated that I’d takenthis moment and taken the spotlight off of her. We were together but hadn’t wanted anyone to intrude on our happiness. That shit was over now and life was going to come at the both of us fast. I knew it would test all the months of work that we’d put in to see if our bond was as strong as we thought it was.
