“Fuck!” I yelled. “Fuck!!”
“Dude, what the hell?” Tanner, my team captain came over and helped me up from the ground. “You had that! What’s up?”
“I’m sorry, my bad,” I huffed out, clenching my jaw and rubbing my hand over my sweaty head. “This is some bullshit.”
“This is the state title on the line. Whatever the fuck is bothering you, let it go or put it into the game. We cannot lose this shit, dude.”
“Kylan!” Coach called me out. Fuck.
I strode over to him, disappointed in myself that my head was so fucked up. The problem? My girl wasn’t in attendance, and it was my fault. I’d said some fucked up things to her, stressed about this game, and that was wrong of me. If I were the reason we lost the state title, I don’t think I would recover, especially with being at odds with the love of my life.
“I would really hate to bench you. Get your fucking head in the game and make your goals. That was an easy score, and you fucked it. We need three more points, and we have twenty minutes left in this game. I need you to get your head out of your ass and make it happen! Understand?!”
“Yes, Coach,” I responded, taking a deep breath and trying to hype myself up.
Kae missing the game was throwing me off. Even if we weren’t on good terms, I needed her to be there because she’d been my main support system since high school when it came to my dreams of playing professional soccer. I was finally a Pro Soccer player, and my girl was fed up with me.
I think that’s what I loved about her the most, the fact that she didn’t care about how much money was in the bank or what I could do for her. She wouldn’t take any shit from me, and she never let anyone put her down. Even Tanner had gotten his shit handed to him when he first met Kae and decided to make a fat joke. She cussed his ass out after I punched him in his mouth. After a couple of weeks, he profusely apologized, and she forgave him. It took a while for me as I let his ass have it every practice. Coach said the beef had to stop because he couldn’t have his star players acting like high schoolers.
He was right. Kae told me to let it go too, but I didn’t ever want anyone thinking that they could talk to my girl any kind of way, and they definitely couldn’t be commenting on her weight.
I needed a hug from that luscious body. Shit, I’d take her slapping me and forgiving me right now. She was the reason my mind was in the gutter, and it would probably take her being present to get my head in the game.
“Isabella, call Kae, please,” Tanner called out to his girlfriend sitting in the stands. “Tell her she needs to be here, now!”
I knew he knew what it was, and it would be embarrassing to some to be so stressed out about their girl, but not me. Kae was my everything.
Getting back in the game, I didn’t think that she’d make it on time. There were twenty minutes left in the game, and I was nervous because Kae had promised to be there, even if we were at odds. If she didn’t show up today, during this particular game, I knew she was done with me. Part of me hoped that she hadn’t told her parents what was going on with us because, well, I wasn’t the parents’ favorite. Her father was a preacher and didn’t take too lightly his baby girl being involved with a heathen.
Pastor Hightower had never been a fan of mine, especially since I had a criminal history. Given that it wasn’t my fault, I’d do anything to protect my siblings, and one night, things just got a little too reckless, guns were involved, and in the end, it was me who got caught. That moment in my life followed me through all of my decisions until I was about seventeen and given the opportunity to play on a city team. The thing was, it was Pastor Hightower who’d got me connected with the coach on some, “save the boys in our city” type shit. I was all for saving as long as that meant getting saved in the church and staying away from his only daughter.
He didn’t know Kae though, just had this idea of what he wanted her to be. When we were nineteen, Kae had introduced me to a side of her that her father would be ashamed to know of. I’d lost my virginity when I was thirteen, but no one had ever done to me what Kae did. She’d told me that she had lost her virginity at sixteen to a man five years older than her. The thought made me sick, and I even went after him, but she told me it was no longer anything to worry about. She argued that if I didn’t focus on my new opportunities and made the best of them, she would never deal with me again.
And well, here I was, twenty-five, professional and a star soccer player for the Atalanta, Italy team. I just needed my girl, and I needed her badly.
“Honey, your father is all the way over here, so I don’t believe that’s the reason you won’t go in there and see Kylan. What the hell happened?” Linya asked.
I sat in the car on FaceTime with some of my girls, Linya, Natima, and Tiffani. We were half of the Phat Girls Club, and I needed guidance from any of them at this point because I was ready to cry my eyes out. I was the second youngest in the group, and these women always had some wisdom to share. My parents were so fake-religious, and everything I did in their eyes was just so ungodly. It was annoying and having women from all walks of life to talk to regularly, it’d been good for me. Especially since I started dating Kylan.
At twenty-four going on twenty-five, we’d been together for almost six years. He’d always been a safe space for me, making me feel more in love with myself than anyone. With my parents, it was relentless nagging about what I was doing in God’s eyes, and my father constantly threatened to take away my pleasures in life if I didn’t take my church duties seriously. I loved the Lord, but in no way did I want to be the First Lady of a church or sing in the choir forever. Singing was a forte of mine that was undeniable, but I was the cliché preacher’s kid who had a deep love for “ungodly” music.
Kylan, he’d motivated me to follow my dreams wherever they took me, and that was another reason my father strongly disliked him. Granted, he’d helped Kylan get his life together years ago, and now, Kylan was an amazing soccer player. I didn’t even grow up watching soccer and never cared for it, but since we started dating, all I wanted was to know everything about it to always keep up with what he was dealing with.
What I didn’t like was that when things got tough, Kylan got distant. Since moving to Italy, he’d been a lot different, and I felt like my two-week visit was a huge burden to him. He’d barely spent time with me even when he had the days off and the time to relax. I’d been going out of my way to aid him with winding down after strenuous practices and the two games he’d had before this. That dispute before leaving the house today? Him saying that I should just do whatever my dad told me? I didn’t understand that. Because if I did what my dad said, I’d be back on the first flight to Georgia now. I wouldn’t be sitting outside the stupid stadium contemplating supporting him. I’d be the lead singer in the choir. I’d be fucking married to Justin Rooker right now.
But no. I was in Italy, trying to decide if my relationship was worth fighting for.
“Kae, what happened?” Tiffani queried. “You’re too quiet.”
“He told me basically to just go back to the States and move on with my life, in simplest terms.”
“He WHAT?” Natima yelled over us all. “I know you fuckin’ lyin’! Kae, seriously?”
“Do we need to book a trip to Italy and beat the shit out of him?” Linya questioned.
“We got into it bad, and I just… I don’t know. I don’t think he wants this anymore.” I felt the tears piling in my eyes and got pissed immediately because my makeup looked fucking good.
“I’ll take one of these horse tranquilizers and put his ass down, I swear I will,” Linya stated way too calmly.
“Making threats while you’re on them people’s clock? Lin, stop it,” I giggled, dabbing my eyes with a napkin from the console.
“Look, Kae, even if he wants to end things, you need to go in there and make sure his ass sees you one last time, looking good as fuck, and then you need to get on the next plane. I do not want you laying around in his room and he’s treating you like shit,” Tiffani coached.
“But seriously, if we have to come to Italy and make it look like an accident, you know I got you too,” Natima chimed in. “It’d be a waste to not use these medical skills when these niggas try us.”
I laughed, hard, because of the four of us on the phone, only two of us were with “niggas,” since Linya liked white men and Tiffani liked women.
“I know why you laughing,” Tiffani replied, rolling her eyes. “These girls be niggas too. Act just like ‘em. Only thing different is they got titties and a kewchi.”
“That’s what Nika be saying too,” Natima spoke. “But more power to y’all. Kae, go in there and let us know if you need us to come fuck him up.”
“Okay, fine. I’m going. I’ll keep y’all posted.”
“Love you,” everyone sang into the phone before I disconnected.
I mustered up some strength and got myself together before getting out of the rental and heading into the stadium. My nerves were so bad. I hated the thought that I would have to return home to my parents with my head down and my tail tucked between my legs. The last decade of my life had been all about defiance and this was not a battle I wanted to lose. But I knew that if Kylan was going to be treating me like shit, I wouldn’t be sticking around. I looked good, I loved good, and I had a lot of good years ahead of me. Any man would be fortunate to come across me and all my thickness.
Strutting along the sidewalk to the stands, I heard clapping and looked to see that it was all directed toward me. I looked around just to make sure, but it was just a few of the players on the team and the coach, and then I saw Bella coming up to me, cheesing from ear to ear.
“Girl! Thank God!” she nearly dragged me to where she’d been sitting. I had to focus on my heels before I was planted face-first into the concrete.
“Bella, what’s up?” I tried slowing her down. She didn’t stop until we were at the gate, face to face with Kylan.
I looked up at him, not sure what I was supposed to be feeling but there was definitely some conflict and turmoil in there.
“You love me, Kae?” he asked, staring into my eyes. He was so damn fine.
“Yes,” I said without hesitation and before I even had time to comprehend.
“I’m sorry about how this trip has been going, but I promise you after I win this game, I’m gonna make it up to you. I’ll get on the ground and kiss your feet if need be. Can you forgive me?”
I nodded my head quickly. I was such a sucker for him, but that was all I needed, reassurance that this wasn’t all for nothing.
“Can’t wait to make you my wife,” he said before planting a sloppy kiss on my lips. I was dazed when he pulled away and watched as he licked my cherry-flavored lip gloss from his lips.
He nodded his head as he backed up and ran back out on the field with Tanner and the other players. I stood there, watching him as he played like his life depended on it. Twenty minutes in soccer became thirty or forty easily. Kylan scored two of the four goals that brought his team up and winning. I jumped up and down on the sidelines and believe it or not, his entire team turned around and saluted me.
“Fuck yeah, Kae!! You got him together!” Tanner hollered blowing kisses to Bella at the same time.
“Yeah, you did. You’re his good luck charm, Kae.” Bella grabbed my arm as we walked out on the field to our men.
I smiled as Kylan wrapped his arms around me, pressing his face into my cleavage before grabbing my face and kissing me.
“I love you, beautiful. It’s you and me against it all, Kae.”
And that was all I needed to hear. I’d have to update the girls later, ensuring them that making it look like he unalived himself wasn’t necessary. All was right in our world, and that was all that mattered to me.
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