Excuse any mistakes or grammatical errors.
TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️ This chapter mentions suicide.
Malaya
Once I was in the airport, I looked around for Sloan. I eventually found her talking to some of her colleagues. I walked over to where they were and took an empty seat.
"Good morning, Malaya." Sloan greeted me and I smiled.
"Good morning."
I offered kind smiles to her colleagues and then pulled out my phone. I started to play a random game to kill time. We had another thirty minutes before we were supposed to board our flight.
The thirty minutes flew by and before I knew it, we were on our way to Washington D.C.
-
Once we landed, we went to the hotel we'd be staying in and checked in. It was really nice and fancy, but there was one issue. I was sharing a room with Sloan. I didn't understand why I couldn't get my own room, but I didn't complain. There were two beds, so everything would be fine.
Sloan was currently in the shower and I was preparing to take one myself. I was just ready to shower and go to sleep. We were all going to sleep in tomorrow, but Sloan and her colleagues made plans for all of us to get lunch together.
Another good part about this trip was that I didn't have to pay for anything. It was all on Sloan's tab.
After a while Sloan came out of the bathroom in nothing, but a towel and I mentally slapped myself for staring. I'm sorry, but damn. Why does my creepy ass boss have to be so...no no. Shut the hell up Malaya.
"You like my tattoos?" She asked completely aware of my staring and I felt myself blush. It's just four days Malaya and then you can go back home to your future wife.
Fuck! I forgot to call Raquel.
I grabbed my phone and the clothes I was going to change into and made my way into the bathroom without addressing Sloan.
I clicked on Raquel's contact name and I swear the phone barely got to ring before she picked it up.
"I was just about to call you." She said on the other end. "So how long has it been since you landed because I know you forgot."
I could tell from Raquel's tone that she wasn't upset, so I chuckled.
"Uh, about an hour." I guessed. "I was about to take a shower and go to sleep."
"Okay, well I'll let you get to it, I just wanted to know that you landed safely. I'm tired myself, but I couldn't sleep until you called." Raquel said yawning right after and I smiled.
"I love you." I said still smiling.
"I love you too." Raquel responded groggily.
"Goodnight, baby."
"Goodnight, beautiful."
After I hung up the phone, I sat my phone on the vanity counter top. And stripped, so I could finally take my shower.
I stayed in the shower for about an hour and then I got out. I changed into my pajamas in the bathroom and brushed my teeth. Once I was done I left out of the bathroom. I expected Sloan to be asleep, but she was up watching tv.
She looked at me for a second and then looked back at the tv. I made my way over to my bed and got comfortable.
"Is the tv going to interfere with you sleeping? I couldn't sleep, so I turned it on." Sloan asked and I shook my head.
"No, it's fine." I responded.
"Okay, well goodnight." She said turning her attention back to the tv.
"Goodnight."
-
"Malaya."
I heard my name and felt a hand pushing my shoulder.
"Raquel, stop." I groaned turning over and someone chuckled.
"Malaya, get up."
I opened my eyes and Sloan was standing there with a smirk on her face.
"We're leaving in an hour." She said walking away from the side of my bed and I sighed. I was still tired, but I got up and got ready to start the day.
-
We went to some restaurant called The Ebbitt Grill. I just got a cheese burger and fries. It was basic, but good.
After we left the restaurant we went back to the hotel so everyone could rest until it was time for us to go to the first session of the conference.
-
The building where the conference was taking place was huge. There were all types of people there. There were a lot of teens and college students. There were a lot of chairs sat out and different tables people could go to with different things displayed on poster boards. There were two huge smart screens above the back of the stage. I guess people had slide shows they were going to show. I stayed at Sloan's side as she mingled because I didn't want to wander off in case she needed me for anything.
"You can go look around if you'd like. You don't have to stay by my side." Sloan said after I'd been trailing her for a while.
"I'd rather just stick by you. I don't want to get lost in the crowd." I said and Sloan just nodded her head.
"Okay. Well we'll take our seats in about ten minutes." She informed me.
Sloan talked to a few more people and visited some more tables before taking front row seats. Eventually everyone was seated and the conference started.
The beginning was sort of boring because it was just doctors speaking. I was interested, but they were just saying things that I'd learned in my psychology classes.
I got really engaged when normal everyday people got up and talked about their struggles with mental illness.
There were people that struggled with depression, anxiety, ADHD, OCD, and so on.
I liked actually hearing people speaking about living with mental illnesses in this society that often shied away from this topic or just acted like it wasn't that big of a deal. There are actually people that don't believe that mental illness is even a thing. I guess they think it's just a bunch of people pretending to have issues. That just isn't the case. Mental illness is real and it needs to be talked about. It needs to be taken seriously.
A lot of people spoke and then a man got on the micro phone to introduce the next speaker.
"And our next speaker will be Sloan Carter."
I looked ever at Sloan and she kept her eyes on the man as he talked a little about who she was and what she did. He asked the crowd to give her a warm welcome and they did as she went up to the stage.
I thought that Sloan was just going to give more information like the other doctors did, but the smart screens displayed a picture of a teenaged boy. He looked to be about 15 or 16. He wore a bright smile that was oddly familiar.
"Good evening." Sloan started off and the audience greeted her back. "Dr. Martin handled my introduction, so I'll introduce the young man you see behind me."
Sloan gesture to the smart screen.
"That happy young man with the bright smile is my little brother. His name is Sebastian. He was 16 years old when that picture was taken. He was 16 years old when this video was recorded as well."
The picture on the screen changed to a picture of a big back yard with a swimming pool. A girl was sitting at the edge of the pool with her feet in the water and a boy that I recognized as the same one from the picture snuck up behind her and pushed her in.
He took off running after while laughing uncontrollably. Another video played of the same boy carrying a girl that I now realized was Sloan on his back. This video had no sound, but he got pretty close to the camera with the biggest smile on his face.
There were a few more pictures displayed and then is settled on a different picture of the boy smiling.
"Sebastian was always smiling." Sloan spoke. "He was always laughing and trying his best to annoy me. He was a normal little brother. He had a lot of friends and everyone that met him loved him because of how friendly and goofy he was. You couldn't be in the same room as Sebastian and not have a smile on your face. He wouldn't allow it." Sloan said with a slight smile.
She was beginning to speak in past tense regarding Sebastian, so I got a bad feeling in my stomach.
"We called this Sebastian's tree." Sloan said changing the slide to the back yard again. It showed Sebastian sitting up pretty high in the tree. "When he wasn't annoying me, he was in that tree. He'd sit up there for hours. He first started climbing it when he was eight and it used to scare my mom, but she got over it eventually because he'd never gotten hurt. We didn't bother Sebastian when he was in his tree. He'd go up there when he wanted to be alone, so we respected it."
Sloan paused for a moment and then continued.
"Sebastian started to spend a lot more time than usual in his tree, but we didn't think anything of it. He was still the same Sebastian. Always smiling and goofing off. That's why I couldn't even fathom what was happening when my parents told me to get Sebastian for dinner one night. He'd been in his tree all day. It was a Saturday, so this was normal. At least it had become the norm. Sebastian had stopped hanging out with his friends long before this, but we didn't think anything of it because he still seemed happy. I never in a million years thought that I would walk in my backyard and find my baby brother hanging from his tree."
I could hear slight gasps and murmurs in the crowd as Sloan said that. She just continued despite everyone's reaction.
"There was an over turned ladder below where he was hanging and I can just remember screaming. All I could do was scream and cry because I could tell from
How blue his face was that he had been like that for a while. I could tell that he was gone."
I could feel my eyes beginning to water because not only was this heartbreaking, but suicide was a touchy subject for me. Sloan and I had the most terrible thing in common. We'd both lost a sibling to suicide.
"Eventually my parents came into the backyard and my father used the ladder to climb up to my brothers life less body. He struggle to hold Sebastian up as he unwrapped the sheets he'd tied together and tied to one of the thick tree branches from around his neck.
My father gave Sebastian CPR until the ambulance that my mother had called arrived. I know my dad knew he was too late, but he didn't want to believe it. Sebastian was pronounced dead and taken away from our home at 9:32pm.
Our house was quiet for a long time without Sebastian. His funeral was really hard for me because so many people from
his school came and they seemed just as broken as myself and my family. They seemed just as confused. I couldn't understand why he'd take his life when all these people seemed to love and care about him. I never saw my brother without a smile on his face, so I couldn't understand why he'd taken his own life. Sebastian's funeral helped me to realize that not only does a smile not always equate to happiness, but that you can feel alone even when being surrounded by tons of people."
Sloan was definitely right about that.
"It took a while, but my parents eventually went into Sebastian's room and he'd left his journal opened and face down on his desk. My parents couldn't bring themselves to read it, but I snuck into his room one night and read it because it was eating away at me. I thought he'd tell us why he did it."
Another picture popped up and it was of the journal. The ink on the page was smudged and I couldn't tell if it was from Sloan crying when she read it or Sebastian crying when he wrote it. Either way, it made me cry more.
Sloan began to read the words on the screen.
"If you're reading this, I'm already gone. I'm so sorry, but I couldn't take it anymore. I tried to be happy for all of you, I really did, but I could only fake it for so long. I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't know why I feel like I'm trapped in my mind a majority of the time. I don't know why everything hurts so bad, but at the same time, I'm numb. Maybe I'm going crazy. I pushed all my friends away, but I figured if I kept you guys close I'd be fine. I'm sorry, Sloan. I'm sorry, mom. I'm sorry, dad. I love all of you, but I couldn't do it anymore. Please don't blame yourselves for this. I was fighting with my own demons and I lost the battle. I'm so sorry for not being strong. I tried. I really tried. Sloan, big sis, I love you so so much. I stuck around for as long as I did because of you. There were nights when I thought about doing it, but I couldn't because I couldn't stop thinking about how hurt you'd be. But now you have all these offers to all these great schools and I know I won't have you soon. I can't be strong for you if you aren't here. Please don't blame yourself. This isn't your fault. It was just all too much. I don't even know what was too much, just that it was. What's wrong with me? I'm sorry. Don't do anything stupid. This world needs you. Mom and dad are gonna need you. I love you."
Sloan cleared her throat after reading the last words and then the screen went back to pictures of Sebastian smiling.
"This is what depression looks like." She said gesturing to the pictures. "I had no idea about what my brother was going through. I didn't notice any of the signs as red flags. Now that I look back, my brother went from always being under me to isolating himself. He went from having tons of friends to having none. He went from eating us out of house and home to refusing to come down from his tree for dinner most nights. He wasn't himself for a while and no one even noticed."
Sloan paused for a moment and then continued.
"Despite all of this, he was all smiles and laughs. That's what threw me off. That and the fact that I didn't know to be worried. I'd never even had a conversation with anyone about depression until after he was gone. That's when I really started doing research and trying to learn why someone that was so happy would take their own life. Before that day, if anyone would have asked me who the happiest person I knew was, I would have told them Sebastian and I would have been wrong. This is why events like this are so important. This is why mental health and awareness is so important. People shouldn't have to suffer in silence. People should know that not only are they not alone, but that there are people than can help them to understand what they are going through. Mental illness should not be a taboo subject. The less we talk about it, the less people know about it. My little brother didn't even know he was depressed. He just knew that there was something wrong and the saddest part of it all was that he didn't tell anyone how he was feeling because he didn't know to. Mental illness is a struggle in itself, but it's even harder when accompanied by ignorance. I feel blessed to be able to speak to so many of you today. I feel blessed to be able to raise awareness. I feel blessed for my field of work. I feel blessed to be able to be what my brother needed for someone else. It hurts to talk about Sebastian, but to any of you that can relate to him, don't suffer in silence. It's okay to talk about it. It's okay to ask for help. I'm here and so are many others. You are not alone in this."
The audience erupted into a round applause and Sloan thanked them before heading back to her seat. People even stood up for her and I did the same. It couldn't have been easy to speak about that. I wouldn't be able to speak about Melanie in front of all these people without breaking down.
Dr. Martin got back on stage and wrapped up the conference. A lot of people came up to Sloan after it was over and I just stood there awkwardly as people thanked her for speaking and just made conversation with her.
Eventually Sloan met up with her colleagues, so we could go to dinner.
After dinner we headed back to the hotel.
"Do you want the shower first?" Sloan asked and I shook my head.
"You can go first. I need to make a phone call." I said stepping into the hallway.
I clicked on Raquel's contact name and leaned against the wall. The phone rang a few times before Raquel picked up.
"Hey, beautiful." Raquel spoke into the phone and I smiled.
"Hey, baby. How was your day?" I asked.
"It was okay. I had practice as usual and then I just spent the rest of the day missing you."
"Aww, I miss you too."
"How was your day?" Raquel asked.
"I was great. The first session of the conference was today and I really enjoyed it. A lot of people talked about their struggles with mental illness and it wasn't just the stuff you always hear about like depression and anxiety. They talked about some of everything. Sloan even spoke. I wasn't expecting to get emotional at this thing, but I couldn't help it after hearing her speak. Her little brother took his own life when he was just 16. Not that there is ever an appropriate age to do so. But it's really sad when it's a kid because people are always under the impression that young people have it easy, but they can suffer just as bad as adults if not worse."
"That is really sad. Is she okay after having to speak about that? I know it couldn't have been easy. Especially not in front of so many people." Raquel spoke and I frowned because I didn't know if she was okay. I know someone seeming okay doesn't necessarily mean they're okay.
"I'll have to make sure she's okay when she gets out of the shower."
Raquel got quiet for a second and I already knew what she was thinking about.
"She hasn't tried anything."
"I didn't even ask." Raquel spoke in a high pitched voice and I laughed.
"But you wanted to which is fine. Everything is all good. Besides, I doubt she's even worried about me. She made it clear the day she told me about the trip that it was important to her. I don't think she brought me along for any reason other than for me to have this experience and I'm extremely grateful that she did. I'm looking forward to the last two sessions. There's no telling what other stories I'll get to hear. I want to speak at one of these things one day and I would really like to take Nadia to one. Knowing her she might refuse to come, but I would love to at least let her know it's an option." I said sort of getting off topic.
"Well I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. I'm gonna let you go though because I'm really sleepy and we have practice in the morning. I only stayed up this long, so I could hear your voice before I went to sleep." Raquel spoke.
"You're so smooth without even trying." I joked and Raquel chuckled.
"Don't tease me for loving you."
"I'm not. I love that you love me."
"Good. Well goodnight, beautiful. I love you." Raquel said.
"Good night, baby. I love you too." I responded before ending the call.
I went back into the room and the shower was still running, so I just pulled out the clothes I was gonna sleep in and turned the tv on.
I watched some random movie I didn't know the name of until Sloan was done in the bathroom. She came out fully dressed this time and I was glad, but also worried. I know she gets a kick out of messing with me, so this is weird. It's understandable considering what she had to talk about tonight.
"Are you okay?" I asked and Sloan smiled.
"I'm fine. Thank you for asking though." She spoke appreciatively and I just smiled back before going into the bathroom to shower.
Jayla
"I feel like I haven't seen you in forever." Dani said as she played defense on me in the drill we were doing.
"I see you everyday at practice." I said giving Dani the ball so I could play defense on her.
"I mean outside of practice. I'm always with Nadia and you're always with Aniya or Parker. I'm tired of getting cheated on, Jayla." Dani joked and I rolled my eyes.
"Baby now you know I'd never cheat on you." I played along and Dani laughed.
"I really do miss you though. We should do something this weekend. Just us." Dani suggested and I nodded my head.
"Are you asking me on a date, Daniella?" I asked and she smirked.
"Maybe. I mean let's be real, we're the real perfect match if anything."
"Shut up, stupid." I said shaking my head.
"Calm your bald headed ass down and don't forget to wear something nice. I'm tryna show your fine ass off."
"Keep it up and see if I don't tell Aniya." I threatened and Dani scoffed.
"I'll beat her ass. I'm not scared of her. Niya already knows what's up." Dani said trying to act tough.
"Now you know damn well-"
"Daniella and Jayla, would you two pay attention?" Coach Young said interrupting my conversation with Dani. "This is why I never let you two be partners. Parker, partner up with Jayla. Dani, you go with Raquel."
Dani pouted and made her way over to Raquel and I chuckled at how much of a baby she was being.
I smiled at Parker when she came over to me and she smiled back.
We did dribbling drills and then went over plays. We scrimmaged to finish off practice and then we all headed to the locker room to shower.
"Are you gonna be busy after you leave here?" Parker asked once we got in the locker room and I shook my head.
"No. What's up?" I asked turning to her and she shrugged.
"Nothing. I was just gonna see if you wanted to hangout. My cousin has a volley ball game tonight at a school about twenty minutes away from here. She wanted me to come, but I don't want to go alone." She explained and I shrugged.
"I'll go with you. What time is the game?"
"It's at 7."
"Okay well, I'll be ready." I said taking my practice jersey off. Parker's eyes dropped to my abs and lingered for a few seconds. I furrowed my eyebrows when she bit her lip, but didn't address it.
"Okay." She said focusing back on my face. "I'll let you know when I'm on my way."
Parker went back towards her locker and I turned to mine.
"You know she likes you right?" I turned to see that it was Dani that had just whispered those words in my ear.
"No she doesn't." I said rolling my eyes.
"She does. But we can talk more when we get to our room." Dani said heading towards the showers.
Parker does not like me. She's straight.
-
"So yeah, like I was saying, Parker likes you." Dani said once we got to our room and I sighed.
"And why do you think that?" I asked dropping my bag and sitting on my bed.
"I can just tell by the way she looks at you. And I know what you're gonna say. Just because she's straight doesn't mean she can't like you. Take a look in the mirror fam, it's like God put in overtime with you. He put you on this earth for the sole purpose of snatching gay bitches and confusing straight bitches. I would know because I'm here for the same reason." Dani shrugged and I laughed.
"You're really funny. You know that?"
"Yeah I know. I get it from my mom."
"Parker doesn't like me." I said not really wanting to discuss this anymore.
"She does, but we can drop the subject. You'll figure it out on your own. I'm about to go see what my wife is doing."
Dani left our room to go be up Nadia's ass as usual. I'm so glad they're back to being all over each other.
I decided to call Aniya to see what she was doing and to let her know that I was going to hangout with Parker tonight.
"Hey sexy." She answered the phone and I chuckled.
"Hey Niya." I responded only for the line to go dead right after.
Did she hang up on me?
I called her back and she picked up on the first ring.
"Okay, let's try this shit again. Hey sexy."
I rolled my eyes are her pettiness.
"Hey beautiful." I tried and she scoffed.
"I guess that will suffice. What's up?" She asked and I started looking through my closet for something to wear to the game.
"Nothing much. I was calling to see what you were doing and to let you know that I'm going to a volleyball game with Parker later."
"I never missed a home game at my old school. Back in my hoe days, I would go just to see all the girls in those little ass shorts. It was a beautiful sight. There were asses flying everywhere. I didn't understand a damn thing about the game though." Aniya laughed and I rolled my eyes.
"You're terrible." I chuckled. "But she wanted me to come with her because her cousin is playing and she didn't want to go alone."
"I mean that's cool. Record some of it and send it to me. Strictly for educational purposes of course. I just want to understand it." Aniya said making me laugh.
"I'm not sending you shit. The only ass you can look at is mine."
"How can I look at something that doesn't exist?" Aniya asked and I can't even lie. That kind of hurt. Little booties matter.
"Fuck you."
"I'll be over in like five minutes." Aniya said hanging up and I groaned.
I went back to looking for something to wear and settled on some ripped jeans and a black shirt. I was going to wear my black and white checkered vans with it and call it a day. Basic and comfortable.
I was about to sit on my bed when there was a knock at my door.
I already knew who it was before I opened it.
I answered the door and Aniya was standing there with a smirk on her face.
"Did you think I was kidding?" She asked stepping into my room and I let the door close behind her.
"Honestly, yes." I responded and Aniya laughed.
"I was. I'm being visited by the monthly bitch, so this pussy is off limits." Aniya sighed. "Unless you're tryna be like Moses and part the Red Sea. Nah let me chill, but if you want some head, my mouth works just fine." Aniya added and I chuckled.
"You're something else."
"I wasn't kidding that time. I came here to give you head. Are you really gonna turn it down?" She asked and I couldn't tell if she was joking or not. Knowing her, she was serious.
"I can't tell if you're being serious or not." I spoke honestly and Aniya smirked.
"Well let me make things clear." She said walking up to me and kissing me. She deepened the kiss and walked me backwards until I fell back on my bed.
Aniya broke our kiss and pulled off my gym shorts and boxers in one motion.
Okay, I see she's getting straight to it.
Aniya pulled me to her and I could feel her breath against my pussy. She's really not wasting any time. She ran her tongue through my folds and I took in a breath before letting it out in a moan as she sucked my clit into her mouth.
"Damn." I cursed as I ran my fingers through Aniya's hair. She skillfully worked her tongue against my clit and I was enjoying every moment of it.
It wasn't long before I felt myself getting close.
"Niya...baby." I couldn't form an actual sentence because my head was getting fuzzy and my pleasure intensified.
Aniya was doing all types of tricks with her tongue and before I knew it I had a tight grip on her hair as I arched into her. My legs shook as my body was overtaken with pleasure.
"Fuck!" I cried out as I came undone. Aniya slurped and licked at my release and then my body went limp.
"Can you tell now?" Aniya said coming up and looking down at me.
"Mmhmm." I said trying to recover.
"Good." She said kissing me and then pulling away. "I'm about to go do some school work. Have fun at the game, baby."
Aniya got off of me and then left my room like nothing had just happened. I had the urge to take a nap, so that's exactly what I did.
-
I woke up from my nap and took a shower. By the time I was done showering it was almost 6 o'clock. My nap lasted a lot longer than expected.
Once I was done showering, I brushed my teeth and got dressed. I fooled around with my hair and then waited for Parker to text me.
Parker texted me around 6 and said that she wanted to get something to eat before we went to the game. I was hungry myself so I didn't mind.
I left my room and made my way outside of the dorms and Parker was parked out front. I climb in the passengers seat and she smiled.
"Hey." She greeted me as I closed the door and put on my seat belt.
"Hey. What restaurant are we going to?" I asked and Parker shrugged as she pulled off from the dorms.
"I was thinking Chick-Fil-A. I want some chicken nuggets." She said sounding like a little kid, so I laughed.
"That's cool with me. We eating there or no?" I asked.
"Not unless you want to. I was just gonna go through the drive thru. I don't really feel like going in." Parker explained and I nodded my head.
We talked about basketball and random stuff as Parker drove to Chick-Fil-A and once we got there the drive thru line was extremely long.
"On second thought, we can go inside and just get it to go." Parker said surprisingly finding a parking spot and we went in. The line wasn't very long inside.
I ended up getting chicken nuggets too. Once we got our food, we headed back to the car, but before we could get to the car, some dude stopped Parker and started flirting with her and then asked for her number. He wasn't a bad looking dude, but Parker kindly rejected him.
Once we got back in the car, I looked at Parker.
"Why didn't you give him your number? I'm not saying you were obligated to, but he wasn't bad looking and he didn't come at you on some disrespectful stuff."
"I don't give out my number to strangers." Parker shrugged.
She backed out of her parking spot and we made our way to her cousin's campus.
"He could have been your soulmate." I joked and Parker laughed.
"Doubt it. With my luck, my soulmate is taken." Parker said stopping at a red light.
I frowned at her for a second and then looked down at my phone because I got a text message.
Nasty Niya 😩😩💦💦- You never sent me a picture, so how am I supposed to know that I approve of what you're wearing? 🤔 If you look too fine, I'm beating your ass.😡👊🏽
I laughed at Aniya's text and then texted her back.
Daddy 😍💦👅- Well I guess I'm getting my ass beat because I always look too fine. 🤷🏽♀️😏
Nasty Niya 😩😩💦💦- True. 😪 But on a serious note when you get back, can we make a Walmart run? I need to get some pain pills and a heating pad or something. This bitch is kicking my ass. 😭
Daddy 😍💦👅- Aw. 😢 My poor baby. How about I just get Parker to run me by Walmart on the way back? I'll bring you everything you need and that way you don't have to worry about moving around.
Nasty Niya 😩😩💦💦- I like your idea better. 😊 See you when you get back and thank you! 😩🙏🏽❤️ I love your baldheaded ass.
Daddy 😍💦👅- 😑 Stop playing with me. I'm not even baldheaded. My hair is almost touching my shoulders now. 💁🏽♀️ And just for that, I'm not bringing you shit. 🖕🏽😭 I still love you though. ❤️
Nasty Niya 😩😩💦💦- I was just playing. 😔 I'm sorry, baby. 😢
Daddy 😍💦👅- 🙄 I gotchu.
Nasty Niya 😩😩💦💦- 😊❤️
"Hey, on the way back, can we stop by Walmart? I need to pick up a few things for Niya. I'll give you gas money." I said and Parker waved me off.
"You don't have to give me gas money and yeah we can."
"Thank you."
"No problem."
We finally got to the campus and we could barely find a parking spot.
"Volleyball must be a big deal here." I said looking at all the cars in the gym parking lot.
"They play their rivals tonight and yeah it is a really big deal. They're a really good team. They even won nationals last year." Parker informed me. "My little cousin is a freshman and she's really good. I told her I would try to come to some games, so I figured tonight would be a good night because the rival games are always packed and exciting."
"Oh okay. Well I don't know anything about volleyball, but I love exciting sporting events."
"I don't know anything about it either, but I'm just being a supportive big cousin." Parker chuckled.
Parker finally found a parking spot and we made our way into the gym. We went to the ticket table and it was five dollars to get in and one dollar for students to get in if they showed a student I.D.
Luckily both Parker and I had our I.D.
The home team was warming up when we got to the gym and one of the girls spotted Parker and waved. She was really pretty and had a really nice body. I'm in a relationship not blind and if Niya was here, she'd say the same thing.
"There are some seats over there." Parker said pointing to some seats close to the floor.
"Okay." I said following Parker to the seats.
We weren't even sitting down for long before some dude took the seat beside Parker and started trying to spit game. She had all the juice tonight. This dude looked better than the last dude, but I had a feeling Parker was going to reject him too.
"Y'all together or something?" The dude asked after Parker refused to give him her number.
"No. I don't have to be in a relationship to not be interested in you. I said no, so could you leave me alone?" Parker asked and the dude sucked his teeth.
"That's why your stuck up ass is single now." He said with an attitude and I frowned.
"Dude if you don't get your butt hurt ass the fuck on. You can't get mad because she's not interested in you. It's bitches all around you. Find someone else." I said mean mugging the dude. I hate people like that. Take that L like a man and move on. Not every person you pursue is going to want you.
"Shut yo dyke ass up. It's bitches like you turning females gay and shit. That's why a real nigga can't get no play." The dude said making me laugh.
"You're acting like I asked God to make me sexy as fuck. It just happened." I shrugged and the dude looked like he wanted to say something, but he just walked away.
"And that is why I don't give out my number. He acted all nice and stuff until I told him no and then he turned into an asshole. I'm not fooled easily." Parker chuckled. "And thank you for getting him to go away. He probably would have bothered me all night and followed me to my car. It wouldn't be the first time I experienced something like that either. Dudes make me sick."
"Not all dudes are like that." I said and Parker sighed.
"I know, but it's not like they come with warning labels." Parker pointed out.
"True, but a decent dude will come your way one of these days. Just make sure you're not too guarded because you'll end up pushing a good dude away."
"You're right. But I'm not even worried about romance right now. I'm just trying to graduate."
"I feel you." I chuckled.
-
Parker's cousin's team ended up winning the game in three sets. They dominated. Her cousin was really good. She had a mean spike that was pretty much unstoppable.
After the game was over. Parker stuck around so she could talk to her cousin.
After a while Parker's cousin came out of the locker room and ran over to hug her.
"Thank you for coming." She said after pulling away from Parker.
"It's no problem. I enjoyed watching you play. Jayla, this is Destiny. Destiny, Jayla." Parker introduced us and Destiny smirked.
"Okay cousin, when you said she was fine I didn't think you meant this fine." Destiny said and Parker looked shook.
"Seriously D?" She said looking embarrassed, but laughing it off.
"My bad. You know I don't bite my tongue." Destiny shrugged. "But anyway. I'm glad you came."
"I'm glad I came too. You did really good out there."
Parker and her cousin talked a little bit more and then we left.
The drive to Walmart was sort of awkward thanks to Destiny. I could tell that Parker was still embarrassed, but she didn't have a reason to be.
"You know you're not the only girl that's called me fine right?" I broke the silence and Parker blushed. "It's not that big of a deal and it won't make things weird between us."
"Maybe not for you." Parker finally spoke. "I can't help, but to be embarrassed."
"Why?" I asked laughing and Parker sighed.
"Can we not talk about this? You're right, it's not that big of a deal, so it isn't worth a discussion."
"Okay." I agreed to drop the subject.
We pulled up at Walmart and Parker found a parking spot. I went in and got Aniya the stuff she needed and was heading to self check out when yet another dude stopped Parker. Dang girl.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but I couldn't let you leave without telling you that you're really beautiful." The dude complimented Parker and she smiled.
"Thank you." She said going to walk away, but he stopped her.
"Wait, what's your name? I'm most likely going to spend the rest of the night thinking about you and I would like to be able to put a name to the face that keeps me awake tonight." The dude said and I had to stop myself from laughing. He's so corny, but it was cute.
"My name is Parker." Parker told the dude.
"It's nice to meet you, Parker. My name is Jaheim. Enjoy the rest of your night, beautiful. I'm sorry again for bothering you."
Jaheim gave Parker a kind smile before walking away and Parker looked confused.
"That's never happened before." She furrowed her eyebrows before walking with me to the self checkout.
"He was nice and he looked better than the last two dudes that tried to talk to you." I commented and Parker chuckled.
"I won't even lie, he looked good as hell, but those are the ones I worry about the most. I know it's not nice to judge a book by the cover, but some guys are just too good to be true." Parker said making me roll my eyes.
"Man, not all good looking people are trying to run game. He seemed like a genuinely nice dude. Of course you'll never know if you don't get to know a person, but you have to give people a chance." I said scanning Aniya's items and then paying for them.
"Well, If he had asked for my number, I probably would have given it to him, but he didn't, so oh well." Parker shrugged.
"You're gonna turn your soulmate away one of these days." I chuckled and Parker laughed too.
"I don't doubt that."
-
Once we got back to campus, Parker dropped me off at the dorms and thanked me for coming with her. I made way up to Aniya's room and knocked on the door.
Aniya came to the door looking miserable and I chuckled.
"Aww." I cooed closing the door behind me and pulling her into a hug. "My poor baby."
"I hate being a girl." Aniya complained and I chuckled before kissing her lips.
"I'm glad you're a girl." I said taking her hand and pulling her to her side of the room. She got back in her bed and I got her a bottle of water and took out two of the menstrual cramp pills for her to take.
"Thank you." She said taking the pills and drinking some water.
"I got you some chocolate." I said pulling a Hershey's bar out of the bag and giving it to her.
"The heating pad had bad reviews, so I got you this heat wrap thingie. You have to peel it and put the adhesive part on your underwear. It goes inside your underwear. I can do it for you if you want." I offered and Aniya shrugged.
"It's not like it's anything you haven't seen before." She said making me laugh.
I got the heating wrap situated for Aniya and she sighed in contentment.
"It feels better already."
"It says to only keep it on for 8 hours. Otherwise you could get burned." I informed and Aniya nodded.
"Come lay with me." She said with her arms out and I kicked my shoes off and took my pants and shirt off before joining her in the bed. "How'd the game go?"
"It went great. They won in three sets." I said and Aniya chuckled.
"I'm gonna pretend I know what that means."
"Well they play best three out of five. They play to twenty five points each set unless it's tied then they have to win by two which can mean going past twenty five." I explained the little bit I did know.
"Oh okay, so they didn't lose a set." Aniya caught on and I nodded my head.
"Oh that's good. But I really wanted to know about the asses."
"I honestly wasn't even paying attention to that. The game was really intense so I was really into it." I spoke honestly.
"Okay, but I wouldn't be mad if you did. You're not single, but you aren't blind either." Aniya shrugged and I laughed because I thought the same way.
"Did you get all your work done?" I asked and Aniya nodded.
"Yup. I worked ahead, so I don't have anything to do for the rest of the week. I'm gonna sleep all weekend since the bitch is going to be here the whole time."
I loved that Aniya was so focused on academics. She's really smart and I admire that about her. I'm smart, but I procrastinate a lot. She never procrastinates and some times she even stops me from doing it.
"I'm supposed to be going on a date with Dani this weekend." I joked and Aniya laughed.
"She told me about that. She said that she's your real soulmate and that she'd beat my ass over you. My sister is something else."
"Yeah she is." I chuckled. "But I'm gonna come here and take care of you after I hangout with Dani."
"Aw that's sweet, but you don't have to. I'm really gonna be asleep for most of the day."
"Then I'll come sleep with you. I just want to be in your presence. Can I do that?" I asked and Aniya smiled.
"Of course you can." She said starting to play in my hair, but I grabbed her wrist.
"Nah, keep your hands out my shit since you wanna call me baldheaded."
"I was just playing." Aniya whined trying to put her hand back in my head, but I sat up.
"Nope, if you wanna play in hair, I won't shave for a few weeks. My head is off limits." I spoke playfully and Aniya laughed.
"Oh hell nah. I'm not about to play in no jungle pussy." She said with a frown.
"Girl bye. You know damn well hair wouldn't phase your nasty ass."
"True." Aniya said laughing and I shook my head.
My girlfriend is something else.
*************
Yay for a kinda sorta long chapter! And yay for a kinda sorta quick update! 😁
Anyway how did you feel about this chapter? What are your predictions after reading it? 🤔
I hoped you enjoyed it and I'll try to update soon.
Thank you for reading! 🙏🏽❤️