War of the Roses: Redux Edition
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Captain Canada
- Posts: 2186
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
Damn, both starting as true freshman? Caesar is different.
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
An Arrangement
Banging at the door jolted Devin awake. He sat up in his bed, shielding his eyes from the light streaming in from the window. He looked across the room and saw that Caesar wasn’t there so he laid back down assuming it was someone pranking random people in the res hall.
But the banging grew more incessant and didn’t stop.
“I’m fucking coming!” Devin shouted as he threw his feet out of the bed.
After their huge win over ULM, the team had scattered across New Orleans to celebrate. Devin spent much of the night with Carla but after learning that her roommate Misty snored felt he’d be better off sleeping in his own bed.
He still needed to send that fruit basket to Kaley for keeping Caesar as occupied as she did – and out of the room.
Opening the door, Devin found his grandfather standing on the other side. The man looked to have aged another 10 years since he saw him a few months ago. He now sported a cane and shuffled more than he walked as he entered the room without waiting for an invitation to do so.
“I didn’t expect you to be alone in here after y’all won yesterday. I know they are throwing themselves at you, trying to get on with the next star,” the old man said, his voice sounding strained from exertion. The walk from the parking lot was not a short one.
Devin raised his eyebrow. “How do you even know where my room is? Ma and dad didn’t help me move up here and haven’t been here.”
“I asked some kid in the parking lot and got lucky that it happened to be someone who lives down the hall there,” his grandfather said. He looked at the pristine side of the room, regarding it for a moment before turning back to Devin. “You have a weirdo as your roommate or something? Only people I know keep their stuff this clean have done time and weirdos.”
“Caesar’s my roommate.”
“Jenkins? Oh, so he pays someone to come and clean.”
Devin shook his head before pulling the chair out from under his desk so his grandfather could sit down. He sat down on his bed as the old man sat in the chair with a relieved sigh.
“He does that himself. Whenever he’s here anyway,” Devin said.
“Fucking weirdo then. My dorm room used to smell like ass and regret. And you’re in here with someone who probably whips out tweezers to pluck hairs off the floor because it’s not perfect. You better watch him.”
“For what?”
“Can’t trust those kinds of people. Never could,” Devin, Jr. said, shaking his head. “They always end up on the news for something or the other.”
“Did you come up here to psychoanalyze Caesar Jenkins or for something else?”
“Psychoanalyze? You come to these white people’s school for two months and suddenly you’re using words like psychoanalyze? You know they ain’t bring you here to talk like that. Unless you trying to confuse the receivers by shouting hard words at them.”
“Are we getting to the point here?”
The old man started to speak, but was caught off guard by a coughing fit. After a few moments, he was able to regain his composure.
“I made some calls for you last night after the game and got some more image deals lined up for you. Before you say anything, they ain’t the same kind of folks that I came to you about before even though those folks were offering more money,” his grandfather said.
“Really?”
“Yes, really. What the hell you mean really?”
“I don’t even want to talk about the people you called to try to set up these deals. I told you the last time that I’ll start getting involved with that stuff when I’m ready to start dealing with it. Right now, I’m just trying to keep my head above water.”
Devin, Jr. slammed his cane down on the floor. “You’re missing the boat on this. You’re going to fuck around and let the novelty wear off and then you’re going to be sitting here with your dick in your hands wishing that you’d cashed in sooner. You think that Jenkins boy ain’t getting some more money after breaking all them records?”
“Isn’t his dad an agent?”
“That’s not the point! You need to cash in now when the iron’s hot before you end up like Spencer Rattler and they’re calling for you to be benched.”
“Who?”
“Besides, you need to help the family. We’re facing some hard times, boy, and you’re the only one that can drag us out of them.”
“I don’t even know what that’s supposed to mean, but I’m not doing it. I already said it but I’ll say it again. I’ll deal with that when I’m ready and today isn’t that day.”
“One of these deals is for $10,000 up front.”
Devin shrugged. “I said what I said.”
“You know what? I blame that son of mine for how you are. You got a talent that most people on this Earth could never dream of having and you’re not doing anything with it.”
“Damn, that’s crazy.”
The old man stood up. His hand shook over the cane as he transferred the weight from one leg to the other. “Well, you don’t have to worry about me driving all the way out here to try to help you anymore. I think you made your little point. But don’t come crying when you try to sign a deal and they’re offering you free chicken strips in exchange for promoting businesses.”
“I’ll make sure to remember that.”
Devin, Jr. spared his grandson once last look before he turned to leave the room. He stopped and glanced over to Caesar’s desk with the odds and ends neatly lined up an exact distance from the edge of the desk.
“He must do a lot more catching off the field than on it, huh?” he asked Devin, but he didn’t wait for a reply as he shuffled to the door and left.
Devin checked the time on his phone before grabbing his laptop and laying back down to watch the day’s slate of NFL games.
Nothing about the house said 21-year-old college student nor 21-year-old college football star. Not the manicured lawn, not the HGTV-esque decorating and not the clean linen smell that overpowered that of a couple dozen people currently packed into it.
“Last night was something light,” Caesar said.
“That’s why you got hit with a case of whiskey dick?” Kaley asked.
Darren laughed before reaching into the fridge and handing both of them a beer. Kaley had met the guys the night before as they all went out to celebrate their first win of the season.
“Whiskey dick?” Caesar asked, raising an eyebrow as he popped the cap off the beer in his hand.
“It happens to the best of you.”
Darren motioned for them to follow him out into the backyard where more people were congregating on the patio near a grill that Tyrone was manning. A girl stood next to him, pointing to the tongs in his hand and shouting at him.
“You gotta stop playin’ with the fuckin’ meat. You fuckin’ up all the juices.”
Tyrone snapped the tongs together in her face. “Why don’t you back your ass up and let me handle my business? Ass don’t know nothing about cooking but all over here trying to tell me what to do with some damn meat. This ain’t dick. This is steak.”
“You should stop messing with it, though. That does squeeze the juice out of the meat,” Caesar said, drawing a look from Tyrone.
“Thank you!” she shouted.
Tyrone sucked his teeth. “That nigga rich. He doesn’t know anything about any fucking cooking either. Both y’all can starve.”
Another girl joined the group. Darren wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.
“Don’t mind them,” she said to Kaley, pointing to Tyrone and the other girl. “They’re always at each other’s throats but that’s their love language. But before my mama come down from heaven and smack me for being a bad host, I’m Ramona.”
“I figured someone else had to be behind all that décor,” Kaley said with a nod over her shoulder. “Kaley.”
“So, you’re the secret girlfriend that keeps Darren on the straight and narrow whenever we go out?” Caesar asked Ramona.
“That’s me,” she said as Darren kissed her on top of her head. “I wouldn’t say I was a secret though. I’m just busy all the time. Y’all go out too much for my tastes anyway.”
“They sure fucking do,” Kaley said.
“Preach, girl. This one,” the girl next to Tyrone said, pointing at him. “Is always at that fuckin’ strip club with all them old bitches like he got mommy issues. Must like them gummin’ his dick or something after they take out their teeth.”
“Like you don’t have your ass at that ‘gay male’ strip club down the way. Say they’re gay but their dicks get hard for women just the same, right?” Tyrone asked.
“How you this ignorant in 2052? Sexuality a spectrum.”
Ramona noticed the confused look on Kaley’s face. “They got an agreement,” she said.
“An arrangement,” Tyrone said to Kaley. “Me and Marcia got an arrangement.”
“There’s no difference between the word arrangement and the word agreement,” Darren said, laughing.
“Agreement make it sound like we signed a contract, motherfucker. We have an arrangement that we have an open relationship and can fuck other people. If I said agreement that we can fuck other people, it sounds like we had lawyers involved.”
“That’s splitting hairs,” Caesar said, taking a swig of his beer. He turned to Kaley. “Want to set up an ‘arrangement?’”
“I’ll cut your fucking dick off if you even ask me that again,” Kaley said.
“But it go both ways,” Marcia said to her. “I can ease you into it. I like pretty white girls.”
Tyrone clicked the tongs at her. “Sit yo horny ass down. Trying to take Caesar woman standing right in front of him.”
The others laughed as the two of them started bickering.
Darren walked around the grill, looking at the meat on it. “You fucked up that steak, bruh. That shit overcooked.”
“It’s not cooked at all,” Tyrone said. “Still got about 5 minutes.”
Darren poked the steak in question with his finger. “That shit is well done, nigga.”
“It’s well raw and I ain’t trying to die out here. Y’all can eat raw meat.”
“Make sure you know that shoe leather is for you. Mark it or something,” Darren said. He looked at Ramona. “Can you help me get the chicken because I don’t know if I want his ass cooking poultry?”
Ramona nodded and the two of them walked back into the house.
Kaley leaned closer to Caesar and motioned for him to bend down so she could speak quietly. “I didn’t expect him to be so domesticated.”
“I hope it isn’t giving you any ideas. I’m not Steven Homemaker.”
“Have you seen how you clean? I don’t need to do anything to get you in line.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“There that motherfucker go! Superstar!” Junie shouted, dapping up Caesar as he walked up to them. He looked at Kaley. “What’s up? You figure out what we talked about last night?”
Caesar took a step forward. “The fuck y’all talk about last night?”
Kaley smacked Caesar on the arm. “Calm down. He asked me if I had any friends that I could set him up with.”
“Yeah, big dog. I’m not trying to move in. I figured since she was in a sorority she had the insider tips on some single bitches who feeling lonely,” Junie said. “It’s hard out here for those of us who ain’t hoovering it up.”
Caesar nodded. “Oh, my bad. You don’t want any of them, man. Not the ones she’s around anyway. They’re all mean as hell.”
“They’re mean to you,” Kaley said. “I actually know just the one who really needs someone to occupy her attention.”
“Who?” Caesar asked.
“Oh, word?” Junie asked.
“Yep,” she said, ignoring Caesar’s question. “I’ll mention it to her when I see her later.”
“You a real one.”
“Who are you talking about?” Caesar asked again.
Kaley looked at him, but only shook her head. She pointed to Tyrone where a small fire had started on the grill. “You might want to help him out.”
Banging at the door jolted Devin awake. He sat up in his bed, shielding his eyes from the light streaming in from the window. He looked across the room and saw that Caesar wasn’t there so he laid back down assuming it was someone pranking random people in the res hall.
But the banging grew more incessant and didn’t stop.
“I’m fucking coming!” Devin shouted as he threw his feet out of the bed.
After their huge win over ULM, the team had scattered across New Orleans to celebrate. Devin spent much of the night with Carla but after learning that her roommate Misty snored felt he’d be better off sleeping in his own bed.
He still needed to send that fruit basket to Kaley for keeping Caesar as occupied as she did – and out of the room.
Opening the door, Devin found his grandfather standing on the other side. The man looked to have aged another 10 years since he saw him a few months ago. He now sported a cane and shuffled more than he walked as he entered the room without waiting for an invitation to do so.
“I didn’t expect you to be alone in here after y’all won yesterday. I know they are throwing themselves at you, trying to get on with the next star,” the old man said, his voice sounding strained from exertion. The walk from the parking lot was not a short one.
Devin raised his eyebrow. “How do you even know where my room is? Ma and dad didn’t help me move up here and haven’t been here.”
“I asked some kid in the parking lot and got lucky that it happened to be someone who lives down the hall there,” his grandfather said. He looked at the pristine side of the room, regarding it for a moment before turning back to Devin. “You have a weirdo as your roommate or something? Only people I know keep their stuff this clean have done time and weirdos.”
“Caesar’s my roommate.”
“Jenkins? Oh, so he pays someone to come and clean.”
Devin shook his head before pulling the chair out from under his desk so his grandfather could sit down. He sat down on his bed as the old man sat in the chair with a relieved sigh.
“He does that himself. Whenever he’s here anyway,” Devin said.
“Fucking weirdo then. My dorm room used to smell like ass and regret. And you’re in here with someone who probably whips out tweezers to pluck hairs off the floor because it’s not perfect. You better watch him.”
“For what?”
“Can’t trust those kinds of people. Never could,” Devin, Jr. said, shaking his head. “They always end up on the news for something or the other.”
“Did you come up here to psychoanalyze Caesar Jenkins or for something else?”
“Psychoanalyze? You come to these white people’s school for two months and suddenly you’re using words like psychoanalyze? You know they ain’t bring you here to talk like that. Unless you trying to confuse the receivers by shouting hard words at them.”
“Are we getting to the point here?”
The old man started to speak, but was caught off guard by a coughing fit. After a few moments, he was able to regain his composure.
“I made some calls for you last night after the game and got some more image deals lined up for you. Before you say anything, they ain’t the same kind of folks that I came to you about before even though those folks were offering more money,” his grandfather said.
“Really?”
“Yes, really. What the hell you mean really?”
“I don’t even want to talk about the people you called to try to set up these deals. I told you the last time that I’ll start getting involved with that stuff when I’m ready to start dealing with it. Right now, I’m just trying to keep my head above water.”
Devin, Jr. slammed his cane down on the floor. “You’re missing the boat on this. You’re going to fuck around and let the novelty wear off and then you’re going to be sitting here with your dick in your hands wishing that you’d cashed in sooner. You think that Jenkins boy ain’t getting some more money after breaking all them records?”
“Isn’t his dad an agent?”
“That’s not the point! You need to cash in now when the iron’s hot before you end up like Spencer Rattler and they’re calling for you to be benched.”
“Who?”
“Besides, you need to help the family. We’re facing some hard times, boy, and you’re the only one that can drag us out of them.”
“I don’t even know what that’s supposed to mean, but I’m not doing it. I already said it but I’ll say it again. I’ll deal with that when I’m ready and today isn’t that day.”
“One of these deals is for $10,000 up front.”
Devin shrugged. “I said what I said.”
“You know what? I blame that son of mine for how you are. You got a talent that most people on this Earth could never dream of having and you’re not doing anything with it.”
“Damn, that’s crazy.”
The old man stood up. His hand shook over the cane as he transferred the weight from one leg to the other. “Well, you don’t have to worry about me driving all the way out here to try to help you anymore. I think you made your little point. But don’t come crying when you try to sign a deal and they’re offering you free chicken strips in exchange for promoting businesses.”
“I’ll make sure to remember that.”
Devin, Jr. spared his grandson once last look before he turned to leave the room. He stopped and glanced over to Caesar’s desk with the odds and ends neatly lined up an exact distance from the edge of the desk.
“He must do a lot more catching off the field than on it, huh?” he asked Devin, but he didn’t wait for a reply as he shuffled to the door and left.
Devin checked the time on his phone before grabbing his laptop and laying back down to watch the day’s slate of NFL games.
-*****-
“Thought you wouldn’t be up and at ‘em today,” Darren said, dapping up Caesar as he and Kaley walked into the house Darren rented near the campus. Nothing about the house said 21-year-old college student nor 21-year-old college football star. Not the manicured lawn, not the HGTV-esque decorating and not the clean linen smell that overpowered that of a couple dozen people currently packed into it.
“Last night was something light,” Caesar said.
“That’s why you got hit with a case of whiskey dick?” Kaley asked.
Darren laughed before reaching into the fridge and handing both of them a beer. Kaley had met the guys the night before as they all went out to celebrate their first win of the season.
“Whiskey dick?” Caesar asked, raising an eyebrow as he popped the cap off the beer in his hand.
“It happens to the best of you.”
Darren motioned for them to follow him out into the backyard where more people were congregating on the patio near a grill that Tyrone was manning. A girl stood next to him, pointing to the tongs in his hand and shouting at him.
“You gotta stop playin’ with the fuckin’ meat. You fuckin’ up all the juices.”
Tyrone snapped the tongs together in her face. “Why don’t you back your ass up and let me handle my business? Ass don’t know nothing about cooking but all over here trying to tell me what to do with some damn meat. This ain’t dick. This is steak.”
“You should stop messing with it, though. That does squeeze the juice out of the meat,” Caesar said, drawing a look from Tyrone.
“Thank you!” she shouted.
Tyrone sucked his teeth. “That nigga rich. He doesn’t know anything about any fucking cooking either. Both y’all can starve.”
Another girl joined the group. Darren wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.
“Don’t mind them,” she said to Kaley, pointing to Tyrone and the other girl. “They’re always at each other’s throats but that’s their love language. But before my mama come down from heaven and smack me for being a bad host, I’m Ramona.”
“I figured someone else had to be behind all that décor,” Kaley said with a nod over her shoulder. “Kaley.”
“So, you’re the secret girlfriend that keeps Darren on the straight and narrow whenever we go out?” Caesar asked Ramona.
“That’s me,” she said as Darren kissed her on top of her head. “I wouldn’t say I was a secret though. I’m just busy all the time. Y’all go out too much for my tastes anyway.”
“They sure fucking do,” Kaley said.
“Preach, girl. This one,” the girl next to Tyrone said, pointing at him. “Is always at that fuckin’ strip club with all them old bitches like he got mommy issues. Must like them gummin’ his dick or something after they take out their teeth.”
“Like you don’t have your ass at that ‘gay male’ strip club down the way. Say they’re gay but their dicks get hard for women just the same, right?” Tyrone asked.
“How you this ignorant in 2052? Sexuality a spectrum.”
Ramona noticed the confused look on Kaley’s face. “They got an agreement,” she said.
“An arrangement,” Tyrone said to Kaley. “Me and Marcia got an arrangement.”
“There’s no difference between the word arrangement and the word agreement,” Darren said, laughing.
“Agreement make it sound like we signed a contract, motherfucker. We have an arrangement that we have an open relationship and can fuck other people. If I said agreement that we can fuck other people, it sounds like we had lawyers involved.”
“That’s splitting hairs,” Caesar said, taking a swig of his beer. He turned to Kaley. “Want to set up an ‘arrangement?’”
“I’ll cut your fucking dick off if you even ask me that again,” Kaley said.
“But it go both ways,” Marcia said to her. “I can ease you into it. I like pretty white girls.”
Tyrone clicked the tongs at her. “Sit yo horny ass down. Trying to take Caesar woman standing right in front of him.”
The others laughed as the two of them started bickering.
Darren walked around the grill, looking at the meat on it. “You fucked up that steak, bruh. That shit overcooked.”
“It’s not cooked at all,” Tyrone said. “Still got about 5 minutes.”
Darren poked the steak in question with his finger. “That shit is well done, nigga.”
“It’s well raw and I ain’t trying to die out here. Y’all can eat raw meat.”
“Make sure you know that shoe leather is for you. Mark it or something,” Darren said. He looked at Ramona. “Can you help me get the chicken because I don’t know if I want his ass cooking poultry?”
Ramona nodded and the two of them walked back into the house.
Kaley leaned closer to Caesar and motioned for him to bend down so she could speak quietly. “I didn’t expect him to be so domesticated.”
“I hope it isn’t giving you any ideas. I’m not Steven Homemaker.”
“Have you seen how you clean? I don’t need to do anything to get you in line.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“There that motherfucker go! Superstar!” Junie shouted, dapping up Caesar as he walked up to them. He looked at Kaley. “What’s up? You figure out what we talked about last night?”
Caesar took a step forward. “The fuck y’all talk about last night?”
Kaley smacked Caesar on the arm. “Calm down. He asked me if I had any friends that I could set him up with.”
“Yeah, big dog. I’m not trying to move in. I figured since she was in a sorority she had the insider tips on some single bitches who feeling lonely,” Junie said. “It’s hard out here for those of us who ain’t hoovering it up.”
Caesar nodded. “Oh, my bad. You don’t want any of them, man. Not the ones she’s around anyway. They’re all mean as hell.”
“They’re mean to you,” Kaley said. “I actually know just the one who really needs someone to occupy her attention.”
“Who?” Caesar asked.
“Oh, word?” Junie asked.
“Yep,” she said, ignoring Caesar’s question. “I’ll mention it to her when I see her later.”
“You a real one.”
“Who are you talking about?” Caesar asked again.
Kaley looked at him, but only shook her head. She pointed to Tyrone where a small fire had started on the grill. “You might want to help him out.”
-
Captain Canada
- Posts: 2186
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
Subtle progression, I fucked with it.
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
Tudo Bem
Caesar slipped on a pair of sunglasses as he walked out of Dante’s house, latest purchase in pocket. He was told to make it last a few weeks before coming back but he wasn’t going to make any promises. Things could come up and he’d burn through his stash faster. It wasn’t as if Dante wasn’t being paid for what he was selling.
He’d skipped class to go and get a pick-me-up before practice.
A car rolled to a stop at the end of the driveway giving Caesar pause as he walked to his own.
The window rolled down and a young man waved in his direction then pointed to Caesar’s car. “Hey, man. Is that yours?”
Caesar nodded.
“Can you move it so we can get in?”
Shrugging, he gave the guy a thumbs up and got in his car to back out. Before he did, he took the baggie out of his pocket and pressed it into the space behind the trunk latch button. Better safe than sorry given he didn’t know this person.
He looked up in the mirror and saw the car hadn’t moved but a girl had gotten out of the passenger side and was stalking toward him. She rapped her knuckles against the window.
Caesar cracked it open a bit. “Can I help you? I thought y’all want me to move. I can’t if you stay behind me.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard what I said. What are you doing here?” She gestured to Dante’s house as if to add emphasis to her question.
“Delivering some tacos, officer. I can show you the food order on my phone if you want to see it. It’s Tuesday after all.”
“I’m not a cop.”
“Maybe you are. Maybe you aren’t. But all I’m doing is delivering some tacos because it’s Tuesday and if you want to see the food order on my phone then I can show that to you. Otherwise, if I’m not being detained, am I free to leave?”
The girl’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t think I know what my brother does?”
“I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
“Cut the shit. I told you I’m not a cop. And any cop would know you’re not delivering food anyway with your $100,000 car and your $1,000 sunglasses on.”
Caesar took the sunglasses off his face and looked at them with a furrowed brow. “These really look like they only cost $1,000? That’s a little insulting.”
“And all the more reason to ask why you are here. Don’t you know someone in Madisonville that you can score from so you don’t bring my brother down with you when you OD on whatever it is you like to get high on?”
“I’ve never been to Madisonville in my life,” Caesar said, laughing. “I appreciate your concern for a total stranger but if you could get your friend back there to move his car, I’ll be on my way and you can go do whatever it is you were doing.”
“What’s your name?”
“There you go acting like an officer of the law again. Do I need my lawyer present for this? You’re asking a lot of questions for someone who says they aren’t a cop.”
“I told you what my problem with you is. I don’t need some rich kid from the North Shore or from whatever gentrifying neighborhood you live in coming around causing problems. You can find drugs from somewhere else.”
Caesar rolled the window all the way down. “What’s your name? And I’ll tell you mine.”
“Alysa.”
“I’m Malcolm.”
“No, you’re not.”
“What’s the point of asking for my name if you’re not going to believe me when I tell you what it is? My mother named me Malcolm.”
Alysa crossed her arms over her chest and started tapping her foot. Caesar took the opportunity to check her out. She wasn’t his usual type – if anyone could claim that he had a type – but if he were a single man, he might’ve told her what his name really was and rolled the dice on trying to lead this conversation to somewhere more beneficial.
She leaned down. “Don’t I know you from somewhere? Looking at you, you look familiar.”
“I just have one of those faces. I guess. Look, you don’t have to worry about me getting anyone into any shit. I know what I’m doing and what risks I’m taking.”
“So, go somewhere else.”
“Can’t go somewhere else if I don’t know where else to go. This seems to be working just fine for everyone involved.”
“You look like you have the means to find whatever you want wherever you want it. Or someone you know does.”
Dante walked out of the house and looked around, spotting Caesar still sitting in the driveway. He walked out to the car, all but shoving Alysa out of the way. “You remember my rules?”
“Yep,” Caesar said.
“Then go on and head back uptown. There ain’t nothing else that you need to be waiting around here for.”
Caesar held his hands up as an apology and motioned to the car that was still behind his. Dante said something to Alysa before waving for her friend to back up and let Caesar leave. As he backed out of the driveway, he spared one last look at his drug dealer’s sister.
He took the bag from behind the trunk latch before it fell and tossed it onto the passenger seat.
It was a bonus that the lounge for athletes had free coffee from some local spot nearby. It was always fresh and seemingly always hot.
He nodded to some guy walking into the lounge – someone on the basketball team if his memory served him correctly – as he sat down on a sofa to catch a few moments of peace and quiet before running off to whatever he had to do next.
The team was on the road for the next two weeks and Devin wasn’t too proud to admit that he was excited. Aside from the handful of recruiting visits he’d taken, most of which weren’t too far from Louisiana, his family hadn’t done much traveling. Getting to see San Diego and Cincinnati, even if only for a day or two, was an early positive of college.
Sol walked into the lounge talking with another one of the many athletes who milled around the lounge during the day. This one was a guy wearing a golf shirt. It never ceased to amaze Devin just how many people Tulane had representing the school in various sports. And Tulane had one of the smaller SEC programs.
Spotting Devin, Sol excused herself from the conversation she was in and walked over to sit on the sofa next to him.
“I haven’t seen you terrorizing any of our photographers lately. You must have gotten the hang of posing for pictures,” Sol said with a smile.
“I think they’re just all happy that they can just snap shots of me while I’m on the field. They were probably ready to quit.”
“They’ll get over it. What about you? Tudo bem?”
“I’m—Wait, what?”
Sol laughed. “I’m sorry. Sometimes, I forget where I am and slip up. English second language issues, you know? How are you?”
“What language is that?”
“Portuguese. The Brazilian variety.”
“Ah,” was all Devin could say as he was replaying in his mind how she said the word “Portuguese.” It just sounded better than any other time he’d heard it.
“So, are you settling in now?” she asked, bringing him back to the conversation.
“As good as can be expected. I figure this is what all college freshmen go through on steroids. Give me until December, though, and I’ll have it down.”
“Of course, the season will be over by then.”
Devin put his hand to his chest. “Some Tulane fan you are. The national championship is in January, ma’am.”
“Sounds like you’ll need to make me eat my words when you get the team to the national championship, so the season doesn’t end in December then,” she said.
“I’ll let the guys know we’re playing to prove you wrong.”
She laughed and stood up from the sofa. “I’m sure they’ll get a kick out of that, but make sure they also know to mention me in their speeches after the game. Sol Da Costa. D-A not De.”
“Got it.”
“See you around, Devin.”
She started to walk away but stopped when her attention was drawn to one of the TV hanging in the lounge that was showing the news. Devin glanced over at the screen as well wondering what was so captivating.
Scenes of a warzone in some far-flung part of the world flitted across the screen, showing people running through a city where the buildings were on fire. “North Korea launches surprise invasion of South Korea” scrolled along the bottom of the screen. It was replaced by “President Stevens to announce mobilization of U.S. forces, address nation tonight.”
“American imperialism’s still alive, huh?” Sol asked Devin. “You’d think they would finally let the U.N. sort that out after a century but no. Just another Afghanistan waiting to happen.”
Devin didn’t know enough about geopolitics to respond to that so he only nodded and looked back toward the TV as some talking head appeared on the screen and would likely be in the middle of opining about the situation had the TV not been muted.
Sol said something to herself in Portuguese before shaking her head and leaving the lounge.
Sipping his coffee, Devin sighed as it had gotten too room temperature for his liking. He set the cup on the table in front of him before kicking his feet up on the sofa to rest his eyes at bit.
Caesar slipped on a pair of sunglasses as he walked out of Dante’s house, latest purchase in pocket. He was told to make it last a few weeks before coming back but he wasn’t going to make any promises. Things could come up and he’d burn through his stash faster. It wasn’t as if Dante wasn’t being paid for what he was selling.
He’d skipped class to go and get a pick-me-up before practice.
A car rolled to a stop at the end of the driveway giving Caesar pause as he walked to his own.
The window rolled down and a young man waved in his direction then pointed to Caesar’s car. “Hey, man. Is that yours?”
Caesar nodded.
“Can you move it so we can get in?”
Shrugging, he gave the guy a thumbs up and got in his car to back out. Before he did, he took the baggie out of his pocket and pressed it into the space behind the trunk latch button. Better safe than sorry given he didn’t know this person.
He looked up in the mirror and saw the car hadn’t moved but a girl had gotten out of the passenger side and was stalking toward him. She rapped her knuckles against the window.
Caesar cracked it open a bit. “Can I help you? I thought y’all want me to move. I can’t if you stay behind me.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard what I said. What are you doing here?” She gestured to Dante’s house as if to add emphasis to her question.
“Delivering some tacos, officer. I can show you the food order on my phone if you want to see it. It’s Tuesday after all.”
“I’m not a cop.”
“Maybe you are. Maybe you aren’t. But all I’m doing is delivering some tacos because it’s Tuesday and if you want to see the food order on my phone then I can show that to you. Otherwise, if I’m not being detained, am I free to leave?”
The girl’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t think I know what my brother does?”
“I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
“Cut the shit. I told you I’m not a cop. And any cop would know you’re not delivering food anyway with your $100,000 car and your $1,000 sunglasses on.”
Caesar took the sunglasses off his face and looked at them with a furrowed brow. “These really look like they only cost $1,000? That’s a little insulting.”
“And all the more reason to ask why you are here. Don’t you know someone in Madisonville that you can score from so you don’t bring my brother down with you when you OD on whatever it is you like to get high on?”
“I’ve never been to Madisonville in my life,” Caesar said, laughing. “I appreciate your concern for a total stranger but if you could get your friend back there to move his car, I’ll be on my way and you can go do whatever it is you were doing.”
“What’s your name?”
“There you go acting like an officer of the law again. Do I need my lawyer present for this? You’re asking a lot of questions for someone who says they aren’t a cop.”
“I told you what my problem with you is. I don’t need some rich kid from the North Shore or from whatever gentrifying neighborhood you live in coming around causing problems. You can find drugs from somewhere else.”
Caesar rolled the window all the way down. “What’s your name? And I’ll tell you mine.”
“Alysa.”
“I’m Malcolm.”
“No, you’re not.”
“What’s the point of asking for my name if you’re not going to believe me when I tell you what it is? My mother named me Malcolm.”
Alysa crossed her arms over her chest and started tapping her foot. Caesar took the opportunity to check her out. She wasn’t his usual type – if anyone could claim that he had a type – but if he were a single man, he might’ve told her what his name really was and rolled the dice on trying to lead this conversation to somewhere more beneficial.
She leaned down. “Don’t I know you from somewhere? Looking at you, you look familiar.”
“I just have one of those faces. I guess. Look, you don’t have to worry about me getting anyone into any shit. I know what I’m doing and what risks I’m taking.”
“So, go somewhere else.”
“Can’t go somewhere else if I don’t know where else to go. This seems to be working just fine for everyone involved.”
“You look like you have the means to find whatever you want wherever you want it. Or someone you know does.”
Dante walked out of the house and looked around, spotting Caesar still sitting in the driveway. He walked out to the car, all but shoving Alysa out of the way. “You remember my rules?”
“Yep,” Caesar said.
“Then go on and head back uptown. There ain’t nothing else that you need to be waiting around here for.”
Caesar held his hands up as an apology and motioned to the car that was still behind his. Dante said something to Alysa before waving for her friend to back up and let Caesar leave. As he backed out of the driveway, he spared one last look at his drug dealer’s sister.
He took the bag from behind the trunk latch before it fell and tossed it onto the passenger seat.
-*****-
Devin filled a cup with coffee and creamer before taking a sip of the warm beverage. He’d never been much of a coffee drinking before but had quickly learned that it was a good way for him to make it through those long days of classes, practice and other football-related activities.It was a bonus that the lounge for athletes had free coffee from some local spot nearby. It was always fresh and seemingly always hot.
He nodded to some guy walking into the lounge – someone on the basketball team if his memory served him correctly – as he sat down on a sofa to catch a few moments of peace and quiet before running off to whatever he had to do next.
The team was on the road for the next two weeks and Devin wasn’t too proud to admit that he was excited. Aside from the handful of recruiting visits he’d taken, most of which weren’t too far from Louisiana, his family hadn’t done much traveling. Getting to see San Diego and Cincinnati, even if only for a day or two, was an early positive of college.
Sol walked into the lounge talking with another one of the many athletes who milled around the lounge during the day. This one was a guy wearing a golf shirt. It never ceased to amaze Devin just how many people Tulane had representing the school in various sports. And Tulane had one of the smaller SEC programs.
Spotting Devin, Sol excused herself from the conversation she was in and walked over to sit on the sofa next to him.
“I haven’t seen you terrorizing any of our photographers lately. You must have gotten the hang of posing for pictures,” Sol said with a smile.
“I think they’re just all happy that they can just snap shots of me while I’m on the field. They were probably ready to quit.”
“They’ll get over it. What about you? Tudo bem?”
“I’m—Wait, what?”
Sol laughed. “I’m sorry. Sometimes, I forget where I am and slip up. English second language issues, you know? How are you?”
“What language is that?”
“Portuguese. The Brazilian variety.”
“Ah,” was all Devin could say as he was replaying in his mind how she said the word “Portuguese.” It just sounded better than any other time he’d heard it.
“So, are you settling in now?” she asked, bringing him back to the conversation.
“As good as can be expected. I figure this is what all college freshmen go through on steroids. Give me until December, though, and I’ll have it down.”
“Of course, the season will be over by then.”
Devin put his hand to his chest. “Some Tulane fan you are. The national championship is in January, ma’am.”
“Sounds like you’ll need to make me eat my words when you get the team to the national championship, so the season doesn’t end in December then,” she said.
“I’ll let the guys know we’re playing to prove you wrong.”
She laughed and stood up from the sofa. “I’m sure they’ll get a kick out of that, but make sure they also know to mention me in their speeches after the game. Sol Da Costa. D-A not De.”
“Got it.”
“See you around, Devin.”
She started to walk away but stopped when her attention was drawn to one of the TV hanging in the lounge that was showing the news. Devin glanced over at the screen as well wondering what was so captivating.
Scenes of a warzone in some far-flung part of the world flitted across the screen, showing people running through a city where the buildings were on fire. “North Korea launches surprise invasion of South Korea” scrolled along the bottom of the screen. It was replaced by “President Stevens to announce mobilization of U.S. forces, address nation tonight.”
“American imperialism’s still alive, huh?” Sol asked Devin. “You’d think they would finally let the U.N. sort that out after a century but no. Just another Afghanistan waiting to happen.”
Devin didn’t know enough about geopolitics to respond to that so he only nodded and looked back toward the TV as some talking head appeared on the screen and would likely be in the middle of opining about the situation had the TV not been muted.
Sol said something to herself in Portuguese before shaking her head and leaving the lounge.
Sipping his coffee, Devin sighed as it had gotten too room temperature for his liking. He set the cup on the table in front of him before kicking his feet up on the sofa to rest his eyes at bit.
-
Captain Canada
- Posts: 2186
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
The characters you slowly throw into this are always fascinating. Good stuff once again
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
West Coast Wreckin’ Crew
Devin ran stride for stride with the San Diego State receiver, fighting off an attempt to subtly push him away when the receiver planted his foot and cut back toward the line of scrimmage. Devin followed him and flipped his head around just in time to locate the ball coming in their direction.
Jumping in front of the receiver, Devin raised his hands and felt the thud of leather smacking his gloved hands. He quickly brought the ball in and tucked it against his stomach as the receiver swatted down across his arms to try to knock the ball away, but it was of no use as Devin rolled to the ground with the ball secured.
Hayden was the first to run over and help Devin to his feet, smacking him on the top of his helmet and shouting at him for grabbing his first interception of his college career.
As he jogged off the field, more congratulations were rained on him – so were a chorus of boos from the fans in Aztec Stadium as their offense was forced to trudge off the field yet again in a game that was teetering on getting out of control.
…
“Tulane’s offense comes back on the field up 17-0 here in the third quarter and looking at a short field ahead of them after that interception by freshman cornerback Devin King. You have to think that if the Green Wave can punch the ball into the endzone on this drive that they can start heading for the exits here because that defense has shown no signs of letting up all day.”
“Not at all. You almost have to think that the guys on the other side of the ball for Tulane are feeling a little bit flat given they’ve been playing with excellent field position the entire game and have only come away with 17 points.”
“Well, it is a step-up from their opponents last week in the shape of Louisiana-Monroe to a Power Five opponent.”
…
Caesar took a step toward the outside before releasing inside. The Aztecs corner stumbled out of his backpedal but managed to close the gap between the two of them quickly. All the same, Darren rocketed a pass into Caesar’s hands.
Jabbing the corner in his chest with a stiff arm, Caesar created some separation and started to accelerate away, curling toward the sideline to get away from the middle of the field and the black-and-red clad players now in pursuit.
One of the safeties got an angle on him and reached out to make the tackle. Lowering his shoulder, Caesar bowled the defender over, having to high step to keep away from the player’s flailing arms trying to save face.
Getting back up to speed, Caesar curved across the field and into the endzone for the touchdown. He dropped the ball and pointed to the nearest camera then pounded his fist against the #17 on his chest.
…
“Drake Fox brings in that pass short of the first down and that’s going to be the end of this one as the Tulane Green Wave improve to 2-0 on the season thanks to this emphatic 33-7 victory over the now 1-1 San Diego State Aztecs. A lot of people out there are going to start wondering just how far this Tulane team can go after two big wins to start the season.”
“There is a lot to like about this squad, on both sides of the ball. This defense just shut down one of the highest scoring offenses in the Pac-12 last season and an offense that hung 48 points on them in the other half of their home-and-home. But we know what everyone’s going to focus on. Caesar Jenkins is just built different. You can do whatever you want on defense, but it doesn’t matter if you have someone who runs crisps routes, has the ability to make difficult catches and almost always gets that YAC.”
“A lot of people are comparing him to Hall of Fame receiver Calvin Johnson. Do you think it’s a little too early for those comparisons?”
“He has the measurables. He’s 6’5”, 6’6”. Everyone says he’s in that 4.3 bracket in terms of speed. And he’s got the strength to run people over and the willingness to do it. What are defensive backs supposed to do against him? Maybe they could put a linebacker against him to try to stop him from getting off the line by any means necessary!”
“Well, you have to keep things in context. As good as this San Diego State team is, they aren’t known for their pass defense, and we can just write off Louisiana-Monroe as what it was – a money game for the Warhawks. In two weeks, they have Auburn. That’s going to be the real test.”
“The Tigers boast a possible first round pick in April at corner in the shape of Tevin Horton. Horton has started for Auburn for three years now and may have the size to deal with Jenkins, standing 6’2”.”
“Y’all can tab any team you want as the test for Tulane. Right now, consider me on the bandwagon, the hype train, whatever you want to call it. I just put in an order for a couple of jerseys for me and the kids. You’ll see I’m right here!”
“That we will. In other SEC action tonight, the number five LSU Tigers blew away James Madison, 66-0. Stay tuned because Caesar Jenkins isn’t the only superstar freshman in Louisiana this season.”
“You might want to go ahead and put the kids to bed before we show some of these hits, folks.”
“Or get the popcorn! Because some of these look like they would be better suited for the octagon than the gridiron! And I, for one, love it!”
…
Devin pulled his hoodie over his head before picking up the Gatorade bottle from a stool to take a swig from it. He scratched at a bandage on his arm where the artificial turf had been a little less than forgiving on his skin.
The past handful of hours had flown by since they’d arrived at the stadium. It was now approaching the end of the day on the west coast, and it seemed like he had just stepped on the bus at the hotel that morning. If it weren’t for the slight ache in his body and the exhaustion that was beginning to overcome him, he’d almost forgive himself for not feeling as if he’d just played a full football game against a tough opponent.
Reporters and the like swarmed the locker room and the concourse area to get their post-game interviews with the players and Coach Shuman before the team headed to the airport to return to New Orleans.
Glancing over to where a group of reporters surrounded Christian with their phones and cameras in his face, Devin felt a bit of relief that for the most part he was still flying under the radar in terms of press attention.
He was still an unknown commodity and he honestly preferred it that way. The most media interaction he’d had to that point was when he announced that he was going to be attending TCU – and that obviously hadn’t turned out that well.
Pulling his bag up on his shoulder, he sighed to himself before heading to where the buses would be sitting ready to bring the team to the airport for the red eye flight back home.
…
Caesar languidly brought the water bottle to his lips and drank as he listened to the reporter’s question as he leaned against a wall in the concourse of the stadium.
“At the end of the day, I just want to win every game. Whatever I need to do to win every game is what I’m going to do,” he said in response to the question. “If coach wants me to run some trick plays and sling the rock, I can do that, too. I got it in my blood.”
He winked after the addition drawing a couple chuckles when the reporters realized he was talking about his father.
“Caesar, one thing that may be of concern is that you’ve gotten an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in both games so far this season. It seems that you and D.J. Harvey got into a heated exchange late in the game that led to the penalty tonight.”
“Who?”
“D.J. Harvey, number 8 for the Aztecs.”
“I don’t remember him.” Caesar shrugged. “What’s your question?”
“Have the coaches spoken to you about your discipline on the field?”
Caesar shook his head. “It’s only a problem if you get two of those in one game, right? Look, football isn’t a game for nice men. If B.J. Darby, A.J. Barbie, T.J. Gar-bah-gie or whoever or any other defensive back has a problem with me, that’s a them issue. You’re out there to stop me. That’s why they have you on scholarship. If you don’t want to be embarrassed in front of your friends and family in the crowd, be better.”
An SID slipped into the gaggle and put himself between Caesar and the reporters. “Anything else?” But he didn’t wait for them to answer before saying, “Good, thanks y’all. See y’all in Cincinnati next week.”
Devin ran stride for stride with the San Diego State receiver, fighting off an attempt to subtly push him away when the receiver planted his foot and cut back toward the line of scrimmage. Devin followed him and flipped his head around just in time to locate the ball coming in their direction.
Jumping in front of the receiver, Devin raised his hands and felt the thud of leather smacking his gloved hands. He quickly brought the ball in and tucked it against his stomach as the receiver swatted down across his arms to try to knock the ball away, but it was of no use as Devin rolled to the ground with the ball secured.
Hayden was the first to run over and help Devin to his feet, smacking him on the top of his helmet and shouting at him for grabbing his first interception of his college career.
As he jogged off the field, more congratulations were rained on him – so were a chorus of boos from the fans in Aztec Stadium as their offense was forced to trudge off the field yet again in a game that was teetering on getting out of control.
…
“Tulane’s offense comes back on the field up 17-0 here in the third quarter and looking at a short field ahead of them after that interception by freshman cornerback Devin King. You have to think that if the Green Wave can punch the ball into the endzone on this drive that they can start heading for the exits here because that defense has shown no signs of letting up all day.”
“Not at all. You almost have to think that the guys on the other side of the ball for Tulane are feeling a little bit flat given they’ve been playing with excellent field position the entire game and have only come away with 17 points.”
“Well, it is a step-up from their opponents last week in the shape of Louisiana-Monroe to a Power Five opponent.”
…
Caesar took a step toward the outside before releasing inside. The Aztecs corner stumbled out of his backpedal but managed to close the gap between the two of them quickly. All the same, Darren rocketed a pass into Caesar’s hands.
Jabbing the corner in his chest with a stiff arm, Caesar created some separation and started to accelerate away, curling toward the sideline to get away from the middle of the field and the black-and-red clad players now in pursuit.
One of the safeties got an angle on him and reached out to make the tackle. Lowering his shoulder, Caesar bowled the defender over, having to high step to keep away from the player’s flailing arms trying to save face.
Getting back up to speed, Caesar curved across the field and into the endzone for the touchdown. He dropped the ball and pointed to the nearest camera then pounded his fist against the #17 on his chest.
…
“Drake Fox brings in that pass short of the first down and that’s going to be the end of this one as the Tulane Green Wave improve to 2-0 on the season thanks to this emphatic 33-7 victory over the now 1-1 San Diego State Aztecs. A lot of people out there are going to start wondering just how far this Tulane team can go after two big wins to start the season.”
“There is a lot to like about this squad, on both sides of the ball. This defense just shut down one of the highest scoring offenses in the Pac-12 last season and an offense that hung 48 points on them in the other half of their home-and-home. But we know what everyone’s going to focus on. Caesar Jenkins is just built different. You can do whatever you want on defense, but it doesn’t matter if you have someone who runs crisps routes, has the ability to make difficult catches and almost always gets that YAC.”
“A lot of people are comparing him to Hall of Fame receiver Calvin Johnson. Do you think it’s a little too early for those comparisons?”
“He has the measurables. He’s 6’5”, 6’6”. Everyone says he’s in that 4.3 bracket in terms of speed. And he’s got the strength to run people over and the willingness to do it. What are defensive backs supposed to do against him? Maybe they could put a linebacker against him to try to stop him from getting off the line by any means necessary!”
“Well, you have to keep things in context. As good as this San Diego State team is, they aren’t known for their pass defense, and we can just write off Louisiana-Monroe as what it was – a money game for the Warhawks. In two weeks, they have Auburn. That’s going to be the real test.”
“The Tigers boast a possible first round pick in April at corner in the shape of Tevin Horton. Horton has started for Auburn for three years now and may have the size to deal with Jenkins, standing 6’2”.”
“Y’all can tab any team you want as the test for Tulane. Right now, consider me on the bandwagon, the hype train, whatever you want to call it. I just put in an order for a couple of jerseys for me and the kids. You’ll see I’m right here!”
“That we will. In other SEC action tonight, the number five LSU Tigers blew away James Madison, 66-0. Stay tuned because Caesar Jenkins isn’t the only superstar freshman in Louisiana this season.”
“You might want to go ahead and put the kids to bed before we show some of these hits, folks.”
“Or get the popcorn! Because some of these look like they would be better suited for the octagon than the gridiron! And I, for one, love it!”
…
Devin pulled his hoodie over his head before picking up the Gatorade bottle from a stool to take a swig from it. He scratched at a bandage on his arm where the artificial turf had been a little less than forgiving on his skin.
The past handful of hours had flown by since they’d arrived at the stadium. It was now approaching the end of the day on the west coast, and it seemed like he had just stepped on the bus at the hotel that morning. If it weren’t for the slight ache in his body and the exhaustion that was beginning to overcome him, he’d almost forgive himself for not feeling as if he’d just played a full football game against a tough opponent.
Reporters and the like swarmed the locker room and the concourse area to get their post-game interviews with the players and Coach Shuman before the team headed to the airport to return to New Orleans.
Glancing over to where a group of reporters surrounded Christian with their phones and cameras in his face, Devin felt a bit of relief that for the most part he was still flying under the radar in terms of press attention.
He was still an unknown commodity and he honestly preferred it that way. The most media interaction he’d had to that point was when he announced that he was going to be attending TCU – and that obviously hadn’t turned out that well.
Pulling his bag up on his shoulder, he sighed to himself before heading to where the buses would be sitting ready to bring the team to the airport for the red eye flight back home.
…
Caesar languidly brought the water bottle to his lips and drank as he listened to the reporter’s question as he leaned against a wall in the concourse of the stadium.
“At the end of the day, I just want to win every game. Whatever I need to do to win every game is what I’m going to do,” he said in response to the question. “If coach wants me to run some trick plays and sling the rock, I can do that, too. I got it in my blood.”
He winked after the addition drawing a couple chuckles when the reporters realized he was talking about his father.
“Caesar, one thing that may be of concern is that you’ve gotten an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in both games so far this season. It seems that you and D.J. Harvey got into a heated exchange late in the game that led to the penalty tonight.”
“Who?”
“D.J. Harvey, number 8 for the Aztecs.”
“I don’t remember him.” Caesar shrugged. “What’s your question?”
“Have the coaches spoken to you about your discipline on the field?”
Caesar shook his head. “It’s only a problem if you get two of those in one game, right? Look, football isn’t a game for nice men. If B.J. Darby, A.J. Barbie, T.J. Gar-bah-gie or whoever or any other defensive back has a problem with me, that’s a them issue. You’re out there to stop me. That’s why they have you on scholarship. If you don’t want to be embarrassed in front of your friends and family in the crowd, be better.”
An SID slipped into the gaggle and put himself between Caesar and the reporters. “Anything else?” But he didn’t wait for them to answer before saying, “Good, thanks y’all. See y’all in Cincinnati next week.”
-
Captain Canada
- Posts: 2186
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
LSU gonna put Caesar through it. PLEASE.
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
Juggling Act
“Yeah, I’ll take the blackened redfish? With the pasta salad,” Devin said, handing the menu to the waiter.
The waiter nodded and left Devin and Carla alone at a table in the middle of a mid-tier restaurant in New Orleans. Coach Shuman had given the team an extra half day off after their win against San Diego State and with an away game at the end of the week to compensate for travel fatigue. Devin decided to take advantage of it by taking Carla out to lunch.
“You know you wouldn’t have to keep me fed so much if you’d just text me back in less than five hours,” Carla said as she swirled a straw around a glass of water with her finger. “Being hangry has never been my problem anyway. That’s not my thing.”
“I’m –”
“Busy, I know.”
Devin shook his head. “I was going to say sorry actually. But I also don’t want fight with you while we do get a chance to spend some time together. You only have to put up with this until December and then I’m all yours. For six months. For the most part.”
“It’s September.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be the optimistic one of us? It’s almost the end of September which means that December is only a few months away.”
She sighed and stopped moving the straw. “I’m sorry. I just figured this would be a lot easier than it’s turning out to be. It was when we were in high school, and you played football then. I guess everything is just more now.”
“That’s one way to put it.”
“And I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m really fucking jealous of Kaley. You know that bitch always blows me off because she’s blowing Caesar? Forget anything else. I want to know when do they fucking go to class?!”
“I don’t know about Kaley but there’s some guy who hangs around the athletes who does their shit for them. I’m sure Caesar has the money to pay him to basically take all of his classes for him. I think his name is Luke or some shit.”
Carla rolled her eyes. “Must be nice.”
“I mean, I guess. I wouldn’t want some random dude doing my work for me whether people vouch for him or not. I’m sure at some point that shit’s going to get overwhelming and someone’s going to get some trash work to turn in and then what?”
“Caesar has enough money to make sure that he’s always at the front of the line.”
“You were telling me about something happening with Misty the other day. Did y’all get that sorted out?” Devin asked, shifting the conversation away from Caesar. It was bad enough that he had to room with the guy and that he dominated the talk around the team after his idiotic statement after the game.
“Oh, you mean her spilling paint on the carpet? Yeah, they fix it, but we have to pay it back or it’s a strike against us? Something like that. I was confused about the entire thing.”
“’Us’? It was her who spilled the paint.”
She nodded. “Well, yeah, but Ricky said that he knew how to get paint out of carpet so we let him try to do something about it and it got worse, so I felt bad and took some of the blame.”
“Ricky, huh?”
“Devin.”
“What?” he asked, eyebrow raised.
“I’m not fucking Ricky. He reminds me of a puppy. Does he want to fuck me? Probably so. That’s the vibe I get, anyway. But you can’t knock me for taking advantage of some guy following me around like I have oats in my pocket. It’s not mutual attraction by any means, though.”
“People like puppies, Carla.”
She leaned over the table so she could lower her voice. “I like to play with puppies and pet them. I don’t want a puppy to eat my fucking pussy.”
The waiter cleared his throat as he put their plates in front of them. They thanked him and he headed to another table without another word.
“Fair enough,” Devin said before digging into his redfish.
She picked up her fork and looked at the salad in front of her before glancing up and laughing. “I do think that it’s cute that you got a little jealous there, though. You don’t get all territorial that much. At least, you don’t say it out loud.”
“Oh, you liked that?”
“Yeah, it was kinda hot. Hot enough that you can eat me out after we leave here as a bit of dessert,” she said with a wink. “You know since you’re worried that someone else is getting a taste behind your back.”
He placed his fork down and took a large gulp from the glass of water next to his place. “I don’t see how that’s something that benefits me at all. If you’re going to be the only one getting some then I’d suggest calling Ricky, to be honest.”
“You know you want to. And you know I don’t leave you hanging. So, hurry up and finish that so we can get out of here.”
“In the room with the paint on the floor? Going to feel like I’m walking on stale Kraft mac and cheese? And it probably smells like Sherwin-Williams in there? I don’t know about you but that doesn’t scream that it’s a place to get off. Besides, doesn’t Misty have four online classes?”
“Guess we’ll just have to go back to yours and cross our fingers that Caesar doesn’t show up in the middle of it. Because that would be an instant turn off.”
Kaley climbed over Caesar to get out of the bed, picking up her underwear from the floor to put it back on. She walked to her closet and grabbed a dress out of it at random.
“Get dressed. I have to go,” she said as she rummaged around in the closet for a pair of shoes to match the dress.
“You’re just going to get up and go? Not going to take a shower first or anything? Just going to go walking around smelling like you just got fucked?” he asked, sitting up in her bed but not moving to start putting his clothes back on. “Where are you going anyway?”
“Meeting. You know we have meetings all the time.” She looked back at him and sighed. “Seriously, Caesar. I don’t want to be late.”
He waved off her comment before reaching down to grab his phone out of his pants pocket. “You act like I can’t be in your room without you. It’s not like I’m going to go snooping through your shit. Most of it is shit that I bought so I already know what’s in there.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Oh?” he asked. “Is the point that you want a round two if I just stay sitting over here with my dick out and then you’d miss that bullshit meeting? Just skip it and bring that ass back over here and get some more of this dick then.”
“Don’t do that. It’s not bullshit. I actually do like some of this stuff, you know?”
“I just don’t know what you discuss at a sorority meeting. Which frat bros are off-limits because they’re ‘dating’ one of your sisters? Who is going to blow the rich bro so y’all can get some extra drinks during the next tailgate?”
She rubbed at her forehead and sighed before grabbing a brush and getting started on making herself look more presentable. “Can you just get dressed please?”
It was his turn to sigh as he stood up, snatching his briefs off the floor and putting them on. “Are you happy now?”
“Yes, very,” she said without looking toward him.
He unlocked his phone to a flood of social media notifications from players on the teams remaining on Tulane’s schedule thanking him for the “bulletin board” material. He smiled to himself and quickly reshared a post showing his stats against individual players in the first two games, antagonizing all of their future opponents some more by tagging a few of them in the post and adding that if they needed more motivation they could use that post.
Then he noticed someone had tagged him on a video showing a highlight reel of Erik Jenkins’ hits in LSU’s last game against James Madison with the caption “Got a body bag with #17 on it in November.”
So, Caesar replied to it with crying laughing emojis.
He looked up from his phone. “Hey, did you ever hear back about that legislative assistant internship? I’m sure my dad knows someone that can pull some strings for you.”
“I don’t think your dad is my biggest fan,” she said as she put on makeup. “But yes, I did. I have to wait until after the election. They don’t want to give it to someone if Rep. Carter gets beat.”
“I don’t know shit about elections but let me know if there’s something I can do to help.”
She looked over at him. “You can finish getting dressed.”
He made a show of bending down to pick up his pants and put one foot into them. He was about to say something when the door opened, and Gia and Janelle walked into the room.
“Kaley, c’mon we’re going to be late,” Gia said, noticing her standing in front of the mirror. She stepped over to her to zip the back of her dress to hurry her along.
Janelle glanced over at Caesar and shook her head. “Of course, it would be you that would be getting in the way of people’s obligations. Have you ever thought about, I don’t know, being less of a dickhead?”
“Fuck off,” he said, flipping her off.
That brought Gia’s attention to Caesar, with only a pair of briefs on and one foot in his pants. She looked down and bit her lip before turning to Kaley.
Gia cleared her throat before she spoke. “You don’t need all that damn makeup, girl! Bring your pretty ass on so we can get this over with. Daisy’s big told her this is probably going to be a long ass meeting because of that shit the other day.”
“I don’t know what that has to do with all of us,” Kaley said, running her hand through her hair one last time.
“Sisterhood,” Janelle said.
The three of them walked toward the door to leave.
Kaley looked back at Caesar. “Lock the door when you leave please.”
Caesar shook his head as he finished getting dressed, leaving not long after they had.
“Yeah, I’ll take the blackened redfish? With the pasta salad,” Devin said, handing the menu to the waiter.
The waiter nodded and left Devin and Carla alone at a table in the middle of a mid-tier restaurant in New Orleans. Coach Shuman had given the team an extra half day off after their win against San Diego State and with an away game at the end of the week to compensate for travel fatigue. Devin decided to take advantage of it by taking Carla out to lunch.
“You know you wouldn’t have to keep me fed so much if you’d just text me back in less than five hours,” Carla said as she swirled a straw around a glass of water with her finger. “Being hangry has never been my problem anyway. That’s not my thing.”
“I’m –”
“Busy, I know.”
Devin shook his head. “I was going to say sorry actually. But I also don’t want fight with you while we do get a chance to spend some time together. You only have to put up with this until December and then I’m all yours. For six months. For the most part.”
“It’s September.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be the optimistic one of us? It’s almost the end of September which means that December is only a few months away.”
She sighed and stopped moving the straw. “I’m sorry. I just figured this would be a lot easier than it’s turning out to be. It was when we were in high school, and you played football then. I guess everything is just more now.”
“That’s one way to put it.”
“And I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m really fucking jealous of Kaley. You know that bitch always blows me off because she’s blowing Caesar? Forget anything else. I want to know when do they fucking go to class?!”
“I don’t know about Kaley but there’s some guy who hangs around the athletes who does their shit for them. I’m sure Caesar has the money to pay him to basically take all of his classes for him. I think his name is Luke or some shit.”
Carla rolled her eyes. “Must be nice.”
“I mean, I guess. I wouldn’t want some random dude doing my work for me whether people vouch for him or not. I’m sure at some point that shit’s going to get overwhelming and someone’s going to get some trash work to turn in and then what?”
“Caesar has enough money to make sure that he’s always at the front of the line.”
“You were telling me about something happening with Misty the other day. Did y’all get that sorted out?” Devin asked, shifting the conversation away from Caesar. It was bad enough that he had to room with the guy and that he dominated the talk around the team after his idiotic statement after the game.
“Oh, you mean her spilling paint on the carpet? Yeah, they fix it, but we have to pay it back or it’s a strike against us? Something like that. I was confused about the entire thing.”
“’Us’? It was her who spilled the paint.”
She nodded. “Well, yeah, but Ricky said that he knew how to get paint out of carpet so we let him try to do something about it and it got worse, so I felt bad and took some of the blame.”
“Ricky, huh?”
“Devin.”
“What?” he asked, eyebrow raised.
“I’m not fucking Ricky. He reminds me of a puppy. Does he want to fuck me? Probably so. That’s the vibe I get, anyway. But you can’t knock me for taking advantage of some guy following me around like I have oats in my pocket. It’s not mutual attraction by any means, though.”
“People like puppies, Carla.”
She leaned over the table so she could lower her voice. “I like to play with puppies and pet them. I don’t want a puppy to eat my fucking pussy.”
The waiter cleared his throat as he put their plates in front of them. They thanked him and he headed to another table without another word.
“Fair enough,” Devin said before digging into his redfish.
She picked up her fork and looked at the salad in front of her before glancing up and laughing. “I do think that it’s cute that you got a little jealous there, though. You don’t get all territorial that much. At least, you don’t say it out loud.”
“Oh, you liked that?”
“Yeah, it was kinda hot. Hot enough that you can eat me out after we leave here as a bit of dessert,” she said with a wink. “You know since you’re worried that someone else is getting a taste behind your back.”
He placed his fork down and took a large gulp from the glass of water next to his place. “I don’t see how that’s something that benefits me at all. If you’re going to be the only one getting some then I’d suggest calling Ricky, to be honest.”
“You know you want to. And you know I don’t leave you hanging. So, hurry up and finish that so we can get out of here.”
“In the room with the paint on the floor? Going to feel like I’m walking on stale Kraft mac and cheese? And it probably smells like Sherwin-Williams in there? I don’t know about you but that doesn’t scream that it’s a place to get off. Besides, doesn’t Misty have four online classes?”
“Guess we’ll just have to go back to yours and cross our fingers that Caesar doesn’t show up in the middle of it. Because that would be an instant turn off.”
-*****-
Caesar’s arms tightened around Kaley’s body, pulling her closer to him as he tensed for a moment before letting her go. The two of them fell to her bed, breathing heavily.Kaley climbed over Caesar to get out of the bed, picking up her underwear from the floor to put it back on. She walked to her closet and grabbed a dress out of it at random.
“Get dressed. I have to go,” she said as she rummaged around in the closet for a pair of shoes to match the dress.
“You’re just going to get up and go? Not going to take a shower first or anything? Just going to go walking around smelling like you just got fucked?” he asked, sitting up in her bed but not moving to start putting his clothes back on. “Where are you going anyway?”
“Meeting. You know we have meetings all the time.” She looked back at him and sighed. “Seriously, Caesar. I don’t want to be late.”
He waved off her comment before reaching down to grab his phone out of his pants pocket. “You act like I can’t be in your room without you. It’s not like I’m going to go snooping through your shit. Most of it is shit that I bought so I already know what’s in there.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Oh?” he asked. “Is the point that you want a round two if I just stay sitting over here with my dick out and then you’d miss that bullshit meeting? Just skip it and bring that ass back over here and get some more of this dick then.”
“Don’t do that. It’s not bullshit. I actually do like some of this stuff, you know?”
“I just don’t know what you discuss at a sorority meeting. Which frat bros are off-limits because they’re ‘dating’ one of your sisters? Who is going to blow the rich bro so y’all can get some extra drinks during the next tailgate?”
She rubbed at her forehead and sighed before grabbing a brush and getting started on making herself look more presentable. “Can you just get dressed please?”
It was his turn to sigh as he stood up, snatching his briefs off the floor and putting them on. “Are you happy now?”
“Yes, very,” she said without looking toward him.
He unlocked his phone to a flood of social media notifications from players on the teams remaining on Tulane’s schedule thanking him for the “bulletin board” material. He smiled to himself and quickly reshared a post showing his stats against individual players in the first two games, antagonizing all of their future opponents some more by tagging a few of them in the post and adding that if they needed more motivation they could use that post.
Then he noticed someone had tagged him on a video showing a highlight reel of Erik Jenkins’ hits in LSU’s last game against James Madison with the caption “Got a body bag with #17 on it in November.”
So, Caesar replied to it with crying laughing emojis.
He looked up from his phone. “Hey, did you ever hear back about that legislative assistant internship? I’m sure my dad knows someone that can pull some strings for you.”
“I don’t think your dad is my biggest fan,” she said as she put on makeup. “But yes, I did. I have to wait until after the election. They don’t want to give it to someone if Rep. Carter gets beat.”
“I don’t know shit about elections but let me know if there’s something I can do to help.”
She looked over at him. “You can finish getting dressed.”
He made a show of bending down to pick up his pants and put one foot into them. He was about to say something when the door opened, and Gia and Janelle walked into the room.
“Kaley, c’mon we’re going to be late,” Gia said, noticing her standing in front of the mirror. She stepped over to her to zip the back of her dress to hurry her along.
Janelle glanced over at Caesar and shook her head. “Of course, it would be you that would be getting in the way of people’s obligations. Have you ever thought about, I don’t know, being less of a dickhead?”
“Fuck off,” he said, flipping her off.
That brought Gia’s attention to Caesar, with only a pair of briefs on and one foot in his pants. She looked down and bit her lip before turning to Kaley.
Gia cleared her throat before she spoke. “You don’t need all that damn makeup, girl! Bring your pretty ass on so we can get this over with. Daisy’s big told her this is probably going to be a long ass meeting because of that shit the other day.”
“I don’t know what that has to do with all of us,” Kaley said, running her hand through her hair one last time.
“Sisterhood,” Janelle said.
The three of them walked toward the door to leave.
Kaley looked back at Caesar. “Lock the door when you leave please.”
Caesar shook his head as he finished getting dressed, leaving not long after they had.
-
Captain Canada
- Posts: 2186
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
Gia ain't subtle at all 
War of the Roses: Redux Edition
Think I need to bump to get to the next page.