Love Delayed (9 page)

I don’t think I’d ever been complimented so. An intimate story from Stenton—not Stenton Rogers—changed the course of my day. I was sure I’d read too deeply into it, but didn’t care. I chose to view this
encounter from rosy lenses.

“Niña is a Spanish reference.” I observed.

“My mother is Dominican,” his voice was uneasy and I’d lost his eyes. I felt a pang of disappointment. He lifted his menu.

“I’d like to hear about her someday…I mean whenever you’re ready.” I stumbled over my words.

“Perhaps. If you agree to be my Niña.” Stenton’s eyes peered over his menu.

I narrowed my brows. “And what does that entail?”

He placed the menu down on the table and straightened his shoulders. “You pledging your friendship. And you must swear to no piercing of my skin…or my heart.”

I choked on my spit…like really choked. My eyes watered.

“Calm the hell down, Zoey. We’re not pledging love; just friendship.” It took a minute, but I was able to clear my throat. I threw him a dubious regard. “You’ve pointed out my trust and paranoia issues; I’d like to use you as a guinea pig. Deal?”

Still,
I was too stunned for words.
When did we turn this corner?
This was Stenton Rogers…
Number 2 Overall Draft Pick
,
three-time MVP Awardee
, and
four-time Champion,
Stenton Rogers.

“Damn it,
Zoey.” He chuckled…beautifully, melting my core. “I’m not asking for marriage, just permission to let down my guard when we talk.”

I gasped. “You better not be!
Ughhhh!” I grimaced, earning a hard laugh from Stenton. It was infectious. I really needed to chill out.

“
Yo, man! It’s time to go!”

My smile faded as I
peered up at a glaring Alton. My anxious eyes returned to Stenton whose expression mirrored mine.

Stenton looked back, I assumed for Angela, just as I
did. “What’s up, my dude?”

“We just need to get the fuck up outta here, bro.” Alton was seething.

“Alton, where’s Ange—”

He put his index finger
in my face. “Don’t even ask me about that bitch.”

Stenton
shot from his seat almost as if to cover me. “The fuck gotten into you, bruh?”

My eyes enlarged. As crass as Alton was, he’d never taken that tone with Angela or me.

“Like I said, it’s time to go!” Alton shouted then charged out of the restaurant as seamlessly as he’d come in.

Stenton offered regretful eyes. I knew he was just as confused as I was. He went into his pocket and pulled out several bills of cash. “
Zo, I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into this dude today. Rest assured I’ll find out.” He grabbed my hand. “Lunch is on me.” And then he made his exit on the heels of Alton.

While I watched him jog out of the restaurant, Angela appeared in the doorway with tears flowing. I knew in that moment
her tears had derived from the same place that had pissed Alton off.

When she arrived
at the table she cried, “He’s an irreparable asshole.”

“Why?”

“Because he doesn’t want to accept responsibility for this!”

“Angela!” I gasped.

“What?”

I
browsed around the table to be sure we weren’t drawing any more attention than Alton had.

“Because you know it
wasn’t Alton who got you pregnant. You were just with Timmy the night before we started
Working Toward the Stars
.” I couldn’t believe she’d lay aside that inconvenient fact.

“So?” she kept her arms crossed protectively over her belly. I knew she was feeling more vulnerable than she wanted to let on.

“So, Ang, you can’t just pick and choose whose baby this is. You have to recount facts. And the biggest of them all is that you’d missed your period
before
you and Alton.”

“
Whose side are you on anyways?”

“Yours, Ang. Always yours,” I struggled to keep my voice low.

“I can’t tell. You sound like a PR rep or lawyer from his entourage. You can’t have my back for once?”

I jumped from my seat
, no longer caring who saw us, and invaded her space to get into Angela’s face. “I’ve spent almost my entire summer in the face of a man I didn’t want to be within a hundred million feet of, trying to prove I’m not something he thinks I am because you’ve been with his boy, doing the very thing he thinks I’m about.” I pointed in the chair across from mine, referring to Stenton. “The thing that I’m not.”

Ang’s
face hardened and her eyes narrowed. “A whore? Is that what you think I am? Well, I got news for you, Zoey: Not everyone aspires to be a goody two-shoes like you. Funny. I thought that was the one thing that bonded us. I see I was wrong.”

My mouth collapsed.

“I’ll meet you at the car.” Angela turned to leave the restaurant.

~~~~~~~~~~

Angela’s pregnant!

Needless to say, I didn’t attend my last assigned
day of
Working Toward the Stars
. Angela sent me a text saying she wouldn’t be picking me up because she wasn’t going back. If she wasn’t returning, there was no need for me to because I didn’t want to do the stupid program in the first place. I realized I didn’t inform Stenton of this decision until Friday, the last morning of the program.

First thing that morning, around
9:00 a.m., I received a text from Stenton asking of my whereabouts. I explained with few words that I wouldn’t be making it because of the blowup with Angela and Alton. In so many words, he said he understood. Then a few hours later, he texted again, asking to meet at the diner for lunch. He mentioned having to catch a red eye and leaving town for a few days. I told him I had a few things to do before church that evening and the best I could do was meet him for dessert later that night. I didn’t think that would work for him. He did say he was flying out that night. To my surprise, he agreed to it.   

Around 9:30 that night, I
sauntered into the diner. Heading straight for the back of the dining area where I expected to have to wait for Stenton, I was surprised when I saw his two security guys sitting at a table, closer to the front of the rear area. Behind them, way back in the rear, I saw Stenton seated in a booth. They nodded without friendly smiles, granting me entry to where their boss was waiting. That small occurrence reminded me of his stature. I couldn’t believe I was meeting with Stenton Rogers.

What a summer!

“Wow! Don’t you look…reserved,” Stenton jibed as he gave me a onceover.

I wore a long black skirt, with a plain white blouse and kitten heels. I had to usher that night during a revival my church was participating in. One of the bishops from the upper echelon of our organization was
ministering that night and I’d helped prepare the church for the large crowd that was expected. Exhaustion was a word that paled in comparison to what I was feeling.

“Yeah,
Jet Beauty
of the Week
, I know,” I replied wryly.

With an amused expression
, he extended his arm, inviting me to sit across from him. I did, feeling a bit insecure all of a sudden. I hadn’t stopped home to change for fear of holding him up. I didn’t give much thought to my appearance, or considered that he would either.

“So, a mess,
huhn?” Stenton asked, and I knew he was referring to Angela and Alton.

I sighed heavily. “A complete one.”

Stenton nodded.

“Do you know his lawyer contacted her this morning
, asking for her medical history and that she take a test at a doctor’s office of his choosing? They’re threatening a DNA test in utero. Do you know how detailed and involved that is? He even wants her to sign an NDA agreement—” My eyes grew upon a revelation. “Is that why you asked me here? He wants me to sign one, too?”

My first thought went to my mother and how I wished she was here to help with this. I didn’t know much about legal matters.
I’ve gotten myself into quite a quandary following behind that Angela!
What in the world was I going to do?

Stenton chuckled. “I don’t want any parts of that bullshit. Alton and Angela are two adults that are going to have to figure out their affairs alone. That’s what I’ve told Alton…and Tynisha.”

My eyes squeezed shut. I’d momentarily forgotten about Tynisha. But that Alton had some nerve. He was eager to retreat with Angela after training, all summer.

“So, you’re being forced in the middle, too, I see.”

“They tried. I didn’t accept it,” was all he said.

I sulked. “I wish my resolve was that titanium. I’ve been miserable since it went down.
According to our cousin, Karen, Angela feels that I don’t have her back and isn’t speaking to me. And that’s completely insane considering the reason I applied for this dumb program in the first place was for her. We’ve been tight since I moved here from South Carolina. My parents were broke and couldn’t find many opportunities down there. Angela’s mother invited us to stay at their place until my mom and dad got on their feet. We lived with Angela’s family for a little over a year before moving out into our own apartment in New Brunswick. Right away, we joined a church that was a part of the C.O.O.L.J.C. organization.”

I
chuckled, staring at the table. “It was funny how our lives came together once we moved. My father had always owned his small rubbish company, and brought it along with him to generate new clientele, and he did in due time. My mother got a job as a cafeteria worker for a company the board of education contracted out to. While they were busy settling us, Angela and I were busy bonding.” I shook my head, exasperated. Stenton’s big inked hand reached over to cover mine in comfort. “Angela should have used better judgment!” I stopped to compose myself. The situation had been heavy on my heart more than I realized up until that point.

But I couldn’t stop there. I had more to upchuck and Stenton had this patient air to him, facilitating my need to vent. “We just ended a huge week-long revival at my church
…prepared for this for months and when it finally arrives, our church community is in the middle of a fornication scandal,” I giggled, mostly from how ridiculous that statement sounded, yet how true it was. “And then my family, with their archaic views, are demanding marriage, and with Alton that isn’t exactly practical.” Stenton had to laugh at that one. “Needless to say, it’s not a good time in my family or church. And now folks are looking for me to drop the next bomb!”

“How have you been able to not fall into the traps?” he asked as he took a sip of his water. I couldn’t keep myself from ogling his lips. They were the shape of a heart.
A full one.

“Traps as in
pregnancy
?”

He
nodded.

“Oh, that won’t happen,” I
snorted and delivered unequivocally. “I do things to protect myself. I don’t mind the idea of motherhood. I think it’s the most precious gift on the planet, but in my culture, it has to be accompanied by marriage and I want no parts of that. So, rubbers for me,” I sang off key.

Stenton sh
ook his head, amused.

“
No, seriously!” I continued my rant. “I’ve put things in place to avoid pregnancy…and even STDs. It never hurt anyone to use condoms. What’s the big deal? There’s no difference in the feeling. Just use protection.” 

Then he belt
ed out a full on laugh, breaking the wind from my sails. I then decided to bring it in, possibly having put my foot in my mouth.
Just stay away from that topic.
It was our first time out without being on the stealthy agenda of Angela and Alton and I didn’t want to make a fool out of myself.

I had no idea what I was doing alone with Stenton Rogers. Angela would kill me if she knew.
She’s been in love with this guy since he was drafted
. She’d still not made it clear that Alton wasn’t the father of her baby, and I’m sure she’d question my loyalty even more if she knew I was here with him.

What was even more traitorous on my part was that
Stenton and I connected on social networking sites, and more recently via text messages. I thought my budding friendship with him ended that afternoon at the country club when Alton came through like a tornado, but Stenton surprised me when he asked to see me again. What he didn’t know was since I last saw him, I’d stalked all of his profiles.

“You take lots
of selfies,” I mentioned casually.

“And you don’t
?” Stenton replied just as coolly as he dipped his middle finger in his cup of water, swishing it around.

“How do you know?”

“Because I’ve seen your timeline and photo albums.”

“
Are you stalking me?” My heart stammered in my chest. Why that made me paranoid was beyond me.

“No more than you
are me,” his voice remained even as his eyes slowly aligned with mine. “You noted my massive amounts of selfies.”