“Their son is on the team. We used to meet up at the games. A nice family who I’ve known for years. I waved at them and they didn’t wave back,” Olivia said between clenched teeth. “They know they saw me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course, they did. I’m not hard to miss.” Olivia waved her hand around the gym. “How many Black women do you see in here?”
Savvy glanced through the crowd. “Not many. We’re in the minority at this game for sure. You can count us on one hand.”
“Plus, I called out their names. They heard me,” Olivia said in frustration. She jutted her chin out and stood. “I’m going to give them a piece of my mind.”
Savvy grabbed Olivia’s arm and yanked her to her seat. “Olivia. Sit your butt down. Quit trippin’. Are you trying to cause a scene in here?”
“No. This is what I’m talking about. I can’t go anywhere without someone acting funny toward me. I get tired of putting up with this nonsense,” Olivia snarled.
Savvy got in front of Olivia’s face. “Hey. Calm down,” she hissed. “Look at me. Everyone is not against you. Okay? Some people don’t know how to handle what they heard about your case. Don’t focus on them. They weren’t your real friends anyway.”
Olivia’s face relaxed and she nodded. “I know. It’s hard sometimes. I wish I could change what I did. If I’d known the impact it would have on the kids and my relationships, I never would have done it.”
“You can’t go back in time. Let’s keep focusing on what you’ll change as you move forward.”
“Thank you for holding me back. I would’ve made a complete fool out of myself if I’d gone to them.”
“Yup. You don’t need to give people anything new to wag their tongues about,” Savvy warned.
“Alright. I’m good.” Olivia settled onto the bleacher.
“Hey. Here’s a new topic. Guess who invited me to dinner at his house?” Savvy asked with giddiness.
Olivia perked up with a sly smile. “Who?” They turned their legs sideways to let a few people pass by on their row.
“Pharrell.” Savvy smiled and danced in her seat from excitement. “He wants to cook for me.”
“Cooking? He cooks?” Olivia sounded doubtful. She picked up her cup and took a sip of lemonade through the straw.
“He claims he’s the best chef on this side of Heaven.”
“Hmm. You’d better pack anti-diarrheal pills in case you need them. He doesn’t look like the cooking type.”
“Whatever. I bet he’s fabulous in the kitchen. He already impressed me with taking me to a Spurs game the other night.”
“That’s right. How were the seats?”
“We were in the courtside box seats. He surprised me. He’s the kind of guy who likes only the best of everything.”
“Did you kiss him?” Olivia teased and made smooching noises with her lips.
“Are you kidding me?” Savvy raised her eyebrows. “No way. I’m glad he didn’t try either. It’s way too soon.”
“What do you mean by it being too soon? What are you waiting for? You like him, don’t you?”
“I like him a lot. We’ve talked almost every day since we met. I don’t want to rush into anything too serious yet. We’re learning different things about each other, which is good.”
“You sound hesitant. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong. Why are you asking?” Savvy dropped her eyes to her hands.
“Savvy. I know you as well as I know myself. I know you’re holding back on something. Spit it out.”
“Okay. There’s one thing. Pharrell talks a lot, for a guy. He goes on and on about every topic he thinks of. There’s never any silence in our conversation.”
“Can you even call it conversation if he’s the only one having it?”
Savvy laughed. “I get to interject a few things. He’s told me everything about how great he was in the military and sports, how amazing his family is, and yada-yada. Everything in his world is great, great, great according to him.”
“Wow. He sounds self-absorbed, doesn’t he? Does he ever ask you anything about yourself?”
“Now and then, he’ll have a second thought and ask me a question. As soon as I respond, he turns the conversation back to talking about himself.”
“And why are you going out with him again?” Olivia asked with an incredulous stare.
“Despite it all, he’s a sweet guy and is handsome. Come on, Olivia. You know what he looks like. Perfect hair, teeth, no blemishes on his skin, smells good, dresses like a model, and to top it off, he’s intelligent. Everything a woman wants in a man. I can’t stop thinking about him.” Savvy’s cheeks warmed. She twirled three of her braids around her finger like a child.
“Oh boy. You’re in too deep. I wouldn’t bother dating him anymore if it were me. Don’t let me discourage you. I’m just sayin’.” Olivia waved her hand to dismiss the idea. “If you’re fine with Sir Talk-A-Lot, who am I to suggest you should drop him?”
“Since we’ll be at his house for dinner, I’ll observe how he acts in a comfortable setting. I think he’ll be fine.”
“Yeah. Okay.” Olivia sounded doubtful. She jumped from her seat as the basketball teams emerged from the locker room. “Go, Alamo Armadillos,” she hollered.
Savvy cupped her hands around her mouth to yell, “Come on Christian. Let’s win, Armadillos.”
The boys began the second half. The crowd stayed on their feet for the majority of the high energy game.
Savvy’s phone buzzed. She removed it from her cross-over purse and read the text message which popped onto the screen.
Hey, darlin’. Are you still mad at me for wakin’ you up? I’ll call you later. I hope you’ll answer this time and talk to me. Kolby.
“Oh, shoot. It’s him again.”
“Who? What are you talking about?”
“Oh. I forgot to tell you. Remember the guy I met at the gas station?”
Olivia nodded. “You mean the one who lured you in to buy breakfast for him?”
“Yeah. Him. Well, the night you and I met up with Pharrell and Durbin, he sent me a whole
