“Game point.” Savvy raised her hands and racquet in the air in victory.
Olivia high-fived Savvy’s gloved hands in defeat. “I have to admit, you got me with a serious wallpaper shot. There’s no way I could get to it in time.”
Savvy grabbed her towel and lifted her goggles to wipe her face. “I can’t believe I beat the Wallbanger of San Antonio. I think you’ve won the last two times we’ve played.”
Olivia settled onto the floor to catch her breath. “I sure did. I had to ease up on you today to give you a break,” she laughed.
“Whateva. I beat you with pure skill.” Savvy joined Olivia on the floor and removed her glove.
“Okay. Back to my question. Did Pharrell really have poster-sized photos of himself in every room?” Olivia asked.
Savvy took a swig of water from her bottle. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Yes. I should’ve snapped a picture of the one in the bathroom in his American flag speedo.”
“You should have. I can’t even imagine.” Olivia broke out in uncontrollable laughter and swiped tears of amusement with the back of her hand.
“And get this, who puts a naked picture above the bed of themselves eating grapes while floating on a cloud?” Savvy removed her ponytail holder and shook her braids to dry “I had no idea of what I got myself into.”
“He figured he could get into some Savvy.” Olivia gripped her stomach in a giggling fit. “I can’t stop laughing.”
“It’s hilarious. I’m mad though. The lamb he cooked had to be the best tasting meat I’ve ever had. I only got one bite before he made his move on me. I wanted some more of it.” Savvy frowned and shook her head. “If nothing else, the man cooks like a gourmet chef. I had to run through a drive-thru to put food in my growling stomach.”
“That’s messed up. Well, I’m glad you found out about him sooner than later. Imagine if you had sex with him and he
started referring to himself in the third person.” Olivia lowered her voice to imitate a man speaking. “Baby, Pharrell wants you to discard your panties.”
Savvy joined in with a deep tone. “Pharrell wants to make love to you until the pigs come home.”
Olivia snorted a laugh. “Pharrell wants you to watch us in the mirrors around the bed as Pharrell conquers your body.”
“Stop it.” Savvy giggled. “I can’t stop thinking about his crazy home. I walked into a circus house with a maze of mirrors.”
“Oh, boy. You’re too funny.” Olivia wiped her tears with her towel. “I needed this. You made my day with that story.”
Savvy stood from the floor and offered Olivia her hand to help her up.
“We better get going before the next players bang on the door.” Savvy gathered her towel, water, and goggles.
“Yeah. They get demanding for these rooms around here.” Olivia grabbed her things and opened the door to exit the racquetball court. She stopped in her tracks when the person waiting to play became evident.
“Hi, Olivia.” Durbin stood outside the door with a wavering smile. He wore black shorts, a white t-shirt, and a white sweatband pressed tight around his afro.
Olivia stammered. “Uh, hi Durbin.” She glanced across her shoulder to make eye contact with Savvy.
Savvy heard the exchange and lifted her head, curious about who Olivia could be talking to. She raised her brows in surprise. “Durbin. What a surprise.” She extended her hand to shake his. “I didn’t know you play racquetball.”
Durbin appeared uncomfortable for a moment. A store tag stuck out from the cover on his racquet.
“Um. Yeah. I play.” Durbin shifted from one foot to another. He raised his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose.
“Well, you arrived in time to get this court. We’re done.” Savvy held the door open for Durbin to enter. He seemed reluctant to go in.
“Where’s your partner?” Olivia asked with a hint of curiosity.
“Um. I planned to hit a few shots on my own. Get in some practice.” Durbin gave them a sheepish half-smile. His eyes never left Olivia’s face.
“Unh-huh. I see.” Olivia dragged her words.
“Do you want to hit a few balls?” Durbin asked with sudden enthusiasm.
“I’m tired. Haven’t we been playing for an hour or two, Savvy?”
“Yes. We are whupped. Have fun with your workout.” Savvy took Olivia’s hint and began moving toward the door of the gym.
“Okay. Perhaps we can play another day,” Durbin said with a sound of defeat in his voice.
“Um. I’ll see if I ever have time,” Olivia responded; her tone sharper than necessary.
“Okay. By the way, I look forward to showing you the security cameras next week when I stop by,” Durbin replied.
“Oh yeah. I forgot about that. I’ll text you my address if I’m still interested. Bye.” Olivia waved her hand and scurried out of the gym.
“Bye, Durbin.” Savvy trailed Olivia.
In the parking lot, Olivia glanced across her shoulder to make sure Durbin didn’t follow them. “What is he doing here? Have you ever seen him in this gym?”
“No. I haven’t seen him at this location or the other one,”
Savvy whispered.
“Did you see the tag on his racquet?” Olivia replied. “I think he stalked us.”
“He knows we play racquetball since I included our interest in various sports on the Melanindoubledate.com profile,” Savvy suggested. “I suppose he guessed where we work out since I posted a picture on the website of us playing. The name of the gym is visible in the photo. I may have had a caption about it being Sunday afternoon fun or something like that.”
“How would he know what time we would be here?” Olivia asked with suspicion.
“It has to be a total coincidence.”
“Unless he checked our court time on the schedule. He probably asked for it and signed up for the slot after ours on purpose,” Olivia surmised. “I don’t know, Savvy. He seems creepy to me. Something about him is different. Maybe it’s the glasses.”
“Why do you have to call him creepy?
