Love In the Red Zone (Connecticut Kings Book 1) (58 page)

“True that.” I nodded with a smile, in agreement. “Nikki D let us come in the joint and locked the place down. ‘Memba that one time she had her girls come through at two in the morning to dance, tryna’ impress you?” I tossed my head back and laughed my ass off at that memory.

Everybody knew this kid loved strippers, including Nikki D, who was pushing four hundred pounds with more confidence than a woman who weighed a buck-twenty. She wore colorful hair pieces, blending them in with her own and would talk mad smack to JJ about him not being ready to lay it down with a real woman. She was dead ass serious, but didn’t really want Jordan. She just wanted to kick it.

“Yeah, and instead of following my lead and heading for the door, your ass gonna stand and dance with them.” JJ shook his head.

I couldn’t stop laughing. It was fun with those plus size women. They knew how to get down. We were only one year apart with me being older, but unlike like me, Jordan didn’t come straight into the league. He went to college for three years and was then drafted in 2010. When he was picked up by the
Kings
we clicked right away, being total opposites until it came to fun and the field. I introduced him to the city. He caught the vibe real quick and we’d been reigning
Kings
ever since…until I got locked up, that is.

I didn’t realize JJ had stopped laughing long ago. His eyes were set out over the water.

“I didn’t think we’d ever be here, bruh,” he murmured ghostly. That killed my humor. My neck collapsed from guilt. “At least not for me with the
Kings
. You know how ready I was to bounce, bruh?” His eyes narrowed over me. “Ready to say fuck you to the whole Blue and Gold. Eli know.”

“Again, JJ, I’m sorry, man. I know I dropped the ball. I know I fucked up our plan, but this game…” I felt his eyes shift toward me. “I’m going to bust my ass to bring you that ring. It’s the least I can do. I want this so bad for you.”

“For me? Nigga, I ain’t the only one playing my heart out on that field. You been wanting it before I was drafted.” His eyebrows flew in the air.

“Yeah, but…” I looked out at the sun that was mostly over the water now. It made me think of her. My eyes were hypnotized by the orangey-yellow glow.
Her
. “I got more than I deserve after that shit I pulled.” I couldn’t remove my gaze. “Way more,” I found myself only able to whisper.

Things got quiet and JJ followed my line of sight.

“Your little lady. I can’t believe you’re engaged, man.”

“Married.”

“What?”

His head whipping in my direction was what pulled my eyes away from the mesmerizing sun. At first I couldn’t look him dead in the face, but I managed after a while.

“A month now.”

“When?” he shrieked his disbelief.

My eyes diverted again, but this time I wanted more of the sun view. I had to do it while speaking about her.

“In between the
Saints
and
Raiders
games.”     

“You were gonna tell me…?”

I faced him again. “At the end of the season when I was gonna ask you to be in my wedding. I didn’t want you to think I wasn’t focused…my head wasn’t in this. I still need to prove that to you.”

“Yeah, I know some shit about not being focused, but damn. But you got married already, dawg,” he dismissed my last point.

“For me and my lady. My next wedding’ll be for everybody else.”

JJ shook his head, frustrated. “That’s why she ain’t trip over that stunt you pulled downstairs with MeMe? Or does Jade know MeMe swings for the other team?”

“I hope it’s the first reason. Jade’s come a long way with her…possessiveness.”

He laughed. “’Memba when she came to San Fran for a few days in September and wild out on that chick who tried to touch your ass in the grocery store? Yo, Jade really swung on ol’ girl!” He cracked the hell up.

I rolled my eyes, remembering dropping milk, chips, and fruit on the floor to snatch Jade’s ass up and carry her out the store. Jordan’s silly ass stayed back laughing while I calmed Jade’s little ass down in the back of the truck. Tyheem and Jordan played cleanup for the broad. They came to the truck twenty minutes later and JJ was still cracking the hell up while handing me my bag of groceries. If it wasn’t for that thoughtful gesture, I would’ve busted his damn chops about the stupid shit he did with Cole.

My lady is real work
…

I sighed, scratching the back of my head.

“Nah,” JJ tried to calm. He offered me some dap. “I’m happy for you. Jade is wild and all, but she really is a good look for you. Nicki said the same thing.”

Her real name was Nicole. To most people on the earth, she’s Cole, but to Jordan, her name is Nicki. I shook my head at the implication of what being a good look for me meant.

“What
is
up with Cole, nigga?” I really wanted to know…and take the spotlight off of me. “Y’all ain’t look so cozy tonight. You fuckin’ up already?” I joked.

JJ sighed. “Yeah, actually. I said some shit I shouldn’t have after that last game of the season, right before playoffs. It hasn’t been right since then, but I think we’ll be okay. Hope we’ll be okay.”

“Look at you, being all sentimental and shit. I never would’ve thought somebody would have your nose open like this.”

He shrugged, then gave off that signature grin of his, trying to deflect. “I don’t know man… I love that girl.”

“Love?!”

“Yeah,” he exhaled, looking out at the water again, instead of at me. “No doubt in my mind.”

“A’ight, so what you gonna do about it?”

“That’s an excellent fucking question, bruh. Wish I had an answer. Why don’t you tell me?”  he joked. “You’re the one running off, getting married and shit.”

“Aye, my path was already determined. I can’t help you there. Unless you want to follow—buy a ring—”

“Yeah, you can kill that shit. We’re definitely not there. She’s barely still fucking with me right now.”

“A’ight.” I nodded, understanding his point. “Well…maybe you’ve gotta do something big then. Get her attention.”

Jordan cocked his head to the side. “Like what?”

“Like winning the Super Bowl for her team.”

“Ha!” His palm went into the air and that sleek grin appeared. “That’s what we gon’ do then, my nigga!”

Laughing, we smacked palms, solidifying that challenge.

“
Fourth and goal from the fourteen and the Kings are down five points. With only three seconds left on the clock, barring a penalty, this is sure to be the last play of the game. The Kings need a touchdown to be crowned Super Bowl champions.

Trent Bailey jogs in from a quick huddle with his head coach and offensive coordinator with the play call.

From under center Bailey takes the snap. Almost immediately he is under pressure as the left defensive end beats the fullback. Somehow Bailey spins out of the grasp of the end, picks his head up and fires a dart to Jordan Johnson who’s coming across the middle!

Johnson makes the first tackler miss and picks up a block as he heads for the end zone! The Kings are seconds from being world champions when the free safety from the New England Patriots pulls Johnson down from behind at the one-yard line.

Just like that, the game is over and the Kings’ dream of being Super Bowl champs will have to wait for at least another season.
”

I hit mute on the remote, done watching the different playbacks that have been sounding off for the past twenty-four hours. I sat back on my couch in the television room—the only piece of furniture I recognized from even a year ago; Jade had done so much to the place, but she kept this room pretty much the same—and reflected.

We lost
…

As I limped off the field that day, my body beat down, shoulders heavy, my heart oddly was intact. Coaches, teammates, and even the
Kings’
fanatic himself, Azmir Divine Jacobs, were in their feelings. When I made it to the locker room, he’d come in there quietly, but with an undeniable presence we all respected. He shook all of our hands, gave nods of pleasantry and moved out just as powerfully as he’d stormed in. Eli gave a dry “nice try” speech before we all broke out of there. I was sure his disappointment as the owner came from not being close to getting to even the Playoffs then having a shot at the Super Bowl, and losing it so close in the game. We all felt that way.

We soared this season after a horrible start most teams wouldn’t be able to rebound from. As an organization, we endured losses, internally in the QB corner, from losing our second string to a sex scandal, and our first to a career-altering injury, having to pull from the third string in the span of weeks. That never happens—not impossible, but highly improbable. But God. I’d been restored and fulfilled. God had not forgotten my name. He forgave me and eventually I forgave myself.

Not only did I get a second chance at the one career I felt I was built for, God showed me there was more to life than what took place on the green. He expanded my field of vision, demonstrating that my life had meaning elsewhere. In my home. A home now filled with a love I’d never known. I almost missed out on this blessing. Almost turned it away after inviting it into my home. While my teammates, Brownsville City, and bosses were likely sulking at this very minute, I was praising God for the journey of my life.

I recalled Ezra’s prophetic Word a year and a half ago about God restoring. It’s not that I didn’t believe him, it was just that I couldn’t see how I’d make it to the victorious place Ezra described that day. I was grateful for the spark of hope from getting the Word and focused on the caution Ezra presented in terms I understood.

    “
You’re now in the red zone, bruh. And we know while it is a promising place on the field, it is also proven that anything can happen while there. Don’t be dismayed by the promise. It isn’t assurance. Keep your mind and heart on the goal until you score.
”

My eyes pooled with tears at the flash memory of fear that struck my chest as I sat across from him. It had been the biggest play of my life. It was the one defining moment in my walk of faith that I could not doubt God. Losing Shank could’ve been a reason to doubt and not accepting Jade with her neurotic flaws would have made me blow it all.

“But the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord...”