First Round Lottery Pick (12 page)

I met with the construction crew I chose to build the new court in the hood, a group of men I had seen for the longest around the way who did a lot of work on the homes on the East side. They let me know they could get the court up and running in no time. They were surprised that I picked a black crew to do a project because most of the projects that really mattered went to the white-owned crews who drove in from the North side.

We decided to sit down and talk about the plans for the recreation center after the court was finished. I had planned for Jalen to organize it all, since that was his thing, but I hadn't seen him since he dragged me out to his money-making operation. And I didn't get to call him the night before like I planned because of the time I spent with Katrina. Surprisingly, after I talked with the crew, Jalen pulled up.

Jalen looked around while we stood on the spot. “So this is where you going to put the court up?”

“Yeah, right here. You like?”

“Which way the court running?”

I moved my arm up and down.

“Naah, man, the sun going to be eating them up that way. Look, you gotta go this way with it. See, no sun.”

“A'ight, a'ight. You right.”

Jalen was looking good, geared up from head to toe, and it looked like he had on a new wrist watch.

“You like the watch,
L
? I see you peeping game.”

“Fool, shut up, and forget the watch. I'm out here worrying about this, when you should be handling it for me, instead of flossing all through the streets. I can't be out here worrying about what direction the court needs to go in. Damn!”

“Look, man—”

“No, hold up,
J
. We made a deal. We been working on this thing for years. Don't you think every time I had practice and didn't want to go, going pro and having you, supposedly my boy, at my side was on my mind, so I went? All the times I have taxed my body out to go pro, all of that wasn't for me. It was for your little black ass too!”

“But you said—”

“I know what I said, and I'm telling you now you need to get back with this 'cause this right here is real, and I can't handle all these details by myself.”

Jalen tugged on his jean jacket and looked at his Escalade. He understood what I was saying but just had to let me know. “What I'm doing is real too,
B
.”

“Yeah, it's real, but you wouldn't be doing any of it if it wasn't coming from what I do. Now, that's real.”

Jalen pulled his arm up to check his watch. “Yeah, yeah, you right. But I got business deals going. Murder One ain't going to let me out, and our deal is almost done. After this last package and the movies wrap up—Oh,
L
, you should see—”

“I don't want to see it,
J
. All I want to do is get my camp together and get ready to play ball.”

“You going to be ready, man. Don't worry.”

“All this stuff I need to do, Jalen.”

“So what Toy doing?”

“Toy is Toy, man. He thinks I need to leave you alone though.”

“He said that?”

“Yeah, he thinks you're messing up things for him too. I told you, Jalen, this street shit and the corporate board room don't mix.”

“A'ight, a'ight. Look, I'm goin' to do better.”

“When, Jalen? Overseas draft coming up, people calling for interviews, this court needs to be up before I leave, and we need someplace to live as soon as I find out where I will be for sure. You expect me, to handle all that?”

Jalen looked around. “I'm leaving all this alone. I'll get things rolling by next week.” He flung his hands like it was a done deal.

“Naah, man, today. You start today.”

“Doing what?”

“I need to work out, and I need someone to get this court situated. C'mon, I'll tell you everything while you drop me past the house to get my workout gear. You got your gear in the car? You ready to work out too?”

“I stay ready,” Jalen insisted.

It had been raining all morning, so the streets were still wet. Jalen plopped down the traction on the Escalade. We were zooming right past The Vil when we noticed about thirty people standing in a circle. Nobody had to tell us there was a fight going down.

Jalen parked the Escalade, and the circle just opened up for us as we got closer to see what was going on. It was Tori and Katrina pushing and arguing, about to go to blows.

I stepped in to break them up and a few ol'-school heads, a bunch of horny old bastards who wanted to see them rip each other's clothes off, begged me to let them fight.

Katrina's lip was bleeding, and Tori's shirt was torn a few inches.

“You better control this bitch,
L
!” Katrina shouted. “Or she gonna find herself picking that ass up off the pavement!”

“You need to go take care of that lip before I bust the other one, skank,” Tori told her.

“Hold up, hold up! What's this all about?” I tried to find out.

Katrina said, “She just mad because I was with you last night, and I'm going shoppin' with the money you gave me.”

Jalen swiped his face and put his head up toward the sky then mumbled, “And he talking about I'm the one messing up.”

So now I was getting mad and trying to hush Katrina's mouth because she was putting me on blast.

“Is that true,
L
? You were with her last night, while I was sleeping in your bed waiting for you?”

I heard a few moans from those standing in the circle. Some called me a player, others were saying how dirty I was to treat Tori that way.

“Look, it wasn't even like that, Tori,” I tried to tell her.

“Well, how was it then?” Katrina pushed.

“
L
, I thought you loved me?” Tori cried out.

“How could he love yo' ass, when he was with me?”

My head was going back and forth listening to their bull, and I didn't know how to get in the conversation or make them stop going at each other. “Are y'all going to let me say anything about this?”

“I don't have no beef with you, baby,” Katrina said. “It's this bitch that I don't like.”

“C'mon, Katrina,” I said to her.

“You the only bitch out here!” Like lightning, Tori reached around and smacked the taste out of Katrina's mouth, and everyone in the crowd sounded as though they felt the sting when it landed.

I held them away from one another. “Look, y'all need to cut this out!”

“Were you with her last night,
L
?”

I couldn't believe Tori blew up the spot. If I'd told her no, she would have known I was lying just by the look on my face, so I didn't say a word. She turned around and ran off.

I turned around and looked at Jalen, who was getting his chance to look at me and make me feel bad for my decision and what I had going on.

Katrina moved in on me. “So what we goin' to do tonight, baby?”

“We ain't doin' nothing,” I told her. “Out here runnin' your mouth.”

“Oh, it's like that?”

I nodded yes while I watched Tori walk away. That's when Katrina tried to smack me, but right before her hand reached my face, I grabbed it. She kept trying to reach at my face, so I pushed her hand back a bit, and she screamed out in pain.

All of a sudden, a few guys stepped up, one of whom was her cousin.

“Yo', I don't give a fuck who you are. You ain't goin' to be touching her like that.” The guy talking was about six feet tall, dark-skinned, and had a gold tooth in the front.

When they started to walk up on me, Jalen lifted up his shirt and took out a pistol, and people started scurrying and running, some tripping, to get out the way.

Even after all that happened, a few people walked up to me and wished me good luck overseas. As we walked away from the beef and back to the car, it was starting to rain, more like a mist.

For some reason, Jalen had gotten a charge from what just went down. “You see that,
L
?”

“I saw it. Where'd you get that tool from?”

“Streets. Never know when you goin' to need it, right? People out here acting brand-new, like they can't catch no lead. Have they forgotten this The Vil?”

“This is crazy, man. Let's get Tori.”

We were about two steps from getting in the car when Toy showed up and pulled his wheels in front of us and got out and slammed his car door shut. “So that's how we doin' it now?” he said, his arms wide open.

Jalen looked at me then back at Toy.

“Look, man, who could have expected that to happen ?” I told him.

“That's what I'm trying to tell you,
L
. You have to expect it now. Being challenged is part of this new life I was telling you about. And what you don't need is some scrawny, tilted-Kangol punk throwing a gun in somebody's face every time you get into a situation.”

“Who's this guy again?” Jalen asked. “Is he your agent or your daddy? I ain't been gone but a couple of days, so you need to fill a brother in on his status.”

Toy pointed at Jalen hard. “Shut up, boy! Shut up before I hurt you.” He started walking toward Jalen.

Jalen took one step backward then lifted up his shirt, showing him his steel.

“Oh, it's like that?”

“It's just like that,” Jalen let him know. “I am not playing today, Toy.”

I probably called Tori's name ten times before she finally looked back at me and Jalen creeping behind her as she walked down the street, trying to cover her head from the mist.

“Leave me alone,
L
.”

I was stretched out the window. “What do you mean, leave you alone? C'mon, get in the car with us. We're going to work out then go get something good to eat.”

“Do it by your damn self.” Tori stopped walking and put her hands on her hips.

Jalen stopped. “No, no. Go get yo' ho to go with you. She gotta be hungry from last night anyway.”

Tori started walking away again. She was good at rubbing things in when she was mad at me, but I had to let what she was giving bounce off me because I wanted to at least try to explain.

We continued to follow her.

“Are you going to let me tell you what happened or what?”

She shouted back, “I already know! You and Katrina was knocking boots last night, just like she said. You embarrassed me,
L
.”

There was nothing I could say back to Tori because I knew it was true. Tori wasn't the type to play like she was married or about to be when she was in high school, but when I told her that I wanted to marry her, the game changed. She took being with me more serious than I did.

“Get out,
L
,” Jalen pushed. “Go talk to her, with your cheating ass.”

I looked over at Jalen. “Man, forget you with that! Just stop. Stop.”

Jalen slammed on the brakes. I don't know if he was trying to make me hit my head on the dash or not, but his hard stop didn't work because I put my hand out and braced myself. I looked at him hard before I got out. “Bitch-ass!”

“Cheater,” he said back.

“Just wait here.”

“You better go out there and beg.”

I ran to catch up with Tori. “Tori, wait a minute.”

“No,
L
. I'm going home. I'll have somebody come by and get my stuff.”

“Hold up, hold up. Why do you have to go there? Look, I made a mistake, but it wasn't my fault.”

Tori stopped and looked at me. “Not your fault?”

“Naah, not really. Look . . .”

Tori took off walking again, so I grabbed her arm.

She stopped and looked at my hand. “Get off me!”

“Are you going to talk to me or what?”

“I said get off me!”

I let go and was surprised she didn't start walking again. I thought that was my chance.

“Okay, look, I messed up. Toy took me to the club. He left me at a table by myself, and all these dancers came inside and they had on masks. I didn't even know Katrina worked there. She was butt naked up in that piece, shaking it, and she came over to me. It was dark, and one thing led to another. That's what happened.”

Tori stared at me. “I don't care anymore, okay.” She started to walk away again.

“You don't care? You don't care about what?”

“I don't care about this. I don't care about you sleeping with that nasty slut or us being together either.”

“C'mon, you're just saying that.”

“No, I mean it. I have too much to worry about. Have you forgotten about this baby inside of me? Have you forgotten I just got raped by a bunch of fools who could have gave me more than just this baby to worry about? I just don't care anymore,
L
, so you and Jalen go to wherever you guys end up and have a good life.”

“I'm not going anywhere without you.”

“Why do you want me to go with you so bad? I mean, really, what is the deal? Because if you think I'm going to be like all those wives of pro players who play dumb to what their men are doing, for the perks, you got me twisted.”

“You know that ain't the reason, Tori.”

“Well, what's the reason? Is it because you feel sorry for me? You feel sorry that I was raped and left for dead? You're sorry that I was saving myself and had it all taken away? Is that what it is?”

By now Tori was crying uncontrollably. I would have never imagined us having this conversation, but we were, and it wasn't a good time.

“Tori, you know I love you. Let's just forget about this. If you want me to stay home every night, I will. I mean, I don't care anymore. Everything else is not even worth it.”

Tori looked up at me, and with all that she was going through, she kind of smiled. “I can't,
L
. I don't trust you now.” Then she ran down the street away from me and didn't stop when I called out to her.