by Gold, Bella
“I didn’t know.”
“Well now you do. Get down there before it ends. They start getting tired this far into practice. Get me some good shots Tinaya and if you can work your magic on Dustin Bird again and get him to talk, all the better.”
She agreed but was dreading going back down to where they trained. It was where they had first met and held a lot of memories for her. It was also the first time that she would really have a chance to see him for more than a few minutes after she had learned about being pregnant. She didn’t want to be just another story for the media and she worried that Dustin would think she had motives, like most women did when they told the world that they were carrying a ballers baby. She wasn’t the same, Tinaya thought that they actually had something going, but what if the other women did as well? Was she just fooling herself?
There was no answer for her questions and since Dustin was still mad at her, she figured that he would need some more time to cool off. Hopefully he didn’t forget about her though. It was the worst thing that she could see happening and Tinaya hated the way the very thought made her chest constrict.
The drive down there was hard on her and she tried to play out how he would act when she got there. He had seemed happy to see her at the press conference, but then she had asked a question that pissed him off. She was so confused and before she realised it, she was there and she had no more time to fret, but to experience the real thing.
When she got in the seats by the court, she saw that she wasn’t the only person there. Several other people from the media were there and it took Dustin several moments to notice her. She could tell he was not on top of his game and knew that something was bothering him. She really hoped that it wasn’t because of her being there, but she never really did know what it was that he was thinking.
Tinaya kind of waved at him when he finally looked over at her and he smiled for a moment before frowning again. Turning to another guy, the two said something and Tinaya got the impression that Dustin didn’t like what the other man said.
“You got some hot chick waving at you. Are you banging the press now too? I guess that is one way to stay in the papers.”
Dustin was pulled from his thoughts and looked back at Tony. “She is not a chick, but a real woman something that you wouldn’t know anything about. You will never get any face time with those old bitches you are pulling.”
Tony kind of nodded, but made sure that when they went down the court, he checked him several times. The last time was too much for Dustin and he checked the other man hard, sending him to the ground. There was a whistle on the sidelines, but neither man was listening.
“What the hell is your problem Dustin? I don’t know why they don’t get rid of your ass. You are nothing but trouble and like your girlfriend said, you are lacking.”
Dustin saw red and the next thing he knew, he had hit the smart-mouthed guy that was trying to get a better contract as the lead point guard. He wanted to be on the first line and pushing Dustin was an easy way to do that. No one was going to give him another contract if he kept fighting his own teammates.
Dustin didn’t care. He hadn’t ever really liked Tony from the get-go, always trying to hone in on his position as a starter. Even as he climbed on top of him, hitting him in the face, blood coming out of his nose, he didn’t want to stop.
Several of his teammates pulled him off of Tony and Dustin finally realised what he was doing. His eyes went straight to her and he could tell that she was shocked by his actions. She looked at him as if she was afraid of him and when he glanced down at his bloody hands and the man on the ground, he wondered if she had a valid reason. What was going on with him? Two days away from Tinaya and he was bashing people’s faces in again. He was going to be fined, maybe suspended and possibly unable to play that season, meaning he would definitely not get another contract. Had he just screwed everything up because someone had said something about Tinaya?
The other members of the press were standing up with a gleeful look on their faces as they took pictures. They had come in hopes of something happening and like before, Dustin was just playing into it all, whether he really tried to or not. He realised then that he was either going to have to make a change or it was already too late for that. Dustin didn’t care about much else than how it would affect him and Tinaya. In that crazy moment, he knew that he had to change and she was the one that inspired it in him. She never asked for it and always told him the truth. Even when the truth was not something that he wanted to hear, she gave it to him anyways. The state of his hands and the look on her face was enough of a reason to change.
***
“Tell me you got it on camera. A picture, something?”
She shook her head that she hadn’t. “It happened so fast and was over even quicker. I have never seen anyone go after someone like that.”
Tinaya hadn’t either and she was worried about seeing that side of him. She had seen him act up and had, like most people, seen clips of a fight that he got into, but seeing it live in person was something else all-together. She didn’t know what had happened or what had caused the two men to get into a fight, but she did know that he had a bit of violence in him that she hadn’t expected.
“Are you okay?”
She shook her head. “Yes Sir, I was just not expecting that. I am sorry about the lack of video. I should have brought Jeffrey out with me, but who would have known that it was going to end like that?”
“No one else got any video, but there are shots of him all bloody all over the internet already. We really dropped the ball on this one Tinaya. You need to write a piece about it for the website. I know you can write, so you will have to explain to the readers what exactly you saw and I will just have to buy a photo from one of the affiliates.”
“Of course Sir.”
Tinaya left her boss’ office and she was not feeling any better. She didn’t want to write anything on Dustin and especially not the bad press that he was going to get for the fight. No matter what he had done, the fact was that she loved him, as hard as it was to admit to herself. She was carrying his child and one way or another, they were going to have to make peace with everything and go from there. Tinaya was putting off telling him, just like she wanted to put off the piece that her boss had just ordered her to write. He would want it quickly with the first game of the year starting in a couple of days.
Passing by Camille’s office, she sat down on the chair, slumping with a frown on her face.
“Girl, what is wrong with you?”
“I don’t want to adult anymore. How about a late lunch with a margarita at the end of it?”
“Now you are speaking my language. We can drink and you can tell me what has been going on with you lately.” She made a gesture and encircled her. “And you can tell me what all of this is about.”
***
Tinaya did. She poured it all out at the small bistro and when the waiter came to get their order, it was then that Tinaya remembered that she couldn’t drink. Instead, she got an ice tea that her friend questioned, but after she told her about the news she had learned about, Camille seemed to understand. Her eyes were a bit bulgy when she told her, but she finally started to calm down.
Ordering another drink, Camille asked what she had been waiting for. The question that was the hardest for her to answer.
“So whose is it?”
Tinaya stopped and took another sip of her iced tea, trying not to appear as nervous as she felt. What was her friend going to say when she found out? She was most likely going to freak out, much like she would have if it was reversed.
“Well I have been kind of seeing this guy.”
“So that is where you have been. But you always tell me about your boyfriends, so why haven’t I heard about this one?”
“Because he is kind of, one of the players.”
Now Camille was paying attention and her eyes were getting bright. “Oh my God. You have to tell me who.”
Tinaya kn
ew that her reaction was going to be one of shock. If she had told her that she was with a guy like Dustin, Tinaya would be in shock too. There was no way out of the fact that he was all wrong for her. He was all wrong for all women if they believed what the media said about him. But she saw him differently because she had seen the softer side of him and Dustin was actually really sweet when he wasn’t being a moody jerk.
“Dustin Bird?”
“What?”
Tinaya would have laughed if it wasn’t that her life had turned out so complicated. Camille’s face told her everything that she wanted to know. She was a bit surprised, but a bit jealous as well.
“Girl you are going to have to line up for that. Didn’t another girl just have his baby?”
“It’s not really his.”
“How do you know? I mean, you have seen the same stuff I have. Do you really think that you can trust him?”
Tinaya nodded that she could. She didn’t know why she felt that way. She hoped that it wasn’t just her trying to make herself feel better about loving him. Tinaya had dated a lot of jerks in her past. It was part of the reason that she had told herself she wouldn’t date anymore jocks. But it had been impossible to resist him and she still shivered when she thought of their first time. It made her misty-eyed when she thought of their last time and the tension that had developed between them. That was the hardest part for her. She missed him.
Camille could see that her friend was getting upset and she really wasn’t sure why, but more than anything she figured it had something to do with the pregnancy.
“Girl, you are getting all kinds of emotional. I am sure you are right about him, but didn’t he just beat his own teammate on the court in practice?”
“Yeah. We got in a fight and I don’t know, I think me being there made it worse. I haven’t talked to him in a couple of days and now after everything I don’t know what to say.”
“With everything going on, I think you need to take some time for you.”
“I don’t even know how that would happen. The boss is pushing for more. I sometimes wish I hadn’t done that interview with Dustin because all I hear is more, more, more now from the boss.”
“Have you told him that you are dating Dustin?”
“No, but he was mad that I didn’t snap pictures of the fight. I just wasn’t thinking and I didn’t even think about it. I am glad I didn’t now.”
Camille was jealous of her being with Dustin Bird, but she was not jealous of all of the drama that seemed to come with it. “Well at least tell me that it is worth it.”
Tinaya knew what she was talking about and she nodded that it was. It was so worth it that in only a couple of days time, she was missing him something fierce. She wanted to go to him, tell him she was sorry for saying what she did, but her pride kept her from calling him after she got off of work. Tinaya told her boss that she was going to work on the story overnight, but she still wasn’t sure what she was going to write.
Chapter 8
Dustin was feeling bad. His hand was hurting where the knuckle had been deflected by Tony’s teeth. More than that, though, he was bummed out about how everything had turned out. He was trying so hard to turn over a new leaf in life, but he didn’t seem to be doing so hot with it. Dustin needed Tinaya. He needed to feel her body next to him and the calming effects that she brought to him. There was just something about her and there was nothing he could do but think of her.
He picked up his phone to call her and decided that he would have better luck if he went and seen her. Dustin was sick of fighting and his body was all around tense because he hadn’t been able to taste her in hours, though it felt like weeks. It was strange how quickly he had gotten used to her and how big of a hole was left when she was gone.
Getting into his car, he didn’t even bother to change out of his work-out clothes. They still had a bit of blood on them, but he wasn’t focused on that. Dustin was focused on getting to her and fixing it with Tinaya. He missed her and for once, he wasn’t afraid to admit it. He just hoped that she would be able to forgive him so that they could move on.
When he got to her apartment, there was a relief when he saw her car parked in the spot. There had been a worry that she wouldn’t be there and he would be left with the sinking feeling in his gut longer than he could handle. It was also a fear of his that she would move on. He would have already had another girlfriend or at least a girl to forget about her if she would have been any of the other women that he had met through his life. But Tinaya had a way about her and Dustin hadn’t even thought of it when he had stormed out like he did.
The man was nervous, more nervous than he usually was and he ran his fingers through his short brown hair. He realised then that he should have changed, not needing to give her a reminder of him behaving badly when he was in practice. But it was too late to change and he refused to go any longer without talking to her.
Knocking, it sounded hollow to his ears and for several moments he didn’t hear anything on the other side of the door. Dustin was starting to think that she wasn’t there, but he finally heard her say she was coming and heard her footprints coming to the door. He sighed to himself in relief when she finally opened it, but he didn’t like the look on her face.
“Hey, Dustin. What’s up?”
He smiled and saw it start to work on her. Her dark almond-shaped eyes seemed to soften some and instead of making him stand there, she moved to the side to let him come in.
“So you saw that little melt-down.”
“Is that what it was?”
Dustin felt his face going red and noticed that her eyes were drawn to the blood on his shirt. “It was something that I wish you hadn’t seen.”
“Me too. Did you run out of clothes?”
He looked down to the red drops on his jersey and shrugged. “I wanted to see you and I guess I didn’t really think about it.”
“Why don’t you take a shower and I will get you some of the clothes you left over here?”
Dustin’s mind instantly went to making love in the shower. If he was honest, it was part of what had brought him there and there was no doubt that he was ready for her. But when he grabbed her arm and started to pull her into the bathroom with him, she didn’t relent. “You go take a shower and we will talk when you get out.”
He frowned and felt like he was being sent to the principal’s office. But he didn’t protest much and when he got out of the shower, she had some of his clothes folded and waiting for him. He walked out with the towel wrapped around his waist.
“No, get back in there and get dressed. How can we talk when you look like that?”
Her eyes took in his hard chest sprinkled with dark brown hair. Her hands were itching to touch him and her eyes flicked down to where he was already ready for her. She looked away and felt her face growing hot. There was no way that there would be any kind of conversation if he didn’t get dressed quickly.
Dustin liked the way she looked at him with need in her eyes . When she sent him back in there, at first he didn’t want to. He pulled her close and kissed her finally, pulling her body tight against his. He pressed himself against her, rubbing his need between her legs, watching her eyes start to darken and glaze over. She broke away and pushed him towards the bathroom, wiping her mouth.
“So how long are you going to be mad at me?”
“I was never mad Dustin. You were the one that stormed off mad at me.”
He didn’t pop his head out to see that she was still stinging from their previous encounter. It was their first one and really not a big one, but she wasn’t like most girls that would take it and apologize for his misbehaviours. He was going to have to come clean with her and bring some emotions to the table. It was not something that he liked to think about, but he told himself that he didn’t have a choice. Losing her wasn’t a choice, so he got dressed like she asked and met her at the table. He wondered if she chose that place instead of the couch where he could touch her and be next
to her. Did she know that she would lose if he got his hands on her?
Dustin liked the idea that she was already planning her defeat. Tinaya was wearing a pair of shorts that showed him all of her dark leg propped up on one of the other chairs. She was not as laid-back as he was, but Dustin sensed that she was not going to hold his ignorance against him for too long. But as they sat there, the silence drew out and neither one said anything. He was the one that had to, but he could think of nothing else but the curve of her thigh and the way the muscles moved as she tapped her foot. It was something she did when she was nervous, but it had never kept him so captivated before.
“So are we going to talk about what happened?”
“When?” Dustin wasn’t sure which part of "what" she wanted to talk about. There had been a lot of bad behaviour on his part and if she would just give him a sign, he could easily make it up to her. But she wanted to talk and it was clear that nothing was going to happen until they had that talk. So instead he grabbed the bottle of beer that she had left on the table for him and took a long drink. He was giving himself time to figure out what the hell it was that he was going to say. Dustin had not come there with a plan. He had never had to have a plan before.
Chapter 9
“Look Tinaya. If I am being honest with you, I don’t even know what today was about or last night for that matter. You look too deep and sometimes I don’t like to hear the truth, but you were right.”
Dustin stopped with the words almost painful on his thick tongue to say. It wasn’t something that he recalled actually ever saying, but he knew that it was true. It was true what she had said then and since he had more or less ruined his career, Dustin was feeling it even more acutely.
“It is not that I think you are lacking Dustin. I just don’t want to see you end up like a lot of people that I know. I care about what happens to you and I can tell that when you are playing you are happy.”
“I thought you didn’t watch me before?”
“I said I didn’t watch that much.”