The PreGame Ritual (Lynstone University Book 1) (9 page)

ava.

“Why are you walking like that?”

Leave it to Avery to try and ruin my bliss after a night of making up with Miles. Everything about it, from the minute he arrived to the minute he left early this morning was too close to perfect, so I wasn’t really surprised that Avery had picked up on it one way or another.

“Like what?” I asked, as I grabbed a banana from the fruit basket on the counter, popping it open and taking a bite. She eyed me from her seat at the kitchen table, with a magazine and a bowl of granola in front of her.

“Like...I don’t know. Like you have a stick up your ass or somethin’? Did you get hurt in a game?”

“If you paid any attention to my games, you would know.” It was no secret that Avery’s attendance was purely to socialize, not to actually watch me play. I could honestly care less if she was there or not but I was pretty sure my parents made her come since they couldn’t be there every game.

“Well did you? I mean your walk is kinda…”

“Kinda what? Kinda limpy? A little
stank
perhaps? Little girl, if you had any idea what caused this walk, you’d probably be on the first thing smoking to get it for yourself. But guess what? You. Can’t. Have it.”

I felt childish as hell waiting for Avery to pick up on what I meant. She was a little slow when it came to putting hints together so her reaction was super delayed.

“Wait a minute. It’s from..?”
              I didn’t even let her finish, making the duty my own. “Yes. From having sex. With Miles to be exact.” I don’t know why I felt the need to rub it in her face but I was ready to stake my claim even though she had to have picked up on what was going on by now.

Maybe she really is that slow...

“
Ava
…”

“What? Now that you know, now that I’ve made things crystal clear for you from my own mouth, you can stay out of my damn business and find some of your own. Miles is mine. Got it?”

“But he…” The fact that we were even having this conversation was plenty, but then she decided to use her whiney voice, the one that had always gotten her what she wanted growing up, annoying the hell out of me.

“I don’t wanna hear it, Avery. If you have a problem with Miles and I being together...Well to be honest, I don’t really care. So back the hell up.” I was heading out of the kitchen but I could hear her behind me as she stood up from her seat at the table, smacking her hands down causing her bowl of granola to take a little jump.

“Well you should probably know he’s been messin’ around on you...
asshole
!” I was trying not to pay her any mind but the way she said it, with such a vengeance, in the heat of the moment had me concerned. I trusted Miles, but he was young, so it wasn’t impossible for him to think he could pull off something on the side. But it also could’ve very well been Avery just trying to get in my head.

I went with the latter, as I threw back, “You don’t wear jealousy well, chick.”

“I’m not jealous.” I could hear the pout in her voice, telling me everything I needed to know.

“Then what’s your motive? Can’t stand to see me happy with someone for a change? I mean, what’s in it for you? It’s not like he wants you.” Miles had made it clear time and time again that he had no interest in Avery nor anyone similar to her. I guess she hadn’t caught on to
that
picture just yet.

She glided her tongue across her teeth, clearly working hard to come up with a rebuttal I could already tell would be some bullshit. It took her so long that I thought our conversation was over so I started walking out of the kitchen again. She didn’t let me get too far before she finally threw out, “Just because you let him hit it does not mean he’s committing.”

“Exactly why you need to stay the hell out of my business instead of speculating like you know shit. You literally have no idea what’s going on between Miles and I and more likely than not, it’s gonna stay that way until I want you to know anything. Keep your ass on the sideline where you belong.”

I started my trek to the bedroom again but not before she spit out a strong, “Fuck you, Ava.”

I turned my attention back to her, making sure to wear a smile as I reminded her, “Sorry, but I’ve already been
fucked
.”

←&
→

He wasn’t there.

He didn’t have an away game, didn’t say anything about having plans, and he wasn’t there.

The whole game I kept looking around the crowd, thinking maybe he had decided to switch from his normal seat for the hell of it.

But no... he just didn’t come.

And of course I couldn’t help wondering if Avery’s words actually had some truth to them. Maybe his little side chick was so distracting that he had forgotten about my game.

Forgotten about me.

I felt pathetic as hell as I considered showing up to his dorm demanding answers, or blowing up his phone to figure out his whereabouts, or even stalking his social media accounts trying to put together clues like a damn private investigator.

Definitely the least invasive method.

I dug in the side pocket of my duffle bag, grabbing my phone to do a little research but just as I was getting ready to open my Facebook app, the screen of my phone showed an incoming call.

Mommy.

I quickly tried to adjust my attitude and my tone as I clicked the screen to connect the call.

“Heyyy Mommy.”

“Baby girl, what’s going on with you? Your dad and I watched the game and you looked a little lost out there. You okay?”

Leave it to Mommy to waste no time getting straight to the point. Truth be told, I played like shit and even though we won, nothing about it felt good.

But of course I couldn’t let her know that so I replied, “Yeahhh...yeah I’m good. Just had an off day I guess.”

“
An off day
? That doesn’t even sound like you. Are you sure you’re okay? I talked to your sister and she said you’ve been seeing some boy…”

Fuckin’ hater.

This was exactly why I didn’t tell her what was going on in the first place. She was always running her damn mouth to somebody.

“On occasion I suppose.” There was no way in hell I was giving her
all
of
the details of the situation.

“
On occasion
? Alright, something’s definitely going on with you. Are you having boy problems?”

Damnit.

There was no more hiding it, so I honestly replied, “That’s exactly what it is; a
boy
problem.”

“What’s that little emphasis on
boy
about?”

Are we playing 21 questions?

“He’s a baby mom. A freshman.”

“And you are stating that fun fact because...?”

I sighed as I tried to explain, “I’m too old to be…”

She quickly cut me off and I could literally picture her saying, “First of all, you are too young to already start saying you’re too old for anything. Second of all, love doesn’t have an age limit. Actually, I take that back; it does...
legally
...but you guys are both in college. So what’s the big deal?”

“It’s not a big deal, Mommy. It’s just...I don’t know. I guess I just catch myself torn about the whole thing.” I couldn’t help but wonder if Miles felt like he was missing out on those normal freshman year experiences by doing
whatever
we called ourselves doing. I mean, he couldn’t be free if he was too busy being tied down to me.

“There’s nothing to be torn about, baby girl. You like him. He’s affecting your mood so you’re obviously invested in some way. Have some fun for a change.”

“I have fun, Mom.”

“Not enough. You’ve always been so serious, even when you were a little girl. But you don’t get twenty-one back, Ava. Make it worth your while. And if you make a mistake...well
...fuck it
.”

“Mom!” I couldn’t help but laugh since Mommy hardly ever cussed. I guess she really needed to make her point this time around.

“
What
? I’m serious. Life goes on whether you live it or not. And whoever this little dude is must’ve brought you a dose of something good otherwise you wouldn’t be sweatin’ whatever mistake he made.
”
It sounded like she was talking about sex but I damn sure wasn’t gonna go there, so instead I gave her the real; what had actually soured my mood.

“He didn’t come to my game, Mommy.” I sounded like a child but hell, with her I could be exactly that.

I
was
exactly that.

“So you wait it out. Give him a chance to explain himself. And if it’s not what you wanna hear, you act accordingly. But you at least need to give him a shot at making things right.” The way she explained it made it sound so logical, almost making me question why I had started off trippin’ in the first place.

“Yeah I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I am. Now don’t worry, I’ll tell your dad you were on your period or something.”

So clutch.

“Thanks, Mommy. I’ll talk to you soon. Love you.”

“Love you more, baby girl. And you tell that young man if he messes up again, he’ll have to deal with me.”

miles.

I was pacing back and forth in front of Ava’s building, knowing my explanation would require an in-person visit
.
And not even like that, but I knew it would be harder for her to believe me over the phone or via text. So I waited and waited, until I eventually saw her approaching the building with her duffle bag draped over her shoulder and her hair covered with a hood. I didn’t see the game but I did watch the highlights and since Ava wasn’t apart of them, I figured she must not have played as well as usual. She wasn’t paying much attention, not even realizing I was there until I called out to her, her head flying up in surprise the second she realized it was me.

“Hey, ma. I’m sorry I didn’t make it to your game today. It’s a long story.”

“I have time.” She crossed her arms over her chest in her usual attitude-stained stance. I was just happy that instead of ignoring me, she was actually giving me the opportunity to explain myself.

“Well... my brother was in town. Not
here
in town, but the big city so I drove up to see him, planning to only spend a few hours up there and then come back in time for your game. But then a few hours turned into more, and my phone died so I couldn’t at least let you know I wasn’t gonna make it, and I would’ve used Bryson’s phone but I couldn’t remember your number. So I flew back down the freeway as quickly as I could so that I could meet you here and tell you all of this.” She stared at me for a long time, an uncomfortably long time, so long that I almost started adding extra details to the story. But then she took a few steps closer to me and planted the sweetest of kisses on my lips, letting it linger long enough to let me know things might actually be okay.

She pulled back, poking a finger at my chest as she said, “Don’t let it happen again, Miles. I played like shit and I’m blaming you.”

“I’ll take that, ma. I just hope you let me make it up to you.” She unlocked and opened the door, grabbing my hand to pull me in with her.

“Oh, you’ll definitely be earning this one.”

←&
→

“Ava, if we watch this got damn movie one more time, I swear I’m gonna crack the DVD in half.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” She yelled, as she dimmed the lights in my living room and pressed play on the DVD player. All of my roommates were out on the town since it was a Friday night. And though I was sure they were having a good time, I certainly couldn’t imagine my night being any more perfect.

Well, besides if we could watch something other than
Love & Basketball
.

But that was Ava, living through Monica Wright’s basketball career as if she didn’t have one of her own to focuson
.

I suppose that made me Quincy McCall.

Quincy was cool and all but I damn sure wasn’t about to declare for the draft only to be a bench player for a currently subpar team.

The movie played on though I was hardly paying it any attention. My focus was completely on Ava as she snuggled closer against my chest, her red ponytail teasing my chin. When I did take a peek at the screen, I watched as Monica Wright entered her prom uncomfortable as hell in a dress and heels. I could pretty much picture Ava being the same exact way.

“Ava, you went to prom with Spalding huh?” I teased.

“No, asshole. I actually went to the prom with Austin.” Apparently, I looked as confused as I felt so she continued on, “You know... Duke... Pelicans... Clippers. Ring a bell?” It was then that I realized she was talking about Doc’s son; one of the up-and-coming sharpshooters in the league.

“Wow. A first rounder. Why am I not surprised?”

“You should be. We were just friends and since neither one of us really wanted to distract ourselves from basketball with worrying about finding a date, we just went with each other.”

Of course Ava told the nonchalant version so I couldn’t help asking, “No happily ever after like Monica and Quincy huh?”

“Hell no. That was just the homie. Still is. I’m actually going up there to catch one of his games in a couple weeks.”
              “You mean ‘
we’re
’ going up there to catch one of his games in a couple weeks? Fuck all that homie shit.” She sat up just to laugh right in my face.

“My goodness, Miles. You can’t possibly be that jealous.”

“Never jealous, just very protective of what’s mine. And you are mine, Ava.
Period
.” Whether she realized it or not, I was in deep. And now that she was finally letting go of her inhibitions about dating me, I could go even harder.

She gave a sexy little smirk as she said, “Sounds a little possessive, don’t you think?”

“Call it what you want, ma. But I don’t want there to be any confusion about the rekindling of flames going on. Ain’t no dude letting go of you that easily. And I’m sure you look even better now than you did back then. He’s probably got all types of shit planned for your little visit.” She laughed again even though I was being dead ass serious.

“Miles, you are crazy. You literally have nothing to worry about. Hell, if anything, I’m the one that should be worried about you.”

“Worried about me? Worried for what?”

“Mr. High School Superstar, now College Superstar. I’m just sure the girls are waiting for you to quit playin’ with me.” It was no secret that I had been turning down hella girls since Ava and I started talking, but I certainly didn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. All of them put together didn’t even measure up to half the woman Ava was.

“That won’t be happening anytime soon, ma. I mean, you’d really have to do some fucked up shit to get rid of me. I’m like infatuated with you or somethin’. I mean I literally think about you all day long. And not even on some crazy, deranged shit though that’s probably how I sound.” It was still scary to think about, let alone talk about.

She quickly reassured me, “You don’t sound crazy at all, Miles. That was actually very sweet of you.”

“Damn, now you probably think I’m some soft mothafucka huh?”

She laughed before she said, “No, I
think
I made the right decision by giving us a chance.”