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  Finally, we had made the hour and a half drive to the stadium. We were greeted by the director of high school relations. Cole was off the chain excited. I had to admit, when we first walked into that stadium it was impressive. We went over to a booth that was set up for recruits. We stood up there with some of the top prospects in South Carolina. All eyes were on us at first because we were from Georgia. Word quickly spread on who we were. Cole jumped right in and started meeting people. Damarius stuck to me like glue. My parents went to a meeting with the athletic director and other parents.

  I wasn’t a shy guy, but when introduced to adults I was a little reserved and passive. So I didn’t mind shooting the bull with Damarius a bit. There was a spread of food that filled four tables: catfish, fried chicken, slaw, cornbread, baked beans, green beans, French fries and brownies. Damarius and I tore up the meal. Cole finally came back to us wearing barbeque sauce all over his face.

  “Man, fix yo mouth,” Damarius yelled out.

  “Oh, oh, my bad, my bad. Hand me something.” I passed him a napkin. “I was coming over here to let you know about your competition. See that ol’ tall, slim dude over there?”

  Cole pointed at this tall, caramel-toned guy running his mouth. Both Damarius and I nodded to acknowledge we saw who he was talking about. Then I shrugged my shoulders.

  “Hold up, Perry. That’s Saxon Lee,” Cole said as if I was supposed to give the guy major respect.

  I had never met the dude, so I had nothing against him. Even though he was South Carolina’s top wide receiver and I was said to hold that position in my state, I felt there was room for both of us on the next level. Saxon didn’t intimidate me. As a matter of fact, I’d heard he was cocky and from seeing him love the attention from all the other recruits I could tell some of the rumors I’d heard about him were true.

  “Oh, snap, look at his girl,” Damarius said. The three of us switched our attention to the hottie standing close to Lee. “Oh, yeah, that’s mine.”

  Damarius started fixing his fro, then began making his stride in their direction. I yanked his tail back.

  Angrily I said, “Man, what are you thinkin’? She is here with another dude. We’re on a recruiting visit that you weren’t even invited to and you’re going to cause havoc. Uh, partna, no.”

  Damarius walked away, frustrated, like I had killed his little Christmas or something. Cole followed him. I stood alone.

  The Saxon dude saw me, walked over to me with his girl and said, “You’re the big wide out from Georgia, right?” I nodded once. “Well, I’m Saxon Lee. I’m sure you have heard of me. And all the great stuff you’ve heard can’t compare to what I’m really all about.”

  “You are so full of yourself, Saxon. No wonder your head blows up,” the cute girl said real fast.

  I liked her. That was her man and she checked him like that in front of me. Dang, not only was she pretty, she was sly. The two of them had words for a second.

  Finally, she lifted her hand toward me and said, “Hi, I’m Savoy, his twin sister.”

  That explains a lot, I thought, as I shook her hand. Her hands felt so soft, I didn’t want to let go. His sister, yes!

  “Let her hand go!” Saxon said as he pulled us apart.

  “I’m Perry Skky. Nice to meet you, Savoy,” I said as our eyes held.

  “Girl, c’mon.” Saxon started leading his sister away. “Perry, you better step your game up, brotha. I’ma school you this year. You need to sign quickly. We have a lot of the same college visits and if there is only one wide receiver spot, it’s mine.”

  “Keep runnin’ your mouth, Lee. I’ma handle my business on the field,” I joked before saying, “And, Miss Savoy, it was very, very nice to meet you. Keep your brother straight.”

  I didn’t see Saxon anymore. We were with different players and hosts and though we were clustered together, we weren’t in the same group. I did, however, regret that I didn’t see his fine sister again. This campus was expansive and hilly, a nice place, but it was just all right.

  They had a new coach, Coach Dan Samson. He used to coach in the SEC and won two national championships with ole Miss. He had gotten an opportunity to coach in the NFL and took it quickly. I think he was making something like three million a year. He was up there for three years and couldn’t win worth nothing. Now he was back in college ready to win again. When I was called into his office, while my parents were still seeing the highlight film with my two friends, I didn’t really know what to expect.

  “Sit down, son, sit down,” Coach Samson said as I admired his expansive office.

  The chair he sat in almost swallowed him. Looking around and seeing all the awards around him made me so excited that I actually had to take a deep breath. All that I had worked for was real and I was finally being recruited by top schools I’d admired since middle school. But now that it was here, I wasn’t all rushed to sign. Yeah, I knew schools were limited on scholarships and to commit early guaranteed I could take a lot of pressure off myself. However, I wanted to check out all my options. I had to stand my ground if he pressured me.

  “So, what do you think of USC? It’s the best dang school around, huh?” Coach said without waiting on my reply. “Your buddy Cole just committed to come here. We can make it a package deal.”

  “Well, Coach, I don’t know.”

  “This hesitation, son, is it me? I know a lot of people say that I’m a tough guy to play for. But I bring out the best in my players. Over 60 percent of my squad get hard looks by the NFL and out there 30 percent of my players are still playing today. If that’s a level you really want to get to, son, you need to give me a chance. I’m going to be honest with you. Right now we can commit to you, but this is the only time that it is going to be guaranteed. You walk away from South Carolina, we may not be able to offer you a scholarship later.”

  Coach Samson was laying it on real thick.

  “Aw, Coach, I would be honored to play for you. Right now I’m just not sure of where I want to be. I do hope that if I decide to be a Gamecock you’ll still have a slot for me. I plan to work hard to keep your interest in me up as I play this year.” I stood up to leave, but I shook his hand first.

  “I really like you, Skky. We’ll stay connected with you through the year. Go have a heck of a football season. Meeting you confirms you’re the kind of kid that I want on this team.” Before I got out the door, he said softly, “But if you sign with one of my rival schools, I’ll make you regret it every year we play you.”

  We both laughed. I left his office liking him as well. Coach Samson was cool.

  As I left the school with my parents and friends, I wondered if I would be back. But it wasn’t about me on the ride back, it was about my boy Cole. He had committed to go to college. We went to Golden Corral before getting back on the road and celebrated.

  While Cole and my parents went back to the buffet, I noticed Damarius sulking at the table. I knew something was wrong with him. I wanted some more ribs myself, but I sat still.

  I asked, “Wasup, dude?”

  “Just down, that’s all. I’m happy for Cole and I’m even happier for you. I was at your house the other day and saw all your letters from schools. Nobody is knocking at my door for me to play at their school. What I’ma do next year?”

  “This year you gon’ work like you wanna go to college, pull up them grades.”

  “Boy, please, ain’t nobody a bookworm like you.”

  “How about just opening up the book?”

  “Don’t even start that,” my friend said and looked away.

  I said, “Hey, look, man—you can ball on the field. I’m just saying put a little more effort this year in your work, you gon’ land somewhere. Watch.”

  “You think, man?”

  I nodded, thinking about all three of us. I just hoped Damarius, Cole and I would really live up to our potential. God was handing us opportunities—why not seize them all?

  My other good buddy, Justin Smith, didn’t hang w
ith Damarius and Cole. I mean, he wasn’t a jock or anything, Justin was a real smart dude. We had AP classes together and though school hadn’t started I hadn’t seen the brotha in a while, so he came over to show me his new ride.

  “It’s not as sweet as your two-door new ride,” Justin said to me in my driveway as we checked out his shiny black Mustang. “But I won’t be walking.”

  “Man, this is the bomb!” I said.

  We went inside for something cold to drink. Summers in Georgia were no joke. My mom never let me down when it came to stocking the refrigerator. I got Justin a cold Gatorade and grabbed another one for myself. Popping off the black top, I gulped that stuff down.

  “Dang, boy,” Justin said.

  “Man, this stuff is an athlete’s best friend.”

  “You know you got it going on right.” I gave him a bewildered stare. “I’m just saying, you and I are on two totally different courses.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, wiping my mouth.

  “Well, what I’m saying is, you are good-looking. I’m average and sort of small.”

  “Are you stupid? Talking about I’m cute. You ain’t switching up on me, are you?” I teased.

  “Real funny. But for real, it ain’t like my phone is ringing off the hook.”

  “You need to get your head up out the books and hang out sometimes.”

  “What, like I get invited to the cool parties? We hang in class and then when you’re with your football crew you don’t even give me the time of day.”

  “Boy, I can’t make you popular. And I’m never trying to leave you out. Quit putting that all on me.”

  “I’m just saying let me be around some. It’s like this ... All the cool kids at school are your friends. I want to hang with some of them.”

  Before we could finish our conversation, my back door was opening. “Knock, knock! It’s me and Cole,” Damarius yelled.

  Cole bear-hugged me and said, “Wasup, homeboy?”

  The three of us started rattling on about how we were going to have a great time at our party we were gonna have over at Damarius’s house. For a few minutes, I never even turned and acknowledged Justin.

  For the first time, I saw what my buddy was saying. He felt like an outsider, and I could do something about it.

  “Y’all ain’t got no manners,” I said to Damarius and Cole. “Y’all see him in here. Speak.”

  “Hey, Jarred, Jacob, John ... ” Cole said to Justin, then quickly turned to me to get his name.

  “His name is Justin. C’mon, y’all, this is my friend and you really need to know him. He could tutor your tails.”

  “Oh, for real? We need to talk,” Damarius said as he slapped Justin’s hand. “All right man, you gotta help us throw this party.”

  Justin smiled at me. Just that quick he was in. I smiled back.

  Two days later the party was on. It was filled with honeys and our teammates. We were outnumbered and we loved it. Justin was the only nonathlete male at the party, and he was loving it, too. He got plenty of girls that either thought he was on the team or were just excited to see him with us.

  Justin came over to me and said, “See, all you had to do was let me in, bro, and I’ll be the man. And, oh, there is this girl named Amandi ... She wanted me to introduce you to her.”

  When I turned toward her, my eyes couldn’t stop staring at her chest; it was practically completely visible, ’cause she had on a low-cut halter. My gaze eventually moved on to her Daisy Duke shorts. Oh, yeah this party was slammin’!

  “So, you gon’ dance with me, or what?” Amandi asked as she moved closer and closer to me, shaking her hips from left to right.

  It was easy for me to get in the groove with a girl like that standing in front of me. I wrapped my hands around her waist and let her take me to the middle of the floor. Once I started dancing, everyone joined in. It was crazy. I was now noticing my popularity on a different level. I just hoped God would help me stay humble. I knew I was being tempted.

  “You ever seen me before?” she asked, puckering her lips after she said every word, reeling me in with her seductiveness. The girl had it going on, and she had a back like bam! And I was all into it.

  “I don’t think I know you.”

  “We’re in the same grade at the same school, and you have never noticed me, huh? Well, I’m Amandi Roberts.”

  “Yeah, didn’t you used to wear glasses and braces and—”

  “Yeah, and now all that is gone. You like what you see?” she asked as she turned and shook her backside at me. “I wanna be honest, Perry. I wanna ...” But before she could finish, Damarius and Cole stepped between us and pulled me off the floor.

  “What’s going on?” I asked the two of them as if they were the chaperone police. “I’m not doing nothing wrong. I’m just having a little fun.”

  “Yeah, but you about to get us in trouble,” Cole said as he hit me in the chest. “Tori is here with Ciara and Briana.”

  “You broke up with her and you didn’t even tell us?” Damarius asked.

  They spun me around so that I could look directly at the woman who still had a part of my heart. I hadn’t realized it because I tried not to think about it, but the moment I saw her, all the flesh that Amandi was flaunting couldn’t hold a candle to the substance I knew Tori possessed. But then I came to my senses. I wasn’t trying to go backward, I wanted what Amandi was trying to give away. Tori wasn’t about all that and we were through.

  I said, “I didn’t know I had to answer to the two of you guys. Yeah, I broke up with her.”

  “Why, dude? Everybody knows that the three of us go with the three of them,” Damarius said.

  “It’s our senior year. If y’all don’t wanna be single, which you two need to be because of how bad you cheat on them, anyway, then I’ma show you. You ain’t gotta be tied down to be cool.”

  Damarius replied, “But everybody knows women like a brotha that’s already with somebody. If you got game you can play more games.”

  “Whatever, D. We just think differently.”

  “All right, do your thing, then, bro.”

  The two of them backed away and I went back out on the floor to continue dancing with Amandi. When a slow jam came on, I was about to leave. But Amandi didn’t let me get too far. She grabbed me back, pulled my body into hers and we rocked with the groove.

  “So, what was that about, your boys pulling you away and all?”

  “Me and my girl broke up and they just want to make sure I know what I’m doing.”

  “You looking for another girl?”

  “No.”

  “But you are looking for a good time, right?”

  “I don’t know.” I laughed.

  “Well, when that answer is yes, then come to me.” She pulled my head close to hers and planted a kiss on me I wasn’t expecting.

  The crowd did notice and a lot of oohs and ahhs were all around. Quickly, I tried to find Tori in the crowd. I spotted her as she dashed away.

  “Uh-uh I gotta go,” I said, tugging from Amandi.

  It took me a few minutes to find Tori, but when I did she was down the street walking by herself with her hands over her face, crying. The girl cared about me and I knew that. Dang! But she had to get used to us not being together.

  I eased up behind her and said, “Hey, hey, hey. Wait a minute.”

  “Leave me alone, Perry. Just go back in there and get your groove on. Don’t let my being upset stop you.”

  “Wait a minute, babe. Come here.” I wiped her tears from her face. “She kissed me. I’m not trying to hurt you.”

  “If you loved me, you would be patient.”

  I didn’t know if what I felt for her was love. We’d been together for a long time, so that should be proof enough to her that I had deep feelings.

  “Look, Tori, I do care.”

  “But you didn’t even call me all week.”

  “I needed some space and plus I had a recruiting visit. I was bus
y.”

  “Have you been broken up about us? Have you been missing me? Huh?” Tori pushed.

  “Have you changed your mind? Are you willing to do what I want, Tori?” She turned her head and looked away. “Yeah, I’m sorry. It’s a tough question for you. But I don’t want a no to that question anymore. For us to stay together, on that issue I’m needing a yes.”

  2

  Handling My Business

  “Dang, boy, you had all day to be ready,” my father said as he abruptly came into my room to get me for the Braves baseball game.

  I didn’t understand why he always had to talk to me any kind of way. I mean, couldn’t he have said, “Son, you ready to go?” Or something like, “I’m just coming in here to let you know I’m ready. I’ll be downstairs waiting on you.” Not with my pops. The understanding way he talked to my sister was absent in our conversations, and now he had ticked me off. I had followed him all my life, but suddenly something in me was different now. I wasn’t having him come at me incorrectly.

  “You in a rush, Pops? Go ahead and go,” I said as I sat on my bed. I started taking off my hoodie. “I’m sure somebody at the dealership wouldn’t mind going in my place.”

  “Boy, put that daggone shoe on and get your tail up so we can go! I’m rushing you because I gotta pick up Mr. Graham and Dakari, and I’m trying not to hold them up and be late ’cause of you. Now let’s go!”

  My dad could still make me do some things, but I didn’t have to like it. I didn’t know company was riding with us. Actually, that was going to make the journey to Atlanta much better for me. I hadn’t seen Dakari in a good while. He was my sister’s old high school boyfriend. Their on-and-off relationship was a trip! He wanted to play the field. Thankfully, my sister caught on.

  I’ll never forget the day Dakari and I almost got to fighting. I’d admired him for so long, but when he embarrassed my sister in public by breaking up with her in front of a big crowd at school, I stood up to him. I had to be a man. I had to let him know that when it came to my sister, I wasn’t having it. We didn’t actually come to blows, though. But ever since that day, Dakari has been givin’ me my props. He told me that he knew I had fire that would take me far.