concerned, he had too easy of a life. Unlike Joe, who had to work above and beyond everyone else to support not just himself, but his family. His sorry assed dad had walked, followed not soon after by his equally sorry-assed mother, leaving him with a sister and a nephew. He was left to take care of them both while trying to get through school. So he resented that Stephen was given so much and didn’t seem to value his good for tune. If he had the looks, money, connections, and smarts that Stephen had, he would be head and shoulders above everyone else in life. Stephen was such a waste. Take today, for example. They could have easily beaten that team. Reye’s team was an average team as far as he was concerned, but Stephen was so busy chasing tail that he couldn’t see straight. It was disgusting! Stephen could have anyone he wanted, probably had, and who did he choose, a black girl. Joe had yet to get his head around that.
The desertion of his parents had forced him to grow up early, in foster care. He and his sister had always lived i n the poorer parts of town, surrounded by blacks and Hispanics. There were a few who had been kind to him, but most hadn’t. It had been a dog-eat-dog world.
Stephen had lost the game for them today with his laughing and playing around. It really pissed him off. Joe liked pussy as much as the next guy, but it never stood in the way of winning. So, when he and Henri had walked over to Stephen and he was laughing and smiling with that girl, he hadn’t been able to rein in his temper or his mouth. So what the fuck? It had needed to be said.
Chapter 7
She didn’t hear from him that evening, much to her discomfort and dismay. She remained at home on the off chance that he would come by, trying to distract herself by pretending to study. She couldn’t focus, so instead she grabbed her work gloves and headed out into her yard. Working in the yard was a more productive use of her time, killing two birds with one stone, reducing her anx iety while getting her yard winter ready. Beds were cleared of leaves and dead flowers, leaves were raked, the grass cut and fertilized for the last time this year. She checked her cell; still no word from Stephen. What had she expected? They had a good time for two weeks, and so what if this casual whatever they had was ending sooner than later. She’d enjoyed it, right? Joe was persona non grata in her book, that was for damn sure!
Looking around at her yard, she felt satisfied at what she’d accomplished today. Time for a shower maybe she could study. No such luck, she was tired, not enough to sleep. Instead she laid down on the couch and watched TV. Eventually she dozed off.
* * *
Stephen sat in his apartment and nursed a beer while he stared blankly at the soccer game, a rerun on TV. He’d left the game and gone home immediately, not being much company for anyone. What had he done? He’d allowed this infatuation with Reye to come before the game. That had never happened before. Reflecting back, he realized that he’d spent most of the time trying to touch her, to feed a desire for her that he couldn’t shake after two weeks in her bed. He had enjoyed the challenge of keeping her from scoring with the side benefit of being close. He’d forgotten that he was there to help his team win. His team mates depended on him, and he’d let them down.
This semester was coming to an end. Thanksgiving was two weeks away, and then Christmas. One more semester and he was done. Next, his focus would shift to studying and passing the bar exam. Although he had been raised to pursue law, he really did love it and had aspirations of sur passing his father and grandfather in his law career.
His cell rang and he reached for it, hoping it was and wasn’t Reye. It was his mother. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hello, Stephen, how are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine.” She could always judge his mood by his voice.
“I’m just a little tired,
The desertion of his parents had forced him to grow up early, in foster care. He and his sister had always lived i n the poorer parts of town, surrounded by blacks and Hispanics. There were a few who had been kind to him, but most hadn’t. It had been a dog-eat-dog world.
Stephen had lost the game for them today with his laughing and playing around. It really pissed him off. Joe liked pussy as much as the next guy, but it never stood in the way of winning. So, when he and Henri had walked over to Stephen and he was laughing and smiling with that girl, he hadn’t been able to rein in his temper or his mouth. So what the fuck? It had needed to be said.
Chapter 7
She didn’t hear from him that evening, much to her discomfort and dismay. She remained at home on the off chance that he would come by, trying to distract herself by pretending to study. She couldn’t focus, so instead she grabbed her work gloves and headed out into her yard. Working in the yard was a more productive use of her time, killing two birds with one stone, reducing her anx iety while getting her yard winter ready. Beds were cleared of leaves and dead flowers, leaves were raked, the grass cut and fertilized for the last time this year. She checked her cell; still no word from Stephen. What had she expected? They had a good time for two weeks, and so what if this casual whatever they had was ending sooner than later. She’d enjoyed it, right? Joe was persona non grata in her book, that was for damn sure!
Looking around at her yard, she felt satisfied at what she’d accomplished today. Time for a shower maybe she could study. No such luck, she was tired, not enough to sleep. Instead she laid down on the couch and watched TV. Eventually she dozed off.
* * *
Stephen sat in his apartment and nursed a beer while he stared blankly at the soccer game, a rerun on TV. He’d left the game and gone home immediately, not being much company for anyone. What had he done? He’d allowed this infatuation with Reye to come before the game. That had never happened before. Reflecting back, he realized that he’d spent most of the time trying to touch her, to feed a desire for her that he couldn’t shake after two weeks in her bed. He had enjoyed the challenge of keeping her from scoring with the side benefit of being close. He’d forgotten that he was there to help his team win. His team mates depended on him, and he’d let them down.
This semester was coming to an end. Thanksgiving was two weeks away, and then Christmas. One more semester and he was done. Next, his focus would shift to studying and passing the bar exam. Although he had been raised to pursue law, he really did love it and had aspirations of sur passing his father and grandfather in his law career.
His cell rang and he reached for it, hoping it was and wasn’t Reye. It was his mother. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hello, Stephen, how are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine.” She could always judge his mood by his voice.
“I’m just a little tired,
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