Naasson simply stared. He didn’t believe in love at first sight or soulmates or any of that, but it was damn sure crazy as hell how one of the most beautiful women he’d encountered since he’d been in London lived in the same state as him.
“What?” she asked when he didn’t respond.
“I’m just thinking about how crazy that is. I’m from and live in Diamond Cove.”
It was her turn to be shocked. “Woah. Small world, huh? I’m A’ja.”
“Naasson.”Shit!Naasson cursed himself inwardly because he was supposed to be Sadiq. Welp, it was too late now.
“Naasson. Like in the Bible. I like that,” she smiled.
Not too many people knew that his name was in fact in the Bible. He had never opened it, so he wouldn’t know, but he’d been told so a few times in his life. Naasson scoured her finger for a ring, and he was relieved when he didn’t see one.
“Thank you. So, Miss A’ja. When is your next game? I’d love to get tickets and come watch you play. I’ve never been to a professional sports game before.”
“Our first game of the season is actually in ten days. You going to be here that long?”
“Yeah. I’m in town for a few months. I’m a silent partner in my cousin’s production company, and he’s here shooting a movie.”
He could see from the way she pursed her lips that she was impressed. “Wow. That’s dope. Well, since it looks like you’re going to be here for a while, come check me out then.”
“You single?” he asked as his eyes trailed the length of her body. Her toned legs and thick thighs were making his manhood stiffen.
“I am.” He noticed a hint of sadness in her eyes. “What about you?”
“As single as they come.”
A’ja’s number was called, so they hurriedly exchanged numbers, and Naa eyed her round ass as she exited the café. London might not be so bad after all.
chapter
four
Celine eyed A’jawith a hopeful expression on her face. One that A’ja was trying to ignore, but Celine wasn’t letting up. A’ja shook her head. “I absolutely don’t want to be a third wheel.”
“Well invite one of these other bitches,” Celine suggested making A’ja giggle.
Celine felt the same way A’ja did. The girls were cool, but A’ja was the only one she considered a friend.
“I’ll invite, Diane. How about that?”
“Fine,” A’ja sighed.
She wasn’t that hyped to hang out with any of the girls outside of practice, because she didn’t want to answer any, ‘How’s Kenyatta questions?’
A’ja was still taking baby steps and not ready to talk about her divorce with others. It was embarrassing. Her marriage had failed. She knew everyone would automatically think he’d cheated, and that wasn’t the case. A’ja didn’t even know why she gave a damn what anyone would think. Celine invited her out to Lark. A popular hookah spot, and she mentioned that Marlow was tagging along. A’ja had been the third wheel before. Marlow was cool, and she never felt uncomfortable around him. She generally didn’t care about being the third wheel. Now, she justdidn’t want to watch them being happy in love while she drank her pain away and tried to enjoy herself when she really wanted to be at home crying her eyes out.
Celine walked over to Diane while A’ja gathered her things. She was back in less than a minute with a wide grin on her face. “Lark tonight at nine. No excuses,” she stated sternly.
“I’ll be there, Celine.” She rolled her eyes, and they exited the locker room.
When she wasn’t at practice, A’ja was either at her temporary home or roaming the streets of London by herself. Life was boring as fuck. Every day that A’ja opened her eyes, she tried to start the day by counting her blessings, but that didn’t stop misery from creeping its’ way into her soul and making her spend the rest of the day deep in her feelings. As she settled into the cab, A’ja thought about Naasson. The fine ass man that she met in the café. Out of all the years she’d been coming to London, she had never met an American, a fine ass American man from North Carolina. He was in town for a few months,andhe was single. By law, she was still a married woman, so dealing with this man would still be cheating. But A’ja had done things the right way.
She prayed for her marriage often throughout the years, and all those prayers were wasted because the shit was still over. Why not let loose and have some fun because doing shit by the book never guaranteed that the shit would work out. They were both single, and he was fine as hell. Maybe they could keep each other company. A’ja didn’t want to get too ahead of herself. Back at home, she ate leftovers because she was always famished after practice, and she made sure to get her water in. With all the physical work she put in, being dehydrated was a no no. Plus, she knew she was going to have quite a few drinks later, and she wanted to be ready for that.
When she was done eating, A’ja took a shower and crawled into bed. She set her alarm and was out like a light. When the alarm went off, A’ja pushed out a deep sigh and flaking on Celine crossed her mind. After she thought about it for a few seconds, A’ja tossed the covers back and got out of bed. Sitting in the house alone being all sad and depressed wasn’t her idea of fun. Why not get out and live her life? The divorce was going to happen either way. She’d given herself time to process her feelings. Now, she was going to keep living.
A’ja pulled her cosmetics bag out, sat at the vanity, and beat her face. She then put on a sleeveless, black, leather dress that stopped above her knees and flared out at the bottom some. The place they were going to was a hookah lounge, but it got deep, and it was lit, so A’ja wanted to be cute. She chose black heels, and she put her braids in a half up half down style. A’ja called a cab before spraying some perfume and adding earrings and rings to her body to finish off her look. Her cab arrived just as she was turning off the light in the bedroom. The hookah lounge was nine miles away from the flat, and A’ja was glad that she wasn’t too far away from everything. She was also glad that just enough people recognized her when she was out that sometimes she got treated like a celebrity, but she also liked that not so many people recognized her that she was hesitant to go out alone. Because in London that’s what she was most times. Alone.
