Having our own little weight room in our apartment beats being in a sweaty smelling gym any day.
I laid on the weight bench, perspiration leaking down my forehead as I bench pressed the 250 pound dumbbells. Theo stood above me, spotting me.
“You’re distracted,” he suddenly says.
“Huh?”
Theo grabs the dumbbells from my hands and puts them back on the stand. “You’re distracted, bu I can tell it’s in a good way.”
I sit up, grunting a little. “What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean. You and Aliyah.”
I chuckle, getting up and grabbing a towel. “It just feels surreal, you know? I mean, I’ve liked her for so long and now we’re together.”
Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I see Theo frown a little bit. “I’m happy for you, Deion. I really am, but what about the—”
The door to the weight room opens, Aaron stepping inside. “Wassup, y’all?”
“Hey, Aaron,” I say, wiping the sweat from my forehead. “Just getting some reps in.”
“Preparing for our big homecoming game, huh?”
Right. Homecoming was only a month away. A month until we went up against our rival school, the Riverside Ravens.
“The Ravens did give us a run for our money last year,” Theo said. “Hopefully we'll take home the win this year.”
“You know damn well we will,” Aaron said, picking up two dumbbells from off the stand. “Those Riverside dicks have nothing against us.”
“They did last year, though,” I said. “And during the last quarter, no less.”
Aaron rolls his eyes. “They got lucky. But they won’t be lucky this year. That win is ours.”
“Hell yeah it is,” Theo grins. He turns to me. “You better not get distracted, though. Especially during practice when we get ready for next month.”
“I’ll be on my game,” I tell him. “Trust me. We will be taking home that win.”
“We’d better.” Theo says. “Or Coach is gonna rip us a new one.”
Aaron went over to another bench, starting to lift the weights. “Coach had our asses last year. Having us condition for over forty minutes at five in the morning.”
“Now that was the true definition of torture,” I say. I go over to my bag and grab my water bottle when my phone rings. I grab my phone and check the caller ID, smiling as I see Aliyah’s name on the screen.
I look back at Theo and Aaron, who were distracted by conversation of the upcoming homecoming game, before quietly exiting the weight room, swiping over to answer the call. “Hey, baby.”
Aliyah giggles on the other end. “Baby? First time hearing that one.”
I grinned. “Thought I’d try something new.”
“What? Did Alicat get too boring for you?”
“Never. You will always be Alicat to me,” I say, leaning against the wall. “So what’s with the sudden phone call? You miss me?”
She hums. “Maybe.”
I raised an eyebrow at her response. “Really?”
“Would I have said that if I didn’t miss you?”
I chuckle. “What’re you doing right now?”
“I’m at practice right now,” Aliyah says. “Going over different routines for our homecoming performance next month.”
“You know I can’t wait to see that. My girl up there performing with her team.”
“Your girl?” From her voice, I could tell that she was blushing.
“Yeah,” I said. “My girl.”
The phone went silent for a moment. She didn’t hang up on me, did she? “Aliyah? You there?”
“Yeah, I’m still here,” she says, her voice ringing in my ear. “Sorry. Just would’ve never expected for you of all people to call me your girl.”
“Well you better get used to it,” I tell her. “Because you’re gonna be hearing that a lot, among other things.”
“Other things, huh? Guess I better start coming up with things to call you.”
“I actually like mister Knight. It sounds sexy.”
“Deion, oh my god.”
I laugh a little. “What? It’s true. And you wanna know what else is sexy?”
“What’s that?”
“You.”
“Alright, I’m hanging up now.”
“So I can’t call my girlfriend sexy? That’s such a shame.”
Another giggle comes from her. “I actually do have to now, but I’ll see you after my practice?”
“Yeah, of course,” I say. “I'll see you later, sexy.”
I couldn’t see her, but I knew she rolled her eyes at my words. “Bye, Deion,” Aliyah says before hanging up.
~*~
I wait by the gymnasium doors as the dance team starts to make their way out, smiling as I spot Aliyah among the girls. Grabbing her arm, I pull her to the side as she lets out a squeal.
“Deion!”
“Hello to you, too, Alicat,” I say as I hold her waist, pulling her close.
Aliyah tries to pull back. “Deion, I’m all sweaty.”
I shrug. “So? You look hot when you’re sweaty.”
“Shush,” she says, hitting me in the chest playfully. “So, where are you taking me this time besides Ollie’s?”
“I have practice soon, but I was thinking that maybe we could go back to the apartment and have a little movie night.”
“What about Theo and Aaron?” Aliyah asks. “Won’t they be there, too?”
“You don’t have to worry about them,” I tell her. “Theo will be spending time with Eric and Aaron will be spending time with his Playstation, so we’ll be fine.”
“Okay then,” Aliyah smiles. “What time do you think your practice will end?”
“I don’t know. Now with homecoming coming up, Coach is probably gonna start having us do extended practices. In other words, he still holds a grudge about last year when we lost our homecoming game and is still punishing us for it.”
“Aww you poor thing,” Aliyah says, faking a pout.
“Shut up,” I smile before kissing her lips.
She kisses me back, giggling. “You should get going. I don’t want you to be late and let your coach have another reason to kill you.”
I chuckle, kissing her again. “See you later, baby.”
“See you later,” she says before we go our separate ways.
YOU ARE READING
Loving Knight: Book One of the Cresswell Series
RomanceFor nineteen-year-old Aliyah Mitchell, her freshman year of college was all she could think about. From rooming with her friends, becoming a member of the dance team, and all around enjoying the college experience, she had it all planned out. What...
