Bodhi got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He wiped the steam off the mirror to look at his reflection. Practice was a bitch today. He was still trying to get used to the way the games in the BBL were played. The court was smaller, and the games were shorter. You played harder and faster. The Eagles were number one in scoring in the league. There were also a lot less games played.
The NBA has thirty teams playing eighty-two games during the regular season. There is literally a game going on every single night. The BBL has considerably fewer teams and plays fewer games. The games are on Fridays and Saturdays, and they practice four days a week.
He hated England. He hated the food, the weather, and the fact that he was there and Perri was not. That is really why he hated everything.
His teammates have taken him out several times and have done their best to get him to hook up with a "Ball Bunny," but the thought just doesn't interest him.
All he wanted to do was drink too much beer, eat some of the food Holden had shipped to him, and watch The Legend of Billy Jean. He and Perri used to watch it all the time when they were younger. He grew his hair out like Christian Slater because Perri had mentioned how cute she thought he was.
He heard a knock on the door. If there is a God, Perri will be on the other side of that door when I open it.
Still, in only a towel, he opened the door. Nope, not Perri. It was Janessa. She was his PR representative. The one who told him not to cut his hair.
He looked up at the ceiling and rolled his eyes. Nice play, Satan. "What do you want, Janessa?" he asked, turning around and walking back into the apartment.
"Nice to see you too, Bodhizafa," she said, closing the door behind her.
"I have asked you not to call me that."
"Why? It's your name, isn't it?" She sat down on his couch.
Sure, make yourself at home. He went to the fridge and got himself a beer. He had developed a fondness for Newcastle Brown Ale, which is made right down the road from where he stays. The company hands out free cases to all the players in the hope that when they are out, they like the beer enough to order it, and the more people who see them drinking it, the better. It's a free celebrity endorsement, and since athletes were not permitted to endorse alcohol. It was a win-win.
"Why are you here, Janessa?"
"Nice to see you, too." She looked at him like he was a glass of water and she was a woman standing in the desert.
His skin was still wet from the shower, and his hair was slicked back. She desperately wanted to see what was under that towel.
"You forgot, didn't you?"
"Forgot what?" He drank half the beer.
"The meeting tonight."
He looked at her, confused.
She put her hands on her hips. "With Oliver. The three of us are going out to dinner."
"Oh." He finished the beer and got another one. "I guess I forgot. Or I just didn't care to remember."
"Look, Bodhi, I get it. You miss home and your friends, but you are here and need to make the best of it. You are the biggest thing to hit the BBL in years. Do you know our ticket sales for the female demographic are up twenty-two percent? And out merch sales are through the roof. We've sold out of your jersey in the stadium gift shop for three weeks straight!"
"Yeah, you mentioned it a few times."
"Go get dressed. The car is downstairs. You have ten minutes. Dress nice."
"Come on, Janessa, I really am not in the mood."
"Go. Get. Dressed. NOW."
He rolled his eyes and walked off down the hall. She peered around the corner and saw him whip the towel off and throw it in the bathroom on the way to his room. She saw his perfectly toned ass. His back muscles flexed as he walked.
"He looks good coming and going," she mumbled.
She slowly wandered around the apartment. It was a pretty nice place for a first-season player. She knew he was making more than some of the other players, but it still was a nice place in the good part of the town. He had a bookshelf against one wall. She looked at the books and movies. She wanted to know more about him, to get to know him biblically.
She saw pictures of him and various ages. He seemed to be with the same group of people, and through the pictures, she watched him grow up. She noticed that there was a set of twin girls in a lot of them. One twin was very pretty, and the other one was the chubby twin. He seemed always to be looking at the chubby one. The last picture was taken recently. She picked up the frame. He was sitting on the side of a pool, talking to a girl who looked a lot like one of the twins, but she was extremely thin. She looked sick.
Is this the kind of girls they have in America? Oh, I am going to have it easy getting him to myself.
"What are you doing?"
He startled her, and the picture fell to the floor, breaking the frame and the glass.
"Oh my God. Bodhi, I am so sorry."
He knelt and picked up the photo. It was from the last day he had spent with Perri. He brushed the broken glass off and put the frameless photo back on the shelf. He gathered up the broken pieces and dumped them in the trash. He hadn't said anything.
"Who is she? Your sister?"
"No. She's a friend—a really good friend who I miss a lot," he said, putting on his suit coat.
"What's wrong with her?"
"What do you mean?"
She picked up her purse from the kitchen island. "She looks... sick."
His jaw clenched. "She's none of your business. That's what she is."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry. I just wanted to learn a little bit about you and your life back in the States."
He ran his hands over his face. "No. I'm sorry. It's a sensitive topic for me."
"Is she okay?"
"I don't really know. We don't really talk anymore." He walked into the hallway and locked the door behind them.
She put her hand on his arm. "It's okay to miss home Bodhi."
He didn't move her hand. He missed close personal contact. He missed his friends. He missed his Periwinkle.
"So, how are you adjusting to life here, Bodhi?" Oliver asked, taking a bite of his steak.
He was spaced out and five drinks in. He couldn't think of anything but home.
"Bodhi? Earth to Bodhi!" She shook his arm.
"What? I'm sorry." He took down the rest of his drink and signaled for the waiter to bring another.
"I asked how are you adjusting?"
"Bodhi is a little homesick Oliver."
"Oh, well, that's to be expected. Don't worry, you'll get used to it here."
I don't want to get used to it.
"Coach said you are doing extremely well. Said the team loves you. He thinks it's crazy the NBA didn't snap you up. You're a shoo-in for MVP if you keep playing like you have been."
"Really? That's great! Isn't that great, Bodhi!" Janessa took his wrist.
The waiter dropped the drink and took the other two empty glasses away.
"Yeah, that's great. I've got to hit the head. Excuse me." He downed the drink and left the table.
Oliver shared a look with Janessa. "It means he has to go to the loo," she said.
"Oh."
"It's an American military thing."
"Janessa, he's miserable. I want you to take him out after dinner. Take him to a club or something. He needs to be seen by the public. Keep him in line. No stupid shit. Show him a good time. We only have a one-year contract with him. If he stays in the BBL, I want him with the Eagles. I don't want anyone else to stroke him. Got it? Give him a reason to stay. Give him a reason to be happy here."
"I think I can handle that." She smiled and smoothed out her dress.
Bodhi came back and sat back down. He looked even worse than when he left.
Oliver finished his drink and stood up. "I've got to get home to the wife. I will see you on Friday, Bodhi. Janessa, always a pleasure." He handed her a corporate credit card. "For dinner and whatever else you might need it for."
Bodhi wasn't paying any attention.
"Don't worry. I'll get him out of this rut."
Oliver said another goodbye and left them at the table.
"Well, what do you want to do now?"
He looked at her, feeling pretty buzzed. "I don't know. This is your country, not mine."
She flagged the waiter down and paid the check. She stood up and put her hand out. "Come on. You are going out and meeting some of your fans."
She stood up and dragged him out of the door to the car waiting at the curb.
He downed another drink. He was miserable. He decided that he was going to take advantage of the car service and the corporate charge account. He planned to drink expensive liquor and then go home and throw it all up.
Oliver and Janessa were yapping about something. He caught every few words and would occasionally nod in agreement.
He knew that today was one of the days at rehab that Perri was allowed only an hour of phone time. He would call her phone multiple times a day but never leave a message. He just wanted to hear her voice.
This had been the hardest three months of his life. He didn't know how to snap out of it. He missed his friends. He missed her. He had cried more in the last three months than he had in the last ten years.
She would send him a text on her phone days. It was always the same. Hey Bodhizafa 😛. Hope you are okay and having fun. I am doing good. Don't worry about me. Be great 🏀like I know you are! I'll text you next week.
Sometimes, she would attach a picture. Her roommate Joanna was now in all of them when she sent them. Holden was right; Joanna was a cutie. Perri looked happy and healthy, and she had put a little weight back on. She would always include a new song for his Music Speaks playlist. He noticed that as the weeks went by, the songs became less sappy and more upbeat.
The last one was Smack That by Akon and Eminem. She was never a fan of music like that, but Joanna had been introducing her to new music and bringing her out of her proverbial shell.
She sent a video with it. It was her and the bubbly little redhead dancing together, smiling, and dancing around their little dorm room. He watched it a thousand times. His favorite part was at the end when she went to turn off the camera, she got close and said, "I still love Bodhizafa," and blew a kiss to him.
He had told her how much he enjoyed the video and asked her to send another one next time. She said not until he sent one first. So, he and a few guys from the team did a lip sync to Cartman from South Park singing Poker Face. She told him that she had been having a few bad days and that seeing the video was the best pick-me-up she could have ever asked for and that Joanna almost had a stroke watching five half-naked gorgeous guys dancing and singing. She made Perri send it to her so she could watch it whenever she wanted. He was still waiting for it to turn up on YouTube. Not that that would be a bad thing.
He got up and went to the bathroom. He checked his phone. No messages or calls from her yet. He flipped through the saved photos and watched a couple of videos. He dialed her number, and it went directly to voicemail. He's not sure why exactly, maybe it was all the expensive whiskey or Janessa breaking the photo frame, but he decided to leave a message this time.
She changed the message each week. He guessed they have little to do there to entertain themselves. He liked it when she had long ones because he could listen to her voice more.
"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money, but what I do have is a particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you leave a voicemail now, that will be the end of it. I will not look for you. I will not pursue you, but if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will call you... Or just text me it's way easier for both of us. Love yourself for who you are, not for who people think you should be."
His smile was so wide it hurt his cheeks. "Wow, Periwinkle. That is a long way from, 'Hey, it's Perri. Leave a message.' You sound amazing, baby girl. I miss you so much. I think about you all the time. This has been the three longest months of my life. I miss you. I miss looking into your eyes, the feel of your skin on mine. I think about our last hours together all the time. Somedays, it's the only thing that gets me through the day. I'm going to try to come back for your graduation. I had the most amazing dream the other night. If dreams can come true, I am hoping that one does. PLEASE call me back. I need to hear your voice. I love you, Periwinkle. Oh, one last thing, did you get the flowers? Holden said that it would be okay to send them. Alright, I have to get back to this stupid fucking business dinner. Tell Jo-Jo I said hello. Bye, baby girl."
He made his way back to the table. Hearing her voice only made him sadder. He sat back down, praying he could just get hammered and go to bed.
When he got back to the table, Oliver was preparing to leave. He was saying something, and after he had left, Janessa grabbed his hand, and before he knew it, they were in the back of the company car.
A/N: Does anybody else think Janessa is as shady as an Oak tree?
🎧GOLDDIGGER- KAYNE WEST🎧
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