Page 24 of Platinum Pressure

With a soft sigh, I walked over to the TV and turned it off. The darkness of the screen finally brought Platinum to the present. He shook with anger.

“Platinum . . .”

“That bitch-ass nigga doesn’t know shit. I want his fuckin’ head on a stick. This shit ain’t easy.”

“I know it isn’t. Quit watching those commentators spew hate, please. You’re a trending topic and guaranteed viral moment. He knows the power your name holds in this space. He doesn’t know you or what you do behind the scenes. You’re going to recover and get your team another ring. That should be all you worry about. Not some old ass, bald-spot having, hating-ass commentators who aren’t on the field and haven’t been since JV in high school. They are only mad because their careers were never as promising as yours is.”

My words lifted his mood slightly. The frown morphed into an amused smirk. “You’re funny as hell.”

“Anything to get you out of those bad moods. Are you ready for your exercises?”

“Not really in the mood for them right now.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t care. We’re going to knock them out so you can shower and enjoy the rest of your day.”

He chuckled. “You won’t be able to talk to me like that once I’m off these crutches permanently. You know that, right?”

“I wouldn’t have to talk to you like that now if you didn’t give me a hard time.”

“You’ve got me there, Meadow. What do yo’ people call you other than Meadow?”

I shook my head. “Sir, please. This is not Q and A time. Can we get through the exercises, please?”

“Not until you answer my question.” He slid his leg over the side of the bed and adjusted the brace on his knee.

“My family calls me Dow. Now let’s get some stretches in.”

“Dow. I like that.”

It took a few minutes to remove his brace and apply the compression wrap. Then I worked on massaging both of his legs to wake up the muscles. I firmly massaged up his calves and his thighs. His legs were huge. The higher I went up his thigh, the deeper his breathing became.

“You okay?” I asked as I firmly massaged the tops of his thighs.

“Yeah.”

“You’ll have your choice between indoor or outdoor exercises. I think outdoor would benefit you a lot. You hardly get any sunlight, and if you’re anything like me, the sun will cast away all those dark thoughts swarming in your head, even if just for a little while.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. You got a Bluetooth speaker? We can get the jams going too.”

“You talk like somebody’s old-ass granny. You probably listen to music from when the world was black and gray, huh?”

I laughed deep within my belly as I stood up and stretched my arms and cracked my knuckles. “Platinum, be so fucking for real, man.”

He grinned from ear to ear. The sight of his pearly white teeth, round cheeks, perfect beard, and sculpted jawline sent flutters through my stomach—a feeling I hadn’t felt in years, . . . decades even.

“I have outside speakers you can connect to when we get outside. You got three songs, and if I’m not rocking with it, you’re going to disconnect and let a real nigga take over.”

“Boy, bye! You gon’ listen to whatever I put on and worry about these exercises you’re about to do.”

I helped him up onto his feet and held out his crutches for him to use as we made our way out the side door to the backyard. Every time I stepped foot in the large backyard, my mouth dropped slightly. It was so much space, and every inch was filled perfectly. There was a jacuzzi and pool, a garden with a picnic table and hammock, and a full-size basketball court.

“We can go to the garden and do your exercises at the picnic table if that works for you.”

He nodded.

The journey was quiet and peaceful. The sun was bright in the sky, but the cool breeze made it the perfect temperature. We were in the weird stage of the season where the weather couldn’t decide if we were going to be a cold or hot winter since we still had a couple weeks left until spring officially started.