Page 10 of Platinum Pressure

“Exactly. Meadow being here to help you throughout the day and keep you on track with your recovery would get you back on the field faster. Leaving you alone to do the shit unsupervised won’t work.”

Platinum smacked his lips. He looked like he was about to crash out, so I stepped in with a solution.

“We’ll see what happens in the upcoming weeks leading up to the surgery. We’ll see if tension eases between me and Platinum. If by the time he goes to surgery, we’re on the same page, I’ll fully commit to moving in to monitor him. Otherwise, we’ll keep our distance between visits for the sake of both of our sanities. Does that work for you, Platinum?” I raised a questioning brow in his direction.

He folded his hands over his lap and leaned back. “Works for me.”

“Perfect. It was a lot to process today, so I’m going to head back home and give you some time to sit with all the changes happening. I hope when I see you in the morning, you’re more receptive to my presence.” I gathered my things and packed up for the day. I separated the paperwork everyone signed to fax back to the agency when I got home.

“Thank you again, Meadow,” Mrs. Jones commented as Seddrick walked me to the front door.

“It’s my pleasure. Y’all be safe and enjoy your evening.”

Seddrick walked me out of the front door and over to my car, a newer model four-door sedan. It was the affordable adjacent to the luxury brand I had my eye on when I got the money to afford an upgrade. I placed my bag in the back seat before I closed the door and looked at him.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“I want to apologize for how things transpired today. P isn’t a bad guy. He was just dealt a bad hand, and he is having a hard time navigating it. Football is his life, and the threat of it being over before he’s ready to give it up has him frustrated with no way to communicate. I really hope you stick through it and give him a fighting chance, especially since so many people—including his folks—have already counted him out from doing the right thing on his own. He feels the weight of the world on his shoulders and just needs some patience.” Seddrick’s voice was genuine and soft. He was the opposite of who I assumed Platinum was. If it weren’t inappropriate, I would have experimented with the idea of what Seddrick offered. He was cute as hell and gave the boy-next-door vibes. He had the dreads, the height, and the slim figure. Compared to Platinum, most men looked slim, though.

“I appreciate you for giving me the real. I haven’t given up on him, and I also want to see him back on the field. It will all work out as God intended.”

“Fa sho. Be safe on the ride home. I’ll be here to greet you in the morning.”

Like a gentleman, he opened my door and waited for me to get settled in before he headed back inside. I sat in the driveway for a moment longer, ogling at the mansion the Jones family wanted me to move into—even if just for the duration of Platinum’s recovery. The mansion was bigger than my condo complex. Even the high-rise design couldn’t compare to the three-story mansion with more rooms than any one person needed. Even the small glimpse into the space was enough to have me daydreaming of what my days would look inside the large space.

It was delusional of me to think Platinum would ever come around on the idea of me staying with him. He was a single man who had a life to live and didn’t need a random woman in his home, interrupting his playboy lifestyle.

Maybe I was being biased and stereotypical and letting my imagination run wild with who I thought he was and who he actually was. Only time would reveal everything meant to be.

What the hell was I going to do?

“I’ve got a squad on me. Top floor. Got one . . . Got two. Man, fuck! I’m down. Blue, yellow, where the fuck are y’all at? Me and pink are fighting for our lives over here. If you can flank through the back door, we could revive and wipe the full squad!” I shouted into the headset as I played a first-person shooter game on my console. I had trouble getting to sleep because my mind ran through too many things. I couldn’t stop thinking about my team, my recovery, and that damn nurse.

Meadow. Mothafuckin. Edwards.

I felt bad for the way I spoke to her. She didn’t deserve my attitude. She wasn’t at fault like my folks were, but getting upset with her was the easiest way to cope because I couldn’t tell my mom and dad to go to hell—no matter how pissed I was that they went behind my back to handle my medical care. They wanted the best for me because, like Sed, they knew how stubborn and lazy I could be. I was my worst enemy and often self-sabotaged my life.

With her on my mind, I ended up on the couch with a controller in my hand in nothing but some socks and a pair of boxer briefs. I’d popped a couple pills, elevated my leg, and spent hours rotting away. I didn’t mind, though. It was the first time in a long time I could disassociate and forget about the last couple of days. I welcomed the distraction. I could release some of my built-up tension through killing niggas on the game.

Ding. Ding.

My alarm system alerted me to movement in the driveway. Seddrick said he’d be over early, so I assumed it was him and didn’t make a move to investigate the alert. When the front door opened, I knew it was him just by the sound of those heavy-ass shoes clunking on the hardwood floors.

“Aye, Sed!”

“What’s good, brother?” Sed replied.

“Not shit, brother. Been on the game for the first time in months. Still the best at this war shit. What time did you say that nurse coming through?” I asked as I looked over my shoulder, and a deep frown spread across my face.

“Right now,” Seddrick replied with a light chuckle.

“Good morning, Platinum.” Meadow greeted me. She walked over to the blackout curtains and opened them. The unexpected sunlight made me frown deeper as I tried my best to stay focused on the game. I muted my mic but continued to navigate my character through the game.

“Why you ain’t tell me she was on the way?”

“I thought you knew. Don’t you got her number?” Sed questioned.

I shook my head. “No, I don’t have her number. Honestly, I thought yesterday was a nightmare, and she was just a figment of my imagination. Guess that was too good to be true.”