I didn’t know what Kyle and Jackson were thinking. I may be a superstar on the football field, but that’s my side job. My real job is hollering at the ladies. Sure, you can have natural talent, muscle, quickness and all, you can learn plays and be coached by the best, but football means nothing if you ain’t got game.
And I’m the gamest motherfucker on God’s green Earth. Know that!
Every playa needs a home base to prep. With the bank I was making, I had a wardrobe that cost no less than 10K and I’m talking just one outfit, not the whole closet. You start with the underwear. Silk, custom made for comfort and style should you end up in the bedroom later with your date.
For a dinner date, custom tailored suit from Italy or London. Nothing else will do, playa. When you’re at the game at this level, it has to be tight. Kiton K-50, Desmond Merrion Supreme Bespoke, Brioni Vanquish— suits so fine, James Bond would look at me and say, “Damn! I gotta get one of those.”
They say the clothes make the man and that shit is true. Plus women love fashion. They know every one of those designers I just mentioned by sight. While men sit around and check out the ladies as they walk by, women do the same thing only they’re looking at shoes and purses and clothes and jewelry.
Oh and speaking of, I’m wearing Cle De Cartier Watch. This time piece is so expensive, I had to get it its own insurance policy. Someone mugs me for this, that’s 200K down the drain. It’s a sweet piece though. Keeps time great. It better for that kind of money.
Shoes are very important. Women are obsessed with their own shoes, so come prepared. For the first date with Lexi, I had to come on strong. I wore Stefano Ricci Classic Crocodile Leather Loafers in blue. She couldn’t help but notice these shoes and for what I paid, it better not rain. Couple of rings, a diamond stud earring and one gold chain, not too much. It was easy to overstep with the jewelry.
Finally, some cologne. Not that Axe Body Spray crap. For Lexi I busted out the Burberry Black Parfum Collector’s Edition. Smells like success, know what I’m saying? It’s just not enough to be successful, you gotta look successful.
Listen, you wanna look good, spend some money, fam. It’s all I’m saying.
Now for the car, I didn’t want to go overboard. Jackson told that stupid story, so if I showed up in a limo or Rolls Royce she’d be reminded of it. I just busted out the Dodge Viper. No big, deal, just a racing car that costs 87K. Pricey, but not crazy. Also, it was blue so it matched my shoes.
I made reservations at Lacroix at the Rittenhouse. Rittenhouse Square is where the richest people in Philadelphia lived. Me being on the road and that place being old money, I went for younger, swankier digs, but I’ll eat there. Hell yeah. They got a five course meal with a wine pairing that’s out of this world.
Lexi met me out front. That’s how I arranged it. Gave her a chance to see me roll up. I got there early, so I had to circle Rittenhouse Square a few times before I spotted her, but it was worth it. I made eye contact just as I pumped the breaks and the valet reached me. I looked good.
“Hey, Lexi. You looking fine, girl,” I greeted.
She was too. She wore a tight little mini dress, matching purse and just the right amount of jewelry, not overstepping. I mean, she didn’t have my kind of bank, but her clothes were great. She knew how to put together a look. I liked that.
“Wow, look at you,” Lexi said. “Is that a Viper? I love those cars.”
“We’ll go for a ride later,” I promised. “In the meantime, we should go inside. This chef times everything to the minute the way he cooks. It’s fantastic.”
We went inside Lacroix. I had been here a few times. I only brought my best dates here. Lexi definitely qualified.
“Will you be partaking of the caviar service tonight, Mr. Ellis?” the waiter asked me.
“Absolutely DuShawn, thank you. And let’s start with a bottle of Armand de Brignac Brut Gold?” I ordered.
“Right away, sir,” responded DuShawn.
“That sounds fancy,” laughed Lexi. “You know your wines.”
“It’s dry. Should pair well with the caviar.”
“I’m not much of a drinker, but I do like sushi.”
“Caviar’s pretty close.”
“I’m sensing you’re spending a lot of money on this date already.”
“Girl, I got a lot of money,” I assured her. “Hell, what’s the point of being a superstar if you can’t flaunt it when you’re on top? Look at that view.”
She looked over Rittenhouse Square. The park below was lit and people were walking around. But for me, the view was right across the table with her.
“It’s beautiful,” she said.
“Beautiful view for a beautiful lady,” I said, laying on the charm.
DuShawn arrived with the bottle and poured. We toasted and clinked.
“To tonight, wherever it takes us,” I said.
“To tonight,” she repeated.
You see, this was the part of the date where she was overwhelmed with everything. The money, the clothes, the food, the drink, the view--- My plan was always to surround my dates in luxury until they were putty in my hands. Lexi was impressed, but she wasn’t putty…yet.
“I read about you,” she said, changing gears a little bit. “You grew up with money. Did you parents encourage you to live like this?”
“My folks had more modest tastes,” I admitted. “Hey, c’mon, are you trying to interview me again?”
“There’s a lot of gray area between dates and interviews. I mean, I am trying to get to know you.”
“I feel ya.”
“You don’t have to be on all the time, Carey,” she assured. “Relax.”
Did I just hear that? Holy shit! This chick just cut right through me. God damn! This is a real challenge to a playa!
“I’m not on. I mean, I’m always on, but not in way you mean.”
“What way?”
“Phony. I mean, I really like this place and you. I’m just trying to impress you.”
“I am impressed!”
“So what did you mean by that?”
“I mean, it’s great you’re super confident. It’s totally attractive. I do it too, right? When I’m on camera, I have to be perfect. Dress perfect, look perfect, talk perfect, react perfect— One thing goes wrong and boom, I’m in trouble and I’m live.”
“Sure-sure.”
“I mean, the person I am on camera is me, but it’s not me. Get it?”
“Yeah, I see what you’re saying.”
“It’s okay to be a little vulnerable too. It shows you’re emotionally available.”
DuShawn arrived with the caviar. While he set it out and explained it all, it gave me a little time to process a comeback. But damn, I didn’t want Lexi to see it.
“Hold up, what are you doing?”
“What?”
“I can see it behind your eyes, you’re trying to work me.”
“You see too much, Lexi,” I laughed.
I thanked DuShawn and he got the message and left.
“All ‘ight, all ‘ight, go for it,” I said.
“Go for what?”
“Ask me anything, I’m an open book. I’m going to be totally honest with you. No personae, nothing, just me. For real.”
“Well, I didn’t think I was going that far.”
“Aw, you open this can of worms, baby.”
“Okay, okay. I guess I asked for this,” she admitted. “How many football groupies have you had sex with?”
Oh, man! Tough question! I never kept count!
“I’m going to say--- Hmm, I don’t know.”
“Aw, c’mon. You said total honesty!”
“Honestly, I don’t know. For real. That’s the truth,” I said, kind of sidestepping. “A gentlemen doesn’t tell neither.”
She laughed and gave up that line of questioning. Probably for the best for both of us.
“Okay, then,” she started. “Tell me about the Tina situation.”
“For real, I didn’t know Ringo was dating her,” I began. “A guy in my position, I’ve got hot girls throwing themselves at me every day. If I had known, I would’ve stayed away.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, that’s the bro code, Lexi.”
“I’m not familiar.”
“You disrespect your boy if you have sex with his girl. It’s like calling shotgun on a car ride. It’s the law.”
“Who called dibs on me?”
“We all kinda called it at the same time, so… Different situation.”
“But you don’t like, Ringo.”
“No one likes Ringo,” I laughed. “Ringo’s a dick to everyone. But he’s still on my team and hey, he’s got talent. I respect that talent. I meant him no disrespect, but he’s mad.”
“So he has a right to be mad.”
“If I had known,” I explained. “He should be mad at her! She’s the one that cheated on him! I’m single!”
“But the three friends all trying to date me is okay, right? You’re not going to get mad at each other and fight, are you?”
“No-no-no. Me, Kyle and Jackson are tight. We’re bros. We respect the game.”
“Hate the playa not the game?”
“Exactly. Since we know ahead of time, it’s all good.”
“Men have many strange rules when it comes to women.”
“Oh, and women don’t?”
“Mostly the number one rule is, get away from him, he’s mine!”
“I just want you to know, Ringo’s girl— the Tina situation? It was a one time thing,” I assured her. “Even though Ringo got mad, I felt bad for him. It’s embarrassing.”
“What exactly happened with that?” she asked me. “I know the gist, but not the details.”
“Well, Ringo had just started dating this girl named Tina, who seemed really into both of us. She was giving me full fledged signals to go for it. And I thought he was okay with it. We’d even joked about sharing her and he’d made some comments that made it sound like that was cool with him. So, one thing lead to another and Tina and I were alone and we went for it. But it turned out Ringo was not cool with it, at all. But Tina was saying she wanted to be with me. I felt I should fight for her. It was a disastrous situation all around, and that’s why I’m trying to be so open with the guys about what’s going on with you. I don’t want any trouble. I want it to be an even match, fair and square, and for everyone to know what’s going on.”
“You ever had anyone cheat on you?”
“I don’t remember.”
“C’mon! Total honesty!”
“Back in high school there was a girl. Patricia. I was so in love with her. She was a cheerleader, I was on the football team— A natural fit, right? Turns out, she was just dating me for the status. All the cheerleaders had to date football players. She had a boyfriend on the side the entire time!”
“Oh, that’s terrible. I didn’t date much when I was in high school, but something similar happened to me,” said Lexi, empathizing. “I was seeing this guy for like a couple of weeks. We were right on the verge of becoming a thing, then I catch him making up with an upper classman while we’re at this party.”
“That’s cold. You dump a drink on his head?”
“Yep and broke up with him right there.”
DuShawn had already come back with the first course and we had hardly eaten any caviar.
“Was the caviar not to your liking, Mr. Ellis?”
“Sorry, DuShawn, we’re talking away up here!”
“It’s fine, sir. I’ll just leave it with your first appetizer. This is Nantucket Bay Scallop with leek, yuzu and kombu. Our wine pairing is an Italian wine from the Piedmont region of Italy. Take your time and enjoy.”
DuShawn took off. The table was getting full of food.
“We’d better eat some of this stuff, I don’t want DuShawn to have to pack it all up in doggie bags,” said Lexi. “Mmm, this caviar is really good.”
We went through the five courses and believe me— Lacroix knows how to treat a guest. Every bite was more amazing than the next. What was really amazing too was watching Lexi. She was so smart. Even watching her eat was sexy.
But all my normal tactics for getting with her weren’t working the normal way. By this time, normally, a girl would be all over me. Sex would be a given after a trip up here. Lexi was different. She didn’t need all this B.S. Something about her drove me crazy.
No offense to Kyle and Jackson, but I had to win this thing. She was too good to pass up. I didn’t care how much money I had to spend. We were having dessert and finishing a Fig Birch Cheesecake and coffee when the conversation got real again.
“Now I have to be honest with you,” said Lexi. “I’m not so sure I can handle this competition.”
“It’s friendly, I swear,” I told her.
“I know. I had lunch with Kyle today—"
“You already had lunch with Kyle?!”
“You said it was friendly!”
“It is-it is-it is, trust me.”
“Then why did you react that way?”
“Because Kyle never makes the first move!” I admitted. “Hell, if it was just me and him, I would’ve given it a few days just to not come off as over eager. He takes forever making a move. I have the best game, and he has the slowest game.”
“But he kicked it up for me,” Lexi pointed out.
“True dat,” I admitted. “But trust me, he normally takes forever. This one time, back in Arizona, he wanted to get with this girl. He waited a whole season to ask her out! The girl was married by then and he didn’t even know it.”
“That is slow.”
“Kyle must be in love with you. No doubt.”
“So you were just shocked that he moved that fast?”
“Yeah, that’s it,” I said. “And I’ll be surprised if Jackson don’t call you tomorrow.”
“Actually…”
“Oh, my God, seriously?” I said, not believing it. “I’m the last guy to get a date with you? When did Jackson see you? For breakfast?”
“Right after I had the lunch date with Kyle, he called and brought me to the zoo,” she replied, laughing. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t believe it either.”
“Wait-wait-wait. You mean, you had both dates today right before this one?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Damn, my team’s moving fast these days,” I said a little shocked.
“Guess they learned from the best.”
“I gotta stop teaching them all my secrets, damn.”
After dinner, Lexi wanted to walk around Rittenhouse Square. It was lit up and the weather was still pretty warm for playoff season. People in the park were walking, catching Pokemon or just sitting and talking. The square was kind of a chill place in Philadelphia at night.
“My dad used to take me for walks in the city,” said Lexi. “Sometimes here, sometimes Headhouse square, sometimes Love Park.”
“I like Love Park too. How can you not like that name, right? Who doesn’t want to be in love?”
“What I love best about Philadelphia is the food, ya know?”
“Right? People talk about New York, but I’m like, no way. Philly’s the best.”
“And you can’t get a decent cheese steak outside the area, as you well know.”
“South Jersey has some places,” I assured. “I’ve been to some really good places.”
“You really like your food.”
“Definitely. Not as much as Kyle. He’s more of a volume guy. I’m a quality guy. After I retire, I might become a food critic.”
“I could see that,” she agreed. “I honestly could. The super high-end places only.”
“Absolutely. No Mickey Dee’s!” I laughed. “Did you always want to be a sports caster growing up?”
“Yeah, kinda,” she said. “My dad would take me to Sea-Eagles games and teach me about football. I was usually the only girl there my age.”
“I got a little sister,” I explained. “Sometimes she asks me how many home runs I hit this week!”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. She’s little though. Only 12 now,” I explained. “Last time she came to a game, I think she brought her dolls!”
“Oh, my God! My dad would’ve been mortified if I had done that,” she laughed. “He was all about drilling me on stats and the names of the players.”
“That’s cute that your dad and you had that bond, ya know,” I acknowledged. “My dad’s a great guy, but he was always working. Not that I needed a lot of attention. They just set me off and I was running.”
I stopped and kissed her. It was a weird move for me. Normally by this time, the girl would be all over me. Forget a walk. We needed a hotel room. Lexi brought something out in me. Something different. I just wanted to romance her. Kissing her under the moonlight wasn’t a move in the game, it just was something I wanted to do. Actually, I needed to do it. Holy shit, am I falling for this girl?
We kissed for what seemed to be a long time. When we broke ranks she staggered a little, almost a little dazed. Guess I still got it! But no lie, I was feeling a little dazed too. This girl was filling my head up. I was lighter than air, man.
“Oh, wow,” she said smiling.
But suddenly, the smile went away and Lexi started walking fast. I had to rush to keep up with her.
“Hold on, now,” I started. “What’s wrong?”
“Sorry, I’m still processing this.”
“There’s no pressure. Whoever you go with, you go with.”
“That’s just it,” she admitted. “I thought this would be easy, but it’s not. I thought a kiss from each of you would be the deciding factor, but it’s not.”
“Was the kiss bad?”
“No, it was great, and there’s this spark,” she insisted.
I was relieved a little. For a second, I thought she was going to say I was out already. I mean, I didn’t care about the money, but I did spend a lot of money. Know what I’m saying?
“So you let the other guys down easy. They’re big boys, they can handle it,” I assured him.
“That’s just it, I can’t!” she said, flustered. “The spark was there with all three of you.”
“Well, maybe you just need more time,” I suggested.
“Maybe,” she relented. “I don’t know. Can I tell you something personal?”
“Sure.”
“I’m still a virgin, Carey. I spent the last five years taking care of my dad. I haven’t really had a date since high school. Now I’m dating three-star Sea-Eagles who are fighting over me? Talk about going from 0 to 60!”
“There isn’t anything wrong with being a virgin,” I said. “I respect that.”
In fact, I was glad to hear it. And couldn’t wait to be the one to change it.
“Really?”
“Sure! Some people give it up too easy. You got time and effort and energy invested in your good looks. That’s like your brand. You can’t waste that on anybody. It’s gotta be the real deal.”
“Thanks for understanding,” she said.
We kissed again. Again I was lost in it. I had to have this girl. Every moment I spent with her convinced me more and more that we were meant to be together. After the kiss, looking into her eyes, I could see that she knew it to. I wanted to take her virginity so bad.
I look her for a drive in the Viper. We went up and down the city and along Boathouse Row. Philadelphia looks great, especially when it’s lit up at night. At the end, I brought her back to her apartment. We kissed some more in the car and who knows— I could’ve talked my way into her place and her panties, but I wanted to wait. Tonight was not the night. I wanted her to be sure of her decision, for her and me, but also to avoid issues with my friends.
“I have a lot of thinking to do after today,” she said. “But I want you to know, you made this day really special for me.”
“You make every day special, baby,” I said looking into her eyes. “Call you later?”
“Tomorrow. Tonight I need to think,” she said kissing me one last time. “Good night, Carey.”
“Good night, Lexi.”