First Round Lottery Pick Read online

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Time to Choose

  Finally it was draft day. Big, baby!

  There was so much media coverage, the hotel had to open up two conference rooms to accommodate everyone. And many fans came out, some of whom had never seen me play, except some of the clips on SportsCenter. The attention was so powerful, a few times I’d wished I was back in The Vil, on the court, in my own comfortable surroundings.

  The rumors about all types of trades the teams in the league were making didn’t help my nerves. Toy was getting word that Barcelona had changed their mind about making me their first pick, and sixth overall, opting for a big man instead. To get that number one spot, Olympiakos, a Greek team, for next year’s number one draft pick, plus some cash, offered Barcelona their second selection first-round spot, leaving me out in the cold, not knowing what team, if any, was going to pick me up.

  Then through all the swirls, Toy asked me to meet him out in the hall. He didn’t hesitate. “We got trouble, L.”

  I looked at Jalen then back at Toy. “What kind of trouble?”

  “Barcelona has definitely changed their mind and wants a big man now.”

  My whole life stopped right then and there. I felt like I couldn’t get enough air. I just remember putting my hands up to my head for a second or two, trying to get my composure.

  Jalen lashed out with the quickness. “And why they change their mind all of a sudden?”

  “Look, they said they really like you,” Toy explained.

  “Okay, they like me, but they not sold on me right before they supposed to take me?”

  “It’s political,” Toy responded.

  “What the hell you mean, Toy?” Jalen asked.

  “The league pushing their buttons, telling them, if they take you number one, they might not let them do any deals within the league for the next ten years.”

  “So what happens now? I mean, am I here for nothing, Toy?”

  “Well, we go in there, sit down, and wait and see what happens. That’s all we can do. If worse comes to worse, you can go to the B league and tear it up for one season then get in the league, like you planned all along.”

  “So what? No shoe deal?” Jalen sang. “His deal is for playing pro, not semi-pro.”

  “Toy, if I don’t get taken, I have to pay New Funk back. You telling me I already spent money I don’t have? If I don’t get taken, I’m going to be right back in The Vil.”

  Toy looked in the direction of the huge conference room filled with media cameras and reporters then back at me without a word. From all appearances, it didn’t seem like the news was all new to him.

  “How long have you known about this, Toy?”

  Toy looked at me with surprise. “What?”

  Jalen himself wanted to know. “How long have you known about how they feeling?”

  Toy looked us over. “Shit! A little over a week now. I thought things would work out on their own.”

  Without warning, Jalen reached over and punched Toy in the jaw. I tried to break them up, and two security guards came over and told us all to go sit down.

  I sat down feeling like a fool for giving up my college eligibility, especially now since Tori didn’t want anything to do with me. I was sitting there watching the draft on a big screen, not knowing whether I was getting a chance or not.

  I looked over at my mom, who didn’t know anything about what was going on, yet she had the proudest smile on her face. How was I going to tell her that we would have to move back to The Vil?

  Meanwhile, Toy and Jalen were still beefing with their eyes.

  After a few picks went by, my mother asked me why my name wasn’t called. Then two more picks went by. She tugged on Toy’s arm and asked him the same thing.

  I felt embarrassed and ashamed that I’d made the wrong decision. As I sank down into my chair, all of a sudden, my name flashed across the big screen. With the fifth pick of the first round, LE MANS of France made me their number one pick!

  Things turned out for the good and there was no way I had any complaints to going to France to play some ball. Right after the news and a few interviews with some reporters, we were in a black SUV with all the tricks back to the airport on our way back to Columbus, with a two-year, ten-million-dollar offer plus a signing bonus that was going to be kept on the hush.

  Big, baby!

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Picture Me Rolling

  We rolled back into town feeling good and ready to finish up everything we had to do before I had to report to rookies camp in France. France? France? It was unbelievable.

  Jalen was driving then stopped the Escalade. He seemed to have his focus back.

  “I can’t believe how fast they put this court up! Man, look at this!”

  We were both giving each other hugs and pounds then shooting without a ball, like we did when we were young bucks on the come-up.

  “They did a good job, J.”

  “Yup, and we’re going to use them for the rec center too.” Jalen jotted down something in his small notebook. “They putting up bleachers, right?”

  “Yeah, we got enough for both sides, so when the tournament pop off, everybody is going to have a place to sit.”

  Jalen was looking around. “How many we tryin’ to sit though?”

  “Fifteen hundred,” I told him. “Do it big.”

  Jalen pulled out his notebook again and started writing.

  “Oh, so you takin’ notes on everything, I see.”

  “Believe it. Yo’, man, New York City ain’t no joke. They ’bout business up in there, so I need to have mine on point.”

  “That’s what I know, J. We on another level now.”

  “While you in that summer league, I signed up for a few summer courses in France.”

  “J, you don’t speak no French, negro.”

  “They say they got American instructors for some of the classes. I bet when we leave there I’m going to know what to say when I whisper in a French cutie’s ear. Everything is in place, man. We’ve done it! We’re on our way!”

  “Naah, man, not yet.”

  “Tori, right?”

  “She’s still not returning my calls.”

  “I talked to her this morning. It’s going to be okay.”

  I think Jalen was still thinking that we were just having a little spat or whatnot and we would more than likely get back together. But I had different feelings altogether. Time was playing against me.

  “So she okay?”

  “That baby, man. It’s messing her head up, not knowing what to do. Nobody need to be goin’ through that, L.”

  “Hook up a dinner for me,” I told him.

  Jalen smiled. “Dinner?”

  “Yeah. Tell her that I had to fly to France ahead of you, but you want to see her before we leave. When she walks in and sees me, she’s going to have no choice but to talk, right?”

  Jalen hooked the dinner up at the Brownstone Restaurant downtown. It was Friday night, so of course, it was packed with the crowd coming in for drinks and dinner after work.

  Jalen had talked to the manager and told him I was coming out, so they put us in VIP, where we sat and waited.

  Tori called Jalen and told him to meet her on the first level, and when he went down to get her, I felt like I was about to meet her for the first time. He was walking behind her when they made it back upstairs, and when he pointed to where we were sitting and she saw me, she stopped then looked back at him.

  He grabbed her by the waist and sort of scooted her over to our table. Then they sat down.

  “Now isn’t this special?” he said.

  “What’s up, baby?” I was really happy to see her, even though she didn’t have a smile on her face.

  “Hey, L,” she said, super-duper quick.

  Jalen flipped over his BlackBerry. “Damn it!”

  Tori looked over at him. “What’s wrong?”

  “That’s the team in France. Gotta take this call. I’ll
probably be about an hour or a little longer.”

  “Dang! That long?” Tori sang. “I know you lying, J.”

  “I’m for real. ’Bout an hour, girl. The last time I talked to them, it took me forty-five minutes just to understand they were just saying hi!” Jalen kissed Tori on the cheek. “Gotta go.”

  Tori rolled her eyes at Jalen, and we sat at the table just looking at one another, halfway snacking on some breadsticks, sipping water, and listening to the music.

  Tori stood up to leave.

  I reached over for her. “Hold up. Where you goin’? I thou-ght we were having some dinner?”

  “No. I thought I was having dinner with Jalen.”

  “Tori, c’mon, we better than this. Can we at least talk?”

  “Talk?”

  “Yeah.”

  “About what?”

  “You know . . . about things going on with you.”

  “Oh, I thought you wanted to talk about why you snuck off with that trick, Katrina.”

  “Look, I know that was a mistake. I mean, who don’t make them?”

  “Not mistakes like that. Katrina couldn’t wait to rub that all in my face. Do you know what people are saying about me?”

  I honestly didn’t know, so I didn’t answer her.

  “They’re saying I don’t care, that as long as you’re making money, I’m going to be with you, and I’m going to let you walk all over me.”

  “When did you start caring about what people say about you, Tori? Damn! You were the only virgin at”—I stopped myself as quick as I could because of what happened to her.

  “No, go ahead,” Tori pushed.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Yes, I do. Before I was raped, I was a virgin, and then I was raped and now have a baby inside me.”

  There wasn’t anything I could say. Tori had way more problems to deal with than I did. I decided to tell her how I felt.

  “I still want to get married.”

  “I don’t understand why you would want to do that.”

  “You really don’t know?”

  Tori shook her head no, looking down at her glass of water.

  “I want to marry you, Tori, because you’re supposed to be the one I’m with.”

  When Tori looked at me, her facial expression wasn’t hard anymore. It was like she enjoyed what I said but didn’t really believe it.

  “Girl, I’m serious. How many years have we talked about getting married? How many conversations have we had? How many plans have we made?”

  “Yeah, we did all that.”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  “We didn’t think I would be gang-raped and have a baby on the way though.”

  “But, see, the thing is, I’m willing to look past all that. Wasn’t your fault in the first place, and if I knew who did this to you, they wouldn’t be breathing. And that’s my word.”

  Tori began to open up, and we started talking like we always had. We ordered steak, baked potatoes, and salad then dessert.

  While we were eating, Tori told me that she’d made up her mind and planned to have an abortion the very next day but was so unsure about how it made her feel.

  I let her know that whatever she wanted to do was fine with me, but the bottom line was, I wanted her to go with me to France so we could get married like we’d planned all along.

  “I don’t think that will work,” she said.

  “Why?”

  “’Cause, L, it’s just not. You’ll be on the road, and there will be a lot of temptations. How are you going to resist it?”

  “I will. It’s something I’ll have to do.”

  Tori didn’t look like I was convincing her.

  “Look, I won’t be the only one on the team married. I just don’t feel like dealing with groupies and all that. I want to be with you and spend all my time with you and concentrate on my game so it will be on fire once I jump to the league. Look, all I want to do is take care of you. That’s all I want to do.”

  “Really? Take care of me and respect me?”

  “Yes, baby, that’s all I want to do. Me and you in France.”

  “And Jalen,” she said.

  “Yeah, and J.”

  Tori smiled a bit. I knew she was thinking of us getting out of Columbus and just starting fresh and doing what we had always planned.

  She finally took my hand. “Sorry, L, I don’t think so. I’m staying here. I just can’t.”

  After Jalen came back, and we dropped Tori off. I wat-ched her walk into her mother’s spot in The Vil. I knew it was probably the last time I would see her for a long time. When she shut the door, I took out the ring I bought for her in New York and looked at it. Then put it back in my pocket.

  “So what’s next?” Jalen asked.

  “Look, man, I tried. She’s not hearing me. In a couple of days I have to dedicate the court to the streets, and then we’re gone.”

  “Damn, man!” Jalen mumbled as he drove off. “Don’t make no sense. Just don’t make no damn sense.”

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Wake Up

  I sat around trying to decide whether or not to go see Tori before it was too late. I went as far as to call Jalen so he could take me, but he didn’t answer. I took that as a sign to just let things be. Plus, I didn’t want to upset Tori anymore than she was, because she had planned to have the abortion in the morning. I ended up falling asleep.

  Next thing I knew, my mother was pushing me on the shoulder. “L, you need to get up,” she kept telling me.

  I looked over at the clock. It was a little past three in the morning. “Ma, you all right?”

  “Get up, L. We need to go to the hospital,” she said, her voice trembling.

  I tried to sit up in the bed. “Hospital? For what?”

  “It’s Jalen, baby. Something happened, and he’s in the hospital.”

  I jumped out the bed and scurried to put on my clothes without even asking my mother what had happened. Out of all the money I had made in the last couple of weeks, I still didn’t have a car, so we had to wait for a cab to pick us up and take us to Jalen.

  When we got there, he was in intensive care. The doctor told us he was lucky to be alive in his condition. It was crazy because the same nurse who’d he met when he was in the hospital and who starred in his wild movie was standing by his bed, checking his chart.

  I stepped inside.

  She tried to smile at me, but a tear dropped down her brown face.

  “What happened?”

  “He was beaten up,” she said.

  “What? By who? For what?”

  “I don’t know. I have never seen anything like this thou-gh, and J is so sweet. You’re Langston, right?”

  I nodded yes.

  “He called out for you a few minutes ago. He’s going in and out.”

  Before I could ask another question, she ran out the room.

  My mother came over to stand next to me and put her arm around me. We tried to call out for Jalen a few times, but he wouldn’t answer. It was dark in the room. Jalen’s face was covered with bandages, and he was motionless. I just started calling out to him over and over again.

  When my mother ran out the room, I stood silent and looked down at Jalen, not knowing what else to do.

  “L, that you?”

  Jalen’s worn out voice scared me. I leaned down toward his face. “J, it’s me. I’m right here. I’m right here, man.” I was about to lose it.

  “I’m fucked up, ain’t I?”

  “No, man, you a soldier. You goin’ to be okay. You’re good, man.”

  “Take a good look at me, L.”

  “I am looking at you, Jalen. You’re going to be okay. Just relax.”

  “No, L,” he said. “Take a good look. That nigga took off my arm and leg.”

  I pulled back the covers on Jalen’s body, and my eyes cut through the darkness. I saw that his left leg and right arm were completely gone. Instantly my hands started to shake as I held
the cover. I wanted to throw up and cry at the same time.

  “Jalen, who did this to you, man? Who did it, gotdamn it?”

  Jalen didn’t answer me right away. He was back out. I bent down and put my head on his chest and began to cry. My tears couldn’t stop flowing. “Jalen, please . . . tell me who did this to you.”

  I heard Jalen trying to speak. Then he whispered, “Toy.”

  “Toy?”

  “I was riding through The Vil.”

  Jalen’s voice was so faint, I had to put my ear next to his mouth just to hear him.

  He continued with, “Toy pinned me in with his car, jump-ed me with some crew. They beat me, and he told me if I didn’t have my arm and leg, it would be hard for me to keep up with you when we go to France.”

  “He said that? He did this?”

  “And he raped Tori, L. That bastard did that too.”

  “Tori?”

  “He said her baby is probably his. He said he was on top of her for hours. He is the one who had her raped.”

  It was the first time in my life that I felt my mind totally snap. My whole body was boiling, and I was in shock.

  I tried to tell Jalen that he would be okay, but I couldn’t speak anymore. All I could do was look down at him as he fell back to sleep. I bent down and kissed him on the cheek and headed out to the streets.

  When I reached the exit of the hospital, I heard my mother calling out to me, “Langston, where are you going?”

  I didn’t answer. I looked at her, kissed her on the forehead, then just started walking away as she continued to call out my name.

  Chapter Thirty

  Get-Back

  I was walking through the streets in the darkness like a zombie. I was sweating, my tee was soaked, and my heart was pounding with straight fire. Probably out of force of habit, I stopped in The Vil. It was quiet on the street, except for a few drug dealers on the prowl, along with a few young bucks who should have been at home and tucked in bed.

  I got an adrenaline surge when I saw Jalen’s Escalade zoom right past me. Then the brake lights came on, and the car stopped. Like a bunch of magnets, the few people left on the stre-et all gathered around to see who was in it.

  I wanted to know too, so I stood and watched for a minute. Then I walked up slow. There was one young buck on a bike holding himself up by gripping the car door and talking to the driver, and two or three others walking around, checking out the rims Jalen had just put on his ride.