Page 13

I pulled up to the window of the drive thru after placing an order for Charm’s food.

I wasn’t hungry, so I didn’t order anything for myself.

I’d peeped at the video floating online of her mother and reached out to Deb and Hurbert to see if they could figure out a way to get it removed immediately.

I could tell it was on Charm’s mind, even though she tried not to let it show.

She didn’t even know I noticed, but every time she was deep in her thoughts, she pulled at her earlobe.

Since leaving the stadium, she’d done it too many times to keep count.

I knew the gut-wrenching feeling of having the world judging your parents.

Mine couldn’t act right to save their life.

I made a promise to myself to never embarrass her in the media.

I could feel the weight of her distress, and I never wanted to add another pound to that load.

If anything, I wanted to take them off until she could breathe freely.

We began our journey toward her place to drop off her mama while Charm sat in the passenger seat, going to town on the flounder she’d ordered. I chuckled when I saw her squeezing lemon juice on the fried fish before dipping it in tartar sauce.

“I ain’t never seen nobody eat lemon juice on fish. Where’s the hot sauce?”

She rolled her eyes with the cutest grin. “Whatever. It’s so good. Here. Try a piece.”

She did the process again before leaning over to place some in my mouth. I chewed it slowly to get a real taste of the combination. I grinned widely.

“I ain’t gon’ lie that shit kinda slaps.”

“Told you.” She beamed then returned her attention to her food. The cabbage was her next victim.

I eased away from the light, trying to focus on driving but constantly glancing over at her. I turned my attention back to the road just in time to see a motorcycle turned over in the middle of the lane.

“Oh shit,” I cursed then quickly merged over into the left lane and came to a screeching halt.

We were on a dimly lit back road that connected the north and south sides. My guess was someone had been hit out here or something like that. My heart hammered in my chest before my concern fell on my pregnant girlfriend.

“Babe, are you okay? I’m so sorry. I almost didn’t see it.”

Her chest heaved up and down as she held on to the door and middle console to steady herself.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Did someone get hit?”

I shrugged. “I’m not sure. It’s dark out here.”

I got ready to put the car in drive to get the hell out of dodge, but she stopped me.

“What are you doing? We have to look and see.”

I gave her a bewildered look. It was the middle of the night on an abandoned road. I was not going to have my pregnant girlfriend out there like that. We weren’t even in a safe neighborhood right now.

“It’s not safe, Charm.”

She began to unbuckle her seatbelt. “I don’t care. Someone could be seriously injured out there. We have to do something.”

She was out of the truck before I could even stop her since she’d taken her heels off while we waited for her food.

I had no choice but to follow behind. I unbuckled myself, turned on my hazards, then hopped out quickly to catch up with her at the front of the truck.

She turned on the flashlight of her phone to give us some light. Adding mine made it easier to see.

There was a motorcycle blasting oldies that was turned over in the middle of the right lane.

I realized Charm was right, and someone had to be driving it.

Charm began walking along the right side of the road.

I moved behind her to aid her search. We saw him at the same time about ten feet away from the road. My girl gasped then rushed over.

“Charm!” I called her name, trying to get her to come back, but it was no use.

By the time I made it over, she was on her knees beside the rider. He was a buff, black guy who was knocked out cold.

“Babe, call 911,” she urged me in a frantic tone.

I unlocked my phone to do what she said. My heart raced as I began to pace beside them. She was busy checking his pulse and searching him for wounds. She saw a huge gash on his thigh.

“Babe, I need something to make a tourniquet for his leg.”

My mouth fell open in surprise. I tried to think quickly.

“Uhh, I keep a belt in my duffel for away games.”

I raced to the truck to unlock the trunk.

I dug through the bag for the belt. Relief flooded through my veins when I found it.

In quick strides, I erased the distance between us to hand Charm the belt.

When I got an operator on the line, I told her everything I could, including the things Charm told me to share.

I was surprised by how knowledgeable she was.

When the man stirred, she even assured him that help was on the way.

She held on to his hand, praying loudly and refusing to let go until the paramedics arrived.

I’d always heard Charm mention God, but this was the first time I saw her faith in action.

We stood off to the side with Charm tucked underneath my arm as they looked him over then strapped him to a gurney.

“Is he going to be okay?” Charm asked the paramedics as we followed behind them to the ambulance.

A woman with short spiky hair and kind eyes turned around. “I think he will be, thanks to how quickly you two responded. Had someone even been a few minutes later and not done the things you had, he might’ve bled out.”

She clasped her hands together with tears in her eyes. I stood behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder. When she spun around and collapsed into me, I nearly lost my footing. I remained strong, though, holding her as closely to my chest as I could.

“You did good, baby. He’s going to be okay.”

This stream of warmth flowed through my body when I inhaled the warm vanilla notes from her perfume.

That scent on her skin was my center. As I stood there watching the ambulance pull away, I realized I had a black woman who cared, and there was no greater feeling in the world than that.

She would go to war with me, and I didn’t take that lightly.

If it ever came down to it, I knew she’d have my back.

Charm was so much more than the media portrayed her to be. The way she jumped into action and had compassion for the rider really softened me.

“You saved someone’s life tonight, baby.” I couldn’t believe I was even saying that. “And I fucking love you for it.”

She gasped then looked up at me. “You mean that?”

I nodded then gripped her chin. As I stared into her beautiful doe eyes I knew nothing was truer in the universe than what I felt for her. I was the most favored man walking the planet.

“On everything I love, I mean that shit. You are perfect.”

Her bottom lip trembled seconds before the waterworks. “I love you, too.”

I smiled feeling like the fucking man.

“I know. They don’t call me Mr. Most Likely To Win for nothing. I told you I was going to have you, and now, I got you, and I’m never letting you go. I put that on me. It’s you over everything.”

She hugged my waist with an innocent grin. “I believe you.”

And that was all I needed to hear. Long forgotten was her mom’s mistake earlier tonight. I would do anything to keep that sparkle in her eye and that irresistible smile on her face. She deserved it and so much more.