CHAPTER 1
Love Rules All
"I Will Always Love You ..."
Whitney, one of the greatest voices ever known to the humanrace. She sang loud, pleasant, and beautifully from the four speakersin my bedroom.
I laid on my back, as she laid, peacefully on my ripped, muscular,tatted-up chest.
I love my girl. No lie. No games. Straight up. Real talk, in RealLife Action. I got her back.
I ain't never doing her wrong. Never going to cheat. Never goingto hit her or leave her side.
We were the perfect couple!
Match made in heaven! Bam!
High school superstars! She was the prettiest, most-popularcheerleader, and I was the all-star quarterback.
Now, she was resting in my arms. She was so beautiful. I'm justhappy man, looking at her sleep like a baby.
"I love you," Ebony mumbled, reading my mind, while shecontinued to sleep.
"I love you too," I said, smiling, while running my fingers throughher long, curly, Indian and black, natural, pretty hair.
Dang! Her body was banging! Her butt looked like a juicy fruitmixed with a basketball!!! Sticking, well, poking out. Round andperfect. Even from underneath our red, silk sheets.
Ebony's body was cold as ice! Rich like gold! Fine as wine!Priceless, like a diamond! Delicious like ice-cream! Sweet as a Georgiapeach! She had caramel, smooth-as-silk skin to set off her slim waistand pretty face!
Ebony was top model tall at 5'10". Then, she was funny, loyal,and athletic at the same dang time! Gymnastic moves, video vixenbooty, hypnotizing, hazel eyes, and cheerleader energy like WOW!
Ebony was the love of my life. Of course, I'm a brown-skinned,hard-core, pretty boy with a gangstafied attitude. Lol.
Pow! Pow! Boom! Boom! Boom!
"God!"
Gunshots erupted from every direction. Bullets ripped throughthe windows and walls in my bedroom.
Instantly, I grabbed my queen, and shielded her body. I laid ontop of her, covering her body completely.
Glass shattered everywhere! My heart beat faster than a drunkdriver in a race car!
Boom!
Someone kicked the door open ...
Thump ...
I rolled our bodies off my king-sized water bed and rolled usunderneath the bed.
"Who shooting, baby? What's da-"
"Shhhhush baby. Quiet," I whispered to my trembling, terrifiedqueen. I held her body tight and close to my heart, like a pacemaker.
The room was solid black ...
"You will die! You and your pretty, innocent, cheer-leadinggirlfriend! You may be a NFL star quarterback, but you still have duesto pay. You violated the Blood gang. No need to hide under the bed."
Click ...
The lights came on. I peeked from under the bed. Three killers.They had on red shoes, black clothes, red ski masks, and red,evil-glowing eyes!
Sniffling. Crying. Trembling. Body vibration.
My girl was shaking with fear. The fear of dying an early, youngdeath. Who wants to die? We can't die. God. Not like this!
A week before the Super bowl. Atlanta is picked to win, by ten.I'm the rookie of the year! Plus, the first, black, starting quarterbackever, picked to win the Super Bowl, by Vegas, in history!
Now, my high school sweetheart was about to be murdered withme, in my arms. Because of my mistake ...
Boom!
"Cim! Cim!"
"Huh? Hu ... Huh?" I stuttered, drooled and jerked.
"Wake up, baby! You had a nightmare! You are sweating like aFriday night slut! I know you got the biggest game on Earth comingup, Sunday. The Super bowl is gigantic! Everybody knows that, baby.But stop sweating. Relax. You made it this far, you will win. Believeme, baby. God is with you," Ebony told me.
She was so confident, positive and sure. She was always mymotivation. Ebony believed God gave us the natural ability toaccomplish anything. Period.
"Ouch. What da?" I quickly snatched the silk sheet off me andlooked at my right leg. Dang, Mary Jane, Cain and Zayne!
A red, fire ant bit the living hot sauce pain out of me!
Hold up ... A red ant?
Dreaming of red ski masks ... red shoe ... where they do thatat? Was this a sign? My team wear red and black. That gangstafied,powerful, Atlanta color.
"Forget—it!! I'm ready! Give daddy a kiss," I told my sexy, sweetlove.
Then, I climbed on top of my future wife for life, and wepassionately tongue kissed like erupting volcanoes; sexy hot!
CHAPTER 2
We Ready
"Go! Go! Go! Deep! Go deep!" Deon yelled to my star widereceiver, Sergio.
"Bam! Touchdown!" I shouted.
"Yeah, playah! Boop! Boop! I told you, I got that goodle, oodle,noodle, fye game, baby!" Deon joked and bragged.
He was our rookie wide receiver. Very talented and quick as thespeed of light. He ran 4-2, just like me. We also used Deon to returnkicks on the special teams.
Boy, he was so excited to throw a touchdown to Sergio in practice!
He was sticking out his tongue, doing the Moonwalk.
"Wooh! Oops!"
He fell! The entire team laughed.
"You silly. Get up, De," his twin sister, Shawn, said, as she grabbedhis left and right hand to pull him up.
Shawn was one of our forty beautiful cheerleaders. Light-skinnedand innocent cute.
"Hey! Huddle up. Motivation. Dedication. Preparation.Determination. This is our game, our shine, our show, our glow. Ourgame to win. We must not slack. Go hard. No slipping. No turnovers.No mistakes. No doubts. We cannot, and will not, underestimate theunderdogs. This is the biggest game on Earth. We live our whole livesto play and win. This game, this is it. One, two, three ..."
"We ready!" We all shouted simultaneously when Coach JoshuaBrown finished up his pep speech.
Coach Brown was one of the coolest in the NFL, at 37. He couldmotivate a pig to score a touchdown! Touchdown Porky the Pig! Lol.Coach Brown made you feel like you could do anything!
The team separated. Practice lasted five, long hours.
"Look, dawg. I want this game. I was born and raised inAtlanta. Forever, I love Atlanta. My dreams as a kid were to bring achampionship to my city. We need that man, bad!" Sergio told me aswe walked out of Pantersville practice field in Decatur, GA.
Sergio was my best friend. He was the top NFL wide receiver, fouryears in a row. He had fourteen-hundred receiving yards this year.
Super Sergio could catch a bullet with one finger if I threw it!
That boy could catch anything! Plus, he could jump sky high!
I was fresh in the NFL. I took his advice, because he was anexperienced vet, and I was an energetic, young rookie.
"What up, nicca?" Micki, a.k.a. Red Bone Shawty, asked me.
I was standing in front of my H-2 Hummer, red and black, ofcourse.
Micki was twenty-one, young, and pretty. She was Coach Brown'sfeisty, hot girlfriend. You know they met because she my sister.She had that real, red bone attitude, with a little Candler Rd, killapersonality. Cause she was humping the best coach in football! Youcouldn't tell this red chick nothing!
"What it do?" I asked Micki. She swore she ran this team too.Coach Brown was coach of the year, and got a fat eight-million dollarcontract. He also had three-hundred million in the bank, from whenhe played professional football himself. Hot damn and ham if RedBone Shawty ain't blowing every penny!
"Look! Everybody and their momma asking for the hook-up! Giveme free Super Bowl tickets. Your brother is the quarterback. Blah,blah, blah. My step, great-grand cousin and even my god-cousin wantfree tickets!" Micki said laughing, but shaking her head.
"Lol. Guuurl, god cousin? Where they do that at? That's a newone," Erica said, smiling. Sexy-chocolate, candy body, cutie. Shewas my powerful running-back, Levi Bailey's wife. Levi just got aone-hundred and twenty million dollar contract.
Ka-pow!
He was a beast! He once carried five players ten yards on his back,and scored the winning touchdown against Green Bay, to get us tothe Super Bowl!
"That's crazy. Some chick named Ice Bread, a male stripper namedJuicy Fruit Johnny and another one named Butt Licking Bobby askedme for free tickets, say they went to school with me, girl. Hah, Hah,"Ebony, my queen, laughed.
"Guurl. No, they done lost their mind, and their foreheads.Forget—that! I don't care who don't go to the Super Bowl. I'm going!V.I.P. baby. That's right! Micki a.ka Red Bone Shawty, we'll be upthrough there!" Micki laughed, snapping her fingers.
"True. True. The after party is what's really poppin', anyway!"my baby sister, Pretty Kishauna added, with her Cedar Grove HighSchool cheerleading outfit on. She was the only girl at the school witha Benz.
"You're right! We win! I'ma tear the city up! Paint the city red,baby! A blunt of loud in one hand, and a bottle in the other, that'sword to my mother!" Micki added.
"I just want to win. Levi ain't even talking to me right now. Heain't said one word in two weeks! He want to win!" Erica said, crunk.
"Well, I apologize, yall. Everybody can't get a ticket. I did whatI could do. I just got to win. We are undefeated. So, I want to stayundefeated. Give me a kiss," I told Ebony.
Then, we got into my big boy truck. I drove off, in deep thought.So much intensity. So much hype. So much pressure. All eyes on me.The starter of the biggest game in the world, the Super Bowl.
Beyoncé is performing at half-time. My whole family and city ischeering. The whole world is watching. The 2012 Super Bowl was themost watched program in American TV history. With an audience ofover one-hundred and fifteen million viewers. We will top that! So weMUST bring home the Lombardi trophy! I got to win this! I got to,baby! I got to do this for my dad, who got killed last year. He alwaysbelieved I would do this, even when I had my doubts. I love you, dad.For Ebony, my high school love ... in Columbia High school, shewas the beautiful, brown cheerleader, while I played ball.
In college, at Georgia Tech, we won the national championship.Ebony was a cheerleader. Before each play, right before I got the ball,I would glance over, to see my baby cheering every time.
I love my baby. I love this game.
"Cim?"
"Huh?"
"I'm pregnant ..."
"What?!"
Screeeeeeach.
I slammed on the brakes.
Bam!
So shocked, I crashed ... slap, smack into the back of a greyHonda.
I squeezed my baby's hand.
"Are you ok?" I asked her.
Her eyes were as big as a football. Her right hand was coveringher mouth. She was a little shook up, like dice.
"Ye, yea ..." she replied.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
I rolled down my window. It was a mad, Mexican midget. Shewas adorable, but visibly upset.
"Sir, do you have insurance?" she asked, with a nasty, three-foottall attitude.
I laughed.
"Insurance? Take this and fix your bumper, baby," I said in acheerful voice.
When she saw the four-thousand dollars I gave her, she ran fasterthan a kangaroo on crack!
"Cim, baby. Can you please calm down?"
"Ummm. Yeah, but why you didn't wait till after the Super Bowlto tell me?"
"I know. I thought about that. But, now you should have moremotivation to win the game. You have to win this for your wife, yourfamily, your fans, your haters, and now, your unborn child."
When those words came out of her mouth, unborn child ..., Iinstantly felt a glow. My first born. Cool ...
"Hello?" I said into my ear phone.
"Someone broke into grandma house!" my little sister, Kishanascreamed.
Oh God.
"Ummm. I'ma take care of it. Is grandma ok?" I asked.
"No! She is very mad! I'm pissed! Can you come now?"
"I'll be there, Kishana."
What now? My line clicked again.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Hello Cimeon. This is Michael Lackey, the owner of the team. Ihave a little bad news. The storm from the tornado caused the roof inthe dome to collapse. We may have it repaired before Sunday. So let'shope so. The main thing though, let's just win!"
"Sure," I said, shocked.
How much pressure can one man take?!
Just win. Just win. Easier said than done. I sat at the next light,pondering about all the extra pressure that just exploded in my lap, aweek before the game of my life. What could happen next?
Get hit by a drunk, race car driver? Get pimp-slapped by a skinnyelephant? My star running back, Levi, break his arm? I got shot? Imean ...
Bam!!!
"Ouch! Baby, what you do that for?"
"Hah, hah. You got to wake up and smell the coffee!" Ebony saidlaughing. She scared the living toe nails out of me; yelling in my earand punching my right leg.
"Boo, I'm woke. Just focused on my destiny, dreams and mygoal."
"Cimeon baby, be easy. Stay calm. God is with you. You can't lose,because you are a winner. I love you. Look at me ... I loved youbefore the fame; before the game. I been here. Before you had anyfans. I was your number one fan. Before you heard any cheers, I wascheering for you; holding you, loving you. You're the only man I everslept with. Now Cim, I want you to put this city on your back. Nomatter what obstacles come your way. You're a soldier, built to last.You shine under pressure, baby. You always have. You always will. Ilove you. You will win," she said, staring into my eyes, squeezing andsliding her red, manicured nails slowly up and down my right arm.
I took a deep breath ...
"Awwe Ebony, you always know what to say. You're the best, really.The very best, everything. The best motivator and best person. Thebest person I ever met. I love you. No doubt. It's just so much on theline at one time. Like a zillion things going wrong all at once."
"Shiiiish. Our love will always win, in the end," she spoke, likemy angel, while gently placing her pretty index finger over my lips.
"Muwah," her soft lips kissed mine.
"Love will always win in the end ..." I repeated her words in mymind, out loud; so short and simple, yet powerful and true. I havelove. Love for my family, love for my lady. Love for my God. Love forthe game. Love for myself. Love for my fans. Love for the world.
CHAPTER 3
Cheating, Beating
"Shut up! I know what I saw, man! Now, who you want? Me orher?" Micki yelled at Coach Brown.
"Micki, listen. I can't leave my wife. I will be a prune face! Micki, shewould suck me dry!"
"Coach Brown don't get beat down. Listen-"
"No Micki, you listen. You little red, candy yam. Kids areinvolved!"
"Stupid! Cut your butt is involved if you don't choose me! I'maburn this three-million dollar mansion down to the ground! T.L.C.style, baby. You think I care about your measly eight-million dollarcontract?! Ank! Wrong answer, buddy roe. I got NFL ballers with fat,one-hundred million dollar contracts begging to taste this strawberryshort cake!" Micki yelled, smacking Coach Brown's face, looking likea foxy, female wrestler.
Bemp!
Coach Brown snapped, but in a cool way. He just punched thewall.
"Walls don't punch back, punk," Micki barked, like a cute, femaleboxer. Then she walked away.
Instantly, Coach Brown grabbed her petite arms, yanking herbackwards, causing the foxy girl to stumble.
Wrong answer.
Like the Candler Rd. killa she was, she pulled out her gun andshoved it into his jaw. The day before the Super Bowl, Atlanta wouldbe coach less.
Pow!
She pulled the trigger.
Micki, a.k.a. Red Bone Shawty, had struck again. So what? Ain'tnobody on earth getting over on Micki.
"Ahh! Ahh! Dang! You crazy pink trick!" Coach Brown took offrunning, holding his jaw.
Bimp!
He flew through the bathroom door, and slapped his bloody faceto the mirror.
A hole was straight through his jaws! Well, at least it was only apellet gun!
Bam!
Red Bone Shawty kicked the bathroom door open with herthree-hundred and fifty dollar, black, UGG Raya boots.
"Next time, it will be a real gun," Micki yelled, and stormed outin her tight, short, red, lace skirt.
Coach Brown was still staring in the mirror. Stunned that hispretty, little mistress was losing it!
Red Bone Shawty growled like a light-skinned ware wolf, withmicro braids! Boop!
Then, the run-way model walked out of the three-thousand-dollar-a-night,down town hotel, after she stuck her gun back into herGucci purse.
Red Bone Shawty hopped into her delicious, candy apple, red,new sparkling Benz. Yea, the one Coach Brown bought her lastValentine's Day.
Snap!
She turned on the new Kelly Rowland and Wayne. Then calledher big brother.
"Cim?"
"Yeah?"
"I need a million dollars."
He sighed deeply ... "Oh, Micki."
"And some gasoline. Hah, hah," she mumbled to herself, thesecond Cimeon hung up.
