watched me as I hit send. We both turned to the phone vibrating on the counter. “You still have her phone, Genius.”
“FUCK! I know. I forgot, but I know.”
“You’re going to have to do something big.”
Then it hit me, and I knew what I needed to do. “Otis, have you ever been to a college football game?”
“Nope. Are we going to a game?”
“We are going to THE game. Saturday.”
“Saturday is Bryan’s engagement party. We can’t piss Faith off.”
“I think the game starts at noon. I can have the plane waiting. We can all change on the plane and go directly to the party. Hell, with the time change, we’ll get there two hours before the party even starts.”
“Are we doing this?” His phone was now in his hand, ready to start putting the pieces together.
“Fuck, yeah. I’m going to get my girl back.”
“Let’s get her.”
Anderson - Can you make sure Jurnee’s at the game?
Derrick - Game?
Anderson - Michigan v Michigan State
Derrick - Like she’d skip that game. Do I need to be angry at you? Did you hurt her?
Anderson - It’s a misunderstanding. I’m coming to get my girl!
Derrick - Oh Jesus. What did you do? Never mind, I’m on my way over to check on her.
Anderson - Don’t tell her I’m coming. Just make sure she goes to the game.
The three dots weren’t popping up. Waiting, I watched Otis bang out a text and get up for another beer. Ignoring all the texts from Otis in our group thread, I shot off a final text to Jurnee’s best friend.
Anderson - I promise to fix this. Please trust that I’m all-in and coming to make things right.
Taking a deep breath, I knew my life was about the change, and I couldn’t wait.
Otis - 911… Anderson fucked things up with Jurnee already and needs all of our help to fix it. She went back to Michigan.
Eric - Plan?
Otis - Michigan game on Saturday. He’s all-in.
Eric - Who’s going?
Otis - Everyone
Bryan - Engagement party is that night. Your plan better have me at that entrance of the party on time.
Otis - We’ll all be in L.A. two hours before the party starts, and we can get ready on the plane. None of us want to piss Faith off this early in the marriage. Don’t be a dick and get your ass to NY.
Bryan – On My Way
Eric - I’ve got meetings all day tomorrow, so the later, the better for me.
Otis - I’m with him, so I’ll let him know.
Anderson - Wheels up at 5am on Saturday. We’re going through the front.
Otis’s glance shot up to mine in surprise. “You know this will be bigger than Page Six if you play it that way. They will track us to the college football game, then the party. This is your last chance to shut this down.”
The alert on both phones reminded us there were two others in the conversation.
Bryan - Front door means the press will grab this and run with it. People, if we’re lucky. TMZ, if we’re not.
Eric - Are you ready for that type of coverage? Your dad?
Anderson - She’s the one.
A text from Jurnee’s best friend waited unread on my phone. There was a moment of panic as I imagined she might be done with our relationship. Pausing before I opened it, I exhaled deeply.
Derrick - She forgot her phone at your house.
Anderson - I know. She drove all the way to Michigan without a phone.
Derrick - I know. She’s fine. But she’s hurting.
Re-reading Derrick’s text, my head fell back and closed my eyes. I tried to reassure myself that I would be holding her again soon. I’d make her understand how real this was.
Anderson - I’m coming for her.
42
Jurnee
I knew he was there before I opened my eyes. The banging of the back door had woken me, but the smell of coffee kept me from drifting off again. Sunlight poured onto my face, and I felt Derrick sit on the floor and lean against the bed.
“Black?”
“Am I new?”
A smile spread over my face for the first time in days. “No, you’re not new.” I sat up and accepted the double cupped coffee from Biggby’s, one of my favorite coffee shops in the city. My body hurt, so I stretched to try and get the blood flowing.