Stenton was fast asleep beside me on his back with his arms and legs stretched wide. All I saw was a tatted octopus in my bed. He was exhausted. This was supposed to be a restful few days for him before he did a circus round of commercial and print ad shoots and then go right back into training.
My eyes started to get heavy, so I logged off my laptop and my attention unconsciously wandered over to the television where a rerun of the Wendy Williams show was on. I caught it as she introduced her next guest, Erika Erceg. The crowd went up in applause as the buxom beauty strutted out in a white fitted midi dress with five inch gold heels. She was beautiful: shiny jet black tresses, olive skin, long and thick eyelashes, plump pouty lips, and the perfect set of hips and booty. Erika was sinfully striking, which was the crux of her success. She didn’t sing, act or dance, but made her family’s surname a brand. She was also Tynisha’s nemesis for some reason: solely diva issues if you asked me.
“So,” Wendy started her question while fluffing her hair. “What’s this I hear about your progression with your big crush—wait…how long have you been crushing on this man, Erika?”
Erika’s flawless face falls into the perfect bashful expression. Her cheeks heat up visibly, and in the same moment, the crowd goes crazy over the picture that appears on the back screen of Stenton Rogers. I use his formal name because that is who the crowd sees, who she sees. There, in fact, were several pictures that flashed on the screen. One with him in his team’s uniform, another of him posing shirtless, and one black and white photo of him in a pushup stance in the rain.
Another thing I observed was how Stenton was drop-dead gorgeous in all of them, completely stunning. Don’t get me wrong: even his sleepy face lasciviously stirred something deep within, but gosh! The producers hit the mark trying to demonstrate him being crush-worthy. Even I’d suddenly seen him in a different light. I experienced the lust Erika did.
The last picture to flash was with Jordan about a month ago. That one stung. It was personal, of my child. I had to quickly remind myself that Jordan’s father was a public figure and he’d be as exposed as Stenton would allow.
Erika’s gushing broke my daze.
“It’s been like…oh my god…all his career. He’s always been so hot. When I would see him years ago, I would completely freeze, couldn’t even speak.”
Wendy laughed along with her receptive audience. “So, have you talked with him or been out on a date with him?”
“We’ve been out, but not like…alone. We’ve definitely been chatting a lot lately on the phone,” Erika offered.
“Awwww…” Wendy sang. “That’s too cute.” Erika’s cheeks flamed again. “So, when was the last time you saw him?”
I couldn’t believe the amount of airtime being devoted to a crush.
“A few weeks ago at an event. We didn’t get to talk for long. You know he’s always being swept away somewhere.”
“Yeah, Stenton Rogers has the most endorsement deals in the league, I’ve been told. You think you can handle that with your busy schedule?”
Erika licked her lips before nodding her head animatedly. The audience went up with that one, too.
“Okay! I don’t know about you all,” Wendy pointed to the audience. “…but I caught that.” She laughed along with Erika. “Okay, so when was the last time you talked on the phone with him?”
“Two days ago.”
Two days ago? My body jerked in bed. Then my neck snapped over at an undisturbed Stenton.
“And was that conversation promising?”
“It actually was. We agreed to spend more time with each other this coming season. I wish it could be right away, but I understand he’s busy and all.”
“Yeah!” Wendy nearly shouted. “Busy with a newborn baby!” she screamed to the audience. “Does he talk about that? I’m sure that’s probably why he can’t start anything new. You should be careful with a man who’s just had a baby. That baby momma has rights, honey!” The audience clapped in agreement.