Don’t Let Go

3. Tyler

3

Tyler

“Dude, this place is sick!” Quincy said, getting out of my car.

I observed the insane festivities before us. This party was lit alright. Drunks stumbled and laid on the ground, sprinkled around like garden gnomes.

This house was on forty acres and appeared more like a mansion hidden in the purple mountains. It was three stories with a huge balcony on the second floor and an infinity pool in the backyard.

R&B music pulsed through the air, and lights hung from the porch’s ceiling, giving it a club feel. I spotted Iris upstairs on the balcony, leaning against the railing, laughing with her best friend, Anne.

I nodded my head toward Iris. “I’m going to go check on my girl. You good?”

Quincy pounded my fist. “Hell yeah. I’m going to go play beer pong.”

As I crossed the cement floor covered in dirt and dried leaves from a recent windstorm, I bumped into Brandon. “My man!” he shouted.

We slapped each other’s palms in greeting before reeling each other in for a hug as we patted backs. “This is our champ!” He lifted my left arm into the air like a boxer who won a fight. Everyone around us clapped and cheered.

It would’ve been a lie if I said I didn’t love feeling like some kind of god.

“I had to win for us. I can’t let us be beaten by the schmucks at Glendale.”

Brandon shook his head and hit my back. “Somebody get this guy a beer!”

Laurie reached into one of the coolers and popped the cap off the bottle before handing it to me. Her fingers brushed mine as I accepted it. “Congrats,” she said, eyeing me as if I was her meal ticket.

“Thanks, everyone.” I lifted the bottle above my head. Moisture dripped off it, going down my arm. “Now let’s party!”

More cheers erupted and the music cranked up louder.

Malik wiped his nose with the back of his hand and gave me the stink eye.

“What up?” He was already unsteady on his feet. The guy had probably killed a case of beer by that point and was still going strong.

“You’re not the only all-star on the team. I’m sick of everyone acting like you’re the only guy who got us this far. I’ve made shots from—”

“Easy.” I placed my hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down. “I saved the game tonight. But next week you can try to catch the ball and do the same, and then everyone will be giving you the credit.”

He pushed me away and spat on the ground. “Whatever. That toss was bad.” He took a swig of beer. “And we could easily play without you. I could beat Gilbert, Queen Creek, all the schools in Phoenix. All of ’em!”

I watched him stumble off to the front of the house, still listing high schools. Dude was trippin’. Of course, they needed me. After all, I was their star shooter known for my long-distance shots.

No one else acted as if I pissed in their cereal. My teammates and everyone else kept giving me high-fives and grins as I made my way toward Iris.

Hot, sweaty bodies pressed together on the cement steps leading toward the second floor. I pushed past a couple making out and stumbled into Jay. He grabbed my shoulder and gave me a good shake. “Watch it, man. Our best player can’t get hurt at a party. That would crush us next week.”

I laughed. “I’m just trying to get to my girl.”

He gave me a nudge forward. “Safety first!” he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth to project his voice.

Like I don’t know the rule: no glove, no love.

I flipped him the bird and finally reached the second landing. Six girls danced in the center of the balcony. They waved at me and I smiled at them, but continued to Iris. She wore a green dress that glittered in the lights, and her skin shined with a perfect glow. She had on more eyeshadow than usual, but she never overdid it. That was one of the things I loved about her: she was a natural beauty, and proud of that. Her hair was pushed to the side, leaving her throat exposed for me to kiss.

“Hey, Iris.” I glanced at the prick talking to her.

“Baby, there you are!” She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me. She tasted like cherries and vodka.

“I brought ya a little somethin’.” I pulled out her necklace and handed over the small velvet box.

“Oh, you didn’t!” She opened it, and her eyes lit up with joy. “I love it! A kitty necklace made of pink diamonds.” She took it out of the box and held the silver chain on her pinky finger. “Will you do the honors?”

“Of course.” I took the chain and fought with the little clasp as she turned around and moved her hair. Damn having big fingers when it came to necklaces. Finally, it came apart and I placed it around her beautiful neck, fighting with it for a few more seconds before it clicked back together.

She spun around and touched the cat pendant with her fingertips. “It’s perfect. Thank you, baby.”

“Anything for my girl.”

Anne touched her throat, feeling the empty space, and eyed Iris. “Girl, you better keep him. Not all of us get pretty things from boys.”

“Always.” Iris leaned forward and kissed me again. I placed my hands on her hips. “Hmm…” she breathed and moved her head a little so I could kiss the column of her neck.

My phone rang, playing “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen, my father’s ringtone. I ignored it and continued to kiss Iris.

She gently pushed me away. “Don’t you need to get that?”

“Nah. My old man showed up with seconds left in the game and then wanted me to ditch this party to go eat a lousy dinner with him. He can wait.” I brushed her braid away and kissed along her jawline. “I only have time for my girl right now.”

Her tongue tangled with mine, wanting to go deeper. I bit her lower lip and we shifted a little to the right. Our kiss broke as she stepped on a discarded solo cup.

“Wanna check out the view by the pool?” I asked, looking down to see no one around the pool. Being alone with my girl was what I needed right now.

She giggled. “Yeah.”

I took her hand, and we moved for the stairs. She waved to Anne as we left. At the bottom of the stairs, my phone rang again — this time it was an annoying whistle. It was my father’s public relations coordinator, Jacob.

Why was he calling me now? It was late. I didn’t want to talk about anything political. I was always dragged to dinners, speeches, and other social gatherings. My father’s people thought I looked good standing next to him in a suit. They seemed to want me more after my mother died. I wished for the old times when my father was the mayor of Scottsdale and I was only needed for an event once or twice a year.

I ignored Jacob’s call.

Iris pointed to the lights hanging above us on the porch. “I love this song!”

It took me a moment to recognize the pop song. “Let’s dance.”

I swung Iris around and she laughed. We wrapped our arms around each other and moved along with the beat. Iris rested her head on my chest. The music swayed us and I took a chance and spun Iris, and she giggled as I pulled her back. She kissed me, and our tongues tangled. I didn’t want this moment to end.

My phone rang. It was Jacob… again.

“Maybe you should answer. It seems like you’re needed.” Iris pulled away and toyed with her kitty pendant as she looked over at the drink table. “You answer and I’ll go get us some drinks.”

“Okay.” If it made my phone stop blowing up, I’d answer the damn thing. Then, turn it off.

“This better be important,” I barked into the phone.

“Tyler. Can you sit—”

“What?” I plugged my finger into my other ear. I couldn’t hear Jacob over the pounding music. “Give me a second.”

I moved away from the house and leaned against a metal fence. There were two horses in the distance, eating hay and looking pretty upset about the uninvited guests on their property.

“What did you say?”

Jacob cleared his throat. “I said, can you sit down? I need to tell you something.”

“Just tell me,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose.

“Your father is at Grace Medical Hospital.”

My stomach hit the dirt. “Wait, what? What happened? He was fine earlier.”

Voices drifted on the other line, like people talking as they walked past Jacob. His voice cracked as he said, “Your father is on life support. Please come down here if you can.”

My body felt numb. The back of my head tingled like something horrible was about to happen.

“I’m on my way.” I hung up and wiped the sweat from my palm onto my pants.

I took a deep breath, pushing my finger and thumb into my eyes to keep the tears at bay.

My father was fine about an hour or so ago. He wanted us to go out to dinner and now he was lying unconscious in a hospital bed with machines keeping him alive. What the hell? How can this be reality?

I grabbed my keys out of my pocket and bolted for the car. My legs felt heavy and everything was in a haze, as if my head was in a fish bowl. I felt like I was drowning. I’m worrying for nothing. My father is a strong man. This isn’t the end. It can’t be.