Fall Black In Love 1: When Henry Met Millie (8 page)

  “That’s the laws that make everything separate,” Millie commented.

  Henry nodded. “There’s colored this and colored that. You can’t do this and you can’t do that. There’s a law against everything a black person does and it seems they make up more every day.”

  “I’d still love to see where you grew up,” Millie said watching him.

  He turned to her and stared into her pretty face. “Maybe one day when Jim Crow is really abolished, we could go there.” He paused. “I wouldn’t want you to come now. It’s not a pretty sight in some places and I’d be worried about you.”

  “I understand,” she said sadly.

  They sat in a comfortable silence, both thinking about the events surrounding them and their people in this country.

After a little while, Millie turned and smiled sweetly at him. “Do you want to come inside?”

Henry checked his watch. “I should go home and let you get some rest.”

  “You made me work hard today,” she pointed out.

He smiled. “I made Honey get better.”

She laughed. “We’ll see in a few days.”

  “I won’t see you again until the game, Millie. I don’t want to interrupt your focus,” Henry told her and she pouted.

  “I won’t see you?” she asked.

  “You gotta be prepared,” he told her. “This is your championship and you worked hard to get here.”

  Millie sat back against the seat. The thought of not seeing Henry for the next three days didn’t sit well with her.

  “Don’t do that,” he admonished softly.

  “Do what?”

He turned her face to him. “Break my heart.”

“I want to see you Henry…”

He placed a finger on her lips. “Why don’t we compromise? I’ll call you…every day.” He offered.

  “You don’t want to see me?” she asked confused.

  “Millie, if I had my way, I’d see your pretty face every single day.” He touched her cheek. “We both know you need to focus.”

  “I want you to have your dreams and I’m not going anywhere, I promise.” He moved to her jaw.

  She smiled at him in gratitude. It made her heart sing that Henry cared about what she wanted and supported her.

  “Do I have to wait three days for you to kiss me again?” she asked holding his eyes.

Henry gathered her into his arms. “No ma’am.”
  “Millie, if I had my way, I’d see your pretty face every single day.” Henry touched her temple. “I want you to have your dreams. I’m not going anywhere, I promise you.’

Chapter 8

The day of the championship game, Millie was nervous as usual. She hadn’t seen Henry in the crowd at the start of the game while she’d played the infield. Now as she sat on the bench waiting for her turn to bat, she continued to search the crowd for him.

  “Calm down Honey. The game just started,” Irma told her.

Millie turned to her. “He’s not here yet. He said he’d be here.”

  “It’s crowded. Maybe he’s finding a parking spot,” Irma offered.

Millie searched the crowd again to no avail.

Irma looked too. “Well your stalker made it on time,” she commented.

  “I see him Irma.” Millie frowned.

  “Well it’s my turn to bat,” Irma stood. “Get ready, you’re coming up.”

  Millie bent and rested her chin in her hands. Where was Henry? It wasn’t like him to be late. They’d talked on the phone last night and he’d encouraged her to play well. He’d promised he would be at the game…so where was he?

******

Henry looked at his watch then over at the woman. “I have to go now.”

She turned to him. “Already?”

He nodded. “I’ve been here for a while,” he pointed out.

She pouted. “I wish you could stay.” Changing to a smile, she said, “You’re coming back right?”

  “Later,” he confirmed.

  “You’ve been incredible Henry,” she complimented. “These last few days you’ve provided everything I needed.”

Henry smiled. “I just want to make a pretty girl happy.”

  “You’re the best Henry.” She patted his sleeve. “Can I get five more minutes? Please?”

Looking at his watch, he blew out a breath. “Yes, ma’am.”

She smiled at him again. “Don’t forget this is a secret.”

  “I know…”

  Five minutes stretched into twenty and Henry found himself running late for Millie’s game. The parking lot was full so he had to find street parking. Hurrying to the park, he bought his ticket and quickly made his way to the stands. He was just in time to see her walking up to the plate.

  He could see focus, determination and…anger on her face. Looking up at the box score, he saw that the pitcher for the other team had struck out the first two batters on Millie’s team.

  “Go Honey!” Henry turned at the sound of the roar and spotted Bill across the bleachers.

  Turning back to Millie, he watched her get into her stance. When the pitch came, she made contact and fouled the ball back. Millie stepped away from the plate as the pitcher was thrown a new ball. She lifted her head to take a breath and her eyes lit on him. Henry held her gaze for a split second before she went back to her game.

  Henry felt his heart stop. Clearly she was upset with him, which was understandable. He shouldn’t have been late to her game although she’d find out the reason soon enough. The next pitch came and Millie got on base, however the next batter struck out and she returned to the infield. Her team managed to get through the next inning and she returned to the dugout.

  Taking her seat on the bench, she peeked out and saw Henry. He looked handsome as ever and she wrinkled her nose.

  “Be nice Honey. He’s here,” Irma said sitting next to her. “That was a good hit last inning. I think the next at bat you’ll get her. That girl pitches fast!”

Millie turned to her. “Yeah, she’s the fastest we’ve faced.” She looked back out at the crowd.

Irma laughed. “I doubt he’s going anywhere Honey.”

  “I haven’t seen him for a few days,” Millie explained.

Irma leaned in. “You let him make it to first base?” she asked quietly.

  “Irma.”

  “Or did he slide into home already?”

Millie turned to her frowning. “Baseball metaphors?”

Irma looked into the crowd at Henry then back at Millie’s flushed face. “Not yet, but you’re ready.”

  “You been to the clinic Honey?” Irma asked.

  “The clinic for what?” Millie asked confused.

  Irma moved closer. “Look Honey, you’re like my little virgin sister, so I’m going to give you some advice so you don’t end up like Maggie because I know you don’t want that.”

  “Your feelings are clear as glass for the guy and there’s nothing wrong with that. Go to the clinic on campus and talk to them about some type of birth control,” Irma told her.

  “I’m not going to have…” Millie began.

Irma gave her a look. “You are Honey. It’s all over your face. All he has to do is make the right moves.”

  Millie looked away as memories of Henry on her bed flooded her mind. Each night since, she’d dreamed of him being there with her.

  Irma took her hand. “It’s not a bad thing Honey. It’s a good thing.” Irma smiled wickedly. “A very good thing.”

  “Promise me you’ll be responsible. Most girls expect the guys to do it, but you’ll be the one taking care of a baby.” Irma released her hand.

  Millie nodded. Although Irma could be a pain, Millie could always count on her to tell her the truth and she appreciated that. Irma was not ashamed of her ‘experience’ and took care of her business at school, work and home. Millie admired her for that.

  The women hit the field in the last inning of a scoreless game. At Millie’s next bat, she could hear the crowd behind her cheering her on. Taking a deep breath, she stepped up to the plate. In her mind, she heard Henry’s voice in her ear…
relax and watch the ball
.

  Lifting her bat, she focused on the ball. When she swung and heard the crack, she froze as the entire crowd went silent. When it landed over the fence, the bleachers erupted. Millie screamed as she began to run around the bases. Pointing at the crowd as she crossed each one, she jumped on home plate and her teammates surrounded her, making her disappear in the huddle.

  When she emerged, the fans cheered and she walked over to the bleachers removing her cap. She gave her bow then looked up at Henry and smiled as he clapped for her. Putting a hand to her lips, she sent him a kiss. He smiled down at her as Bill watched from the other side.

  The team headed to the locker room laughing and screaming. The bleachers started to clear as a celebration party for the team was planned back at the college. Henry waited since he would drive Millie to the party. The school had decided to give the girls a party regardless of a win, to thank them for their hard work.

Bill approached and Henry looked up. “Hey Henry.”

  “Bill.”

  “You waiting for Honey?” Bill asked.

Henry nodded. “Yep.”

Bill smirked. “I guess I’ll see you at the party then.”

  “I’ll be there,” Henry responded.

  Henry watched Bill walk away and continued to wait for Millie. Fifteen minutes later, she emerged and he held out his arms to her which she walked into and placed head against his chest.

  “Congratulations Millie! I’m so proud of you.” Henry hugged her tightly.

She glanced up at him. “I guess the practice did help,” Millie admitted waiting for him to kiss her.

  “I told you,” he bragged then stepped back distractedly looking at his watch. “We should go.”

Millie watched him closely. “You were late for the game.”

Henry lowered his head. “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “Come on Honey! The star needs to show up at the party.” Her teammates called heading to the parking lot.

  “Let’s go. You don’t want to miss your party,” Henry told her and she agreed slowly.

  He took her hand and led her quietly to where he’d parked. For the life of her, Millie felt that something was off. Henry wasn’t acting like Henry. She pulled away as they reached the vehicle and turned to him.

  “What is it?” she demanded.

He looked confused. “What is what?”

  “What are you hiding? You’re acting strange and you were late for the game!” She accused.

  “How am I acting strange Millie? We’ve seen each other for all of five minutes.”

  Millie folded her arms. “You tell me you don’t want to see me because I need to focus, then you show up acting like I’m a stranger or something!”

Henry opened the car door. “Don’t do this Millie. Let’s go to your party.”

  Fuming Millie climbed inside and stared out of the window while he climbed in the other side. Henry placed the key in the ignition and paused.

  “Millie, we’ll talk later.” Henry promised.

He reached into the back seat and produced a large bouquet of flowers. “These are for you.”

  Millie looked over as he handed her the bouquet of roses. She put them to her nose and inhaled the sweet fragrance. “Thank you Henry.”

  “There’s nothing wrong Millie,” he assured her. “I want you to enjoy your victory tonight.”

She stared at him for a long moment then looked away. “You didn’t even kiss me,” she said quietly.

  Henry turned her face back to his. “I’m sorry, it’s been a busy day.” He stared at the plush pillows that formed her mouth.

  “May I kiss you now?” he asked.

Millie pouted. “Do you want to?”

Henry sighed. “Pretty woman you know I want to kiss you.”

  She leaned forward and Henry kissed her like a man who hadn’t seen his girl in three days. In a flash, she was on his lap in the driver’s seat with her arms around his neck and his tongue inside her mouth. His hand started at her waist then moved up to cup her breast and she drew in a sharp breath.

  “Henry…” Millie breathed against his mouth as he gently caressed her. His mouth on hers prevented any more words until a horn honked bringing them both to reality again. Millie’s chest rose and fell as she glanced at the flowers, now forgotten on her seat.

Slowly, Henry turned her face to his. “I missed seeing you Millie.”

  She smiled feeling his erection underneath her. “I believe you.” She wiggled on his lap as he buried his face in her neck.

  “Let’s go Millie,” he breathed against her soft skin. “I only have so much control and you have a crowd of people waiting for you.”

  “I like it right here, just fine.”

Henry kissed her again. “I like it just fine too, but you have somewhere to be.”

She pulled back. “I can see you tonight? The game is over.”

  “You can see me every night,” he confirmed.

  Reluctantly Millie returned to her seat while Henry closed his eyes to calm himself. A few minutes later, he started the car, drove to the school and parked in the lot.

  “Have you been here before Henry?” Millie asked since he’d taken a short cut to get there and knew exactly how to get to the gym area.

He nodded as he parked. “Yes ma’am.”

  Henry hopped out the car and Millie wondered why Henry had been to her school. He’d never picked her up from here before.

  He helped her from the vehicle and she spotted her coaches waiting outside waving for her to join them. “Go ahead, I’ll see you inside.” Henry told her.

Giving him a quick smile, she headed towards the group. On her way, she passed the Student President.

“Congratulations Honey!” she shouted.

“Thanks,” Millie replied as they passed one another. As Millie walked she heard Helen speak again.

  “Henry, I’m so glad you’re here! I think I left something in your car earlier. You were in such a hurry I couldn’t catch you.”

  Millie stumbled as she came to an abrupt halt. She turned to where Helen was now at Henry’s car. Her eyes caught his then narrowed.

  “Millie!” Henry called as she turned and walked past her coaches into the building. Dazedly she stomped inside and walked over to a table placing her hands on the top trying to stop her heart from racing so fast.

  “Congratulations Honey,” a male voice said to her and she turned.

She recognized him from the bleachers.

  “Thank you,” she returned.

He stuck out his hand. “I’m Bill.”

Millie shook his hand briefly. “Hi Bill.”

He smiled. “I come to all your games.”

  “I’ve seen you.”

  Both looked up as Henry entered the building. He spotted them then stood by the wall with his arms folded.

Bill turned back to Millie. “Maybe I can get a dance with you later?”

  “Uh, I don’t think I’ll be dancing Bill.” She glared over at Henry. “In fact, I may not be staying that long.”

Bill followed her gaze. “Okay Honey, I’ll be around.”

  Irma had been inside when Honey entered looking frazzled. She’d then watched as the stalker had approached Honey, then an angry Henry had rushed inside. What the hell was going on? She was about to find out.

  Walking to where Bill was trying to talk Honey’s ear off, Irma grabbed her friend. “I need to talk to you.” She then turned to Bill, “Excuse us, I need Honey right now.”

Irma walked away holding on Millie’s arm. “What the hell is wrong?”

Millie bit her lip. “Henry…”

  Irma glanced to where he was still standing on the wall watching Honey. “What about him? He’s right there.”