When Worlds Collide

"Hey what's your name?" he asked. She continued to walk ignoring his question.

"Hey now, what's all this about?" he asked stopping her in her tracks. She looked uneasy and embarrassed.

"Are, are you upset cause I caught you dancin?"

That look was back again, that deer in headlights look. She also looked like she might run in any direction.

"Whoa, hey, it's alright! Hell I like that song too! Although you look a whole lot better dancin to it than I do. Kinda got two left feet," Caiden added gesturing with his feet. She looked a bit calmer.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude. It's just, I'm not used to being talked to I guess."

Her voice was soft and sweet and poured over him slowly like molasses.

"You seemed pretty talkative last time I saw ya?"

"Yeah, but that was work. They pay me to be perky," she stated.

"Listen, I really have to go," she said turning to leave once again. "I have a huge paper due in a few days, and I'm nowhere near done so-"

"Wait, can I walk with you?" Caiden asked already following her.

"Why?" she asked looking up at him with those big honey colored eyes.

"Cause I wanna get to know you? Maybe you can get to know me too," he said smiling. Whatever he said must've rubbed her the wrong way because her face switched up quickly.

"Aww hell!" she exclaimed throwing up her hands. "Here we go!"

"What? What I say?"

"All y'all lame ass dudes is the same! U see a piece of caramel in a sea of vanilla swirl and decide you need a change. All the sudden you got 'jungle fever' huh? Well keep lookin, cause it ain't me!"

"Wow! Where'd all that come from? Sure as hell wasn't me?"

"Oh, no? so you weren't just fuckin me with your eyes then?"

Busted!

"Dang girl! Why you gotta be so defensive? Yes I looked at ya, it's a free country ain't it? But I said I wanna get to know you and I do! Look I'm sorry if the way I looked at you made you feel uncomfortable. It's just, well I'm not used to seeing women of your calibre up here. Hell, most the women round here look like they wouldn't know nothing bout chicken and collard greens."

"Oh, and because I'm black, I should know all about it right?" she snapped.

"Well I don't' know, I'm white and I know about em, I mean mama made it all the time,"

She was already walking away briskly. This was going all wrong! Terribly wrong!

"Wait are we really arguing about chicken and greens?"

"Nope! I'm done talkin!" she was speed walking and he had to jog to catch up with her, reminding him of his body's agitated state. He caught up with her with a slight grimace of pain on his face from his sore body. Once in front of her he grabbed her arms and held her at arms length.

"Okay, wait. I don't know what I said to offend you so much but whatever it was I'm sorry. Okay? I'm sorry. I just want to get to know you. Honestly, I'm not as bad a guy as I may seem. My friends think I'm pretty cool! You can ask anybody and they'll vouch for me! I just wanna be your friend,"

She looked at him sceptically, tilting her head to the side and looking up into his eyes, as if contemplating. He slowly let her arms go and they fell to his sides.

"Whaddaya say we start over, huh?"

He wiped one of his palms on his sweat pants and offered it to her.

"Hello, I'm Caiden" he said still holding out his hand. She looked hesitant to shake it.

"Reign," she said finally taking his hand and shaking it. His hand dwarfed her small brown one and she quickly released him.

"As in what falls from the sky? That kinda rain?" he asked continuing to walk. She was once again hesitant but followed after a brief nudge from Caiden.

"Naw reign as in 'the queen reigns over England.' or something like that,"

"Well, that's different," he said sneaking a look at her.

"My mothers a different kinda gal I guess," she said looking away from him.

"You play football or sum?" she asked changing the subject.

"Oh yeah, for Worthington. That's the only reason I'm way the hell up here, got a scholarship. My brothers got one too but they don't start till next semester. They're gonna hate it here but hey, it ain't like I didn't warn em. Hell they both knew they were comin to nowhere Ville USA, but we didn't wanna break the family up."

"Where you from anyways?" she asked curiously.

"Texas baby, born and raised. How bout you? I know you ain't from this place."

"Oh hell no, I'm from New York, but I got a full scholarship too," she said and left it at that.

"Really? What's New York like?" he asked excitedly. He hadn't really been outside of Texas. Well, that he could remember. The only place he knew was Texas, and now here.

"It's dirty and smelly, not a nice place to visit," she said simply.

They'd been walking for a bit now and had left the stadium behind. They took a short path though a wooded area and came out behind a small apartment building. Reign began digging though her purse for her keys.

"Listen, I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier. I was a complete bitch and that really wasn't cool,"

"Aww. It's alright!" he said brushing it off.

"Naw, it's not but you gotta understand. Being the only black girl around makes you so different. Do you know how often people stare at me? How often I get judged, or 'propositioned'. You gotta have your guard up at all times. You know? "

"Yeah," he said grinning at her.

"Most of the time they judging me too! Um just some redneck who can run fast. God forbid I should open my damn mouth and let somethin country fall out. They be lookin at me like I got ten heads!"

She laughed, and it was like they'd been doing this all their lives. At least to him it was. Talking to her was just easy once she let her guard down.

They'd been standing at the back door just talking and sneaking looks at each other like teenagers. This for some reason made Caiden giddy. It had been so long since he felt like this about a girl. Hell she was more that a girl, she was all woman.

"Okay I'm not gonna hold you hostage anymore but I'd love to call you sometime," he said as sweet as possible.

"I'd like that," she said even sweeter.

He had to fight himself not to break out dancing on the spot. She said yes?

She dug a pen out of her purse and grabbed his hand to write her number on his palm. Once she had his hand she noticed how sweaty it was.

"Are you nervous?" she asked incredulously. He pulled his hand away from hers.

"Well yeah! I'm standing here with the prettiest lil thing I've seen in ages, of course I'm nervous!"

"Awww, baby you ain't gotta be nervous around me, I'm as laid back as they come."

She'd just about knocked the wind outta him. It wasn't so much as the words she said; it was how she said it. The 'Awwww, baby' part of it in particular was what he was stuck on. She'd called him baby and it was the sexiest thing he's experienced in a long long while.

She handed him the number written on a London drugs recipt from her purse and turned to unlock the door.

"I hope I'll hear from you soon Caiden,"

"Believe me, you will. You most certainly will."