Can The Player PLAY The Player?

Point 11.

A.M

I had no clue what was going through that man's mind.

None whatsoever.

I could never tell what his true motives are. Was he trying to get on my good side? Was he trying to annoy me and anger me even further? Was he trying to antagonize me or get all my attention? I didn't know, but there was one thing I knew. I couldn't deny that there was some tension in the air yesterday when Omari put me on the spot for my body piercings. I didn't feel embarrassed about it until Zaid gave me that look, one that I couldn't identify.

The story behind that was all Owen's fault and I wished that I could punch him as hard as I could. He and I were at his house, having a drinking party between the two of us. We were so bored, so we decided to wager on some dumb things. If I could handle my liquor and chug 3 cups of beer, 3 shots of vodka, and a spiked Hawaiian punch cocktail, he would get a tattoo of my choice on both of his ass cheeks. If I couldn't, I'd have to get my nipples pierced with the design of his choice.

We all knew what happened truly.

It just so happened that Owen has had this in mind and he wanted me to get barbells with a gold heart for each nipple.

As if that wasn't embarrassing enough, the procedure made my nipples puffier than they already were, and that was all someone could see if I took off my shirt. It didn't matter because I still looked good. 

But Zaid still did not need to call me out like that. 

What was his issue?

"Son!" I heard Thomas yell from the foyer and I opened my door to see what it was that he wanted. "There's a box here for you!" I heard him shut the door to the house, so I went downstairs to see what he was talking about.

"This is quite heavy," I whirled around to see my dad holding a big ass box in his arms, smiling at me. "Did you order something?" I shook my head in confusion, gathering the box from him. "Well, someone must like you enough to send you a bunch of stuff," Thomas chuckled before walking away, leaving me staring at the box that had my name on it in bewilderment. 

I shrugged and carried the box back up to my room, eagerness building up within me. I was curious to see who it was from and why someone went out of their way to send me something. I wanted to know what was inside. When I got up to my room, I sliced free the tape packaging, recognizing that the box label was from another country.

I opened up the box, seeing a handwritten note on top of finely wrapped items and I took it out, sighing as I recognized the handwriting. It was so distinct, so sloppy yet so carefully crafted: one that I was used to seeing every day for the last 14 years.

Hey angel eyes,

Even though I'm far away from you, I didn't forget about you or your special day. I know things are a little rocky between us, I still wanted to send you a little something because you're important to me.

Shipping from Australia takes awhile, so forgive me if this doesn't arrive on the day of. I got you 18 gifts to symbolize each year that you've been alive, so I hope you like them. Happy birthday to you and I hope you enjoy your day, living it up like I know you will.

I love you,

Z.C.B

I rolled my eyes, ignoring the smile that was threatening to expose itself as I placed the letter carefully on my desk. I had to admit, that bastard had a way with words. It was my birthday two weeks around, a few days before he got back.

I took out the first small gift, unwrapping it to see that it was a small cranberry vanilla candle that said 'you're my person' on the outside in script font. I took out the next giving, looking at a blue crystal bracelet with the word brave etched on the gold tag. "Because you're such a brave person, always going after your dreams," I read out the explanation of this particular gift on the piece of paper that it came with.