Venus Vs Mars

Chapter 52

Still being in California it was none stop training, the team would be playing on their home field once again in twenty four hours, this time against Nigeria. Massy took to practicing to keep her mind clear and focused from Odell, she had no choice but too. She hadn't spoken to him going on a week, since Valentines Day. He'd send her text messages trying to explain himself but Massy reframed from opening them, she didn't even want to read them, when she was ready she would, but at this moment she had a World Cup to get. There was no wonder why people hated that holiday, because stuff like this happened either before it or on it.

The huge stadium lights beamed down on the USA players, allowing them to have perfect vision as the sun began to set over California. Working on her scoring, she kicked a line of balls at the net, goal keeper Hope Solo standing hunched over her elbows on her knees as she tried reading Massy's kick and which direction the ball would go in, she too practicing her blocking skills. The team equipment manager randomly jumping in front of Massy trying to distract her.

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Odell also took to working out and training, keeping his body in shape and bulking up during the off season, then maintaining his weight during the season. His frustration of seeing another man on Massy's i********: had pushed him clear over the limit, he wasn't emotionless to her, he was now in the stage of being angry with her, completely forgetting about his own actions that lead up to this. He was pissed that she would do that, ignoring his txts, even though he did the same thing to her.

Odell flew back home to Louisiana, missing his mother, she recommended that he get here just to touch bases, be around some family and childhood friends. She also needed him to physically be here in order to kill him because of how he did Massy.

"She answer you back?" Heather asked as she sifted through a drawer looking for a specific cooking tool. 

"No, she's not even reading my txts, she has the recipe on letting you know when she read a message but it's only saying delivered." He answered her back shaking his head. 

Heather grabbed the large tongs from the drawer so she could easily flip the pieces of marinated chicken in the pan. "She'll read and talk to you when she's ready." Heather simply told him.

Odell pressed his back against the chair, leaning his head back looking at the ceiling "I messed up, she ain't never talkin to me. She shouldn't ignore me tho, she could at least say something to me." He said, more so speaking out loud to himself than actually to his mother, but Heather chimed in anyway. 

"Oh, how dare she ignore you! Who does she think she is!?" Heather said consciously mocking him. "look what you did, hell I wouldn't speak to you either, you act like a jealous, insecure asshole on Valentines Day weekend, then you ignore her not showing her any support during her games, only to show up at a damn Grammy party (which your ass didn't need to be at, cause you don't make music) on the arm of another women, as her father talks about a possible relationship." Heather cut into her son, her hand on her hip as she leaned against the kitchen counter. 

Odell's head shot up, he frowned at his mother. "It wasn't like that, it was an innocent date, like how you appear with somebody for publicity." He said trying to make the situation less messy than what it was. 

"Odell Cornelious Beckham Jr! What kind of PUBLICITY were YOU getting showing up to a Grammy party?! You are in a committed relationship, you just don't show up places with other women! you were the only athlete in that whole damn party!" Heather asked her son with a frown. 

"Exactly, I was the only one in there." He simply said back, missing the point his mother was trying to make. Heather squinted her eyes at him for a moment, giving him a look to not test her. Odell knowing the look all too well he leaned back in the chair again and looked forward, his jaw tightly clenched. "I don't know, I got frustrated." He paused for a moment. "Seeing her be greeted by all these men, everybody knew her, putting their arm around her, congratulating her, she spent our first Valentines Day with Kaepernick and Drake." He said sounding annoyed. 

"That's what fellow athletes do Odell, we congratulate one another on how great we're doing! Hell, that's what everybody does! It's. Normal! And she spent Valentine's Day with them, because YOU told her it was ok, because you were already booked to host a party, if you had this much of a issue you should of told her you wanted her by your side or you shouldn't of said yes to hosting!" Heather fussed at her son, then turned around to continue cooking. "You just jealous didn't nobody congratulate your ass!" She hissed with her back turned to him. 

Odell sat there with his jaw clenched, he was jealous, his girlfriend was having a better season than him, she was being congratulated by any and everyone. Odell had relationships before, but none of them being with a fellow athlete of this status so he had no clue what it would be like when your girlfriend was out shining you during her on season. He was always the bread winner, the go getter, the one in charge. 

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While Odell was being cussed out by his mother, Massy was once agin sitting across from her mentor Kobe Bryant.

"I completely skipped college, I was seventeen straight out of high school when I got drafted into the NBA! When you're young like that, even between the ages of 18 to 25... endless amount of money, fame, people always telling you yes because of who you are! You can get big headed. There's things that I've done at 23 that I'm not proud of, I look back like what the f**k was I thinking!? There's things that I've done that I'm still paying for till this very day, things that I have to eventually tell my daughters when they are old enough, so they don't look to the internet to find out." 

Kobe leaned back in his chair, he lifted his long arms above his head stretching them out. "A man's ego and masculinity is the most fragile thing on this earth." Massy began laughing, Kobe joining in with her. "I'm serious, it is, that's why it's the first thing to be attacked. A man's masculinity is his only weakness. Not women, not cars, not money. None of that. That's why we're always like I'm tough! No, I'm tough! No, I'm tougher than you!" Kobe bulked up his chest making his voice deeper than what it was. "We all soft, ain't none of us tough!" He said waving himself off and going back to his normal position. He took a swig of water, the plastic bottle seemed to be doll sized in his large hands. Massy busted out laughing again. 

"As humans, we get comfortable, it's a natural instinct to be comfortable, not realizing that when you do get comfortable, you get lazy, and you stop doing what you did and NEED to do in order to keep a person, or things, or life style. I been with Vanessa for almost more than 20years. I can admit there's been times I didn't want or like the attention on her, but she's got other things going on besides being a wife and mother, she's got her own businesses, but I didn't want her out shining me, you know? That's where that ego comes in, but as men, we eventually grow out of it, we realize when you see her shine, I shine as well, people see Vanessa Bryant and they KNOW that's Kobe Bryant. There's been downs there's been some very low points, where I thought I might of just lost my soul mate, but there's been highs, there's been more highs then there's been lows. You need that 'Battle of the Sexes' that 'Venus vs Mars' or nobody would learn anything, we'd all be out here looking lost. Now Vanessa, thats the one with the backbone! that's who's tough, that's the one who changed me and made me get my s**t together. I'm play dough compared to her." Kobe leaned forward placing his hands on the table, his mangled long fingers from 20 plus years of experience of playing basketball and living life in general, his thick wedding band wrapped securely around his ring finger. 

"You have to let people know what you WILL and what you WON'T tolerate! Because people don't know based off looking at you. As a women, as a BLACK woman, and as a HELL of a athlete the odds are already against you." Kobe paused leaning back in his chair with a very serious face, letting what he just said to Massy sink in. "People ARE going to test you. Not just the Odeeellllls, not just the Skip Bayless's, not just the opposing teams! The world! The world is going to test you! And you have to let the world know what you will and won't tolerate from it and them! Some things you can let roll off your back, but some things you have to let be known. Test me if you want to, but just know! I'ma light yo ass up if you do." 

Massy was like a sponge every single word that left Kobe's mouth went in one ear but didn't come out the other.