Hoop Dreams Read online

Hoop Dreams #1

  Aaliyah Jackson

  Copyright © 2016 by Aaliyah Jackson

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Chapter 1

  “Ah come on, you’re fucking kidding me here.”

  Darius let out a quiet laugh as he raced up to the hoop to slam dunk the ball. The effortless move of dropping his left shoulder while stepping to the right was all that was needed for him to glide past his opponent with impressive ease to score another two. It was his friend, Aaron, he was playing in the yard of his parents’ home, but in his mind he was destroying superstar professional players on an NBA court. He caught the ball after it bounced once on the ground in front of him then spun round with a smirk on his face.

  “So… what’s the score now?” he joked.

  “Go fuck yourself,” Aaron complained and extended the middle finger of his right hand to emphasize his insult. “We’ve been playing for almost fifteen minutes now and I have four points to my name, but I gave up counting your score about five minutes ago.”

  “I think it’s safe to say I’m winning,” Darius commented.

  “Yeah, so what’s new?” Aaron replied and shook his head. “When was the last time anyone in this neighborhood even got close to beating you in a game of one-on-one?”

  “I think that would be… never,” Darius said in a mocking tone and laughed as he fired the ball across the small court to his friend.

  “Come on,” Aaron protested as he caught it. “Aren’t you bored of showing me up yet?”

  “Nope,” Darius replied. “I could do this all day long.”

  “No, you can’t.”

  The female voice caught their attention and they turned to see Gemini Jones stepping through the garden gate and walking towards them. Aaron bounced the ball to Darius and raised his eyebrows as the grin spread across his face.

  “Hey Gemini,” he said when he turned his attention to the approaching girl. “You’re looking as pretty as ever today.”

  A smile spread across the nineteen-year-old girl’s cute face to show a perfect set of teeth. She lifted a hand to brush her shoulder length curls behind her ear and was aware that the eyes of both young men were on her. It was attention she was used to. Boys had been checking her out since she developed her impressive curves as a young teenager, but she’d only ever had eyes for one person.

  “Thank you, Aaron,” she replied and widened her smile as she looked at him “That’s very nice of you to say.” She walked up to Darius and the smile disappeared from her face as she slapped her fingers across his arm. “You’re my boyfriend, so why is it that the sweet words I’m hearing are coming out the mouth of another guy?”

  Darius shook his head as he looked at his friend.

  “Are you trying to get me in trouble here?” he complained.

  “Me?” Aaron said as he spread his arms wide. “I wouldn’t dream of it, and I think that’s my cue to make myself scarce. I’ll catch you later.”

  The smirk grew wider on his face as he moved towards the gate to leave the yard, and it allowed him to escape the basketball humiliation he just endured.

  “Why aren’t you ready?” Gemini complained when she was alone with her boyfriend.

  “We were just having some fun and getting some exercise to start the day,” Darius protested. “Just give me five minutes and I’ll be good to go.”

  Gemini shook her head as she followed him to the door of the house and they stepped inside to the kitchen. He headed for the stairs, but she went to sit at the table to wait. She stared out of the window as the minutes ticked by and only brought her gaze inside when she heard the sound of the footsteps approaching. It wasn’t Darius, however, and she smiled as she saw his mother come in the room.

  “Hi Mrs. Darnell,” she said. “How are you today?”

  “I’m fine, dear,” the older woman said. “When did you get here?”

  “A couple of minutes ago,” Gemini replied. “I thought I better make sure your son got to the community college instead of playing basketball in the yard all day.”

  “He needs a good smack around the back of the head some days,” Mrs. Darnell replied.

  Gemini couldn’t stop the fit of giggles coming out.

  “You should give him one when he comes down,” she said.

  “I will,” Mrs. Darnell replied. “How are you getting on at college these days?”

  “Good,” Gemini replied. “I’m getting through the work and hopefully will get the results I need when the exams roll around.”

  “I’m sure you will. You’ve always been as smart as you are pretty.”

  “You just say that because I’m your son’s girlfriend,” Gemini said self-effacingly.

  “No,” Mrs. Darnell went on. “I say it because I’ve known you since you were a toddler and you always have been clever. This isn’t the easiest neighborhood in the world to grow up in, and there are plenty of distractions that can knock kids off the straight and narrow, but you always seemed focused on getting what you wanted from a young age. I’ve no doubt that you will.”

  Gemini wasn’t sure she completely shared the unwavering confidence that Darius’s mother showed in her abilities. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in herself, and she was giving the community college her best shot, but she’d always been top of her class in high school by a long way. She wasn’t even close to that now that she was in further education with lots of smart young adults that were intent on doing just as well as her. It meant she was just one of the pack rather than out in front, and it was a slight dent to her confidence that was taking a while to come to terms with.

  When she started studying there, her hope was that she would thrive in the environment, although in truth she was finding it a bit unsettling and difficult to get used to. She got the impression that most of the white kids in her class looked down on her because of the color of her skin. Nothing was explicitly said to her face, but she’d overheard a few comments and couldn’t shake off the feeling that people were saying uncomplimentary things behind her back. It was a new and unnerving experience in her life, but not something she really wanted to think about or admit to anyone else.

  “Thanks for having faith in me,” she said and smiled at Mrs. Darnell. “Now… what about your son?”

  “Oh, he’s a much harder worker than you ever were and it gets worse as he gets older,” Mrs. Darnell replied when she sat down on a chair at the table. “He’s got brains, but unfortunately the good Lord gave him an athletic physique and some talent with a basketball. Keeping him focused on his studies has always been a difficult job, but you know that just as much as I do.”

  The cheeky smirk spread across Gemini’s face.

  “I’m sure a few smacks to the head will sort it out.”

  “He’ll get more than a few from me,” Mrs. Darnell said and laughed. “That boy always did need some tough encouragement to make him concentrate on his work.”

  “I’ll make sure and keep on at him to see that he does,” Gemini said.

  They heard the sound of Darius coming down the stairs and a few seconds later he entered the kitchen.

  “OK, I’m ready,” he said. “We can go.”

  The two women got to their feet as he moved past the table towards the door.

  “Aren’t you going to kiss your mother goodbye?” Mrs. Darnell said.

  “Ah, come on Mum,” he protested. “I’m not six years old.”

  “So what?” she we
nt on and held open her arms.

  Gemini saw Darius looking to her for help, but she kept the smirk off her face and just shrugged her shoulders.

  “You don’t want to upset your mother, do you?” she said.

  Darius let out a slightly irritated sigh as he realized it was two on one and he was in the minority. He stepped over to the table and was leaning in towards his mother when her hand shot up to clip across the back of his skull.

  “Hey,” he complained as he lifted a hand to rub it on his head.

  “I know you have a game tonight,” his mother said. “But make sure you keep your mind on your studies today.”

  “OK,” he said in a miffed voice and rapidly opened a gap between him and his mother in case she decided to emphasize her words with another hit.

  Gemini couldn’t hold in the giggle and she was still laughing when they walked out of the door of the house.

  “That wasn’t funny,” Darius moaned.

  “It was from where I was standing,” she teased him.

  “You would say that,” he let out.

  “Poor baby,” she said as she saw him rub his hand on his head.

  “Can’t believe my mum hit me,” he complained. “It’s not right.”

  Gemini moved closer and wrapped her arms around his neck to haul him down to a kiss.

  “Does that make it better?” she asked as their lips parted.

  “Oh yeah,” he said. “Much, much better… but I think I need more medicine.”

  Gemini laughed as he backed her up to the wall of the house and his mouth came down on hers once more. The kiss was more intense now and there was no missing that Darius was getting excited as his body pressed on hers to trap her in place. The flutter of arousal came on to make her squirm, and she was aware of her boyfriend’s erection digging in her belly.

  “Not here,” she hissed and put her hands on his chest to put a slight gap between them. “Your mum might catch us.”

  “She won’t come out,” Darius said and moved forward.

  He ducked his head down, but Gemini turned her face to the side so that his kiss landed on her cheek rather than her lips.

  “Stop,” she told him. “We have to go.”

  “I can’t,” he said and laughed. “You’re getting me too excited.”

  “So I can feel,” Gemini replied and put her hands on his chest to separate their bodies.

  The sound of the door opening made them spring apart and she almost laughed when she saw Darius swing his bag in front of his crotch to hide the straining outline of his erection.

  “Oh good,” Mrs. Darnell said when she caught sight of them. “You’re still here.”

  “What is it, Mum?” Darius asked as he tried to act normally.

  “Could you do me a favor, Gemini?” the older woman said.

  “Of course,” she replied.

  “I was telling your Aunt Kendra about a new clothes catalog the other day and she asked to have a look at it.” She lifted the glossy book she was holding. “Could you pass it on to her and tell her just to let me know if she wants to order anything?”

  “Sure,” Gemini replied and reached out to take the book.

  “Thanks,” Mrs. Darnell said before she went inside the house.

  Gemini put the book away then knocked her hand against Darius’s bag, which he was still holding in front of his crotch.

  “Pervert,” she said quietly and laughed. “What the hell would you have told your mum if she caught you with that thing trying to rip a hole through the front of your jeans?”

  “That my girlfriend is sexy,” he said and shrugged his shoulders.

  “Uh huh, I believe that,” Gemini went on before turning to walk towards the gate.

  “We’ll just have to find somewhere more private to play,” Darius said when he caught up. “Then we won’t get disturbed.”

  “Is that right?” Gemini replied. “Think you’re going to get lucky, do you?”

  She stepped through the gate to the sidewalk and started walking.

  “We’re not high school kids anymore,” Darius said as he kept pace beside her. “We’re grown ups now.”

  “Oh yeah?” she teased him. “I thought grown up men could control their…” she glanced down towards the bag covering his crotch. “...you know.”

  “What made you think that?” he asked and put his arm around her shoulder to bump his hip on hers. “I can’t help getting excited around your pretty curves.”

  “Yeah, well don’t get your hopes up too high,” Gemini told him. “I’m not planning to fall in the trap of getting pregnant.”

  “We’ll use protection,” Darius said. “You know how much I want to.”

  “Oh, I’m well aware of that,” she said and laughed. “If I’m not mistaken, I just felt how much.”

  “So…” he let out and the word stretched out.

  “Just get your thoughts on college, like your mother just told you,” Gemini told him. “Unless you want her to give you some more smacks upside your head.”

  Darius scowled at the idea and said no more, but Gemini was certain he wouldn’t drop the subject of sex anytime soon. She knew enough from talking to her friends that he was like any other nineteen-year-old guy in that respect, and while she enjoyed the heavy petting they’d indulged in so far, her concerns about getting pregnant were something she couldn’t shake off. It stopped her going any further, but that only raised other worries in that her boyfriend might look elsewhere if he didn’t get what he wanted from her.

  “Come on,” she said. “We can go to my aunt’s house and drop off the catalog before college.”

  “Oh man, do I have to come with you?” he complained.

  “It’s not too far out of our way,” Gemini replied and grabbed his arm to make him follow.

  She tried to clear the thoughts of losing Darius from her mind as she led the way in the direction of her aunt’s home, but they resurfaced when she got there and knocked on the door. It was her cousin Phaedra that came to answer it. The pretty eighteen-year-old girl was wearing a nightdress that was almost indecently short and Gemini was aware of her boyfriend staring.

  “You’re not dressed yet,” she commented as she narrowed her eyes.

  Phaedra just shrugged her shoulders and made a face to show that she didn’t care. He voice came out in an almost sullen tone when she spoke.

  “What do you want?”

  “Is your mum still here?” Gemini asked.

  “She’s up in the bathroom getting ready for work, I think,” Phaedra replied and moved out of the way to let them walk inside then closed the door.

  As her cousin moved in front of them to lead the way to the lounge, Gemini was all the more aware of just how short the nightdress was. It revealed acres of smooth, chocolate-brown skin, and when she glanced over her shoulder, she was sure she saw Darius avert his gaze.

  “What do you want Mum for?” Phaedra asked when she threw herself down on the sofa.

  She took little care to make sure she stayed covered and Gemini caught the flash of white panties as Phaedra got herself comfortable.

  “Darius’s mum asked me to hand in a clothes catalog,” Gemini said and got it out of her bag.

  “Oh OK, I’ll tell her,” Phaedra said and the flash of white panties was on show again as she got to her feet then moved towards the door of the room.

  Gemini’s irritation welled up and she was sure her younger cousin was doing it deliberately for the benefit of her boyfriend. A glance at Darius showed that he probably saw the sexy display and he quickly looked away from Phaedra when he realized his girlfriend was staring in his direction.

  “Enjoying the show?” Gemini hissed in an accusing voice when her cousin walked out of the lounge.

  “What?” Darius protested in an innocent voice and held out his arms. “I didn’t even want to come here. It was you that made me.”

  Gemini couldn’t argue with that, but the fact that she caught her boyfriend staring at another girl
annoyed her. She was about to complain, but the sound of Phaedra’s shout stopped her.

  “Mum, Gemini is here to see you!”

  “I’ll be right down,” the reply came down the stairs.

  Phaedra returned to the lounge.

  “She said…”

  “We heard,” Gemini snapped.

  Phaedra said no more as she returned to the sofa and threw herself down on it. Gemini kept her gaze on Darius and saw that he was looking out of the window. She wondered if he would be doing that if she wasn’t watching him, but pretty much knew the answer. Her cousin was a pretty girl and never short of male attention or admirers. It was that very fact that got her in trouble.

  If Gemini wanted a graphic demonstration of how an unwanted pregnancy could change a girl’s life, she needed to look no further than her eighteen-year-old cousin. The pair of them grew up as close friends during their younger years, but that changed when Phaedra got to her mid-teens. At that point she started hanging around with one of the local street gangs and it meant she pretty much gave up on her studies to start indulging in the pleasures that life had to offer.

  It resulted in the two of them gradually drifting apart, although they still remained friendly at first. Phaedra went through a succession of boys as she dabbled in drugs, drink and sex, with her life going off the rails for a couple of years. She seemed to come out of that difficult period when she ended up in what she told everyone was a serious relationship with a gang member.

  Gemini suspected that things would end up badly and on a couple of occasions tried to talk to her cousin about being careful and not falling too hard. Phaedra resented the intrusion and it soured their relationship to the point that they basically went out of their way to avoid each other.

  When Gemini heard the news of the pregnancy, she knew she’d been right and the prediction of things falling apart came true when Phaedra’s boyfriend abandoned her. It left her alone and expecting a baby at seventeen years old. Against the advice of her family, she went through with the pregnancy, although she put the baby up for adoption when it was born.

  Gemini knew it must have been difficult for her cousin and tried to repair their relationship and offer some help, but Phaedra wasn’t interested in the slightest. Since giving up the baby, her life moved forward with no real direction and she fell in with the original gang she joined in her mid-teens. She was in real danger of repeating her mistakes, but didn’t seem to care.

  The two of them only really talked now when they visited each other’s home, and Gemini got the impression that her cousin was jealous of her stable relationship with Darius. Her suspicion was that Phaedra would happily wreck it or even steal him away from her if the chance presented itself, and she silently cursed herself for insisting that her boyfriend come along that morning. She should have known better and wished she’d waited until evening to bring the catalog, so she could have come alone.

  “Are you looking forward to your basketball game tonight?” Phaedra asked Darius.

  Gemini found herself irritated at the sweet way the words were said and she saw her cousin’s knees were slightly parted. It likely meant that her boyfriend would get another flash of pretty white panties when he answered the question.

  “Yeah, it should be good,” he replied. “I’m sure we’ll get a victory.”

  Phaedra’s seductive sounding laugh made Gemini tighten her lips together to hold in the curse. She wanted to tell her cousin to back off, but knew it would make her look paranoid and she didn’t really want to make a scene in her aunt’s home.

  “With you starring in the team, I’m guessing the win will come easy,” Phaedra went on.

  “I try my best,” Darius said and laughed.

  He seemed to be enjoying the chat a bit too much, and Gemini glared across the room at him. His gaze was fixed on Phaedra as the chat went on and there was no doubt she was playing up to the attention he was showing her.

  “I’ll definitely be coming to watch you,” she told him.

  “Good to hear,” he replied. “We could do with all the support we can get.”

  Gemini suspected it wasn’t the team that her cousin was interested in supporting, and she was about to cut into the conversation, but didn’t need to as her aunt walked in the room.

  “For crying out loud, Phaedra, are you still not dressed?” Kendra let out in an aggrieved voice. “Don’t sit in your nightdress when we have guests.”

  “It’s only Gemini,” Phaedra replied and the slight smirk played on her lips as if she was taking great delight in the words she was saying. “It’s not like it’s anyone special… but I’ll go and get dressed if you insist.”

  She got to her feet and walked nonchalantly across the room to disappear from view.

  “That girl,” Kendra said through tight lips. “I’m sorry about that, Darius.”

  Gemini suspected her boyfriend wasn’t going to complain about the early morning peepshow he just got and it showed in his response.

  “No problem, Mrs. Walker,” he said and smiled.

  Kendra turned her attention to her niece.

  “So… what did you want to see me about?” she asked.

  “Darius’s mother asked me to hand in this fashion catalog,” Gemini answered and raised the book she was holding to show it. “She said the two of you talked about it the other day and you wanted to have a look.”

  “Oh yeah,” Kendra said and reached out to take it.

  “If you see anything you like, you’ve just to let her know,” Gemini went on.

  “I will,” Kendra replied as she quickly flicked through the pages.

  “Anyway, we better go,” Gemini said after a few seconds. “We need to get to college.”

  “I have to make a move for work too,” Kendra said. “Say thanks to your mother from me, Darius.”

  “Sure, I’ll do that,” he agreed then followed Gemini out of the lounge.

  They walked to the door and were just about to walk out the door when the sound of the voice stopped them.

  “Good luck tonight, Darius.”

  They turned to the sight of Phaedra standing at the top of the stairs in a miniskirt that looked even shorter than the nightdress she originally wore when they arrived. Her white t-shirt was cropped and her flat, toned belly was on view. Giving birth didn’t seem to have affected her figure and the outfit was definitely putting her cute curves on display.

  “Thanks,” Darius replied.

  “I’ll see you later… at the game,” Phaedra went on.

  “Yeah, sure,” he replied. “I’m looking forward to it.”

  Gemini grabbed his arm to drag him out through the front door then slammed it shut. She remained quiet until they were heading along the sidewalk in the direction of the college.

  “Do you have to play up to her?” she complained.

  “What?” Darius protested.

  “I’m looking forward to it,” she let out in a bad imitation of his voice.

  “I was just being nice to a member of your family,” Darius said. “What did you expect me to do? Tell her to fuck off?”

  “Yes,” Gemini snapped, but knew she was just being petulant. “Do you have to say anything?”

  “Oh, so now I’m supposed to ignore her,” he said in an irritated voice. “At least she takes an interest in my basketball game… unlike some others I could mention.”

  The accusation annoyed Gemini.

  “I take an interest,” she said.

  “Yeah,” Darius said in a sullen mutter. “But you only do that to tell me not to bother wasting my time.”

  “That’s not true,” Gemini replied. “All I’ve ever said is that making a living in basketball isn’t easy. I mean, how many people that actually play the sport go all the way to the NBA and have a career with a professional team? I’m guessing that plenty have tried and fallen by the wayside.”

  “That doesn’t mean I will,” Darius contested.

  “No,” Gemini conceded. “But there’s a
huge chance it won’t happen, and you need something to fall back onto if it doesn’t. There’s no point in just putting all your energies into basketball when the chances of succeeding at it are so small. Concentrating on your studies is more important at this stage of your life.”

  Darius shook his head as his irritation grew.

  “Well, it’s nice to know you believe in me,” he grumbled.

  She put her hand on his arm to make him stop walking.

  “I do believe in you,” she said. “All I’m saying is that you have to be realistic in your aims.”

  “What, like you are?” he replied in an irked voice.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” she countered.

  “Where the hell are you going to find the money to go to law school?” Darius challenged her. “And what makes you think that a little African American girl from our rundown neighborhood can succeed in that white collar culture?”

  Gemini’s lips tightened together as she stared at her boyfriend. The comments stung, but only because she knew there was an element of truth to them. Her plan to study law would be expensive and she didn’t know where the money to pay for it would come from. The fact that she was struggling to adjust to community college also raised the fears in her mind that she might not be cut out for law school.

  “Well… who doesn’t believe in who now?” she snapped and turned away from her boyfriend to start walking again.

  Darius saw the expression on her face before she moved away from him and he was the one that made the conciliatory gesture to end the brief flare of anger.

  “Come on, I didn’t mean it,” he shouted after her. “Let’s not begin the day with a fight.”

  He caught up with her and slung his arm around her shoulder to pull her close as they walked. She tried to shrug it off, but gave up after a couple of attempts and they remained silent for the rest of the way to the college. They turned to each other when they got to the door of the main building.

  “I’m sorry about what I said,” he told her.

  “Yeah, me too,” she replied.

  “You’ll come and watch me play tonight, right?” Darius encouraged her.

  Gemini could never resist his sweet face and her mood lightened when he smiled at her.

  “Yes… I’ll come,” she agreed. “Don’t I always?”

  She tilted her head up as he leaned in to a kiss and put a smile on her face when their lips parted.

  “Just concentrate on your studies for the day first, OK?” she said.

  “Yeah, sure,” Darius replied. “Of course I will. I’ll meet you here after the game tonight.”

  He leaned down to another kiss and they parted company when they stepped through the door into the building. Gemini glanced over her shoulder as she walked away and saw Darius meet up with one of his basketball-playing friends. She saw them laugh and suspected it wasn’t their studies they were joking about. It made her shake her head, but she brought her gaze to the front and headed for the classroom of her first lecture to get her college day started.