Hoop Dreams Read online

Chapter 2

  The chanting of the crowd could be heard in the small locker room, but Darius tuned it out as he focused his mind on the battle ahead. He’d always viewed basketball as going to war and winning was all important to him, whether it was one-on-one playing a friend in his parents’ yard or a matchup with one of his college team’s fiercest rivals for the championship. It was the latter he was about to play in and while it was still very early in the season, he knew that a positive victory would set them on the road towards a successful few months.

  He closed his eyes to visualize hitting basket after basket from every area of the court then driving past opponents as if they weren’t there. The mental imagery was a technique he’d been taught as a young kid and he still used it to good effect before every game to get him in the zone to perform. He was oblivious to the activities of others around him and just concentrated his mind on what he was about to do. As far as he was concerned, that meant being the best player on the court and dominating his opponents. It was only when Coach Wilson started giving his pre-game pep talk that he opened his eyes again.

  Nervous tension made Darius’s foot tap incessantly on the floor and he now just wanted the game to start. He stared down at the ground as he half listened to the instructions being handed out and willed the minutes to pass, so he could get out on the court. When the talking ended, he was on his feet immediately and he joined in the shouting as the team pumped themselves up for action.

  The coach led the way out of the locker room and the wide smile spread across Darius’s face as he walked through the door to the court. The home crowd yelled their support as he and the others moved courtside and he enjoyed the acclaim washing over them. That a community college game could draw such a large, enthusiastic crowd always surprised him, but the noisy bedlam around them only increased his hunger to get in front of the watching people and perform.

  The team was quick to move onto the court and go through their pre-match shooting and running drills before moving to a huddle at the side for some last minute words of wisdom from the coach. They broke from it and Darius joined the four other players that were starting the game. It was him that moved to the center circle and the smirk crossed his face when he saw the guy he would be jumping off against. It meant the comment that came his way wasn’t a complete surprise.

  “Ready to get fucked?”

  “Joey, you should stick to using your mouth for what God intended,” Darius replied immediately.

  “Oh yeah, what’s that?” his opponent asked.

  The referee moved in between them and got ready to throw the ball in the air and Darius waited until it was just about to happen before he answered.

  “Kissing my ass,” he said.

  He launched himself explosively in the air to win the jump off and let out a dismissive laugh as he shoved past his opponent to move up the court. The ball was returned to him almost instantly when he was in space and he held off the man that came to him as he checked his options. Another quick exchange of passes got him in behind the defense and he drove forward then drew the last opponent between him and the hoop. A bounce pass put in a teammate for an easy slam dunk and it gave them a two point lead within ten seconds of the game starting.

  “Do I get that ass kiss now or at the end of the game?” he taunted as he ran past the man he jumped off against.

  “Fuck you,” Joey replied.

  The whirlwind start set the tone for the first quarter and Darius put on a regal display to help in sealing a twelve point lead by the time it ended. That only increased over the next three quarters and when the game was coming to a close, it was extended to twenty-three. It was proving to be a convincing victory that showed their credentials as contenders for the championship and the crowd was lapping it up.

  The last action saw Darius draw a foul and he listened to the chanting of his name as he stepped up to the free throw line. He tuned out the loud noise around him to concentrate as he bounced the ball then put it cleanly through the hoop. The second throw was completed with similar aplomb and the crowd counted down the last few seconds on the clock of what was an impressive win.

  The final free throws brought Darius’s individual haul of points to twenty-two, and he was the top scorer as well as the stand out performer of the game. The adrenaline pumped through his veins as he high-fived his fellow team members and they reveled in the adulation of the watching people before finally walking courtside. The coach got everyone in a huddle to pass on his final thoughts and congratulations before they split apart.

  Darius looked to the crowd in search of Gemini, but it was a lithe pair of legs that his gaze settled on. He knew who they belonged to immediately and looked up to see Phaedra blow a cheeky kiss in his direction. Her figure looked amazing in the short skirt and tight, cropped t-shirt she was wearing, and the thoughts that went through his head as he stared weren’t those of a committed boyfriend. He shook them off quickly as he returned to his search for Gemini, but he didn’t catch sight of her before joining the others in making their way to have a shower and get changed.

  Darius walked to his locker and opened it up to get the towel from inside. He dropped down on the bench in front of it and brought the material to his face as he thought about the performance he just put in. A personal haul of more than twenty points was good going, and the way they easily swatted aside one of their main rivals for the championship was a good sign of their prospects. A hand clapping on his shoulder made him look to see who it was and he watched as a teammate sat beside him.

  “That was some game, bud,” Anton said.

  “Thanks,” Darius replied as he dropped the towel and took his sweat-soaked top off. “We could be on for a good season.”

  “Yeah,” Anton agreed enthusiastically. “They’re usually one of the colleges vying for the title, so if we’re putting them to the sword by twenty-five points, it can only be good news for us.”

  Darius got to his feet to remove his shorts and underwear then wrapped the towel around his waist. He sat down again to finish the job of stripping by taking off his trainers and socks.

  “Time for a shower,” he said and was about to stand up, but his friend’s comment stopped him.

  “Did you hear about this state-level exhibition game?” Anton asked.

  A frown creased Darius’s brow as he shook his head.

  “Nope,” he said. “It’s news to me. What is it?”

  “Some promoter is funding a college exhibition game,” Anton replied. “It’s being billed as a way to find the stars of the future.”

  Darius was suddenly intrigued at the prospect of what he was listening to.

  “How did you hear about it?” he asked.

  “My dad saw an advert for it in the basketball magazine he reads and he told me about it,” Anton replied. “Supposedly players have to be getting a game regularly for their college team and be put forward by their coach. My dad said I should give it a go, but I’m guessing being the star player in your college team is the starting point for really having a chance.”

  “Yeah,” Darius agreed. “Did you speak to the coach about it?”

  “Nope,” Anton replied. “I enjoy playing basketball for the college, but am smart enough to know I’m not destined for the top and have other plans for a career anyway. You, on the other hand…”

  “Will there be scouts at the game?” Darius went on.

  “It’s the only reason I can see for holding it,” Anton replied. “I’m guessing the college coaches will show their faces, but I’m sure the NBA teams will be represented at it too. They’re always on the lookout for the next big thing, and if this game showcases the best of college talent, I can’t see them not attending.”

  “That makes sense,” Darius mused almost to himself.

  “After tonight’s performance, you should definitely give this exhibition game a shot,” Anton said.

  Darius nodded his head as he got to his feet and a smile spread across his face.

  “Than
ks bud,” he said and clasped hands with his friend.

  He then walked across to the door in the corner of the locker room and moved through to the bathroom area. Hanging up his towel on one of the wall hooks, he stepped under a large showerhead and turned on the water. The massaging jets felt good on his tired muscles and he usually enjoyed standing under them for a while. On this occasion he was grabbing for a fresh bar of soap from the wall shelf straight away and was quick to wash away the sweat of the game.

  He lowered the temperature of the water as he rinsed the lather from his body and stood for less than thirty seconds to cool down before switching off the shower then going to get his towel. After drying himself, he wrapped the wet material around his waist and returned to his locker. He was dressed and ready to leave before most of the others even finished their showers, and there was only one place he was heading for when he walked out the door to the hallway. Less than thirty seconds later he was standing in front of the coach’s office and he inhaled deeply to calm the sudden upwelling of nerves before knocking on the door and opening it to walk inside.

  “Hey, Darius,” Coach Wilson said when he glanced up from his desk. “Take a seat.”

  Darius closed the door then walked across the room to sit down on the chair on the opposite side of the desk.

  “Have you…” he started, but didn’t get the chance to finish.

  “You were on fire tonight,” Coach Wilson said.

  “I felt good out there,” Darius replied. “The whole team played well.”

  “Well, if you and the other boys can perform like that every week, we should definitely have a winning season this year.”

  The chat continued for the next few minutes about the game, but Darius was desperate to get the topic of conversation around to what he really wanted to talk about. He didn’t miss his opportunity when it finally arrived.

  “Did you just want to talk about the game or…” Coach Wilson said.

  “I was just speaking to Anton,” Darius jumped in. “He was telling me about a college exhibition game that some promoter is putting on. Do you know anything about it?”

  “Only what I’ve read,” Coach Wilson answered.

  He reached out to open the top drawer of his desk and brought out a glossy magazine. Darius guessed it was the one that Anton’s father read and he leaned forward to look at the advert when it was placed in front of him.

  “Would you put me forward for it?” he asked when he glanced up from the page.

  “I’m not sure if they would take someone from a community college,” Coach Wilson replied.

  “It just says players that turn out regularly for their college basketball team,” Darius pointed out. “I do that and I was the best player on the court tonight against one of our main rivals. There’s surely no harm in asking about the chances of me taking part. The worst that could happen is they say no.”

  Coach Wilson said nothing as he reached out to take hold of the magazine and pull it to his side of the desk. He read through the advert then looked up from it.

  “There’s nothing I can do just now,” he said. “Leave it with me and I’ll give them a call tomorrow to see what they say.”

  Coach Wilson’s relatively lukewarm response didn’t exactly fill Darius with confidence.

  “I’d really like a chance at this,” he said. “I want to test myself against the best and this would give me a chance to see if I’m really as good as I think I am. It would reflect well on the college too and your coaching skills to have someone from the team playing in that game.”

  Coach Wilson was quiet for a few seconds and Darius could see that his mind was ticking over. It seemed his words got the older man thinking.

  “That’s true,” Coach Wilson eventually said a bit more enthusiastically. “Let me speak to them in the morning and I’ll see what the chances are of getting your name put forward.”

  The smile spread across Darius’s face as he got to his feet.

  “Thanks,” he said. “I’ll check in with you tomorrow after my classes are finished.”

  “Sure,” Coach Wilson said. “I’ll see you then.”

  Darius couldn’t hold down the elation as he walked to the door and left the office. Starring for the community college team was a buzz that he enjoyed, but he always knew that it was going to take something more than that to bring him to the attention of the prestigious basketball colleges or an NBA scout. The exhibition game was that chance and he could only hope that his coach put in the effort to find out about it.

  He wouldn’t know anything until the following day, but there was no clearing the opportunity from his mind as he headed towards the front door of the main college building to meet Gemini. The crowds usually dispersed quickly after the game and it was no surprise that the corridors were deserted, but he realized that someone was still around when he heard the voices just before he turned a corner. The surprise showed on his face when he was confronted by Phaedra and a couple of her friends.

  “Hey Darius,” she said immediately and the way she spoke made it obvious that the meeting wasn’t a surprise to her. “I just wanted to say you were awesome tonight.”

  “Oh… yeah,” he replied. “Thanks.”

  He remembered seeing her cute outfit at the end of the game, but he was now getting a close up view of just how pretty it was on her. The way the skirt and cropped top clung to her figure was something special, but he knew he shouldn’t be staring. It reminded him of being at her home earlier in the day when she was wearing the short nightdress that let him get a flash of her panties. The image of it came in his mind and he fought off the slight flicker of arousal.

  “We were just saying that someone playing that good should get a reward for their efforts,” Phaedra went on in a teasing voice. “Weren’t we, girls?”

  Her cheeky comment brought out giggles from her two friends.

  “Yeah,” one of them said. “And Phaedra knows just how to give a guy a special treat to reward him when he’s good.”

  “Shut up,” Phaedra complained, but the smile that flashed across her face showed that she didn’t mind what was said.

  The sexual innuendo of the comment wasn’t lost on Darius, and he suddenly found himself wondering just what Phaedra would do if she got the opportunity. The fact that she’d already been through a pregnancy showed that she was prepared to go all the way with a guy. Not that he was about to try and take advantage of that, but he got the impression that his girlfriend’s cousin wouldn’t mind if he did.

  “No need for a reward,” he said. “I’m just glad you enjoyed the game.”

  “Oh, that’s a shame,” Phaedra went on teasing. “Boys always seem to like the treats I give them.”

  She lifted a hand to stroke a fingertip around her mouth and Darius was mesmerized for a few seconds before he decided that he should extricate himself from the situation before things got out of hand.

  “I’m sure they do,” he said and smiled. “But Gemini is waiting for me, so I better get going before she comes looking for me.”

  “Your loss,” Phaedra said when he moved around her and started walking. “But you know where to find me if you ever want to find out how good I can make a guy feel.”

  The cheeky giggling of the three girls followed him down the corridor and the idea of them on their knees before him flashed through his mind, but he cleared the thoughts away as he walked the rest of the way to the front door of the building and stepped through it.

  “Hey,” he said and smiled at Gemini.

  “Hey yourself,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to a kiss. She went on speaking when it ended. “You played fantastic tonight. Everyone in the crowd was raving about you.”

  “Coach Wilson said I was on fire,” he said and laughed.

  He thought about the meeting he just had in the coach’s office and the elation that he might be on the verge of showcasing his basketball talents to some important people welled up again.

>   “You were on fire,” Gemini agreed and leaned in to another kiss.

  Darius hugged her close and wondered if he should tell her about the opportunity. In the end he decided not to. This was partly because it might come to nothing, but also because he suspected his girlfriend probably wouldn’t be overjoyed about it. Her idea was for him to concentrate on his studies and treat basketball as a hobby, but that wasn’t the way he saw it. Telling her about the opportunity would likely just get him another lecture about how the chance of making it to the big leagues was miniscule, and he could do without someone raining on his parade. His family would likely be the same and he decided that he would keep things to himself.

  “We should go,” Gemini said when they unlocked themselves from the embrace.

  Darius nodded and they held hands as they made the walk home. They arrived at his house first and Phaedra’s comment about a reward popped in his mind. It gave him ideas and he decided to see if he could turn them to reality.

  “Come inside for a while,” he said. “It’s still early.”

  “I should really get going,” Gemini replied. “I have some coursework I should get started.”

  “Come on,” Darius let out. “Help to celebrate a good night for me. Don’t just leave me on my own.”

  Gemini resisted the pull on her wrist at first, but laughed as she finally relented and let herself be led inside the property.

  “Just for a short while,” she told him.

  “Is that you Darius?” his mother shouted.

  “Yeah, it’s me,” he replied.

  They walked to the lounge door and looked inside the room.

  “Hi,” Gemini said and smiled at his parents.

  “How did the game go?” Darius’s father asked.

  “We stormed it and won by twenty-five points,” Darius replied.

  “He was the best player on the court by a long way,” Gemini chipped in. “The crowd was chanting his name by the end of the fourth quarter.”

  “We’re just going upstairs for a while,” Darius went on to bring the brief conversation to an end. “Gemini has some coursework she wants to show me.”

  “Don’t be long,” his mother shouted after them.

  The smile spread across Darius’s face as he led the way up the stairs and he closed the door of his bedroom when they were inside.

  “Coursework?” Gemini queried and laughed.

  “What?” he protested. “It seemed as good an excuse as any to get you up here.”

  “Is that right?” she replied. “And what coursework should I show you?”

  She dropped her bag then backed away from him when he approached and her heartbeat started to race faster as she ran out of space to escape his advances. A shiver trickled down her spine as she touched the wall behind her and she was all too aware of Darius’s erection coming to life against her belly as they kissed. It reminded her of that morning when his mother almost caught them in an embrace and the same fear reared up in her mind.

  “Your parents are in the house,” she said when she put hands on his chest to push him away.

  “They’re downstairs,” he told her. “And they won’t come up here. It’s still early and they won’t go to bed for ages yet.”

  “Your mother always tells you to leave the door open when we’re in here together,” Gemini said. “What if she does come up?”

  “Come on,” he encouraged her. “We’re not kids anymore.”

  His mouth came down on hers and she was all too aware of his hands roaming over her body. The flutter of arousal it brought on was unstoppable, but she knew she needed to control herself. The embarrassment of being caught by her boyfriend’s parents in a compromising situation didn’t bear thinking about and she wasn’t about to take that chance.

  “Stop,” she said in a hoarse gasp as she pushed him away. “We can’t do this when your parents are here.”

  “Please,” Darius appealed in a strained voice. “Can’t you feel how turned on I am for you?”

  He grabbed her hand and brought it to his crotch before she could stop him and her fingers brushed across the solid bulge in his jeans.

  “We can’t,” she hissed, but Darius was too powerful and she was unable to drag her hand away.

  Her palm pressed on the outline of his solid cock and she could feel the throb of hot blood pumping. It made her shudder.

  “No,” she let out. “It’s too risky with your parents in the house.”

  Darius released his grip on her hand and she yanked it away, but his arms came around her to pull her to an embrace and all she could think about was the hardness of his cock pressing on her belly. He gripped his hands on her butt as he ducked his mouth down to her neck. The soft kisses made her rock her head back, but it just exposed more of her throat and she was getting lost to the eager caress of lips pressing on her sensitive skin.

  “We can’t,” she said half-heartedly, but she was unable to resist the thrill of the touches.

  Darius gripped her ass cheeks tighter to hold her in place and circled his hips to grind his stiff shaft on her belly. It made her all too conscious of how erect he was and she could feel herself succumbing to the point where she was struggling to resist his advances. She summoned on the last of her resolve to push her boyfriend away and heard his disappointed groan.

  “Not when your parents are here,” she told him. “We can’t.”

  “Don’t leave me like this,” he pleaded. “It will be just like this morning.”

  The memory of his mum almost catching him with his cock bursting out of his jeans made her giggle.

  “It’s not funny,” he complained and grabbed her wrist to haul her over to the bed.

  He threw himself down on it, but Gemini just sat at the edge of the mattress.

  “Please,” he begged her.

  “Just jack yourself off in the shower when I’m gone,” she said with a grin. “I’m sure you’ve done that before.”

  “It feels better when you do it,” he replied.

  Gemini’s gaze flicked to his crotch and she couldn’t contain the flicker of longing that erupted. She glanced towards the door as her nerves came on stronger, but the idea of relenting to give her boyfriend what he wanted was growing in her mind. It wouldn’t be the first occasion she’d jacked him off, but his parents were never in the house when they did it before and her concerns of being caught in the act made her hesitate.

  Darius wasn’t about to give up though and he lifted his butt from the bed as he loosened his jeans. It allowed him to ease them down his thighs and suddenly there was only a pair of underpants between Gemini and a rampant, throbbing cock. Her breath came out in shallow gasps as the temptation grew.

  “This is crazy,” she said.

  “I’ll go crazy if you don’t,” he said and laughed, but the sound cut off almost immediately as his breath rasped out.

  Gemini glanced towards the door again before finally making up her mind.

  “Take your boxer shorts down,” she said when she brought her gaze to her boyfriend.

  He grabbed his t-shirt to haul it up from his belly than grabbed his underwear to drag the material down.

  “Fuck,” Gemini said when she caught sight of her boyfriend’s raging erection.

  It was her usual reaction to seeing it because the size scared and excited her. The blood was really pumping to make it quiver and twitch and she stared at the bulging veins that lined its length. Darius squirmed as she reached out and she heard his groan as she curled her fingers around it.

  “So good,” he let out in a rush of breath.

  “I haven’t done anything yet,” Gemini replied and giggled.

  The nervous excitement was making her tremble as she squeezed tightly around solid cock. Her grip only covered half its length and she stared at the slick, dark head. It already glistened with pre-cum and she saw more drops leak out when she began to slide her hand up and down. It made Darius lift his ass up from the bed and his buttocks clenched tightly t
ogether as the rush of hot, sensual pleasure flooded his body.

  “Fuck,” he hissed through gritted teeth.

  Gemini glanced up to see his eyes were tightly shut, but she brought her gaze down to what she was doing as she continued to stroke her fingers along the dark length of his erect manhood. She liked the way she was making it throb and jerk and gradually quickened the pace of her stroking to drive her boyfriend towards what he wanted. It made her squirm as the wetness of her own excitement moistened her panties and she found herself wondering what it would be like to have the thick, black length fucking in her pussy.

  She knew that Darius wanted to, but was all too aware that the consequences would be on her head if sex resulted in a pregnancy. It would mean putting off her studies or even abandoning them altogether and she wasn’t planning to let that happen, so heavy petting was as far as she was prepared to let things go. It was easy to say, but more difficult to put in action when she was stroking her boyfriend’s erect length, and the urge to go further was there in her mind again.

  She cleared away the unwelcome thoughts as she concentrated her efforts on making Darius cum and her breath came out in ragged gasps as she tightened her grasp and jerked her fingers up and down his long length.

  “Shut up,” she gasped when his groans got louder.

  “Can’t help it,” he replied in a strained voice and squirmed around on the mattress.

  “Bite your fucking lip or something,” she hissed. “I don’t want your parents hearing what we’re doing.”

  She saw him sink his teeth in his bottom lip as she increased the rhythm of the stroking further until her hand was racing fast along his strong, pulsing erection. Her panties got wetter still as she closed in on a moment she liked watching and Darius writhed around on the mattress as his heavy sacs tightened up to his body. His desperate gasps told a story and she knew he was trying to hold on for as long as possible to enjoy the attention she was giving him.

  The smirk played on her lips as she brought her free hand to his balls and massaged them. It was the spark that brought things to an end and she knew that he was about to unload when the tension made his body arch up from the mattress. She heard his guttural moan as the pleasure overwhelmed him and his cock twitched strongly in her hand as a powerful jet of cum blasted over his stomach.

  Gemini gasped as she saw the creamy white streak splash on dark skin and squeezed her fingers tightly around her boyfriend’s cock as his body convulsed. It sent more sticky white strings of cum raining down on his midriff and she watched open-eyed at the sexy sight of what she was doing. As the eruption slowed, she squeezed her fingers up his cock to just below the head to milk every last drop out and giggled when Darius slumped down to the bed and lay gasping for breath.

  “Just imagine if your mother walked in the room now,” she teased him.

  “Fuck off,” he replied in a breathless voice.

  Gemini stared at the sticky mess on her boyfriend’s body as she carried on sliding her fingers up and down his cock and it was only when the power drained from it that she stopped. She wiped her hand on his thigh and grinned as he complained about her doing it.

  “You should shower,” she told him as she got to her feet.

  “You’re going?” he asked as he pushed himself up to a sitting position.

  “You got what you wanted,” Gemini went on. “So stop complaining.”

  She walked across the room, but waited until Darius got off the bed and out of sight to anyone in the hallway before she opened the door. A glance showed there was no one actually there and she guessed his parents were still in the lounge.

  “See you tomorrow, lover boy,” she said and watched him strip off his clothes to get a glimpse of his naked body before leaving.

  She walked down the stairs and the lounge door was open, so there was no chance of just sneaking out.

  “That’s me leaving,” she said when she stopped at the lounge door.

  “Is your coursework finished already?” Mrs. Darnell asked.

  Gemini was immediately aware of the flush of heat on her face and hoped she was far enough away from Darius’s parents that the blush wasn’t too obvious.

  “Yeah,” she said. “We got things done. Goodnight.”

  She was already walking away as they answered and was quick to move to the kitchen door and leave.

  “Idiot,” she muttered under her breath as she thought about what she’d just done, but the comment didn’t stop a smile spreading across her face as she let herself out of the garden gate and headed in the direction of her home.