Chapter 2
“Coop for the three!” the announcer shouted over the crowd.
Boos and cheers filled the arena. I couldn’t celebrate the shot because there were still two minutes left on the clock, and I wouldn’t celebrate until the game was over. Anything could happen in the few minutes we had left of the game, and the opposing team had the ball.
“Oh no! Julian Whetstone for the steal!”
I looked down the court and watched as my teammate and best friend stole the ball. He dribbled down the court, and when he got close enough, he passed it to me. With the shot clock winding down, I dribbled the ball twice and shot it.
“Another three! The Woodlake Valley Warriors have won the game!”
My teammates and I walked over to the other team and shook hands and all that other shit we did after each game.
Afterward, we headed to the locker room. I was ready to get out of there, but I knew I had to talk to the press.
Being the leading point guard for the Woodlake Valley Warriors, I was required to talk to the reporters after each game. Sometimes, I hated talking to them because some of them liked to ask shit that had nothing to do with the game.
“Good game, Coop,” Julian commented as we entered the locker room.
I slapped his open palm. “Shit, you did your thing too. That was a good ass steal.”
Julian was considered a small forward, but at times, he played all five positions. We became instant friends the minute we met in college and have been ever since.
“You know me.” He dusted imaginary dirt off his shoulders and laughed.
I shook my head and chuckled before grabbing my stuff so I could take a quick shower and change. I knew the press waited for me, but I needed to wash the sweat off me. I wouldn’t make them wait long, but they knew the routine.
Twenty minutes later, I headed out of the locker room and walked down to the conference room.
Cameras flashed as soon as I stepped through the door.
“Coop! Coop!” My name was called multiple times as I took a few steps to the table. Coach Collins, Julian, and one of the centers were already there.
Questions were coming from left to right, but I ignored most of them.
“Calil, what was going through your mind when you hit that last three?”
I looked toward the voice that asked the question and smirked.
Clarissa Wakefield was one fine-ass reporter. She had ass for days and could suck a mean dick. I wasn’t surprised she was here because she made it her business to make it to almost all of our away games and my bed by the end of the night.
“To be honest, nothing.” I chuckled, and so did everyone else. I could have made that shot in my sleep, but I wasn’t cocky. “Nah. I just knew I needed it to go in so we could remain in the lead. Then, with Stone stealing the ball, the game was ours.” I glanced down at Julian and nodded.
Clarissa looked between both of us, and there was a look that told me that the night might get a little interesting.
Julian and I had shared women before, but it had been a while.
I wasn’t opposed to it since Clarissa wasn’t my girl.
I hadn’t had a girl in years and wasn’t looking for one.
My wife was basketball, and that was it.
My mother sometimes hounded me about settling down, but I didn’t see that in the cards for me.
There was too much pussy in the world to settle down with one girl.
An hour later, Julian and I were in the parking garage, headed to our cars, when Clarissa called my name.
Julian’s car was next to mine, so he stopped when I stopped.
“Hey, are you going to your usual spot?” she asked. Her eyes darted back and forth between Julian and me.
“I’ll give y’all some privacy,” Julian stated.
He turned to walk away, but Clarissa stopped him.
“Wait. Maybe you can come too if Coop doesn’t mind.”
Julian looked my way, and I nodded. If she wanted to get fucked by the both of us, I had no problem with it.
Clarissa and I fucked around for six months, but she was free to do whatever she wanted with her body.
She just knew to come whenever I called, and she did with no issues.
That was why I kept her around. She knew her place and didn’t bother me otherwise.
“Shit, if that’s what you want to do, shorty, I have no qualms about it.”
Clarissa stepped closer to Julian and ran one of her long nails down the center of his chest. “That’s exactly what I want to do.”
“Say less. I’ll meet y’all at the spot,” Julian said then walked toward his car.
When he was out of earshot, I focused on Clarissa. She and I had never had a threesome, and I honestly didn’t think she was the type.
“Are you sure about this?”
“I’m very sure. I’ll see you shortly.” She winked and walked away.
I watched her until she got to her car then walked to mine. Everybody was on the same page, so there was nothing else that needed to be said. When I got to my car, I started it up. The roar of the engine echoed through the almost empty parking garage.
I didn’t have to tell Julian where to go because we only stayed at the Ferguson Hotel whenever it was one in the city.
If there wasn’t, we stayed at another five-star hotel, but the Ferguson was our preferred location.
I never had a problem with groupies in the lobby when I stayed there, and none of my guests were bothered either.
The paparazzi didn’t stick around either because they didn’t play that shit there.
I had full discretion, and that was why I loved going there.
It was a bonus that it was black owned. Julian and I arrived at the hotel at the same time.
“How are you just getting here?” I asked as I stepped out of the car.
“I had to make a pit stop. I wasn’t expecting shit, so I had to be prepared.” He smirked as he grabbed his bag from the back seat.
“Shit, I wasn’t expecting it either. She ain’t ever said anything about fucking with you.”
We walked side by side to the elevator.
“This ain’t new for us, but are you okay with it? I know y’all been kicking it for a minute.”
I pressed the button for the elevator then slid my hand into my pocket. I silently prayed there wasn’t a random person getting off the elevator, even though we were at the one that was for VIP guests only. Random groupies would somehow find a way back there.
“We cool, but we ain’t like that. You know I would have said something if I wasn’t with it.”
“I know. I just wanted to make sure,” Julian replied as the elevator door opened.
Luckily, it was empty, so we stepped on and pressed the button for our floor.
I could see why Julian asked if I was sure because Clarissa had been around for longer than anyone else I fucked off with. He assumed I had developed feelings for her, but I hadn’t. She was a decent chic, but that’s where shit ended with us.
“It’s all good. She might take a minute to get here, so if you need to go to your room, you can,” I told him as we stepped off the elevator.
“Aight. I’m going to shower and shit, then I’ll be down there.”
“Bet.”
When we made it down the hall, Julian went to his room, and I continued down the hall to mine.
I already took a shower at the arena, and since I planned on getting dirty, I didn’t take another one.
While I waited for the party to get started, I took a couple of shots of brown liquor.
I just needed a little something to take the edge off because I was still a little hyped from the game.
A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. I knew it was Clarissa, so I put my glass down and went to open it for her.
“Hey, where’s Julian?” she asked as she walked in. She wore a trench coat, but I knew she didn’t have anything on underneath it.
“He’ll be here soon. You want a drink?” I walked over to the bar to pour myself another shot and get her one if she wanted it.
“Yes.”
I turned my back to make the drinks, and when I turned back around, Clarissa was in the middle of the floor with a red lingerie set that barely covered anything. Her ass was so fat I could see it from the front.
She slowly walked toward me with her eyes low and full of lust. I loved that she didn’t waste time. I was tired, but my dick needed to be drained before I went to bed.
Clarissa took the shot glass from my hand, threw it back, and reached for the band of my sweats. By the time I took my shot, my dick was in her mouth.
“Fuck.” I groaned as my shit hit the back of her throat.
I leaned against the bar to steady myself. Clarissa gagged on my dick just as the door opened. I knew he was coming, so I didn’t close the door all the way when I opened it for Clarissa.
“Damn, y’all got the party started without me,” Julian declared as he walked further into the room.
“Let’s move this to the room,” I told them as I removed myself from Clarissa’s mouth. We needed room for the shit we had planned.
A few hours later, Julian and Clarissa had left, and I was showered, in bed, and on my way to sleep when my phone rang.
My heart raced when I saw my mother’s number because it was late, and she rarely called me late at night.
“Ma, you good?”
“Hey, Lil. I didn’t mean to call you this late, but your grandfather fell.”
I immediately sat up. My thoughts briefly drifted to a long time ago because there was only one other person outside of my family who called me Lil, and I hadn’t seen her in years.
“What? Is he okay?” I swung my legs over the side of the bed. I needed to get my shit to get back home.
“Yeah. He went to the hospital, but he’ll be fine.”
“I’m on my way,” I told her while getting out of bed.
“No. No. He’s fine. Take your time getting back. I wasn’t going to call you, but I didn’t need you to find out from someone else. Trust me, son.”
I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. I needed to get my heart rate back to its normal rate. If my mother said my grandfather was fine, then I’d take her word for it.
“Okay, Ma. I’ll be there to see him soon, though. I need to lay eyes on him.”
“I know, baby. I’ll give you a call tomorrow.”
We said our goodbyes and laid back down.
I stared at the ceiling and said a quick prayer.
My grandfather was my favorite person out of anyone in my family, including my parents.
He was my mother’s father and the man I was named after.
He was also the reason I got into basketball when I was just three years old.
Grandpa was the first person to put a ball in my hand.
We would watch games together every basketball season.
He taught me how to shoot as well as I did.
I couldn’t imagine life without him. I didn’t even want to think about that, so I shook those negative thoughts off. I had a few days before the next game, so I arranged to get back home. I wouldn’t be satisfied until I made sure my grandfather was okay.