by E. Walsh
Or so Jonah thought, until he woke up one night to go to the bathroom and noticed Steve sleeping without his blanket.
Completely naked.
Jonah should have just looked away and left him alone. He should have just gone back to bed. Instead, he found himself staring at Steve’s smooth and flawless skin, at his silky hair, the toned muscles of his back and his tight, lean buttocks.
An amazing body.
Show-off.
As if that wasn’t enough, Steve suddenly turned and Jonah’s eyes fell on his broad chest and chiseled abs, a thin trail of hair leading from his bellybutton to his long cock, which was lying lazily over his right thigh.
Now, Jonah looked away, quickly heading to the bathroom. But it was too late. What he had seen remained stuck in his head and it was having a weird effect on him, making him feel light-headed and warm.
No, not warm. More like... hot.
And the heat was gathering right between his legs.
He had felt this way twice before; the first time when one of his teammates in high school mischievously dropped his towel in the locker room, and the second when he went to a party where someone drunk was strip dancing on top of the dining table. It was another reason why he wasn’t interested in girls.
Guys interested him more.
Jonah had never gone out with a guy, though, or told anyone of his preference. And he had no intention of doing so, either. It was just a preference, simple admiration. Nothing more.
Only the throbbing between his legs wasn’t nothing.
Slowly, he reached inside his boxers, wrapped his fingers around his aching cock and started stroking furiously. It took only a few moments before he found relief, covering his hand and the inside of his boxers in the hot cum. He leaned against the wall, breathless, staring at his hand in utter disbelief of what he’d just done.
Alright. So maybe this was more than admiration. Maybe this was attraction. But that was all.
It definitely didn’t mean he liked Steve or wanted to be in a relationship with him.
Jonah shook his head.
No way.
* * *
Chapter Four
“There’s no way we can win,” Duncan said. “Not when we’re playing like this.”
It was halftime at the Jackals’ first game of the season and they were down 13 points. A two-digit deficit—which was no surprise since their turnovers were in the double digits as well.
Jonah frowned. So much for this being his breakout season.
“Duncan is right,” Coach Henson barked. “What’s going on, you guys? You’re not playing as a team. This is not at all what we practiced.”
“Sorry, Coach,” Garth mumbled.
“I don’t want apologies,” the coach said. “I want a turnaround. I want a different team during the second half, one that sticks to the game plan and works together to execute it perfectly. Can I count on you guys to deliver that?”
Steve nodded. “Yes, Coach.”
Coach Henson looked at him. “You’re good, McDaniels, but no one’s asking you to carry the team on your shoulders. In fact, you shouldn’t. I know you want to create a good impression—”
“I was actually just—”
“Trust your teammates, Steve. Pass the ball. Remember, no team has ever won with just one player looking good.”
Steve bowed his head. “Yes, Coach.”
“And you, West—”
Jonah looked up.
“Aren’t you and Steve roommates? Why on earth aren’t the two of you communicating?”
Jonah didn’t answer. He had hardly spoken to Steve since that late night incident. In fact, he had been doing his best to avoid Steve.
“I don’t care what your problem is, leave it off the court,” Coach Henson continued. “When you get out on the floor, the two of you are going to be working together and you’re going to be doing your best. Is that clear?”
Jonah nodded. “Yes, Coach.”
“That goes for all of you. Work together. Work harder. And for god sakes, stop giving the other team the ball. They aren’t winning this game—we’re losing it.” Coach Henson grabbed the drawing board from his assistant. “Listen up. This is what we’re going to do. “
Minutes later, the team filed out of the locker room.
“Hey,” Steve said to Jonah. “You heard what Coach said, right? I know you don’t like me and all—”
“I don’t,” Jonah admitted.
“Great. Now that that’s settled, we need to work together, okay, teammate?”
Jonah looked at the hand Steve was offering. He didn’t want to take it, but Coach Henson was right. They had to set aside their disagreements if they were going to turn this game around. That was what professionals did.
“Okay.” Jonah shook Steve’s hand. “Let’s do this.”
*
“Awesome way to start the season!” Ben shouted an hour later as he placed an arm around Nate. “Damn, that win felt good!”
“Great job, guys!” Duncan rubbed both their heads. “And you, too, West and McDaniels.”
Jonah and Steve raised their hands so that Duncan could give them each a high five.
“You weren’t so bad out there, Jonah,” Steve said.
“Neither were you.”
They gave each other high fives and bumped their chests, laughing. The team’s exuberance was infective.
“I guess we make a great team.” Steve gave him a pat on the back.
Jonah couldn’t deny that. In the end, it had been their combined efforts that had led the team to victory, so much so that their teammates were calling them the new Dynamic Duo of the Jackals. Who knew that when they worked together, they could be even better? He couldn’t recall any duo in the NBA who worked as well together as they did.
“There’s my winning combination.” Coach Henson joined them, placing his arms around them both. “I knew the two of you could turn this game around.”
“It’s all because of what you said, Coach,” Jonah said.
“Those were just words,” their coach replied. “What the two of you did on the court, now, that was amazing.”
“Thanks, Coach,” Steve said. “I guess now, there’s just one thing left to do.”
Jonah gave him a puzzled look.
Steve smiled. “We’re going to party, of course.”
*
Ben danced in the middle of the living room, his nearly empty bottle of beer up in the air. The music blared throughout the house.
On the couch, Jonah took a sip of beer, slowly working his way through his first bottle. He’d been against drinking at first. In fact, he was against the entire idea of partying. A championship win, that was worth celebrating. The first victory of the season? Not so much.
Still, after some persuasion, he had decided to go along, mostly because the victory was a come-from-behind one and because his teammates promised they wouldn’t be celebrating every victory, just this first one and the last. It also helped that he was in a good mood after playing a good game. Nineteen points and seven assists in twenty-five minutes. That wasn’t bad at all.
While Jonah had hardly left the couch all evening—victory or no victory, he wasn’t going to dance—he had to admit it was a cool party. There were plenty of pizzas, buffalo wings, chips, and beer to go around. Steve even had ice cream bought over. In the living room, music blasted from the speakers courtesy of Dennis, who, as it turned out, had a hidden talent for mixing music. Outside, the laughter and the splashes from the pool went on and on.
With all the music, the food, and the laughter, and all the people congratulating him for playing well, Jonah could almost say he was having fun.
Almost.
The only problem was Steve. The brat was annoying him as usual, only this time, he wasn’t doing it on purpose, which only made it worse. Right now, Steve was in between two beautiful girls, both of whom clearly wanted to go to bed with him and Steve didn’t look like he was dissuading them in the
least.
Stupid Steve.
Or maybe he was the stupid one because he was feeling annoyed for no reason at all.
“Ice cream?” a voice interrupted his thoughts.
Jonah turned his head to find a girl standing over him, a dark-skinned, dark-haired girl wearing a gray university sweater and denim shorts, her arm outstretched as she offered him an ice cream cone.
Pretty, just like most of the girls at the house. But she failed to sustain his attention.
“No thanks,” he said, setting down an empty bottle he could barely remember finishing.
“You look like you need it.” She sat beside him without an invitation. “Looking at you, I almost thought we’d lost the game.”
Jonah’s eyebrows furrowed. He looked that bad? “Just thinking about the next game,” he lied. “After all, the season has just begun.”
“Relax.” She touched his arm. “You don’t have to worry about that right now. If you want, I can help you forget. I might not be a basketball player, but I have some moves of my own.”
She gave her ice cream a long, slow lick.
Jonah opened his mouth to refuse, but he heard Steve laughing and he turned his head to look. He shouldn’t have. One girl was now licking Steve’s ear and the other was fawning over him with her arms around his waist.
“So, what do you say?” The girl beside him licked her lips.
For a moment, Jonah was tempted to give in just so he could forget about Steve, but just as he was about to say yes, his phone vibrated in his pocket.
He took it out and looked at the glowing screen. Mom.
“Sorry, I gotta take this.” Jonah got up and headed upstairs, answering the call on the way. “Hey, Mom. What’s up?”
“Oh, Jonah. Something’s happened. Is this a good time? You don’t have an exam coming up or something?”
“No, Mom.” Jonah went inside his room, closed the door, and sat on his bed. “What happened?”
“Oh, sweetheart, it’s about Meg.”
Jonah felt his chest and his throat go tight. Meg was the oldest of his three younger sisters, currently a senior in high school. “What’s wrong with Meg?”
“She has to have her gallbladder removed,” his mother explained.
“Huh?” He wasn’t even sure what the gallbladder was.
“She has stones in her gallbladder, so it has to be removed.”
“Can’t they just remove the stones?”
“I’m afraid not,” his mother answered.
He bit his tongue to keep from crying. Meg wasn’t just his sister. She was his best friend back home. He couldn’t imagine life without her. He said, “Well, is she going to be okay?”
“The doctors are pretty confident that she’ll be fine, though. It’s a pretty common surgery, they said.”
Jonah felt a lump form in his throat as he heard the fear in his mother’s voice. He stood up and walked towards the window. “I’m coming home.”
“No,” his mother told him quickly. “I just wanted to let you know you about it. There’s no need for you to come home. Just stay there and… and study. And play. Isn’t the season starting soon?”
“But you need me right now.”
“We’ll be fine. Your Dad’s here and your Aunt Lisa is taking care of the younger girls.”
“What about the hospital bill?” Jonah asked, knowing his family didn’t have health insurance. He could only imagine how much it was going to cost to get Meg well. “And the doctor?”
“We will cross that bridge when we come to it,” his mother replied. “We’ll be able to pay for it somehow.”
Jonah knew his mother was trying to be optimistic, but he could still hear the worry in her voice. Without a single concern for himself, he said, “I’ll come home and get a job.”
“You will do no such thing,” his mother said firmly. “You’re already studying and playing basketball. You can’t handle work, too.”
“Yes, I can.”
“Jonah, listen to me.” His mother’s voice grew serious. “I will not have you putting your education in jeopardy.” She took a deep breath. He could hear his father in the background, telling his mom that they had to leave. “I have to go, but I’ll keep you posted. Just stay put and keep your fingers crossed. We love you, son. Take care.”
With those words, the line went dead.
Jonah stared at his phone until it went blank, leaving him in darkness. Then he threw it on his bed before sitting on the floor, his hands on his head.
Meg, sweet Meg, who he’d taught to ride a bike and play basketball, was in the hospital and there was nothing he could do to help her. Nothing.
He had never felt so helpless in his life.
* * *
Chapter Five
“Snap out of it, West,” Coach Henson scolded Jonah three days later. “I don’t know what’s distracting you right now, but you need to get your ass in the game.”
Jonah nodded half-heartedly. What was he gonna say? Everything Coach Henson said was right. He should leave his feelings out of the game just like he did last time. He should focus. But how? How was he supposed to just shut down his emotions when he knew his sister needed him?
Meg was fine now. The operation had been long, but successful. She was recovering well, too. She was still in the hospital with tubes stuck to her and she felt like hell, or so she told Jonah the last time they’d spoken, in spite of their mom telling her to quit complaining. That eased Jonah’s mind, but there was still something else bothering him.
The hospital bill.
Each day Meg stayed at the hospital, the bill grew. His mother had insurance, but Jonah knew it wouldn’t cover much, especially when his father was just in the hospital two months ago with a bad case of pneumonia. His father was a mechanic and his mother a teacher, so they didn’t make much, and between the two of them, they had hardly any savings. They could barely pay the mortgage, the utilities, and the credit card bills as it was. How on earth were they going to be able to pay for Meg’s hospital bill?
The thought had kept him up nearly all night, and now it was making him miss his shots. He kept thinking about quitting college so he could work and help his parents. So what if it meant giving up on his dream? His family was more important.
Every time he tried to sink a shot, the hoop just seemed a blur. The player he was defending seemed too fast for him, and the ball appeared to be mad at him, constantly slipping from his fingers.
He was a complete mess.
The moment Coach Henson realized Jonah wasn’t going to clean up his act, he angrily pulled him out of the game.
Jonah sat on the bench, a towel over his bent head. He watched the game with little interest, not even cheering or smiling as Steve made up for his lackluster performance, shooting one basket after another. He didn’t care about the game, or about Steve. Even when the Jackals pulled off a win, Jonah didn’t budge. Everyone around him jumped and cheered. Still, he didn’t care.
“Hey.” Steve sat beside him. “What’s up? You weren’t yourself out there.”
Jonah shook his head as he got off the bench. “Nothing.”
Lazily, he dragged himself to the showers. There was no way he was going to tell that rich boy anything about his problems.
* * *
Chapter Six
“Thank you, sweetie! You know, you didn’t have to!” Jonah’s mother gushed on the phone the next day.
“Mom, I don’t—”
“I know I told you not to worry about us, and that your Dad and I were going to find a way to make things work, but the truth is I’ve been agonizing over where to get that money for Meg’s hospital bill. I was so relieved when I got that envelope.”
“What envelope? What are you talking about?”
“The one your team—the Jackals, right?—gave,” his mother answered.
“Huh?”
“Now, don’t act so innocent. I know it was your idea to ask your coach and your team manager for help. And I
want to thank you. Really, I do. You’re the best son a mother could ever hope for.”
At his mother’s voice, filled with joy and relief now instead of fear and worry, Jonah’s lips curved up into a smile. “I’m glad you’re all right now.”
“I’m so sorry I worried you. Don’t worry anymore, okay? Meg’s fine and like I said, everything’s fine. You just think about your studies and your games. Remember, we’ll be watching you when you get to the championships.”
“The season just started, Mom.”
“Well, good luck. Go for your dream, honey. Remember, I’ll always be right behind you.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Gotta go. Meg’s fine, but if you ask me, she got just a tad more cranky.”
“I heard that,” Meg said in the background. “And you’d be cranky, too, if you had a tube sticking out of your guts.”
“Oh, shush,” Jonah’s mother scolded.
Jonah chuckled. “Go easy on her, Mom. She’s been through hell.”
“You still have that soft spot for her.”
“And take it easy, too. It must be even tougher for you.”
“I’m fine now,” his mother told him. “Well, I have to go fix Her Royal Highness her lunch.”
“I heard that, too!” Meg shouted.
“Bye, Jonah.”
“Bye, Mom.”
Jonah let out a sigh. An envelope from the Jackals, huh? It certainly didn’t come from him, so who sent it? He could only think of one person.
* * *
Chapter Seven
“It was from you, wasn’t it?” Jonah asked Steve as soon as Steve walked into their room.
Steve set his backpack down and gave him a puzzled look. “What are you talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about. You sent my Mom money, didn’t you?”
Steve didn’t answer as he took off his jacket.
