Just One of the Guys
Eight

Knox

It's Thursday evening and our first game is tomorrow against Lakewood. They're one of the better teams in the league. We're better of course but I have no doubt that they are going to make us work for it. Coach hammered us with practice today, running drill, after drill, after drill. Made us run drills that most of us had been doing since we were wee lads, but he wanted to make sure we were ready, no area left uncovered. "How do you guys feel about the season opener being against Lakewood tomorrow?" I ask the guys, curious of their take on it.

I'm not nervous. More restless, ready to get the season started.

Since leaving for the states and having to give up football, basketball has been what I've dedicated my heart and soul to.

If I've had a crap day, as soon as I set foot on the court, it's like it all just vanishes.

I dabbled in basketball in England, but it wasn't my life like it is now. Our athletics class had us learn the basics; shooting, passing, dribbling, lay ups, jump stops, pivoting and footwork, jab steps, screening, cutting, defense, and rebounding.

It was a lot of work and hard for a group of 10-year-olds to grasp the concept of doing these things without fouling out or having violations, but we managed for the most part.

My baby in England had been football, or as they call in here in the States, soccer. Endover doesn't have a soccer team, which I absolutely hated when I first moved here.

Soon enough though, I got over it and found that I really liked basketball and I was actually pretty good at it.

The coaches worked with me, helping me to hone my skills and some of the guys from the team made a point of including me when they would go to the court and shoot or play a game of horse, just because. That was the beginning of my friendship with Colt and Gentry.

Now, the three of us are piled on the couch in my apartment, watching a porno that Gentry put on. Three guys watching porn together isn't exactly my idea of a good time.

"Dude, why in the bloody hell are we watching this crap?" I ask after having had enough of the fake pounding and groaning of the man and woman on the TV. "Gotta learn new tricks somehow, bro. Gotta keep the ladies satisfied and coming back for more," Gentry says, looking over at me with a dead serious look on his face. *Wow.*

*He really thinks that porn is going to teach him new stuff?*

I give him a look that says *really?*

"You know that stuff isn't real right? A lot of the things that they do in porn could end up hurting someone if you're not careful. Besides, practice makes perfect."

"We can't all be like you, man. Girls give it up to you without you even trying, then come back begging for more. You get more practice than anyone I know."

I'm not sure whether that was meant to be a compliment or if he was complaining.

"They love the equipment, what can I say? It is what it is. You gotta know how to use it, but being well equipped definitely works in my favor."

They know I'm messing around with them. Though, not about the size of my *equipment*. Let's just say, I'm working with more than your average guy. They joke about it as much as I do, knowing that it's all in good fun. Not able to handle any more of the scene playing out on the screen, I get up and head to my apartment.

"Bailing on us already?" Gentry complains. Colt's got his face in his phone, not even paying attention to what's going on, on the TV.

I don't know how he's tuning it out.

"I can't take any more of *that*," I say, pointing at the TV. "Why don't you watch that bloody shit in your own apartment?"

I've already reached my room as I say the words, but I stand in the doorway waiting for his response.

Not that I really mind, Gentry has been through a lot, and I'd rather have him here doing *whatever* then leave him alone.

Sometimes seclusion brings out one's own demons, cutting you down and turning you before you even realize what's happening. I should know.

His face is serious, the normally happy-go-lucky guy gone. I feel like crap for asking, I know why. He doesn't have to say it, I hope to hell that he doesn't. That was a real douche thing to say, and I know it. Instead, he shrugs his shoulders and mumbles, "Your TV is bigger."

He still ends up turning it off anyway.

"I'm sorry, man. It's cool. Go ahead and finish up, I'm gonna go for a run."

"We just worked our tails off in practice and you're going for a run now? Are you not beat already?" he asks, sounding like I'm crazy.

Hell, maybe I am but I need the release of endorphins and the cool, clean air to help clear my head and be able to focus for the game tomorrow.

"We all have our vices when we need to get out of our own heads. Not interested in getting pissed, a run is the next best thing," I say, and finally step into my room, closing the door behind me.

I make quick work of changing and throw on a pair of running shoes before emerging back in the main room. Gentry is still on the couch, and Colt has gone who knows where.

"I'll be back afterwhile," I announce as I head out the door, my mind stuck on what Gentry said about my private life.

*"Girls give it up to you without you even trying, then come back begging for more. You get more practice than anyone I know.”*

He's not wrong; I've most definitely had my share of women since coming here. It's never bothered me before, but for some reason, tonight it does.

A flash of a tiny wisp of a thing with short brown hair and blue eyes causes me to pull up short.

*Averi?* She wouldn't be out this way; it's just my head playing tricks on me.

Ever since I met her that night at the party, she's almost all I've been able to think about. I don't know what it is about her, so familiar yet so mysterious at the same time. She's a puzzle that I can't wait to figure out.

My dick can't seem to want to wait either.

There's no denying that I'm attracted to her physically. If there was any question, in her mind of whether I wanted her or not, I think, my texts to her the other day cleared up any confusion that she may have had. Because man do I want her, *bad*.

When I pulled her close before she had to leave the party, her tight, little body lined up perfectly with mine, I was able to cop a pretty good feel of that body as my hands wandered a little further than they probably should have for two people who had just met.

*But, dang*.

With her chest pressed up against me, my hands trailed along the expanse of her body, following the natural flow of her curves as her chest tapered down to a tiny waist before flaring out to a set of perfectly wide hips and a perfectly round ass. Of course, my dick had a mind of his own, and my hands roamed out of curiosity at how good she'd feel beneath them.

She blushed, stepped onto her toes, and kissed me on the cheek, leaving me wishing for her lips to be on other parts of my body.

It's cold as balls out here but thoughts of Averi and my run are keeping me warm enough that I don't mind it so much. Had I worn more than shorts and a t-shirt, I would have likely shucked them already, having gotten too hot.

The trails back behind the school go far into the wooded area that keeps the school secluded, winding, and dipping, following the canvas that nature created.

It will be really pretty in a few months when spring rolls around. All the foliage will be in bloom, the grass will be lush and green, the air clean and crisp, with just a bit of a bite to it.

Storm showers are frequent in this area, as are snowstorms during the winter but once we get past those seasons and on into summer and fall, it gets much warmer than what I was used to back home.

I enjoy it though.

Taking advantage of the sun's rays during the summer, I run these same trails or the streets leading from the school without a shirt on, my skin darkening from the exposure.

By the end of those runs, I am drenched in sweat, but feeling completely cleansed.

Turning a bend, I run through a wall of trees, heading back towards campus. My breathing is barely labored and I feel as though my mind had been cleansed.

I close my eyes, inhaling the scent of the trees around me and listening as the nightlife comes alive.

Opening my eyes, I don't have time to stop myself or prepare for the impact as I barrel into a figure standing in the middle of the trail.

As we collide, my junk takes a beating.

"Motherfucker!" I gasp, as I bend over, cupping my throbbing balls in my hands, trying to breathe through the worst of it.

*Bloody hell, they got me good!*

I look up, ready to give them a piece of my mind for not watching where they were going.

I know I hadn't been either, but tell that to my screaming balls.

My breath is stolen from me as I stare at the person before me.

*It couldn't be, could it?*