Read Online Basketball Jones by E. Lynn Harris - Free Book Online

difference ‘cause when the man wants to get a brotha, they get it done.”
    “You think he’ll play again?” I asked as I positioned myself on the mat to begin a series of situps.
    “Yeah, he’ll play, but I bet it won’t be for the Falcons.
    They’re going to drop his ass. I can’t believe he messed up his chance to be the shit of the league over some fucking pit bulls,” Cisco said as we finished the set.
    “Are you going to try out again for the NFL?”
    “It ain’t up to me, because if it was, I sure as hell wouldn’t have my ass back in this shit of a city trying to get a steady gig,” Cisco said with disgust. He pulled a plastic water bottle from his green gym bag.
    “I thought you liked New Orleans.”
    “What’s to like? I was born here. I just knew playing football was going to be my way out of this mutherfucker. Niggas like me would do anything to play in the league and the ones who have the chance to play are fuckin’ it up for everybody else. If they would let me in the league I’d be a model citizen. They would never have to worry ‘bout me doing some dumb shit.”
    “Where would you want to live?”
    “Miami or the ATL.”
    “Atlanta’s nice,” I said.
    “Is that where you were raised?”
    “No, I grew up in North Carolina.”
    “What was that like?”
    “It was cool,” I said. I heard one of my cell phones on the table ring. I looked at the screen and saw that it was Dray calling. I didn’t answer because I was still pissed off at what had happened in Los Angeles. Now that he’d finally decided to call, he’d have to wait for me to get back to him.
    “Are there a lot of black folks in North Carolina?”
    “Some,” I said. Then I heard my other cell phone ring. I looked down and there was Dray’s name flashing on the screen. I guess he must be missing me bad right about now. I wasn’t going to play it slow and easy.
    “Looks like someone is really trying to reach you,” he said, nodding to the phone.
    “Just a friend.”
    “Well, AJ, I’m gonna bounce. You did well today. We’ll step it up a little bit tomorrow.”
    “We working out tomorrow?”
    “Yeah, like you said, two days on, take off a day to let your body heal, and then we hit two days in a row. That’s the schedule I try to keep all my clients on.”
    “Cool. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said as I gave Cisco some dap and watched him walk out of the room to the sound of my phone ringing again.
    It felt good to be needed.
    A flash of lightning and a clap of thunder that sounded like a slap against naked skin woke me early the next morning. I sat up in bed, allowing my eyes to adjust to the darkness, when I heard a voice.
    “Do I have to come all the way over here to talk to you? So why haven’t you returned my calls, Aldridge?” Dray was standing a few feet from my bed, removing his V-neck T-shirt. His presence damn near gave me a heart attack. He caught me completely off guard, so much so that for a second I forgot how angry at him I was.
    “I got the messages too late,” I lied. “I was going to call you first thing in the morning.”
    “Did you miss me?” He sat on the edge of my bed and removed his sneakers and socks. Then he stood up and dropped his warm-ups to the floor. Down came his boxers, which he kicked across the room.
    “Of course I missed you.” The rage I felt in the Los Angeles hotel suddenly felt like a lifetime ago.
    “I’m sorry about spoiling our trip, AJ. I really am. I didn’t know she was coming. I had no idea Judi was going to show up. I wanted to spend my birthday with you.”
    “I know.”
    “So you forgive me?”
    “You know I do.”
    Dray walked over to my music system and turned on the iPod. Suddenly Ne-Yo’s voice filled the bedroom. Dray was breathtaking to look at walking around the room, nude with his ten and a half inches of Mississippi pride dangling. I couldn’t take my eyes off his muscled thighs, narrow hips, and plump, muscular ass.
    He crawled into