Read Online Going the Distance by John Goode - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: John Goode
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nodded, knowing he meant I needed to try for as many three-pointers as I could.
I looked over at Tommy and said, “Your guy is paying too much attention to me.” He nodded. “Lose him. Every time I move towards the basket, he ignores you.” I could tell he hadn’t seen that, but he didn’t say anything out loud.
“Okay, we got it?” the coach asked, and we nodded. “You guys are kicking ass. Stay on your toes and do not think you have this yet.”
We stood up and surrounded him as we put our hands into the circle. “Tigers kick ass on three,” I said, looking at my teammates.
They all stared back, and we shouted “Tigers kick ass.”
We beat them easily that night, 56-38. I had never felt like this before, not just part of a team but part of a group of friends. Everyone patted me on the back and congratulated us for a fantastic win. I tried to push through the crowd and look into the stands. I saw my dad when the game ended. He was sitting in the stands, taking to the guy next to him rapidly. He was pointing at me.
It was the first time I saw my dad bragging about me. It was the best feeling I had ever experienced.
C HAPTER F OUR :
P ERSONAL F OUL
M Y LIFE moved into a pretty sweet groove after that game.
We began winning game after game, and with each win we became more popular in school. That was an odd correlation, since I wasn’t really aware all that many people were basketball fans in the first place. Our school was more known for its baseball and football programs; our basketball team had always been an afterthought, as I had understood it. Except for this season.
We began really working as a team, and it showed on the court. Our tactics stopped being gimmicks to fool the other team and began to form into a strategy that was fast becoming unbeatable. Better yet, with our new-found popularity came a whole other level of perks we hadn’t been exposed to before.
Namely girls.
Carol had made it clear she’d walk across broken glass to date me, which was flattering, but I was all turned around about girls because of Cody. No, wait, that’s not fair. I was turned around about girls way before Cody, but right now, the image of him dressing out was seriously fucking with me. I was fifteen on the edge of sixteen, which meant I spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about sex. I spent more time with my dick hard, pressed into the side of my jeans, than I didn’t. My only saving grace was that, with the baggy jeans and boxers I wore, it wasn’t blatantly obvious that I was sporting wood, though more than once I saw Cody’s stare fall to my crotch, and then he’d look at me with a grin that said he knew. I didn’t know if that meant he liked it or not. I simply hadn’t spent enough time being friends with other guys to know the protocol for whatever might happen, and I was terrified I’d do the wrong thing.
Carol wasn’t the only girl who made a pass at me that first couple of weeks, but I wasn’t really sure they were serious or just wanted to chat up the new guy. I knew both Tommy and Cody got new girlfriends by the third game, a fact they liked to crow about every chance they got. My stomach got tied in knots every time I saw Cody with his arm around Tina, a nice-looking sophomore who hadn’t given him the time of day before he was a winning jock. Tommy had actually hooked up with Susan, which surprised everyone since she had been dating a baseball player before him. It was a pretty big coup for the basketball team, one of our own stealing the head cheerleader away from the star baseball player. Tommy’s success reflected on the rest of us.
I just couldn’t find a girl who made me feel like Cody did.
At first I thought I was safe, everyone else too busy with their own squeeze to notice that I was still stag, but that thought was quickly dispelled. We were on a five-game winning streak, and it looked like there was no stopping us when Tommy took me aside after one Saturday
I looked over at Tommy and said, “Your guy is paying too much attention to me.” He nodded. “Lose him. Every time I move towards the basket, he ignores you.” I could tell he hadn’t seen that, but he didn’t say anything out loud.
“Okay, we got it?” the coach asked, and we nodded. “You guys are kicking ass. Stay on your toes and do not think you have this yet.”
We stood up and surrounded him as we put our hands into the circle. “Tigers kick ass on three,” I said, looking at my teammates.
They all stared back, and we shouted “Tigers kick ass.”
We beat them easily that night, 56-38. I had never felt like this before, not just part of a team but part of a group of friends. Everyone patted me on the back and congratulated us for a fantastic win. I tried to push through the crowd and look into the stands. I saw my dad when the game ended. He was sitting in the stands, taking to the guy next to him rapidly. He was pointing at me.
It was the first time I saw my dad bragging about me. It was the best feeling I had ever experienced.
C HAPTER F OUR :
P ERSONAL F OUL
M Y LIFE moved into a pretty sweet groove after that game.
We began winning game after game, and with each win we became more popular in school. That was an odd correlation, since I wasn’t really aware all that many people were basketball fans in the first place. Our school was more known for its baseball and football programs; our basketball team had always been an afterthought, as I had understood it. Except for this season.
We began really working as a team, and it showed on the court. Our tactics stopped being gimmicks to fool the other team and began to form into a strategy that was fast becoming unbeatable. Better yet, with our new-found popularity came a whole other level of perks we hadn’t been exposed to before.
Namely girls.
Carol had made it clear she’d walk across broken glass to date me, which was flattering, but I was all turned around about girls because of Cody. No, wait, that’s not fair. I was turned around about girls way before Cody, but right now, the image of him dressing out was seriously fucking with me. I was fifteen on the edge of sixteen, which meant I spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about sex. I spent more time with my dick hard, pressed into the side of my jeans, than I didn’t. My only saving grace was that, with the baggy jeans and boxers I wore, it wasn’t blatantly obvious that I was sporting wood, though more than once I saw Cody’s stare fall to my crotch, and then he’d look at me with a grin that said he knew. I didn’t know if that meant he liked it or not. I simply hadn’t spent enough time being friends with other guys to know the protocol for whatever might happen, and I was terrified I’d do the wrong thing.
Carol wasn’t the only girl who made a pass at me that first couple of weeks, but I wasn’t really sure they were serious or just wanted to chat up the new guy. I knew both Tommy and Cody got new girlfriends by the third game, a fact they liked to crow about every chance they got. My stomach got tied in knots every time I saw Cody with his arm around Tina, a nice-looking sophomore who hadn’t given him the time of day before he was a winning jock. Tommy had actually hooked up with Susan, which surprised everyone since she had been dating a baseball player before him. It was a pretty big coup for the basketball team, one of our own stealing the head cheerleader away from the star baseball player. Tommy’s success reflected on the rest of us.
I just couldn’t find a girl who made me feel like Cody did.
At first I thought I was safe, everyone else too busy with their own squeeze to notice that I was still stag, but that thought was quickly dispelled. We were on a five-game winning streak, and it looked like there was no stopping us when Tommy took me aside after one Saturday
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