Chapter 2
Sweat was dripping down David’s face as he struggled to concentrate. There were only a few minutes left on the buzzer, and they were tied. They needed one more basket to win. He knew he wanted his team to win, but the problem was that he was cornered on all sides.
It’s like the other team knew that he was his team’s only chance of winning, and so they wouldn’t let him out of their sight. He blew a stray strand of hair out of his face as he wiped away the sweat with the back of his hand. His shirt was sticking to his back, making a pool of sweat from underneath his arms. His shorts were stuck like Velcro, and he was sure he could no longer feel his muscles. His body screamed at his top given that this was the most intense game he’d played yet, but he couldn’t stop.
Couldn’t stop till he got his team across that finish line.
His mother always sided that his stubbornness came from his inner Scott. Centuries of highlanders ran through his blood, and sometimes he wondered if maybe that was true. He was pretty sure highlanders would find this a trivial game though.
He smiled to himself at the thought before he shook his head and attempted to reel his thoughts back in. He frowned as he tried to make eye contact with any of his teammates.
He spotted Lucas, Keith and Blake all on different sides of the court. He was at a serious disadvantage. He stood on his toes trying to catch a glimpse of Lucas who was the closest to him. Lucas’s eyes met his, and they both gazed at where the ball was. Currently in the hands of his teammates, Blake who was doing his best to ditch the other team. Everytime he turned, there they were.
David and Lucas made eye contact once more, before they nodded and jogged off in the direction of Blake. Blake’s eyes snapped up, and he saw that they were standing on either side of him. He gave them a grim smile as he tossed the ball to Lucas. Lucas dribbled the ball and took it all the way till half the court before he was outnumbered.
He faked left then broke right making sure the ball landed in Keith’s hands. Keith desperately glanced around for someone to toss the ball to, and he spotted David who was right in his field of vision. The other team must’ve realized this too was for to cover him.
David smirked as he caught the ball and sent it flying through the air.
It landed with a whoosh right in the middle of the net and David fell to his knees and slammed his fists in the air as the buzzer signaled the end of the game. The cacophony of voices around him rose to a fever pitch as the world around blurred into a maze of colors.
All David could hear was the pounding of blood in his ears, and the rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins. He had never scored the winning shot before. It was a big deal to him.
He felt a group of bodies rushing towards him, and he fell to the floor with an ‘ompf’ as a group of bodies tackled him to the ground.
“Guys?” He got elbowed in the side as he was trying to wriggle out from underneath the guys who were hollering and cheering. “You might want to actually move before you crush me.”
A pair of hands grabbed his shoulders and hoisted him up, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he looked into Lucas’s eyes.
“Thanks, man.”
“No problem, dude. Congrats on scoring that winning shot. Still maintain that you cheated in Zombies though.”
“Dude you’ve got to let go of that.”
Lucas brought his hand up to his chest. “Never. You’re going down, Scotland.”
“I’m up for a challenge, Spain.”
They were interrupted when a host of other guys came swarming in, grabbing David by the shoulders, clapping him on the back and yelling out their good wishes.
David smiled as he looked around the room and quietly took it all in. The fans were all cheering and hugging each other considering it was on their turf, and the smell of salty popcorn, soda and victory hung in there.
David’s mouth went up in a half smile as he stood there. He shook his head and made his way back towards the lockers figuring he could out for a night of drinks with the guys.
He stepped into the locker room and was met with more hoots and hollers as he made his way towards the locker. He put the combination, and it swung open. He took out a change of clothes and slammed the locker door shut. He made his way towards the showers and stepped in underneath the hot shower head spray.
It cascaded in waves down his body washing away the tension as well as the sweat. He allowed it to let his muscles loosen up as he washed his body then switched off the water.
He needed to get lucky tonight.