;don't let your mind bully your body

"I said defence you fucking ninnies! DE-FENCE!" Coach screamed, face turning redder than a tommy tomato. 

With a loud, sharp blow of his whistle, we instantly stopped in our tracks, the ball bouncing aimlessly, echoing around the silent gym, until it eventually comes to a stop. 

"Line, now!" He ordered.

It was never a good sign when Coach commanded we hit the line after a practise - it only meant he was about to chew us up and spit us out on the shiny, freshly waxed court floor.

"Am I watching a D1 team here, or bunch of fucking pre-schoolers?!"

All of us had our heads hung low. 

The party obviously was a stupid fucking idiot and I take full responsibility for it.

"Sorry, Coach. It's my fault. We'll fix up, don't worry." I say, earnestly.

"You want to hope so or we can kiss the championship goodbye." He scowls. "Play like this the rest of the season, we'd be lucky to even get an auto-bid! Understand? Now pull your fingers out of each others arses and play like god damn Knights! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

"Yes, Coach." We chanted in unison.

He stormed off through the metal doors, assistant coaches panicking chasing after him, while we all remained with heads bowed to the floor and our dicks firmly tucked between our legs.

Eli, Jason and Miles were hanging our their arses, more hungover than Shia Lebouf in his partying days. 

Cammy and myself weren't exactly on top form either. Cammy was moving slow and reacting to calls two minutes after they were being fucking called. 

Me? I was distracted by the events of last night that surrounded my brunette Bella.

As the rest of the guys fled off the court, I turned and continued mindlessly throwing the ball into the hoop. 

The court being the one place that I felt some sort of control and easement from the life of Maddox Hunter - baller and NBA draftee. 

I wasn't competing right now, I wasn't playing for the win, I wasn't giving my all to impress a bunch of snotty nose scouters - I was playing for the love of the game, I was playing because without a ball in my hand or my feet on the overly smooth court. 

I was just Maddox Kareem Hunter.

I thought I was alone until I heard a deep, throat clearing cough that echoed around the large, empty hall.

"Wanna explain what happened today?" Cammy's rough voice said.

I took a free throw from the baseline. "We all sucked, not just me." I admitted.

"We sucked because you wanted to throw a fucking improv party to impress a girl who has one rule. One rule made to keep your status specifically, away from her." 

"I wasn't trying to impress her, I just wanted to spent sometime with her, besides, that's all over with now." I say, grabbing a fresh ball and throwing it towards the hoop again.

"What do you mean that's all over now? You got what you wanted and bailed? That's our team mates sister!" he reprimanded me with a scowl on his sun kissed face.

Truth is, last night was a wake up call. 

I had no business messing with a girl like Tori Quinn - she had her rule for a reason; to keep away from guys like me. 

No, I wouldn't force myself onto a girl - that wasn't my style of seduction - but I wasn't a saint either.

The amount of times I had meaningless sex with random girls was unholy - it wasn't normal - at the time I didn't care; I'm in college, I'm a baller captain and I enjoy the status and honeys that came with that - until Bella, that is. 

The fact is, I saw how she reacted to the way Mason treated her. 

I don't feel like I'm healthy for her.

"That's exactly why I've taken the L and left it at that."

Lie, I didn't take the L - I was just too scared to be another reason Tori hated jocks.

"You like her, don't ya?" Cammy says matter-of-fact.

I turn and glare at him, ball tucked under my arm. "Like her?"

"What? You gone stupid now?" he flicks up a dark brow. "Yeah, like her, as in caught the love bug."

I snorted and turned back to the metal hoop, tossing the ball with a lazy wrist. 

"I don't do bugs. I'm immune." I comment.

"Yeah. Okay." Cammy captured the ball as it bounces away from the hoop. "You're such a pussy. You get all jealous when you found out her and Jason were close, then you turn into a possessive ass when Mason crept around - now you're immunised from catching feelings? I call bullshit."

"You can call all the shits in the world, won't change the fact being what it is, which is a fact." I argued.

Cammy raises his bulky arm and shoots the ball towards the swinging net. 

"How long have I known you? You think I don't know when you're running away from yourself? I'm offended you can insult me like that."

"I've insulted you way worse than offending your intelligence, Hills."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that and just state the facts of the topic in which we're discussing - You like Tori, you're scared of liking Tori because of her rule, so now you're running away because you're can't cope with disappointing people."

"I disappoint people all the time - do you have any idea how many girls I've had to let down because they wanted more than I could give. So try again, Dr Cammy." I sniped in retaliation.

"You don't care about those girls. You're scared to disappoint people you care about - Tori being one of those people."

I sigh, grabbing the ball mid air and aiming. "I'm not healthy for her, and she's not healthy for my ego."

I shoot and Cammy laughs. "You're ego? The girls a smoke show. She'd only inflate your fucking ego, so why don't you stop chatting shit and coming up with half arsed excuses."

"I'm done with this conversation." I turn my back on Cammy, the ball still bouncing from the basket I just scored being the only sound as I swing open the metal door and bounce it against the gym wall.

I didn't waste any time grabbing my duffel and rushing out to my car. Shower be damned.

Heavy footsteps run up behind me. I ignore them and open my passenger side door, dropping my duffel in the back seat.

"Look, I'm sorry if I touched a nerve, but if your friend can't call you out on your shit, then who else, huh?" Cammy says solemnly. 

"I met Tori during the summer" I blurted out "she was the girl I spent the night with at the bar." I continued, running a hand through my sweatily damp hair.

Cammy cocked up a dark eyebrow. "So you already knew her before she transferred here?"

"Kinda. I mean, we spent hours at a bar together but she refused to give me her name, some shit about it being a bad omen - then when I saw her here, she acted like she didn't know me, so I did the same. But now, I don't know, it's like no one makes me feel like she does, and she has all these issues, I don't think I can be what she needs." I ended it with a small shrug and huge chunk of my cheek between my teeth.

Cammy blows out a breath, trying to wrap his head around what I just told him. 

I knew Cammy wasn't one to run from things if he could help it. 

He was a head screwed on kinda guy. 

I knew he was gonna come out with some stellar advice for me right now.

"Well, fuck." is all he says.

Are you shitting me right fucking now!?

"That's all you gotta say? You're a fucking Psych major and all you can hit me with is well, fuck ?"

The utter disappointment.

"I gave you some advice on the court, you didn't wanna hear it and stormed off like a big baby - now you want my advice?" His tone mocked me.

"Yes. I want some of your worldly advice, fuck."

"Sack up and stop being a scared little pussy boy." 

I wanna slap the smirk off his smug face right now.

He chuckles while jumping in my car and leaving me utter bewildered. 

I bang my fist against his window before walking around to the drivers side and jumping in.

"That was shockingly disappointing." I grunted. "I'm so fucking ashamed right now."

"Meh. Take it or leave it, it's all you're getting." he popped a shoulder.

The drive back to the house was normal, I was a little quieter, sure, and with practise being a bitch today, plus the English rose conundrum - Cammy completely understood why I was reluctant to talk.

Pulling up to the driveway and seeing majority of the boys cars parked up, I knew I was walking into a testosterone filled house. 

Me and Cammy piled out the car and walked up the pathway, swinging open the front door.

I kicked my sneakers off and dropped my duffel in the doorway, as did Cammy - before we headed into the living room, half expecting to walk in on the guys squabbling and bickering while playing the PlayStation, but no, instead I was met with 'mmmm' and 'ahhhh' and 'fuck that sounds delish, my mouths already wetter than the girl I fucked last night' - curtesy of Mr Jason Cooper.

I followed the muffle groans of appreciation and sounds of something slamming against a wooden board, entering the kitchen and seeing all the guys - and I mean all the guys - crowded around the kitchen island watching something.. Or should I say someone.

My Bella's five foot frame hidden behind the bunch of overgrown ballers on the other side of the island chopping up different coloured peppers - onions already sliced beside her. 

The aroma of seasoned chicken cooking was taste bud tingling.

"What's going on in here?" I asked, looking between my teammates.

Kinda glad to see Tori, but also kinda disappointed - not that I didn't wanna see her, I did. I just didn't wanna have to deal with these fucked up feelings I'm having towards her.

"Tori's making us Mexican chicken!" Jason shoots me a child like grin.

"We haven't had a home cooked meal is so long, I'm gonna inhale the damn plate." Miles practically drooled.

Okay.. I guess we're getting poisoned tonight.