Chased By The Bad Boy

Chapter Five

Declan’s POV

I was leaning against my headboard, stretched out on my bed, when the door burst open, slamming against the wall, to reveal my roommate Daxton, who was grinning down at me as he walked in, shutting the door behind him.

‘You look happy’ I observed, sitting up and swinging my legs over the side of my bed to face him as he flopped down on his bed. ‘You get some with that blonde who was eye f*****g you through English yesterday?’

The basketball player shrugged as he rolled onto his side, ‘obviously’ he replied with a smirk, ‘but that isn’t what’s got me hyped up like a kid on Halloween.’

Eyeing him nervously, I motioned for him to spill whatever it was that had gotten him so hyped up. Beaming happily, he said, ‘you, me, lots of hot babes at a party, this Friday.’

Laughing, I nodded, ‘let me guess, you also heard about the fancy dress party at DCT’ I asked.

His grin widening, Daxton hooted with excitement, ‘yes, my friend! And we are going! We can’t be denying all those women that frequent this fine campus all of this sexy studliness’ he replied enthusiastically.

Shaking my head in amusement, I smiled indulgently, ‘sure, sounds like a blast, but we’ve only got three days to sort out some killer costumes’ I reminded him.

Waving his hand dismissively, Daxton rolled his eyes, ‘please', he drawled, 'I’m going dressed as a Knight, just think of all the sword innuendo I can use throughout the night.’

Nodding, I leaned my head back against the wall, trying to come up with my own costume idea. A slow grin spread across my face as the beginnings of an idea formed, the most perfect costume idea ever for a frat party. I just needed to scout out some stores for things to make it work.

‘Hey Dec’ Daxton’s voice broke through my thoughts, making me glance up to where he was sprawled out on his bed, phone clutched in his hand, as he scowled down at the screen.

‘What’s up?’ I asked, shifting to the edge of the bed in concern as he let out a sigh of annoyance.

‘Don’t suppose you know anyone who plays ball do you?’ he groaned, sitting up and running his hand down his face exasperatedly.

I frowned, ‘no-one comes to mind mate, why, what’s up?’

Daxton huffed, his shoulders slumping forward, ‘our power forward is out, his mom has cancer, they just got the news she’s terminal. House needs to head back home. Another guy was injured at the end of last year as well and the coaches hoped he’d be back for the beginning of the season, but he’s still not cleared, so we are now down to ten players.’

I let out a breath, ‘none of your other players know anyone that they used to mess around with in high school that had some skills?’ I asked hopefully.

Daxton shrugged, ‘Nope, this isn’t really a high flying basketball college. Most of the people we played with who could see a career in basketball went to places where ball is life’ he sighed. ‘It sucks man. We’ve already had a few training sessions, and we had a really strong team building. Tank, House, Tex, Me and Jack, we seemed to gel. We could already read each other, figure out what each person was doing on the court, where we needed to be. The others are OK, but they all tend to play for their damn selves, want the glory of scoring, and that doesn’t win games. We need to find some fresh blood to try out, someone who gels with the starters, or our season is going to suck.’

I sighed as I glanced over at my friend’s dejected face, ‘I’ I started, before halting again, unsure whether I was making the right choice. Clearing my throat, I closed my eyes briefly before muttering, ‘I used to play.’

Daxton’s head snapped up at my reluctant words, ‘really?’ he asked, his face lighting up with sudden hope, ‘were you any good?’

I nodded, already regretting blurting it out. It was true, I’d played at the beginning of high school and had been pretty good. but basketball was not my future. I was expected to take over my father’s business and nothing was meant to divert me from that goal. Plus, I’d had Wade to think about, the guy had been angry and needed me to keep his ass out of jail so when my dad had insisted I give up playing, I had done so.

I’d never admitted it to anyone, but I enjoyed the feel of the ball in my hands, having nothing to worry about but the five men standing between me and the hoop. Wade had called me a p***y assed jock when I got selected for the team, but I knew deep down that it was talk. He was the guy that had always been the first to get into a scrape over someone slighting me, he’d supported my choices despite his doucheness.

I met Daxton’s eyes, that were staring at me nervously, waiting for me to tell him I was joking but hoping I wasn’t.

‘Yeah’ I mumbled, ‘I was OK, better protecting the hoop than putting a ball through it but I made the team in high school, so I can’t have been terrible.’

My roommate jumped to his feet, beaming brightly, ‘this is awesome!’ he gushed, ‘you have to come to try-outs man.’

Groaning, I nodded, ‘yeah, I can come to try outs, but it’s been a long time since a ball was in my hands, don’t expect too much’ I mumbled.

Waving his hand dismissively at me, Daxton ignored my hesitation, ‘please, playing ball is like riding a bike, you never forget how to do it.’

Glancing up at him, I frowned, his earlier words suddenly coming back to me, ‘you said people who could go all the way to the pro’s went to other colleges’ I queried in confusion, ‘so why are you here?’

Daxton’s face fell as his features became guarded, ‘what do you mean?’ he asked cagily.

Shrugging, I continued, ‘you have skills man, I’ve seen you on the court, you are passionate. How did you end up at a college that focuses on business and media type majors? Did you not want the big time?’

The athlete averted his eyes, staring over at the trophies that lined his shelves, ‘lets just say that somethings are more important than basketball’ he mumbled before standing up and heading toward the door again. ‘I’ll let the coach know that you are interested in trying out’ he added, changing the subject abruptly. ‘We’ll need to be on the field at 6am for warm ups.’

I groaned loudly as I rolled my eyes, ‘duuuuude’ I moaned, ‘what college student wants to be awake at 6am? This is where we are supposed to get drunk, laid and sleep in!’

Daxton chuckled, the stress on his features gone, ‘don’t worry sleeping beauty, I’ll wake your sexy ass up and we’ll grab some breakfast before the coach beats us to death in training.’

Opening the door, the jock walked outside, closing it behind him, cutting off his laughter whilst I threw myself onto my pillow desolately.