He wanted to wait it out a little while longer though, but as he was dribbling, taunting the third kid, the asshole sealed his and his friends’ fate when he said, “Have fun with those sloppy fourths. Your girl spreads her fat legs for everyone who asks.”
Teyler had had enough. He lowered his shoulder, knocked the asshole to the ground, and drove to the basket, maneuvering around Tommy and Lincoln and then easily made a layup.
That’s how it went. Every possession when Teyler was on defense, he’d either steal the ball, pull up and score, or let the other guy shoot, watch the ball bounce off the rim or backboard then take possession of the ball and score. He dunked a handful of times, made deeper shots than Lincoln ever could, and made the Falls Village guys look ridiculous on defense. He took charges, laughed when he didn’t get a single call and played harder after each illegal move from Tommy and his friends. Within a few minutes, the score spoke for itself and everyone knew Teyler wasn’t going to lose.
“You ready to shut your fucking mouth now and apologize to Colleen or you want me to keep handing y’all your asses in front of everyone? Gonna be a long few weeks with no pussy,” Teyler asked, his breathing steady while Tommy and his crew were huffing in wind.
Teyler assumed his opponents are typical high school partyers, drinking and smoking weed, maybe dabbling in a few harder drugs like the non-athletes at his school did, coke and acid, even a ’shroom on occasion. He knew he wasn’t your typical eighteen-year-old. Teyler didn’t drink often, he’s never smoked a cigarette of any kind, keeping his lungs in top condition so running the court would be a breeze. He runs five miles every morning, follows his weight training regimen, and works on his game at least twice a day. That’s in addition to what he did while training with his team. But he and his friend from school, Jake, wanted to play Division 1 ball in college. That didn’t just happen, even if your dad was a legend in the NBA. It took hard work, dedication, and sweat. Passion didn’t hurt, but it didn’t make a player. A killer drive did and Teyler and his best friend each had one. Tommy and his friends—not even close.
When Tommy didn’t answer, just looked pissed off and trying to gauge if Teyler was right about the girls not giving it up after this ended, Teyler had had enough and got in the guy’s face. “I asked you a fucking question. You don’t want to answer me, fine. I’ll tell you how it’s going down. You either apologize on your own, or I’ll drag your pathetic ass over there and make you apologize. Your choice.”
“Whatever, dude. She’s all yours.”
“Good to hear. But that’s not your choice to make…or mine. Colleen gets to decide who she spends time with, not us. And you need to learn to respect women. They’re more than just a good time for you to use. I also don’t want to hear you saying shit to her about her weight again. She’s fly the way she is and doesn’t need you making her feel like shit. And while we’re on that, shut the fuck up about her hooking up with you. Grow up and show some class.”
Tommy knew he had been acting like an asshole. If his father or uncles got wind of the way he’d been carrying on with the girls in town, he knew he would be in for an hour-long ass chewing and probably even a cheap shot to the gut. He knew better and knew that Teyler was right. His mother didn’t raise him to be an asshole. He’d fallen into the role to fit in and be cool. Stupid and immature and he knew it was time for it to come to an end. He was leaving for school soon and should not leave his peers in Falls Village with a bad taste in their mouths. If he planned to return some day, he’d regret his current behavior.
Teyler’s eyes swept up and down Colleen’s body then locked on her eyes as a smile spread across his face and he led Tommy in the direction of the girls.
“I think he just got me pregnant by the way he looked at her,” Diana said. “Holy crap!”
“Someone is getting a big one tonight. I saw the bulge in his sweats earlier today. Coll, you’re not going to be walking right tomorrow, sweetie. He’s definitely not like the guys from around here in that department.”
Colleen barely heard any of it. She was too busy beaming over Teyler handing Tommy and his idiot friends their asses. She was also focused on more important things like Teyler’s sun-kissed skin glistening with a thin sheen of sweat, his hair, tight to his head, curling just a tad tighter to his scalp than it had been before the game. Colleen wanted to run her hands over his head and feel the denseness of his tight curls. She wished she could draw her tongue down his neck and taste his perfect skin, see if it’s salty or sweet, maybe a little of both. And by the way Teyler was looking at her, she just might get her wish.
“I don’t know what to say,” Colleen began. “When you challenged them to the game, I figured you were recruited for good reason, but I never thought it was possible to be that good.”
Teyler blushed at her compliment but brushed the extra attention off. “Nah, that’s nothing. You should see some of the guys I play with. I’m gonna be lucky to see the court at all this year. And anyway, I didn’t do that for me. That was for you. They needed a lesson and they got one.”
“What did you say to him at the end of the game?”
Teyler nodded his chin as Tommy approached and cleared his throat to gain Colleen’s attention. In Teyler’s presence, that’s not an easy feat.
“Hey Coll, um…yeah, so,” Tommy stuttered, and his friends chuckled behind him until Teyler sent them a glare over Colleen’s shoulder. “Teyler, here is right. I shouldn’t speak to you like that. I wasn’t raised that way and I owe you an apology.”
“Wow!” Colleen exclaimed and smiled at Teyler. “You really worked some magic.” Then she turned toward Tommy and accepted his apology. He had been a nice kid years ago before his hormones and male bravado had turned him into a dick.
She really didn’t need his apology though. She didn’t have plans on seeing him again. They’d all be leaving for school soon, and Colleen was only planning on returning for the holidays. She was sure Tommy would end up as well off as his family and live in a McMansion somewhere with a trophy wife that he’d upgrade every four to five years.
Not the kind of life she wanted anything to do with.
She was planning to teach kids with autism, and she let the thought of herself watching professional basketball courtside enter her mind. She was falling fast for this boy. A guy here in Falls Village on vacation. She wasn’t even sure how long he would be there, and she already heard her mother’s warning from the past few summers about “dating” the tourist boys.
“They see you girls as part of their vacation package,” Dorothy Hamilton had warned since the summer that Colleen was thirteen. “Don’t let them take advantage of you.”
“Oh, is that how it went down?” her father had asked once when he’d heard Dorothy’s warning. He pulled her onto his lap and kissed his wife’s mouth in front of Colleen, Georgia, and Miles and they told him he was being gross.
“I met your mom here when I was on vacation, you know?”
“Yeah, Dad, we know,” Colleen had said, uninterested in hearing the story of their whirlwind summer romance one more time. Now she wished she could hear her father tell that story and his many others. She missed her father.