I Keep Reaching Ch. 03

"Hey, I'm Jamie," Nathan's younger brother said as he approached me. I extended a hand in greeting and we shook hands. "Yeah, I remember you from watching Nathan's games. You are really good!"

I chuckled at his comment. I really wasn't that good and I was especially aware of that now that I had a couple years of division 2 basketball under my belt.

"Hey, Anna. Good to see you. Ready to get your butt kicked?" Jamie taunted.

"Ha! Yeah right!" Anna said, passing him the ball.

As Jamie dribbled the ball, we all turned to see Nathan enter the courtyard. The moment he recognized me, his eyes immediately widened.

"Oh, what's up man? I didn't know Anna was talking about you when she messaged me."

I wanted to punch him in the mouth the moment he started talking, as if playing basketball together years ago somehow made us friends. I forced myself to calm down.

"What's up," I uttered, still looking at Jamie dribbling the ball.

"This is Nathan, he's Chloe's brother!" Anna said.

He clearly didn't know that I was Chloe's brother and upon Anna's introduction, he became noticeably distant and quiet, other than muttering "Oh, I didn't know that."

"Alright! Two on two, me and Erik versus you two," Anna said fiercely. "Let's say .. first to twenty points!"

I seriously doubted we were going to finish a full game but I decided to play along and huddled next to Anna. I said, "Alright, I'll cover Nathan, you cover Jamie."

"Roger that," Anna said before clapping her hands together and walking to the center of the court.

"You guys start," I yelled.

Anna looked back at me and I motioned for her to take a more defensive position on our side of the court.

Jamie passed the ball to Nathan and they took their positions.

Nathan dribbled the ball down the court and I immediately started covering him as he made his way to the three point line. He has his back turned to me, his arms flailing around his body with the ball in hand, as he looked for an opening to pass the ball to Jamie. Every time he stepped in one direction to try to break free, I was there with my hands high in the air. Eventually, he stepped to his right and tried to break free and dribble towards the basket. I caught on to his motions and knocked the ball out from under him and dribbled the ball across the court for an easy lay-up.

"Woo hoo!" Anna cheered. "Good one, Erik!"

I let the ball fall to the ground and roll away towards the chain fence as I made my way across the court.

"So it's going to be like that, then?" Nathan scolded when I made it back.

"Go get the ball, second string," I hissed.

Nathan scrunched his eyes and glared at me, as if to say "Dick!"

Nathan begrudgingly made his way across the court and found the ball. He walked back to the center of the court and started dribbling. He stood on the centerline, dribbling the ball, alternating between dribbling between his legs and dribbling in front of them. As he started down my side of the court, I immediately started defending him again. This time, I allowed him a bit more breathing room and he got within range for a two pointer and tried to make a fade away shot. I easily deflected the shot and it flew high into the air towards Anna, and she caught it.

Nathan and Jamie made their way across the court and took defensive positions. Anna passed me the ball and I slowly dribbled the ball down the court. Now, basketball is considered a "semi-contact" sport, meaning light contact from defensive pressure and the occasional elbow was to be expected but deliberate contact with the intent of bringing a player down was strictly prohibited. I wasn't exactly playing by the rules at this moment, however.

As I made my way down the court, I found myself standing in front of the three point line with the ball raised high above my head. Being much taller than Nathan, I could easily keep it from his reach without having to resort to wildly swinging my arms from side to side. As I turned my body towards Anna, waiting for an opening, I found a different sort of opening. Nathan was stretching his body and reaching wildly, trying to intercept the ball should I pass it. As he made one of these stretches, I very deliberately turned my upper body and elbowed him square in the nose.

My 'plan' didn't really extend beyond meeting him in person so at this point I was improvising.

Nathan's hands immediately went to his face as blood started gushing from his nose.

"Are you okay, Nathan?" I heard Anna shout as she ran towards him.

"Fuck, man, I think you broke my nose. What the fuck was that?" Nathan squealed, his voice muffled by his hands.

"I think I have some towels the car, I'll be right back," Jamie said as he rushed from the courtyard. Anna followed him.

"God dammit, Erik. We're just playing for fun!" Nathan growled.

The courtyard was now empty except for the two of us as I said, "You're a real shit, you know that?" Anger was flaring up inside me from his ridicule of my behavior. Who the fuck does this guy think he is? I wondered.

"You're not talking about Chloe are you? Listen.." Nathan explained, his expression turning to shock and fear at my reveal.

"Shut up!" I yelled, cutting him off.

I grabbed him by his hair and pulled his face up to look at me. His eyes were wide with fear as I started to peel his hands off his face. A stream of dark red blood immediately gushed out his left nostril as I moved his hand.

He struggled to pull free and I yelled at him, "If your nose is broken, let me see it!"

He stopped struggling and I gripped his bloodied nose between my thumb and index finger. Yep, it was broken, I thought. I snapped the bone back into place with an audible 'pop' between my fingers.

"FUCK!" Nathan screamed.

His hands immediately went back to his face as he hunched in pain. I pulled him up by his hair again to face me. His breathing was inexorably fast as he stared at me with an expression of pure horror. I reveled in his fright as I stared down into his eyes, my face and posture mimicking my version of my father when he's angry.

Anna was sitting at the bleachers, just staring in shock as I openly bullied Nathan. Jamie had returned from his car and was just standing at the gate with a small towel, watching the spectacle from a safe distance.

"Now, listen to me," I scolded. "Stay the fuck away from Chloe."

"Listen, I don't know what she told you, but.."

I didn't let him finish; instead, I grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into me as I kneed his gut with all the force I could muster.

He fell to the concrete and rolled onto his side, one hand on his gut, the other still clinging to his bloody nose as he groaned and coughed in pain.

"No calls, no texts, no communication at all. If you run into her in public, you leave, you get it?"

He just continued to groan and cough into his hands as blood continued to seep through his nose and fingers. I kicked him, hard, in the gut and yelled, "DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

"Yes.." he managed to mutter. "I'll leave her alone; I promise."

"Good," I said, leaning over him. His face contorted in pain as I lifted the full weight of his head by his hair and continued, "because I swear to fucking God, if I hear that you so much as make her feel bad, I will find you and you will be much worse off than a bloody nose."

For good measure, I kicked him one last time in the gut, this time less forcibly but still enough to elicit pain, to which he cried out in pain and shouted, "I'm sorry!"

I walked towards the gate to a shocked Jamie who subtly stepped aside to allow me passage. I found Anna still sitting on the bleachers, wearing a similarly shocked expression.

"W-what was that all about!?" Anna stuttered as I sat down next to her. She was confused and afraid of me and I wanted to calm her down.

"It's a long story, but it's over now. You can talk to Chloe about it later in more detail. We should leave," I explained. The implications of my actions were starting to sink in and I wanted to get out of here.

"Nathan's a mess! We should get him to a hospital!"

"Let his brother take care of it. Seriously, let's just leave," I said. "He deserved it, I promise."

I stood up to leave and Anna reluctantly followed me.

We were parked a few spaces away from each other and after we made it to our cars, Anna turned to me and said, "I'm going to have a long talk with Chloe about what happened here. I don't appreciate you using me and making me an accomplice to your violent outbursts. Don't text me again."

Anna entered her car and slammed the door as I shouted "Sorry!" Hopefully Chloe would explain to her best friend that I was only trying to help.

Anna drove off while I sat in my car, peering at the fenced courtyard. Nathan had gotten up and was sitting down on the metal bleachers with a towel over his nose. He sat there for a few minutes next to his brother, their mouth movements indicating heated discussion. Soon his nose had stopped bleeding and he was only occasionally dabbing at it with the now blood soaked towel.

As they stood up and started walking towards the parking lot, I considered waiting for them and telling Nathan that I went too far. He just seemed so feeble and defeated that I couldn't help but feel bad. The longer I waited, the easier it became for me to realize I needed to apologize.

I stepped out of my car and leaned against it as they approached.

"Hey, wait!" I shouted. They were a dozen spaces or so away from their truck and I started walking towards them.

As I got nearer, Nathan jutted in front of Jamie with an arm held out to his side. At least he's not a complete ass, I thought.

"Wait, I'm not going to attack you," I said.

Nathan relaxed, slightly, but was still tense. He had a large, open gash at the top of his nose. It was still occasionally oozing blood and his towel was never far from reach.

"Look," I explained, "I took things too far. I'm sorry, man."

Nathan muttered something to Jamie prompting him to go wait in the truck. Nathan didn't move.

Once Jamie opened the passenger door and was inside, Nathan said, "It's nothing, I'll be fine. Hurt my ego more than anything. You didn't have to beat my ass in front of my brother, you know."

"I kind of did, Nathan," I responded.

Nathan stared at the ground, occasionally dabbing his nose with the towel. I was waiting, hoping for his side of the story or any kind of explanation for what he did to Chloe. We stood in silence for a few several moments before he said, "I'll stay away from Chloe, you have my word. Tell her I'm sorry, okay?"

He extended a hand to shake mine but I paused. He seemed genuine, but given that he didn't even try to defend his actions, I opted to ignore his offer. Instead, I gave him a small nod and started walking back to my car.

As I sat back in the driver's seat, I felt at ease. I was glad that we had ended things on peaceful terms. Although Nathan and I were never close friends, there's something to be said about the comradery and respect that you naturally develop for teammates. Although I lost respect for him, I believed he still had enough respect for me to honor my wishes.

I decided to text Anna, despite her instructions not to, and apologized, telling her about the conversation with Nathan in the parking lot.

Eventually, I pulled out of the old high school parking lot and drove back home. When I arrived, I found Chloe sitting on the porch waiting for me. She was wearing a short black dress decorated with pink and red roses. It was a very modest dress but she looked lovely.

I parked on the street in front of the house and as I stepped out of my car, Chloe rushed towards me. She was holding down the bottom of her skirt to keep it from rising above her waist.

"Anna texted me what happened," Chloe said as I stepped out of the car.

I slammed the car door shut and turned to Chloe. Her right hand immediately grasped mine and pulled me towards the house.

Before we opened the door, I stopped and looked at Chloe.

"What are you so dressed up for?"

She looked to me, smiling, and said "Mom and Dad brought some neighbors over from Church for lunch. We already ate but Mom is making some cinnamon rolls right now."

"You look beautiful," I said, truthfully. Her long, auburn hair was loose except for a few strands from each side that wrapped around the back and held her hair in place.

Chloe stepped close to me, her chest pressured against mine, and stood on the tips of her feet to kiss me on the lips. "Thank you," she responded.

I found the door was unlocked and entered the house, Chloe close behind me.

"Oh, there you are!" Mom exclaimed, walking towards me.

Mom hugged me, eager to show her affection towards me in front of her friends. I saw my dad sitting on his recliner. Our neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham were sitting on the couch, holding hands. The smell of cinnamon rolls was strong in the air; I loved when Mom made cinnamon rolls. The familiarity of being home made the adrenaline that was pumping through my system fall to a more normal level.

I'd seen Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham several times before in similar situations, usually church events or social gatherings around the neighborhood. I didn't know them that well but I knew they were a few years younger than my parents and were avid church-goers.

"Oh, Erik, your elbow is bleeding!" Mrs. Cunningham said, worriedly, as I was hugging Mom.

I pulled back from Mom and wiped at the blood on my elbow. There was blood, but it wasn't my blood.

"Oh, it's nothing. Probably just a scab rubbing off," I responded. It wasn't the worst excuse; being a basketball player did sometimes come with the occasional scrapes and bruises.

Mom pulled me into the kitchen where I found a small buffet for making burgers. There were the normal assortments: lettuce, cheese, pickles, etcetera. I eagerly began fixing my plate. Nothing like kicking someone's ass to build one's appetite.

"Cinnamon rolls are done!" I heard my mom shout from the other side of the kitchen a few minutes later.

Everyone else had already eaten the first course of lunch but I was still eating my burger when everyone else came to sit down. Dad was on the end of the table, near the hallway. Chloe sat next to me with Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham opposite of us. Mom placed a large oven sheet filled with homemade cinnamon rolls on the center of the table before expertly covering them with the sweet, sugary coating. They smelled amazing. Mom sat down at the table, opposite my dad.

As Mom was sitting down, Chloe whispered in my ear, "That was really stupid, you know."

Chloe leaned back in her chair next to me and was smiling. I smiled back at her.

She leaned into me again and whispered, "Thank you. My big, hunky brother."

I giggled at her comment. I'm tall, but hunky? No. Dorky would be more appropriate. Chloe affectionately bumped my shoulder with hers and looked at me, her face beaming with a wide smile.

We were sitting on the east side of the kitchen table, in front of a large china cabinet. I had nearly finished my burger at this point and reached for a cinnamon roll when I felt a hand on my upper thigh under the tablecloth. I looked suspiciously to Chloe and she grinned at me knowingly.

"Your mom couldn't stop talking about you this afternoon, Erik!" Mrs. Cunningham said across the table. "She says you're doing great in basketball! Do you plan on going pro?"

'I'm not that good' would have been my normal response but my mind was pre-occupied with Chloe's hand. She was now very deliberately stroking me under the table over my shorts. My dick quickly inflated to its full size.

"Uhhm, no." I paused for a moment as I felt Chloe's fingers lightly pinch at the tip of my penis. I snaked up my chair in response. I settled back down into the chair as Chloe resumed her gentle stroking down the length of my shaft with her thumb and index finger.

"No, I'm not really that great," I continued, the words coming out almost like a moan. Jesus, what is wrong with her? I thought to myself. One day she's this reserved version of my sister and now she's, what, jerking me off under the table!? In front of our parents and neighbors!? I was conflicted to say the least but I didn't want it to stop either!

"Oh, he's just being modest," my mom said. "But he is focusing more on school than basketball. He says he doesn't enjoy it like he used to."

I was so happy that Mom took over the conversation that I could have kissed her.

I looked over at Chloe as her fingers continued to run down the length of my shorts. To anyone else, she looked like she was just enjoying some dessert and having light conversation with family and friends. Everyone else was happy to devour their cinnamon rolls with their hands, myself included, but Chloe was picking at hers with a fork with her free hand.

"That's great, Erik," Mr. Cunningham said. He had a very disarming voice, very calming. He was a teacher, I think. "What are you studying?" he asked.

Chloe increased her urgency. Her fingers were now gripping me with almost too much pressure as her hand continued to massage up and down my shaft. I tried to control my squirming as best I could. I peeled off parts of my cinnamon roll and stuffed my face as I focused on appearing as normal as possible.

"Frank asked you a question, Erik," Chloe said with a giggle. Her fingers were relentless as she openly teased me in front of everyone.

"Oh, I'm sorry. What?" I managed to squeak out.

"What are you studying at school?" Mr. Cunningham repeated.

I reached under the table to block Chloe's movements. I couldn't very well carry on a conversation as she jerked me off under the table. My hand was covering hers, but as I felt her soft, small hand under mine, I couldn't bring myself to tear her away. Chloe understood my torment, however, and eased up on the pressure. She didn't stop her gentle stroking, however.

"Oh, uhm. Computer science," I answered in far too many syllables.

Mr. Cunningham acknowledged my answer but, like before, I could barely comprehend him.

Fortunately the topic of conversation changed and Mrs. Cunningham was talking about renovating their house. With less pressure on me, I looked over at Chloe. God, she looked so good. She returned my stare for a moment but quickly turned away as to avoid attention. Of course she couldn't hold my stare; I was staring at her like a piece of meat. Her dress was classy but it did little to hide the soft curves of her body: the round bumps of her chest, her slim waist, her womanly hips. She wasn't revealing any cleavage but I couldn't help but imagine what she looked like under her dress. She looked so lively, so energetic. My eyes scanned her body for several seconds before I realized what I was doing.

With everyone's attention on Mrs. Cunningham, I pushed down on Chloe's hand, into my crotch. Chloe recognized my urgency and tightened her grip around my shaft. I was desperately close to cumming. With my left hand still gently caressing her hand under the table, I reached under the table with my free hand and reached for her leg. Her dress stopped just over her knees but sitting down, I was easily able to reach under her dress and grab her muscular upper thighs. Chloe spread her legs slightly for easier access and my hand immediately wrapped around her leg to fondle as much if her as I could.

The whole ordeal lasted only a few minutes but the taboo nature of our behaviour soon pushed me over the edge. My hand continued to caress her leg as I stifled a moan. I lifted my left hand from Chloe's and tried to cover my face as I climaxed from Chloe's very public handjob. She continued to work me after I came and I had to pull her hand up to protect my sensitive penis.