This story contains homosexual themes. If you are offended by such topics or you are not of legal age to read such stories, please read no further. All the characters in the story are fictitious, any resemblance to actual individuals are purely coincidental. Comments are welcome at ghostwriter@si.rr.com
The All American
CHAPTER 1
Hunter could feel the churning is his stomach as the taxi slowed to a halt. He slowly opened the cab door, mesmerized by the sight before him.
"Excuse me, that's gonna be 18 bucks" the driver informed him in an obviously perturbed tone.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was ummm, just thinking" Hunter stammered nervously.
"Yeah, I can see that, but while you're thinking, the meter is still running. You want to think on my time or yours?"
Without answering, Hunter reached in his pocket and handed the driver a twenty. He grabbed his suitcase from the seat of the cab and walked slowly towards the building before him, totally unaware of the cabbie's grumbling about what he had considered a small tip.
As he neared his destination he hoped his decision had been a good one. He had turned down numerous academic scholarships, most of them full rides, for a shot in the dark.
Duke University.
Not only was it a great basketball school, but one with a highly regarded curriculum as well. With a lot of hard work, not to mention an incredible amount of luck, Hunter hoped to make the squad, pick up a small scholarship and work on his pre-law studies. Back home he had been a high school standout, both athletically and academically, but this wasn't Wyoming. This was Duke where people like him were commonplace.
He had been approached numerous times by the scouts who were impressed with his stats as well as his grades, but he knew up-front a scholarship was a long shot at best. At 6'3", he was considered short, even for a guard and coming out of a less than competitive high school league had all but sealed his fate. Now his only shot was to compete for the one slot offered to walk-ons. He knew he had the skills. He just had to prove to the coaches he could compete at this level. That, and beat out 20 other guys.
He took a deep breath as he opened the door to where the school's Athletic Department was housed. He pulled a map from his backpack and looked down both hallways and then back to the map trying to get his bearings.
"You look lost," a voice said from behind him. "Do you need some help?"
'Gee, is it that obvious?' Hunter asked himself.
He turned toward the stranger, wanting to thank him for his offer, but was taken aback when he realized who had spoken to him
"You're Jerric Donovan," he said softly trying desperately not to stare.
A huge smile covered Jerric's face. "I know. I have been for about 19 years now, but thanks for pointing that out."
Hunter could feel his face blush. "I'm sorry. I guess I was just surprised. The first person I meet on campus just happens to be last years' college athlete of the year."
"No problem", Jerric responded casually ignoring the reference to his achievement last year. "Now, where exactly was this map supposed to get you?"
"I'm trying to find Mr. Richmond. They said he can give me my room assignment for basketball camp."
"You a here on a scholarship?" Jerric asked innocently.
"No. I'm a walk-on."
"Ah, well good luck. I hear there are several of you guys trying out. Anyway, that's where I'm headed. I need to talk to Mr. Richmond myself. He's got me rooming with some red-neck kid out of Wyoming and that's just not gonna work."
Realizing how he must have sounded Jerric tried to explain.
"I mean I'm sure he's a nice guy, but I really need to work on my grades or I'm gonna loose my scholarship. This kid is from Casper Wyoming and last thing I need is some beer-guzzling cowboy with a .5 grade point average as a roommate."
Hunter tried his best to control himself. Seems as though Mr. Hot Shot was in for a surprise.
As they entered Mr. Richmond's office he immediately smiled at Jerric.
"Jerric, when did you get in? I thought you boys didn't have to report back until next week?"
"Well, we don't, but I kinda wanted to be here for the tryouts. I could use the workout and well, I need to make up a couple of assignments that I missed last semester."
Mr. Richmond nodded. "I saw your report card. Another one like that and you're in some serious trouble with your scholarship."
"I know. That's why I needed to talk to you, but why don't you help him first," he said nodding in Hunter's direction. "My problem might take a while."
"Okay," Mr. Richmond agreed. Then turning to Hunter he asked. "What is it that I can help you with son?"
"My name is Hunter. Hunter Paxson."
"Nice to finally meet you Hunter" he said as he extended his hand for Hunter to shake. "Coach Jackson said you had called from the airport and to have your key ready. How was your flight in from Casper?"
"Casper?" Jerric gasped.
"Yeah, Casper" Hunter answered with a sly smile on his face. "Coach Jackson invited me to try-out for the walk-on position."
"We're hoping some of his brain power of his will rub off on you guys." Richmond added. "Lord knows you can use it."
Now it was Jerric's turn to blush. "Let me guess," he asked, obviously embarrassed by his earlier comments. "You don't have a .5 GPA do you?"
"Are you kidding?" Richmond answered before Hunter could say a word. "Try a 4.5. Hunter is in pre-law.
Hunter was totally enjoying watching Jerric squirm.
"I suppose I've made a total ass of myself?" Jerric asked somewhat rhetorically.
"Pretty much." Hunter concurred. He grabbed his room key from the desk and headed toward the door. Looking back he smiled. "Later."
CHAPTER 2
Hunter had just finished unpacking, which had taken a total of 15 minutes, when he heard rather subdued knock on the dorm room door. He opened the door cautiously to find a handsome young man dressed in only a pair of shorts standing before him. 'Damn,' he thought to himself, 'Am I just extremely horny or are all the guys on this campus exceptionally good looking?'
"Are you Hunter Paxson?" the young man asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"I'm Jeff Judson. I'm here to represent Jerric Donovan."
"Represent?" Hunter asked smiling, intrigued with the conversation.
"Yes, Mr. Donovan would like to plead temporary insanity and throw himself on the mercy of the court."
'Hmmm, he could throw himself on ME anytime he likes,' Hunter thought to himself, knowing the likelihood of that ever happening was slim to none.
"Well, Mr. Judson, exactly how are you gonna convince me that it was only temporary insanity."
Jeff laughed loudly. "That's gonna be tough. I've known Jerric all my life and now that you mention it, insanity has been pretty much a part of his day to day existence. He is a great guy though and he's really not the jerk he obviously sounded like earlier.
Hunter couldn't resist. "So how much did he pay you to do this?"
Before Jeff could answer a voice from the hallway spoke up.
"Only 10 bucks" Jerric said with a smile as he peered around the wooden dorm door. " I'm cheap but adorable."
"Says who?" both Jeff and Hunter chimed in.
"Thanks a lot" Jerric said sarcastically. "You guys sure know how to do some serious damage to a guy's ego."
Jeff's wit was razor sharp. "Not your ego! That's impossible."
Hunter covered his mouth, trying desperately not to laugh. He had wondered about that. A guy like Jerric was bound to have a huge ego. He had been sought after by every major college basketball team in America, he was charming and to top it all off, he was nothing less than adorable. Hell, if basketball didn't work out Hunter felt for sure Jerric could model for any top agency.
Jerric was obviously not amused with Jeff's attempt at humor.
"Fuck you!"
Jeff grinned. "You wish!"
Jerric only shook his head. "I guess I should introduce you two. "Jeff Judson, this is Hunter Paxson."
You extended your hand for Jeff to shake. "Nice to meet you."
"Same here. Like I said, I've known Jerric for years. We went to school together in New York and as fate would have it, we both got scholarships here.
"So how come you guys don't room together?" Hunter asked. "Seems like that would be the perfect arrangement. You guys already know each other.
Jerric flashed a quick look at Jeff. "Let's just say that not all friends can be roommates, besides I can't stand the smell of chlorine."
Jeff raised his middle finger boldly in Jerric's direction. "And sweaty basketball shoes smell good?"
Hunter laughed. "Okay, I can see why you're not roommates. Does this go on all the time?"
"Constantly" Jerric and Jeff said in unison.
Jeff glanced down at his watch. "Shit, I'm gonna be late for practice. That means and extra 50 laps on top of the coach chewing my ass!"
He turned and sprinted down the hall "Call me later Jerric. Bye Hunter."
Jerric pulled off his t-shirt and planted himself next to Hunter on his bed. "So, if we're gonna be roomies, I guess we should kinda get to know each other. You got plans for tonight?"
"No, not really.
"Great how about we grab something to eat off campus and go shoot some pool or something." Jerric suggested.
"Sounds good. You have a car?"
Jerric smiled. "Oh yeah! One of the big shots in the Alumni Association owns a car dealership and he's a huge basketball fan, so he lets me drive any car on his lot. It was sort of an unwritten bonus for me signing with Duke."
Hunter was shocked. "Are you kidding? This guy just lets you drive whatever you want and you don't have to pay for it?"
Jerric leaned over immediately and covered Hunter mouth with his hand. "Shhh, do you know how much trouble I'd get into if the NCAA found out. I'm not supposed to take gifts from anyone, much less a BMW. I could loose my scholarship."
In his attempt to quiet Hunter, Jerric had pushed him back on his bed and was lying on top of him. While Hunter was in no hurry to move, he knew he better. Having Jerric Donovan laying on top of him dressed only in a shear pair of nylon shorts was a bit more that Hunter could take for any length of time.
"Do you mind?" Hunter asked.
Jerric was clueless "Mind what?"
"Mind getting off of me? You're not exactly light."
Jerric smiled and slowly moved off of Hunter. "Yeah, actually I do, but if you insist."
Hunter couldn't believe what he was hearing. Certainly Jerric was kidding.
"So, what time to you want to eat?" Hunter asked moving the conversation into a much safer arena.
"Whenever you're ready. I was supposed to stop by the library and pick up something on the Beethoven, but I can do that tomorrow."
Hunter laughed. "I'm guessing you have a report to do on him, since I doubt you are a connoisseur of classical music."
"You got it. I hate doing reports and I have to have it done before the semester starts. I was due last semester and the teacher gave me until next week to get it done."
Hunter shook his head. "I suppose that's another perk for being the star basketball player huh?"
Jerric only nodded.
"So how much do you know about him?"
"Absolutely nothing," Jerric admitted. "and if it were up to me I'd keep it that way."
"You've never heard of Moonlight Sonata?" Hunter asked in disbelief.
Jerric shook his heard.
"Then I guess we have our work cut out for us," Hunter commented as he grabbed a clean shirt, "and we gonna start tonight, not tomorrow."
"Are you serious? You're gonna help me?"
"Look, I think we can help each other out. I need to make this team. I want to go to law school and basketball is my ticket. You want to play basketball and school is your ticket. They way I see it, we need each other."
Hunter could see the wheel's turning in Jerric's mind. "So, I give you pointers on how to make this team and you help me pass these classes."
"Exactly, but I have to tell you one thing up front. I won't help you cheat. If you pass these classes its gonna be because you earned it."
Jerric's demeanor suddenly changed. "Look Hunter, I'm not very smart. Because I'm a good athlete, I've been helped out a lot when it comes to grades. The only reason I passed any of my classes last year is because I had help."
"You mean you had a tutor?"
"No, I had tests made available to me. I had people that took notes for me in class. I had professors that passed me just because of who I am. I can't do college level work Hunter."
"Bullshit!" Hunter argued. "If you are smart enough to remember all those complicated plays in the coach's play book, then you're smart enough to pass college courses. You just don't know how or what to study."
"You really think so?" Jerric asked.
"Sure I do. Now grab your keys. We'll stop by the library on the way to get something to eat."
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