The Blue Cup Era

Jackpot Jace

Chapter 2: Jackpot Jace

            I felt the burn of the workout as my muscles contracted. My chest felt heavy as if someone laid a cement block on it. Pushing my body to its limit, it became hard to breath as beads of sweat dripped from strands of my hair and into my eyes. The thought of making varsity this year made me push myself beyond my breaking point. Only a few more days and the summer conditioning should begin. North Point High’s conditioning started a few days back, I guess they need all the practice that they can get. Give a couple of untrained kids a ball and they all think that they’re Cristiano Renaldo.

            My junior year, I made junior varsity, a step down from varsity. The coach said it was because I needed to work on my technique. “It’s not that you can’t play well, Jace. It’s just that you need to work on the way you play. I put you on a field to work with the team, not to represent yourself. It can’t be about you all the time. You’re a great player; just learn how to be a great player with a team. I’m gonna put you on J.V this year.” The way he put emphasis on his words made me sick. They echoed through my head every time I was on the field. I’m just about the best player on the team, why should I be on J.V? This time, I was going to conditioning to show Coach Graham that I’ve gotten better.

            I lay back, exhausted from crunches and stared deep into the plain ceiling. A whole Saturday open for anything. Life was a cycle of four things for me; school, soccer, partying, and girls. Those four things never changed for me and I was pretty happy with that. Go to school, go to a game, win, get invited to a party, win, and start all over again on Monday. Easy.

            I wasn’t always about soccer and girls though, that’s shallow. I had my soft side, I brought that out around my mom and the girls. Mom wasn’t soft and plushy though, she taught me how to work hard; how to be a leader. My mom was a R.N and my dad was the editor for the town newspaper. Each day he goes to work in some expensive dress shirt a tacky tie.

            A tie is like a noose. It’s a modern noose with silk accents and a fancy design to help you move through your dull job and on with life. Each time you wear a tie, it’s for an important event in your life; your first job interview, your promotion, your wedding, your first court appearance, and when you’re laying in that fancy box with flowers on top, and your folks crying to you, reminiscing on all the good times you had in life. Each time, the tie just gets tighter and tighter.

            From my pocket, I pulled out my phone and stared at the screen. Across the middle was a number that I didn’t recognize. It was like someone had dialed the number in, but forgot to call. The more I stared at the number, the more familiar it started to look, but when you pass your number out like old Snickers on Halloween, it’s hard to say what’s familiar and what isn’t.

            I was honestly hoping it was the waitress from Frenchy’s. She was lean with long legs, a flat stomach, pouty lips, and a full chest. She was a junior too, but I’d never really seen her around school. She had sparked my interest, and in North Point, you need all the entertainment you could get.

            I met her at last Saturday. Greyson told me that she was the sweetest thing since apple pie. Her face was soft looking and her smile was just as pretty. Maybe she would text me later on, maybe I ‘oughta go up to Frenchy’s and show her what she’s forgot about.

Would that be too much? 

“Tsk Tsk Tsk, are you not glad to see me, Chloe?” I asked flirtatiously, shaking my head.

 “I’m busy Jace make it quick.”

She smiled in a way that only she could. Her lips were glazed like a donut, and probably tasted like one too. Sweet and sticky like Willy Wonka Laffy Taffy, and I was begging for a taste. The way her chest pushed against the thin white t-shirt; the way she kept her lips glossed… The way her skirt rose when she bent over, it all left my mind wondering about every inch of her hourglass shaped body. Fuck, did I want to be the sand inside that hourglass. I couldn’t help myself. In my mind I was slowly undressing her and tracing my name with my tongue across her smooth lower back.