The Game Changer

Prologue

 “Pass it!”

I ignored the voice echoing around me, my hand in constant motion as I moved the ball down the court. I froze, gripping two hands on the ball tightly, my eyes scanning my surroundings. I could easily pass it to one of the three morons on my team, who was waving their arms, screaming things like “over here!” or “I’m open,” and maybe I would have if the opposing team didn’t have their players standing in front of them.

As I waited, careful not to take a step for risk of being called out for traveling, I considered my options. I could shoot from here, but it was a long shot. I could start to dribble again, but with a member of the conflicting team nearby, I didn’t think I’d be easy for him to steal the ball. We were close enough to their basket that he could easily score the winning point. We were tied, and the stopwatches on our phones were approaching the final seconds.

Looking back, I suppose I should have done anything other than what I did, but instead, I waited, still considering my options. That was when the other team sent a player to scoop in, knocking the ball from my hands. I spun around, watching him dash closer to the hoop.

“What the hell, man?” I called out, watching him shoot. A smug smile tugged at the edge of Tony’s lips as the ball swished through the net before landing on the ground, bouncing a few times as it settled on the pavement.

“Good game, Carson,” Matt moved to pat my back jokingly.

“Not cool,” I grunted, following the rest of the guys to the bench were all of our stopwatches were buzzing. I, like everyone else, grabbed my cell phone, silencing the howling.

“So, dude,” Matt was still talking, but my eyes focused on Ethan as he leaned over, grabbing my water from the bench and taking a sip, “Are you guys in on the bet?”

I smacked my water from Ethan’s hands, smirking to my best friend as it fell sideways, soaking his lap. Matt and the other guys chuckled in response, as Ethan cursed to himself. “What bet?” I turned my attention back to Matt.

“You guys didn’t hear about it?” One of the other guys from Matt’s team--I think his name was Tim or Tom or something like that—spoke up.

I looked to Ethan, who was returning the glance. We both shrugged and shook our heads.

“Whoever sleeps with the most girls in the next month wins.” Matt took a drink of his own water bottle, watching the two of us. The rest of the guys beside the four of us had split, hurrying off to some fast food place to grab some dinner. This was a Friday night tradition, and today, June 1st, was no different than any other day, or so I thought. It was different, though, because it marked the first day of the bet, and I was already behind.

“How many girls so far, dude?” Ethan chuckled, slapping at Matt’s shoulder.

“Just one, I took her home after midnight, so it counts.” He smirked proudly.

“I’m in,” Ethan smiled, “And I’ll win.”

They both looked to me, as I hesitated. Now, it may have seemed like it was an asshole thing to do, which it was, but something about a challenge excited me, and I was in. I’ve been known as the ultimate player for most of my high school career, and this would be my chance to continue that reputation when I left for college in only two months.

“I’m in,” I grinned, thinking of how I would go about this. If I wanted to jump into the lead, I needed two girls tonight. I was certainly up for that challenge.