Shh, Just Kiss Me (18+)

s i x t e e n

(Damon Grey)

"Guys!" I say calling my basketball players to huddle together.

"Yes, Coach," said Deandre, a  sixteen-year-old player, answered with a mouth guard coming out of his mouth. The rest of them followed behind him like a band of horses. They were sweaty and out of the breath. It looked like they were desperately playing hard to get their heads in the game. Their eyes looked like they wanted to fall out of their sockets.

It was starting to scare me.

"Take a break." I blew the whistle allowing the guys permission to relax.

"Coach Grey!" One of yelled across the court on they're way towards the restroom. "My mom said thank you for keeping me on the team."I didn't know who it was until their voice became more recognizable.  Raymond Guzman, one of the greatest players on the team. He's the star player. He gets a lot of attention from the girls, his teammates, and scouts who drop by the gym to check him out. Recently, he's been in a lot of trouble with outsiders. It is always those kids who have nothing going for them who bring down other kids trying to make a difference in their lives. Raymond is one of those kids who would die to be a basketball player and because of his gang-related past, it caught up to him. He was still getting involved with those outsiders. I told him in order to be on the team he had to throw his gang life away. Luckily, he left it behind.

I nodded my head smiling at Raymond. He's tall. The last time I measured his height he was six-foot-two. But now he's probably six-foot-three or four. These boys keep growing and growing. No matter how old I get, I feel like these boys grow with me.

"No problem Ray." I threw my clipboard on the bench and tossed my glasses in my gym bag.

"So," the voice of a woman echo's through the gym. "Did you miss me?"

I turned, picking up the basketballs off the ground.

"What do you want Nora?"

"Nun, just checking on you."

"You're annoying, you know that."

"Only in your eyes."

"Can you get that for me," I said pointing at a basketball rolling by her feet. She picks it up bending over and while she was bending over, Deandre comes out of the locker room.

"Oh shit, Coach Grey gotta girl." A few of his teammates appearing behind him catcalled repeating the same thing. Nora turns around, with her hand on her chest and the other covering her mouth.

"I'm sorry, what?" she said giving a displeased facial expression.

"She's fine too," said Deandre.

"Ay, ay guys. Her name is Nora and she's my cousin."

"Oh, ma fault. I mean, good afternoon Ms. Nora." Nora didn't bother to shake hands with the poor boy.

"Nora, you are so gorgeous, can I make you my wife?" Nora laughed at Deandre.

"How old are you?" she asked still giggling.

"Sixteen, but I'm turning seventeen this August. Next year I'll be legal, can you wait for me by then so I can treat you like a queen?"

"Deandre," I said looking at him with my brows furrowed."Get out of here. Go do some push-ups or something."

"Aw, you are so cute," Nora added giving Deandre a hug."Maybe I will."

"Aye, my son Deandre. Yo, get that number too." his friends added giving him motivation.

"Alright, wash off," I warned the boys. Deandre winks at Nora while he runs backward.