Changes...

A couple of weeks had gone by and every day I expected to hear a knock at my door. After that scumbags last visit I had made up my mind that no more. Enough was enough. I wasn't some weak little bitch and this was going to stop. But that next knock never came.

I had deposited the check from that low life, scum bag and it cleared the bank. The asshole didn't cancel the check so I put the money to good use. Seems old Scott must've decided that having a mentally unstable, young, gay nineteen year old kid in his life wasn't something that he needed to risk.

Whatever his thinking was, I could care less. The only thing that mattered to me was that he hadn't come back. Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on Scott. After all I let him use me and degrade me. I was vulnerable and at the lowest point of my young life. So maybe I should give him a pass.

Yeah, no, never mind, fuck that piece of shit...

As time passed my mind became just a little clearer. Classes seemed easier and the universe actually gave me a helping hand. Leaving for class this morning I stopped by my little sandwich shop downstairs on my way out.

The sandwich shop opened at six in the morning every day except on Sunday. On Sundays Mr. Lewis, the shop owner, closed. Mr. Lewis wouldn't work on a Sunday being the good god fearing man that he was. Of course this meant that every Sunday we were on our own for basic things such as food and coffee. But that's on Sunday and I'm getting ahead of myself.

Every morning a local bakery delivered all kinds of pastries for them to sell. Plus they also sold quick grab and run breakfast stuff. Stuff like breakfast tacos, breakfast sandwiches and this delicious sausage inside a roll called a Kolache. What I really liked was that they served a really good strong coffee.

No expresso lattes, iced coffee or mochas here. At least not in 1977 in this Texas town.

On this wonderful day they had a HELP WANTED sign up. I asked about the job and was told to come back later in the afternoon. I did and the owner recognized me as being a faithful regular. Once he found out that I lived in the building things went along fairly quick. In one days' time he had spoken to the building manager and received nothing but good words about me. I was hired on the spot.

So now I had a job, no scumbag in sight and next two month's rent paid for. Life was allowing me to breathe. It was May now so classes were about to let out for the summer. I didn't want to just sit around and waste time during the summer so I signed up for summer classes. I also bought myself a ten speed bike. Remember those? C'mon who didn't have a ten speed back in the day, right?

I had classes in the morning and worked the late afternoons in the sandwich shop. Life was good. I was off on Saturday which meant I had the weekend off. Mr. Lewis the shop owner told me, "Any young man trying to better his life should have some time away from work." I wasn't going to argue with that. In fact I lived by that rule for as long as I was able.

Riding around on my ten speed one Saturday afternoon I found out about basketball pick-up games at the local park recreation center. Apparently every major park across town had a community rec-center. Inside that rec center the main section of it would be an indoor basketball court.

Now I was never a super athlete but growing up in a small farm town on the panhandle area of Texas you did have to play sports. If you lived in a small town in that time and didn't play sports people would automatically think that you were gay. Unless of course if you had some sort of disability. Then you would get a pass. I was very healthy and I couldn't have people thinking that I was gay. I mean, come on, really?

I sucked at football, I hated getting hit. I was always way back of the line to get into a football game. I was never a speed demon but again I couldn't have people thinking that I was gay so I participated in track.

But basketball, to this day I love basketball. That is my game. Being from a small town the level of competition in our area was not top level. On the few times that we did advance in the playoffs we would be kicked out after a two games.

But now I was living in a city where the local high schools played in the highest classification at the state level. So the local talent was something that I had never seen before.

That day as I made my entrance into the rec center gym I could see that I might not be able to compete here. There were some athletes out there of all sizes and colors. Again, small town meant low level competition. Plus it also meant zero black athletes in the small farm towns. So what I walked into that day was new to me.

The system for getting into a pick-up game is probably the same now as it was then. Pretty basic stuff, most of you who have ever played in a pick-up game know this already.

Five guys waiting to play the game get together and call next. Whoever lost the game being played would sit out and the team that called next would step in to play. First to score fifteen points wins, baskets only count as one point, not two.

No free throws after a foul you just got the ball at the top of the key. Oh and you did not call a foul unless blood was drawn. Because if you called a foul you better be bleeding or you were a pussy. Or worse you were a...

That's right, no blood and you call a foul means...you're a fag.

Getting into my first game the young man in charge of my team let us know that we would run. No dribbling up slow, it was run and gun. He had to be in charge because everyone agreed. Then just like that I was having the time of my life. What I lacked in athleticism I more than made up for in accuracy. Accuracy of both my passes and my shots.

This got me some quick respect and Tye's attention. The team leader.

I would find out in later months that Tye was two years older than me. But Tye and I were about the same height. We were both around 5'9", 5'10ish. I had grown a couple of inches since my days on the farm. What Tye had that I didn't have was this thing called, "hops." In other words, this kid could jump. I had never seen a live dunk in my life. But on this day I was in for a treat.

Some things in life you never forget. They are burned into your memory. Some of those things are happy, sad or holly shit that just happened!

The player from the opposing team made a lazy pass that I picked easy. Tye must've thought to himself that if I had any kind of game I could make this steal. He broke down court before I even had the ball in hand.

Finishing this play was too easy. Tye broke left, I broke right. The guy I picked the pass from had regained his balance and was almost on me. But he was just a bit late. I gave Tye a perfect no look pass which he caught in stride.

Tye didn't even have to dribble. Two and half steps and boom! Tomahawk dunk, I was in awe. I had never seen that in person, ever. The rest of the next two hours we never left the court. One game after another we kept the court until finally there was no team to call next.

I was drinking water when Tye came over. He introduced himself and right away we got along really well.

Stop it, calm down. I know what you're thinking.

I keep coming back to the same point. It was 1977. I had grown up in a small town. I had no clue how to act around black people. So no, I didn't see Tye as a, "guy that I wanted to be with." In any way, I just didn't see it.

Tye was black and being with a black guy in that way or any way was not something that had ever crossed my mind. I came from a closed, farming community where tons of bullshit about black people was constantly shoved into my head. One stereotype after another was constantly ingrained in mind by ignorant people.

Over the next months I would teach myself to overcome all that bullshit that I had been taught from an early age. But not on this day, being with Tye in any way was not on my radar. Especially sexual. Besides, I had a girl on my radar.

I wanted to be a normal guy...

Tye gave me a quick shout out. "Gotta run Young Blood, you got game. A little slow but you got game." I was proud of myself at that moment and replied with a simple, "Thanks." Looking around I could see that everyone was leaving. "Where's everyone going?" I asked Tye as he was getting his drink.

Raising up and flashing a quick smile, "Right now I am heading home but if you think you can keep up with a real game we'll be at Washington Park tonight." Raising my eye brow, I hadn't heard of that park.

"Yeah? We'll see. I have something to do but what about tomorrow?" That was all I could think to say. Instead of saying, "I've never heard of that park and I'm too scared of places that I don't know to ever go there." Tye let me know that every Saturday everyone hit three parks.

The one we were at now was their second stop. The first one was in the morning and it was on the South side. South side in this town was the rich side of town. The money side. That's where the local business owners and business managers lived. The people that did the hiring and the firing.

The park we were at now was the North side. The North side folks were the worker bees. This is where the middle class working families lived. White, Black, Hispanic.

But Saturday nights in the summer, the best pick-up games were at the North East rec-center. Washington Park was where it was at for Tye and his friends. The North East side of town was the black side of town. Immediately I knew that I had to go to that park. After playing all day with these guys I had to see how good those games were.

May and June went by like a blur. Summer classes were no problem and working in the sandwich shop downstairs, basically working from home, was awesome. I had started making an attempt to be normal. By that I mean that I actually had gotten myself a young lady friend. I started dating this wonderful young lady that I worked with. I wanted to be normal or what everyone else said was normal.

Normal to them...

Back to the games. Every Saturday playing against all these players that for some fucked up reason or another never made it to the next level was intense. Those games were awesome because everyone in those games could play. I could go there and by the time the day was over I would be completely spent. It was the time of my life.

I had my ass handed to me on many a Saturday afternoons and evenings. But that was ok because those that didn't take me serious and underestimated me paid for it. I will never know what competing at a high level feels like but those Saturday afternoons and especially the evenings brought me as close as I'll ever get to that feeling.

These rec-centers were built in the late sixties and the AC design wasn't great. It was hotter than normal in the Washington park rec center gym and tonight's games were tighter than usual. The heat was only making things worse. All night it had been a battle. It had been our team and one other team holding the court since around seven and it was almost ten o'clock.

Neither team was giving in to the other. They would be beat us and we'd sit out a game then come back and beat them. Then they would sit while we would hold the court and play them again. All night it was win then lose, then win again. It had started to get a little tense.

The rec director knew that when it got like this he'd better close up early or feelings would get hurt. The rec center closed at midnight on a Saturday. But not tonight. Because at the Washington rec center if feelings were hurt during the game things other than feelings would hurt worse after the game. It was time to call it a night so this was it.

This was the last game of the night. The rec-center would close after the next point. Everyone was playing tight. A lot of shirt grabbing, hand slapping and extra bumping. I had the ball at the top of the key and this grown ass, twenty something man would not get off of me.

This guy had been in my shit all night. In an earlier game he had caught me with a forearm across the face. Tye called the foul for me but I told him to let it go. I wasn't bleeding and I wasn't a pussy or a fag.

This was the last game of the night and I was really starting to hate this prick.

I stared dribbling left then right but I couldn't shake him. This fucker was a lot faster than me and I was starting to lose it. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw Tye making a hard run straight at me. If I timed it right I would run this fucker right in to the hard screen that Tye was running up to set.

I knew what to do but I had to get the timing just right. Wait for it, wait for it. Just as Tye came to a stop right next to this asshole I broke in Tye's direction. What I was hoping for was for Tye to screen this dickhead knocking him on his ass and giving me a clean shot. Everything played out perfectly I got the screen and the dickhead hit Tye, hard, but it didn't knock him on his ass.

Didn't matter because I could still break clean but fuck! Tye's man came off of him and got up in my face. Fuck me. Then right at that exact moment Tye peeled off and broke to the basket. Dickhead being stupid, the guy giving me shit all night, never thought of sticking with Tye.

Instead Dickhead and Tye's guy jumped me. Before they could close the lane I dropped a perfect bounce pass between them hitting Tye in stride. It was over the minute Tye caught the pass. Tye was clean to the basket, he took two and a half steps.

BOOM! Tomahawk dunk... Brought the house down!

Those rec-center gyms barely had enough room for a basketball court so everyone watching the game had to stand along the walls of the rec-center. People were in the hall ways and rec-rooms. The rec-rooms had these big open windows to look out of into the court. Everyone inside the rec-center exploded right as Tye banged that ball through the rim...Life was so good.

"Great game Young Blood!" That was Tye's name for me. He had started calling me that from our first meeting and now nobody knew my real name. But they knew who Young Blood was. That would be me. I was on an adrenaline and testosterone high.

Shaking my new friends hand and going in for the bro bump. Everyone else giving me the pat on the back, the guy slap on the ass, and high five's. Through all that I heard Tye call out to me, "Hey can I catch a ride?" He didn't have to ask. I would've driven him anywhere. "Sure man no problem," was my quick response. A little more trash talk with the sore losers and we were out the door.

Stepping outside the talk got more intense. Tye was going off on Dickhead and things were getting too tense for me. "C'mon man, fuck him, he's not worth it." I grabbed him and pulled him back. More words were said but we walked away. Fuck me, this was way too much testosterone.

Finally we got in my car and took off. The entire ride was reliving the night's games. Going on and on about we should've done this or that. Basically riding along feeling good. Life was looking good for me. I had a girl that things were starting to go really well with. I had a very cool friend to hang out with. Classes were going great. Yeah finally a normal life.

"Ok so you really need to stop shaving your legs." His words hit me like a stack of bricks. I had been playing ball and not once had I given this any thought. My grooming and taking care of my body was such a part of my routine that I really never gave it a thought. "What do you mean?" I asked as I was starting to get nervous.

"Hey don't worry I'm cool with it. It's just that you know how people are." I sat there driving listening to him talk to me in a very calm, approving manner. "Look I don't judge and honestly I think your legs are hot." Holy fuck...that was all I could think to myself right at that moment.

Did he just say my legs were hot? What the fuck was happening? This can't be real, I'm not like that. I have a girl for fucks sake! All these thoughts were blowing through my mind. Who is this guy and where is Tye? My mind was racing.

"Ok here, pull in here. Pull around back." I did as he asked pulling into a driveway that curved to the back of the house. "This is my crib, my folks are out of town. Come on, let's go inside." He hadn't let those words come out of his mouth and I already knew where this thing was headed.

I better not. I have someone waiting on me so I better get home. That's what my brain told my mouth to say. But those words didn't come out of my mouth. Instead I put my car in park and started getting out of the car. I followed Tye inside as we walked into the house. Through the back door, through the kitchen, through the dining room, living room then down the hallway. I could see the bathroom at the end of the hallway. The light in the bathroom was the only light on in the entire house.

Tye came to a sudden stop turned around and slid his hands around my waist pulling me into him. His face was inches from mine. "So, you going to let me hit this tonight?" My mind was on the verge of exploding. Did he just say what I think he said? He asked me again, "C'mon now, you going to let me hit this?" With that second question his hands slid down my waist and both his hands were now on my ass.

Then he leaned in and kissed me. At the same time he gripped my ass cheeks. A low whimper escaped my mouth as his full lips were now smothering mine. My hands instinctively went around his sides until my hands were on his back. I was holding on as he was giving me a kiss like I had never had before.

His mouth was mouthing mine and that's when I felt it. Oh yes, he had a cock. A real cock. A cock that brought back memories of someone that I had sworn to forget. Don't think about the past I kept thinking to myself. Tye kept kissing me, soft, full mouth kisses. Then suddenly that other guy's memory faded. All that remained on my mind was the cock that was against me. The cock that was getting harder and harder.

Without hesitation I released from his wonderful kiss and I slowly slid down to my knees. Right there in the hallway, just outside what I assume was his room. I was on my knees. I tugged at the sides of his shorts pulling them down until the waist band was at his mid-thigh. His cock was now struggling inside his jock strap. The white color of his jock strap against his black skin gave me the most beautiful outline that I had ever seen.

Without saying a word he pushed his jock strap down then moved to lean against the wall. I moved over so that I could be right in front of him. The light coming from the hall bathroom was all that I needed. Right in my face was a very dark, thick, hard cock. It was a mixture of a black and a very dark tan color. But the head of his cock is something that I will never forget. The head of his cock was almost purple and the pee hole was huge. Then again the entire cock was huge.

I opened my mouth and took that purple head between my lips. I suckled his cock. Slowly, very slow, allowing my tongue to slather the underside of it. Then I slid my tongue over the top of it. One hand was holding on to the thick shaft. Try as hard as I could, I could never get my middle finger and thumb to touch. He had a thick cock and my heart was racing.

His musky scent was so intoxicating. There was nothing gross about him. We had played ball all day and he still smelled good. This told me everything I needed to know about how clean he kept himself.

I kept working that beautiful purple monster with my mouth. Pumping his thick shaft with my hand and holding on to his thigh with my other hand for balance. "Oh shit David..." My eyes opened wide, he had never called me by my real name. I don't even remember telling him my real name.

I started working his cock with great appreciation. Pumping his cock, slathering the head of his cock with my tongue and saliva. Swallowing the extra saliva so not to make a mess. "Motherfucker David! Fuck David! Arrgghh..." I loved how the head of his cock felt in my mouth. I grabbed on to him with a firm grip, pumping that shaft and suckling that cock with more emotion.