April's Story

Note: This story is the ninth episode in a series entitled "April's Story". If you have not read the previous eight episodes of this series, I encourage you do so before beginning this chapter.

This is a dominant wife humiliates submissive husband story. That is the kind of story I write. If you do not enjoy these types of stories, I strongly recommend that you look for something else to read.

All people, places, businesses and organizations in my stories are fictional. They are creations of my imagination. If by some coincidence I have accidentally chosen a real person, place, business or organization it is an accident and purely coincidental.

Late night basketball games played for money do exist in some of our major cities.

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The Tomb

In May of 1935 President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Works Project Administration. 1935 was the height of the Great Depression in the United States. The WPA was a massive nationwide effort to get the throngs of unemployed Americans back to work. This program created parks, roads, damns, bridges and public buildings.

The 7th Street Recreation Center was one of the buildings created by the WPA. The rec center was built in 1937 out of granite dug from a quarry in the upper peninsula of Michigan. The combination of quality materials and an unlimited labor force resulted in the construction of a nearly indestructible fortress.

Most of the building was a sprawling one story section of offices and meeting spaces. The central core of the building was a two story structure with an arched roof that resembled an aircraft hangar. Someone decided that the heavy granite construction coupled with the unusual shape of the roof made the building look like an ancient Mesopotamian tomb. The building actually looked nothing like a Mesopotamian tomb, but no one in the neighborhood had ever seen one, so the name stuck. By 1940 the rec center was affectionately known to most of the neighborhood residents as the "Tomb".

The Tomb was at the height of its glory during the years immediately before and after World War II. The immense central core of the building housed a huge amphitheater that served as both a gymnasium and an assembly hall.

This hall hosted the birth and development of several labor unions and political movements. During his Congressional witch hunts of the early 1950's Senator Joseph McCarthy once referred to The Tomb as one of the early homes of the Communist Party in the United States.

By 1955 urban blight had destroyed the neighborhood surrounding the Tomb. The building became the victim of vandalism and neglect. By 1965 the interior of the Tomb was a shambles. In 1969, the building was boarded up and abandoned.

For the next twenty years it sat empty and ignored. Its only reasons for existence seemed to be to provide shelter for the local vagrants and to serve as a convenient surface to display the work of the neighborhood graffiti artists.

In 1989 a group calling itself the African American Cultural Preservation Association took up the cause of the Tomb. The first step in their campaign was to persuade the Federal Government to turn over ownership of the structure to them. The group was persistent in their efforts and in 1993 the government sold them the Tomb for $1.00 with the stipulation that they complete a total renovation within ten years.

They spent the next three years applying for a combination of public and private grants. By the end of 1996 they had accumulated enough money to start the renovation. During the early stages of the remodeling process they diligently continued their fund raising efforts. By the fall of 1997 they had enough funding to complete the renovation.

The new Tomb opened in the fall of 1999. It contained a neighborhood health clinic, a day care center for working mothers and an African American cultural center. These were all very important to the community, but the real show piece of the new Tomb was what was done to the old amphitheater. It was now a state of the art basketball arena. It had two full side by side basketball courts complete with scoreboards and bleachers.

Everyday when school got out, the neighborhood teenagers flocked to the Tomb to play their favorite game. The building teemed with adolescent energy until 9:30 every night. At 9:30 the building closed and the kids were sent home.

At 11:00 the Tomb reopened. The character of the late night Tomb was much different than its daytime counterpart.

The Health Clinic, The Day Care Center and the African American Cultural Center were now all closed.

In the daytime the basketball court was a home for countless teenagers pursuing their dream of playing in the NBA. At night the basketball court became the scene of a wild bacchanal for adults featuring basketball, alcohol, drugs and sex.

The host of this party was a large black man named Big Reggie Diamond. Big Reggie was a local bookie. He and his entourage operated out of The Black Knight. The Black Knight was a notorious downtown Gentleman's Club that he owned.

The African American Cultural Preservation Association leased the late night use of the Tomb to Big Reggie. As part of the lease they demanded that he make sure that nothing happened at night that would give the Tomb a bad name.

Big Reggie had a small army of security guards that vigilantly policed the building. They weren't there to interfere with the party, they were there to prevent violent crime. If someone's behavior got out of control they were forcefully shown the door.

Big Reggie's security force also guarded the door. If you didn't know someone, you didn't get in.

When Darb's and Jamal arrived at our apartment we all got into Darb's car. He drove an old Lincoln Continental. It was nice. We could all fit into it. As we got in I noticed an extra passenger. She was a large African American girl in her early twenties.

Darbs quickly introduced us. "This is my cousin Chantal. Chantal this is April, Danny and Ponce."

Chantal smiled. "Hi everyone. It's nice to meet all of you."

Jamal quickly explained. "Chantal is primarily going along to watch our things while we're on the floor playing. She'll also be registered as a team member in case anyone gets hurt. Chantal did play high school basketball so she can help us in an emergency."

Chantal laughed. "I wasn't anywhere near as good as you April. You were really fun to watch in the State Tournament last year."

I blushed and said, "Thank you." I paused for a moment and then I asked. "Where did you play Chantal?"

"At Jefferson High School in the City Conference."

During the trip to the Tomb we all took turns talking about our high school basketball careers. It was fun. As we talked I realized that I was in the company of some very elite high school players.

Ponce was on the All State team in Wisconsin, Danny was on the All State team in Indiana and Jamal was on the All State team in Michigan.

Suddenly Darbs interrupted the conversation. "There's the Tomb. Jamal where should I park?"

Jamal looked around. "Under that street light over there."

The Tomb was in a bad neighborhood. You had to worry about where you left the car.

As soon as we were parked, Jamal turned to us. "Okay let's have your betting money."

Darbs took out a pad and pencil. When Jamal called off our name, we handed him the amount of money we wanted to bet along with our $20.00 entry fee. I took a deep breath and handed him $120.00. I noticed that Ponce did the same thing. Danny gave him $220.00. When we gave him the money Jamal carefully counted it and Darbs wrote the amount down on his pad.

Once we were done we all got out of the car and walked up to the building. I smiled when I saw it. It really did look like a tomb.

We were stopped at the door by two well muscled young African American men wearing tight fitting black turtleneck shirts and maroon berets. This was the uniform of Big Reggie Diamond's security police.

One of the guards looked at us and said, "What's your business here?"

Jamal answered. "We're entered as a team. Mr. Diamond knows us. I'm Jamal Wright."

The other guard looked at a clipboard. "His name is right here." He looked up. "How many do you have?"

Jamal answered. "Six including me."

"Okay, go check in with Mr. Diamond"

The guards stepped aside. We entered the Tomb.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I encountered when we walked into the basketball arena. There must have already been five or six hundred people in there.

As we entered I noticed that the spectators were being charged $5.00 each to get in. Big Reggie wasn't losing any money.

While we stood in the door to the gym, a young woman walked up to Danny "Hey cutie, want to go around the corner and party with me. One hundred dollars gets you the best blow job in the city."

Danny smiled at her and said, "No thank you, maybe some other time."

The girl nodded. "Okay Sweetie. My name is Sandy. I'll be here all night in case you change your mind."

As we walked into the arena I whispered to Danny. "I'd like to know what she does that I don't do."

Danny laughed. "Give me a hundred bucks and I'll do some research for you."

I hit him on the arm. "No way stud."

I turned my attention back to the arena. The unmistakable odor of marijuana hung in the air. I looked around. People were openly passing blunts back and forth.

We made our way across the floor. I was gawking like a twelve year old at the circus. Over by the wall a man was selling half pints of liquor. He had bottles of vodka, brandy and bourbon whiskey. The sign next to him said 1/2 pints $10.00. Not far from him a group of men were on their knees shooting dice. Wads of money lay on the floor in front of them.

The Reggie Diamond security men were everywhere, but they didn't interfere with the gambling, Marijuana use or prostitution that was going on. It was clear that the rules in the Tomb were looser than the rules society lives by outside of the Tomb.

As we approached the far sideline of the second basketball court Ponce tapped me on the shoulder and pointed. "That's Big Reggie Diamond."

I looked. He was pointing at a black man in his early 50's. This man was immaculately dressed in a very expensive looking navy blue pinstripe suit. He must have weighed at least 300 lbs, but he wasn't obese. He was just a very big man. There was a group of at least a dozen more well dressed middle aged black men surrounding him. They were all holding clip boards. Next to this group of men was a blackboard. On the top of the board the word "Odds" was written. Below that eight teams were listed. One of the teams was JW's Posse. I suspected that JW was Jamal Wright and we were the posse.

Ponce whispered into my ear, "The men around him are his bookies. They're the people who will be taking the bets on the tournament tonight.

While Ponce was whispering to me, my attention was being drawn away from Big Reggie's assistants. I was focusing on a group of white women standing behind them. There must have been at least 15 of them. Most of them seemed to be in their late 20's or early 30's, but there were also several older women in the group. Two of those women seemed to be about the same age as my mother. All of the women were dressed like sluts. Low cut blouses, brazenly short skirts and spike heeled shoes appeared to be their required uniform

I looked behind the group of women and froze. A blond in her late 20's was on her knees. She was giving a middle aged black man a blow job. No one seemed to be paying any attention.

Jamal walked up to Big Reggie Diamond. "Good evening Mr. Diamond, I'm Jamal Wright."

Big Reggie nodded. "I remember you Jamal. Did you bring a good team with you tonight?" He smiled. "Can your guys give the North Side Boyz a little competition?"

"I hope so sir."

All of the sudden Big Reggie noticed me standing behind Jamal. He stared at me for a moment and then he said, "My my what do we have here?" He motioned for Jamal to step aside and waved one of his giant hands at me. "Come here sweetheart."

I hesitated.

He laughed. "Don't be shy Big Reggie won't bite you."

I stepped towards him.

For a moment he studied me. Finally he pursed his lips and said, "Oh yes sweet cakes you do look good enough to eat. How old are you honey?"

"Nineteen sir."

He shook his head. "Just perfect, sweet cakes you should to come down to my club. We could put you on the stage right away. A cute thing like you could make a $1000 to $1500 a night." He paused. "You could double that if you're a naughty little girl who's willing to do some extras in the VIP room." He leered at me. "Are you a naughty little girl? Do you like sucking cocks?"

I blushed.

Big Reggie roared with laughter. He looked at Jamal. "She is perfect. Did you bring her with you to see to your teams needs?"

"No sir, she's one of our players."

Big Reggie stared at me again. He was obviously reappraising me based on this new information. After a moment he shook his head and said, "No shit."

He turned back to Jamal. "I gotta see this." He grinned. "I do believe that you have just turned this into a very interesting evening."

Jamal handed Big Reggie our entry fee. He counted the money and turned to the man sitting next to him. "One hundred twenty Dollars, that's enough for six players."

The other man made a note on his clip board. When he was done writing he looked up. "What are the names of your players?"

Jamal said, "Danny Gerard, Marion Poncely, Charles Darby, April Hansen, Chantal Lewis and myself Jamal Wright."

Big Reggie looked at Jamal. "You have two women on your team?" He thought for a moment and then he said, "Something is going on here." He looked at me. "You're April right?"

I nodded. "Yes sir that's correct."

"I'll have to watch you. Jamal's no dummy." He turned to the man by the blackboard. "Post the opening odds on JW's Posse at 12 to 1."

He looked back at us. "You're in the upper bracket. In the first game you'll be playing the Black Cats on floor one. " He pointed to the basket on his left. "Warm up at that basket. We'll start in 10 minutes. Use that bench over there." He pointed to a wooden bench next to the first court.

As we left he called to Jamal. "What color tee shirts do you have?"

Jamal called back to him. "You told me to get green. That's what I have."

Big Reggie smiled, "Very good."

We walked over to the bench. Jamal opened his bag and pulled out a handful of green tee shirts. He tossed one to each of us.

While we were putting our tee shirts on he pulled a basketball out of his bag. "Everyone keep an eye on this. If we don't watch it carefully it will disappear in a second in this place."

He tossed me the ball. "April we want you to look like a klutz right now."

I dribbled onto the floor, shot a layup with the wrong hand and banged it off the glass.

Danny laughed. "Don't make it too awful. Make them think you're just an average female player."

We watched the odds board while we warmed up. The word had spread that there were two girls on the team. No one wanted to bet on us. Our odds started to climb. A minute before the game the game was scheduled to start the odds hit 17 to 1. Jamal left to place the bet. As he walked over to the bookies the odds rose to 18 to 1.

We all watched him while he to talked to one of the bookies. When Jamal opened the envelope that contained our betting money, the bookie looked up at him with a shocked expression. Jamal had a $1,000.00 from us plus another $150.00 from the guys we played with the other day in the gym at Kelroy. The bookie took our money, counted it carefully, filled out a betting slip and handed it to Jamal.

While Jamal was walking back to us the bookie got up and walked over to the man at the blackboard. Big Reggie turned to listen as his two bookies conferred. After a moment he turned and stared at me. The man on the blackboard changed our odds back to 12 to 1. A murmur went through the crowd as they noticed this drastic drop in the odds.

As soon as Jamal got back to us he handed the betting slip to Chantal and said, "Guard this with your life."

Chantal laughed. "Aint nobody getting this out of my hands."

Jamal handed the basketball to Chantal and the five of us walked out on the floor together. While we were lining up for the center jump Jamal assigned us players to guard. I was given a wiry young man everyone called Scooter.

The referee threw the ball up. Ponce tipped it to Jamal. Jamal passed it back to me and ran up the court.

I brought the ball up the floor. Scooter was guarding me. As I crossed the mid court line I was planning to look for Ponce breaking to the high post. I quickly changed my mind when I realized that Scooter was overplaying me to my right. He didn't believe I could go to my left. I decided it was time to educate him.

I made a subtle feint to my right. As I did it I exposed the basketball to Scooter for just a second. He went for the steal. By the time he made his move I was already pulling the ball back to my left. He was caught off balance. His momentum carried him by me. I took one dribble to my left and found myself wide open at the three point line. This was my bread and butter scoring move in high school. I smiled and put up an easy jump shot. The ball never even touched the rim as it went through the net. Bingo, we were up by three.

While we were running down the court to set up our defense I heard Scooter say to his teammates, "The bitch can go to her left."

Scooter brought the ball up for his team. I picked him up at mid court. He looked quick. I respected his speed. He must have felt I was giving him too much space. He pulled up and fired a jump shot. It banged off the back of the rim.

Jamal picked off the rebound in the center of the lane. I was already braking to the right hash mark. Jamal flipped me the ball. I saw Darbs sliding to mid court. I passed him the ball. Danny was burning down the left sideline. Darbs led him perfectly. Danny gently laid the ball into the basket with his left hand. We were up 5 to nothing.

The format for the night was 15 minutes running time for each game. Ties were resolved by sudden death overtime. In other words the first team to score wins.

This game didn't need overtime. When the 15 minutes of running time expired we were ahead 32 to 19. It really wasn't a contest.

As we walked off the court I looked at the odds board. The odds on us had fallen to 7 to 1.

As soon as we got back to our bench Ponce produced a bottle of water from his bag. He took the top off and handed it to me. "Here drink as much as you want. I can refill it."

I took a big swig and handed it back. "Thank you sweetheart, that was good."

The next game was getting ready to start but my attention was focused in the other direction. I was very curious about Big Reggie, his crew of bookies and most of all the entourage of white women that surrounded them.

As I surveyed the group I noticed that there were now two women standing next to Mr. Diamond. One of them was a blond in a skin tight red dress. She was wearing a wedding ring. I assumed she was his wife.

The other woman was a young red head wearing a very short skirt and a satin blouse that left her taught stomach exposed. I wondered if she was a dancer from his club.

The blond in the red dress looked at me. For a second our eyes met. She smiled, leaned over and whispered into Mr. Diamond's ear. He looked up at me, turned to the blond and said something.

The blond nodded and walked over to me.

"Hi I'm Staci. Mr. Diamond asked me to come over and get to know you a little better. He's very curious about you."

Behind me I heard Jamal clear his throat. I turned. He was holding his hand out with his palm down. He was warning me to be careful.