Relieved.
That's the only way J.J. could describe how he felt as he rest his head on the back of the seat in front of him. Some of his other teammates were crying, they had just wrestled for the last time as a member of the South Dade team and for others, this was the last time they would ever be wrestling.
The underclassmen cried as well, they had built friendships with seniors that were now going to disintegrate, no matter how hard they tried to keep in contact. J.J. had that experience first hand as he went from seeing Francis every day to calling him every day once he got to Jersey and now, weekly calls were sporadic. Others were ecstatic, the school was back on the map for wrestling and the coaching staff knew this solidified their program as one of the best in the state.
The only person that wasn't crying or emotional was the state champion. He was simply relieved. Going undefeated as a senior had became more of a chore than a feat and he simply wanted to reach the finish line. He knew this reprieve wasn't going to last very long, not when Iowa coaches were already texting him congratulation texts that were quickly followed about how they couldn't wait until he got there.
This too shall pass but for now, he was relieved.
......
"Thanks for giving me a ride," J.J. said as he continued to go through his phone, sending his mom a picture of him holding the state trophy. He was sure that it would be all over Facebook by the time he woke up tomorrow.
"No problem," Marge said as the dim street lights provided little vision under the midnight sky, "You must be exhausted."
"Yeah," J.J. replied as they pulled into the apartment complex, "I tried to get a little bit of sleep on the bus but with everyone talking and shit, it was pretty tough."
"At least you don't have practice for a while," she shrugged, trying to find the upside of things.
"I wish," he scoffed as he started to gather his things, "Iowa wants me at 149 so I need to keep this weight all summer while also getting stronger so it's going to be hard."
"I'm sure you can do it," Marge smiled.
"Thanks for the ride again," J.J. said as he got out of the car.
"Actually," she stopped him as she noticed that the designated parking spot for their apartment was empty, "Can I use your bathroom?"
"Of course," he replied as she began to follow him inside.
"I'm guessing he's not home?" Marge asked as J.J. turned on the lights inside of the apartment to reveal an empty home.
"Night shift," he explained, "He's been picking up shifts like crazy, he's trying to save to move up north now that I'm going to be gone."
"When do you go up there?"
"June," J.J. headed into the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle, chugging it as he returned to the living room to see that Marge was still standing there, "The bathroom is right up there."
"Come on," she laughed.
"What?"
"You really don't know why I'm here?"
"To use the bathroom?"
"Whatever," she scoffed as she headed towards the door before J.J. got in her way.
"Did I do something wrong?"
"You didn't do anything," she explained, "That's the problem. There's been like this....tension between us forever and I finally try to do something about it before you leave and you make me look like an idiot."
"What tension?"
"Come on J.J.," she tilted her head, "I've seen you staring at me all the time, especially when we went to the beach last year. You keep rubbing up on me when we're at parties 'by accident' and shit."
"You're with Francis?" J.J. said with a puzzled look on his face.
"Please," she sucked her teeth, "Just say you scared of pussy, that's why your ass is a virgin. Maybe you into niggas, probably why you so good at wrestling."
J.J. grabbed her arm as she stormed off but she pulled away. He lunged at her once more, pinning her against the wall, "I'm not fucking gay, don't say that shit!"
"Let go of me," she tried to squirm away but J.J.'s grip tightened, "Fuck, you're hurting me!"
Her words finally got to J.J. as he loosened his grip, letting her hands go free. She stood there for a second, almost frozen before spitting in his face. He tried to open his mouth to say something but she was already running out the door.
To Live and Die.
To Live and Die.
jj aint come to play school
To Live and Die.
why your characters always low key scumbags?
To Live and Die.
"Never have I ever.....kissed a girl."
The room erupted as they saw one of the girls take a sip of her drink, even catching some of her friends by surprised based on her reaction. J.J. simply forced a smile as he took a sip of his drink, continuing his ritual of lying during these games.
"Was it a tongue kiss or...."
"Was it at band camp?"
"Shut up," the girl said with a slight blush, "I had a....phase in high school, it lasted like two weeks anyway."
The game sort of came to a standstill as she became the new object of everyone's focus, conversation and a bit of ridicule. He had been at college for just a few months now but he had figured out the point of these games were to test the waters and see who the guys had a better shot at sleeping with. J.J. had managed to avoid these sort of encounters in high school despite being a star athlete given that the sport he was excelling at was wrestling and in south Florida, who gives a shit if you have arguably the greatest season of any wrestler in your weight class in the Florida high school wrestling history?
There was nowhere to hide now at Iowa City, not when the party was happening at your literal dorm. J.J. tried to skip the first few but he would eventually be dragged out of his dorm under the disguise that one of the girls wanted to meet him. He had watched enough porn to know that as a muscular build black man in Iowa, he was likely a sought after commodity for many a fantasies but there was still the part of getting them to fuck you that he was still figuring out.
"I think we're out of Natty's boys," Walt said as he closed the fridge door.
"Sounds like the night is over," said one of the girls, J.J. hadn't bothered to figure out her name.
"Come on," Eddy protested, "We're just getting started, we sure we don't got anything left? Check the freezer maybe or the pantry."
"We've been going hard these days," Walt laughed as his mission went unsuccessfully, "We can go grab some from Nate's dorm, I think they went on a lake trip or something this weekend."
"That's a fucking mission," Eddy groaned as Nate didn't live on campus and was a ten-minute or so hike under the cold frigid night,
"I'll go get it," J.J. volunteered, getting an applause from the rest of the party attendees.
"Someone go with him please," said one of the girls but everyone seemed to ignore her.
"He'll be alright," Eddy smiled as he slapped J.J. on the back of the leg as he walked past him sitting down, "He's a fucking monster, who's going to attack this guy?"
"Fine," the same girl groaned, "I'll go with him."
"Great protection," Walt laughed, "Be sure to stay near Emily or you'll be in trouble."
......
"Do you guys always raid his stash?"
"Not always," J.J. shrugged as he went from cupboard through cupboard but was coming up dry, "He's a walk-on so they give him a little bit of shit and his dad's like this rich motherfucker apparently who just loves the wrestling team, donates a bunch of shit."
"I can tell," she said as she looked around his swanky apartment. It was more of a bachelor pad look than a college student dorm, "Is the lake house his too?"
"Yup," J.J. replied as he went through the fridge once more, trying to make sure that the trip wasn't in vain, "We went there back in the summer, it's fucking huge."
"Maybe they took the alcohol with them to the lake house," Emily suggested. She had been quite the chatty patty since they left but J.J. didn't mind as it helped make the walk go by faster.
"Maybe," J.J. looked around the apartment before heading towards the back, "Or maybe we're looking in the wrong place."
Emily followed J.J. into the bedroom where there was a mini fridge where J.J. was currently raiding. J.J. looked back with a smile on his face as he took out a half-filled Smirnoff bottle and a six-pack of beer. It wasn't much but it was more than they came with.
"I haven't been on a regular bed in forever," she let out a moan as she fell onto the bed. J.J. was fine with literally stealing from Nate but laying on the man's bed with your outside clothes was a bit too far for him.
"He's not too bad looking," J.J. teased, "Girls have been with guys for less."
"How about you?" she sat up on the bed with her legs crossed, "Why have girls been with you?"
"Who knows?" he shrugged as he tried to keep his composure, aimlessly looking around under the guise of looking for more alcohol, "Maybe he's stashed some more shit in his closet or something."
"Come here," she said softly, scooting back a bit on the bed, "I've always wanted to fuck on somebody else's bed."
......
Who knew that summer in Iowa City would be so beautiful?
J.J. had began to enjoy his daily treks across campus, coming to and from his classes to his dorm. His schedule had lightened up in the summer, taking just two classes and he was enjoying having seemingly the entire campus to himself. Even most of the athletes had gone home for the summer break but with his cousin moving to Jersey, J.J. didn't really have a place to call home.
Despite finishing his freshman season with a record of 23-19, J.J. still managed to finish 8th in Nationals, earning him All-American honors as a true freshman. For J.J., it was a disappointment of a season filled with tough weight cuts and almost doubled the amount of losses he had his entire high school career. He practically begged and pleaded with the coaches to move up to 157 but with him having a strong performance at Nationals, that was just more proof to them that he could compete at 149 due to his reach advantage.
"Have fun with your rabbit food," said the dining hall clerk as she swiped his student ID card and handed it back to him.
Their stares held on for a few seconds but J.J. ultimately just smiled and walked away as he grabbed a tray. She was decent looking but he had already done the deed with her roommate as well and another girl that he had seen her walk around with before. In just a few months, he managed to lay down quite a few mines as he ravaged through Iowa's female student body. The lightened summer workload allowed him to double his efforts as well but he now found himself waiting for reinforcements to come in the way of a new freshman class.
Yes, he had become that guy.
"Okay, I need you to be my gym and food buddy."
J.J. looked up from the salad bar and spotted the dark-haired girl that he never could seem to shake. They had hooked up a few times as freshmen but nothing more than that, at least not to J.J.
"You just have to bite down and chew," he shrugged as he drizzled a bit of dressing on his mountain of leafy greens, "Add a bit of protein, some dressing, a bit of fruit and you're good to go."
"I need to lose like a good fifteen," Jess groaned as she tried to pattern her plate after J.J.'s.
"I wouldn't say that," he slightly tilted his head. She was one of the few girls on campus that had something to offer on the back end of things, "The Freshman 15 got to you?"
"More like 20," she replied as they took a seat at one of the nearby tables, inviting herself to his lunch plans.
He looked around the dining hall, making sure nothing he was thinking of lining up was also present before digging into his food.
"How's classes and stuff?" she asked, trying to stir up a conversation.
"I've only got two so can't complain," he took a break from eating, "If my eligibility wouldn't run out, I'd take two classes every semester. That's the move right there."
"I tried to do six in the spring," she took a sip of her water, "Damn near knocked me on my ass. I think I'm going to do four from now on and just catch up in the summer, do like two and two and that way, I won't be here until I'm 40."
"Nothing wrong with that. You remember that old lady in our Pre-Calc class?"
"Of course I do," she laughed, "Didn't one of you guys tried to sleep with her?"
"Ain't no you guys," he quickly defended himself while throwing his roommate under the bus, "That was Eddy. He made up a whole fake study group and shit, even made us show up the first few times to make it look real and then he tried to pipe after that."
"Did it work?"
"Fuck no," J.J. laughed, "It's fucking Eddy, you have to be a dumb freshman girl to fuck that guy."
"Glad I wasn't one of those," she rolled her eyes a bit, "What are you doing after this?"
"Probably just hang out in my dorm," he replied.
"Want to maybe hang out?" she asked, lowering her voice a bit as he had rejected her past few advances.
J.J. pondered it for a bit, thinking about how many times he can play Walt's PS3 before getting bored of it, "Sure, my place or yours?"
"Definitely yours."
The room erupted as they saw one of the girls take a sip of her drink, even catching some of her friends by surprised based on her reaction. J.J. simply forced a smile as he took a sip of his drink, continuing his ritual of lying during these games.
"Was it a tongue kiss or...."
"Was it at band camp?"
"Shut up," the girl said with a slight blush, "I had a....phase in high school, it lasted like two weeks anyway."
The game sort of came to a standstill as she became the new object of everyone's focus, conversation and a bit of ridicule. He had been at college for just a few months now but he had figured out the point of these games were to test the waters and see who the guys had a better shot at sleeping with. J.J. had managed to avoid these sort of encounters in high school despite being a star athlete given that the sport he was excelling at was wrestling and in south Florida, who gives a shit if you have arguably the greatest season of any wrestler in your weight class in the Florida high school wrestling history?
There was nowhere to hide now at Iowa City, not when the party was happening at your literal dorm. J.J. tried to skip the first few but he would eventually be dragged out of his dorm under the disguise that one of the girls wanted to meet him. He had watched enough porn to know that as a muscular build black man in Iowa, he was likely a sought after commodity for many a fantasies but there was still the part of getting them to fuck you that he was still figuring out.
"I think we're out of Natty's boys," Walt said as he closed the fridge door.
"Sounds like the night is over," said one of the girls, J.J. hadn't bothered to figure out her name.
"Come on," Eddy protested, "We're just getting started, we sure we don't got anything left? Check the freezer maybe or the pantry."
"We've been going hard these days," Walt laughed as his mission went unsuccessfully, "We can go grab some from Nate's dorm, I think they went on a lake trip or something this weekend."
"That's a fucking mission," Eddy groaned as Nate didn't live on campus and was a ten-minute or so hike under the cold frigid night,
"I'll go get it," J.J. volunteered, getting an applause from the rest of the party attendees.
"Someone go with him please," said one of the girls but everyone seemed to ignore her.
"He'll be alright," Eddy smiled as he slapped J.J. on the back of the leg as he walked past him sitting down, "He's a fucking monster, who's going to attack this guy?"
"Fine," the same girl groaned, "I'll go with him."
"Great protection," Walt laughed, "Be sure to stay near Emily or you'll be in trouble."
......
"Do you guys always raid his stash?"
"Not always," J.J. shrugged as he went from cupboard through cupboard but was coming up dry, "He's a walk-on so they give him a little bit of shit and his dad's like this rich motherfucker apparently who just loves the wrestling team, donates a bunch of shit."
"I can tell," she said as she looked around his swanky apartment. It was more of a bachelor pad look than a college student dorm, "Is the lake house his too?"
"Yup," J.J. replied as he went through the fridge once more, trying to make sure that the trip wasn't in vain, "We went there back in the summer, it's fucking huge."
"Maybe they took the alcohol with them to the lake house," Emily suggested. She had been quite the chatty patty since they left but J.J. didn't mind as it helped make the walk go by faster.
"Maybe," J.J. looked around the apartment before heading towards the back, "Or maybe we're looking in the wrong place."
Emily followed J.J. into the bedroom where there was a mini fridge where J.J. was currently raiding. J.J. looked back with a smile on his face as he took out a half-filled Smirnoff bottle and a six-pack of beer. It wasn't much but it was more than they came with.
"I haven't been on a regular bed in forever," she let out a moan as she fell onto the bed. J.J. was fine with literally stealing from Nate but laying on the man's bed with your outside clothes was a bit too far for him.
"He's not too bad looking," J.J. teased, "Girls have been with guys for less."
"How about you?" she sat up on the bed with her legs crossed, "Why have girls been with you?"
"Who knows?" he shrugged as he tried to keep his composure, aimlessly looking around under the guise of looking for more alcohol, "Maybe he's stashed some more shit in his closet or something."
"Come here," she said softly, scooting back a bit on the bed, "I've always wanted to fuck on somebody else's bed."
......
Who knew that summer in Iowa City would be so beautiful?
J.J. had began to enjoy his daily treks across campus, coming to and from his classes to his dorm. His schedule had lightened up in the summer, taking just two classes and he was enjoying having seemingly the entire campus to himself. Even most of the athletes had gone home for the summer break but with his cousin moving to Jersey, J.J. didn't really have a place to call home.
Despite finishing his freshman season with a record of 23-19, J.J. still managed to finish 8th in Nationals, earning him All-American honors as a true freshman. For J.J., it was a disappointment of a season filled with tough weight cuts and almost doubled the amount of losses he had his entire high school career. He practically begged and pleaded with the coaches to move up to 157 but with him having a strong performance at Nationals, that was just more proof to them that he could compete at 149 due to his reach advantage.
"Have fun with your rabbit food," said the dining hall clerk as she swiped his student ID card and handed it back to him.
Their stares held on for a few seconds but J.J. ultimately just smiled and walked away as he grabbed a tray. She was decent looking but he had already done the deed with her roommate as well and another girl that he had seen her walk around with before. In just a few months, he managed to lay down quite a few mines as he ravaged through Iowa's female student body. The lightened summer workload allowed him to double his efforts as well but he now found himself waiting for reinforcements to come in the way of a new freshman class.
Yes, he had become that guy.
"Okay, I need you to be my gym and food buddy."
J.J. looked up from the salad bar and spotted the dark-haired girl that he never could seem to shake. They had hooked up a few times as freshmen but nothing more than that, at least not to J.J.
"You just have to bite down and chew," he shrugged as he drizzled a bit of dressing on his mountain of leafy greens, "Add a bit of protein, some dressing, a bit of fruit and you're good to go."
"I need to lose like a good fifteen," Jess groaned as she tried to pattern her plate after J.J.'s.
"I wouldn't say that," he slightly tilted his head. She was one of the few girls on campus that had something to offer on the back end of things, "The Freshman 15 got to you?"
"More like 20," she replied as they took a seat at one of the nearby tables, inviting herself to his lunch plans.
He looked around the dining hall, making sure nothing he was thinking of lining up was also present before digging into his food.
"How's classes and stuff?" she asked, trying to stir up a conversation.
"I've only got two so can't complain," he took a break from eating, "If my eligibility wouldn't run out, I'd take two classes every semester. That's the move right there."
"I tried to do six in the spring," she took a sip of her water, "Damn near knocked me on my ass. I think I'm going to do four from now on and just catch up in the summer, do like two and two and that way, I won't be here until I'm 40."
"Nothing wrong with that. You remember that old lady in our Pre-Calc class?"
"Of course I do," she laughed, "Didn't one of you guys tried to sleep with her?"
"Ain't no you guys," he quickly defended himself while throwing his roommate under the bus, "That was Eddy. He made up a whole fake study group and shit, even made us show up the first few times to make it look real and then he tried to pipe after that."
"Did it work?"
"Fuck no," J.J. laughed, "It's fucking Eddy, you have to be a dumb freshman girl to fuck that guy."
"Glad I wasn't one of those," she rolled her eyes a bit, "What are you doing after this?"
"Probably just hang out in my dorm," he replied.
"Want to maybe hang out?" she asked, lowering her voice a bit as he had rejected her past few advances.
J.J. pondered it for a bit, thinking about how many times he can play Walt's PS3 before getting bored of it, "Sure, my place or yours?"
"Definitely yours."
To Live and Die.
"It was a crazy ass environment," Eddy continued to hold court until everyone's attention quickly shifted.
"Champ!"
"Welcome back, stud!"
"I always believed you!"
"Don't forget about us little people, bro."
J.J. smiled and nodded as he made his way through the crowd of people. He looked behind him every so often to make sure that Jess was still at the end of his arm. The days of him being able to slip in and out of establishments unrecognized were seemingly over, not after his latest performance and with his face plastered all over campus.
"The prodigal son returns," Brooks mockingly bowed to the junior, "I was the first motherfucker to roll with this guy, do I get something too?"
"Consider yourself lucky enough to have had your Highness even dare put his holy hands upon your wretched body," Walt kept the teasing going as it had been non-stop since they had return to campus.
"You should make them suck your dick," Jess told J.J., slurring her words a bit.
"Whoa," Walt laughed, "You just got here."
"Pre-party at Jen's," J.J. explained, "By the time I got there, it was a full on rager. I almost didn't even show up here if it wasn't for Brooks constant pestering."
"I'm going to be gone in a few weeks," Brooks placed his moist hands on the side of J.J.'s face, "We have to have one more legendary night, especially for a fucking national champion."
......
"Get me the peach thing," Brit said as she continued -- without much success -- to roll up another blunt.
"Coming right up," J.J. nodded, walking to the kitchen to fix himself a drink. He caught a glance of the clock, it was already 2 a.m. and the night was still pressing on.
They had shed a few pounds, losing mostly the guys as they had found a lady for the night. The remaining members of the caravan consisted of J.J. and Brooks along with Eva, Britt, Jen and Jess.
It had been a long night, enough for Jess to be drunk, sober up and get drunk again before adding high into the mix once they got back to Jen's apartment. It was supposed to be J.J.'s celebratory night after bringing home a national championship and finishing his junior season undefeated but he spent most of it babying Jess, at least until they got back to Jen's. She was now in a safe environment, clear of any perpetrators and J.J.'s fun night out really began.
"Get me something too," Jen instructed, "What are you drinking?"
"Jim Beach peach with a splash of juice," J.J. explained, "It's pretty good, ask Brit."
"It is," she nodded after she finished licking the rolling paper.
J.J.'s finished up his bar tending gig, getting both ladies and himself a drink. He returned to the circle they had formed on the ground to find a missing section as Eva and Brooks had retired to her bedroom.
"Again?" he asked, shaking his head in judgement.
"The heart wants what that pussy want," Brit joked, "Those two deserve each other."
"I'm not picking up the pieces anymore," Jen shook her head, "Your boy better be on his best behavior this time or we're going to beat his fucking ass."
"He didn't cheat," J.J. tried to defend his teammate, despite having a losing position, "If its a break, it's not considered cheating."
"Is fucking your girl's roommate considered cheating?" Jess quickly shot back, making everyone's head turn as she had been quiet for a while now.
"What?" J.J. asked her with a puzzled look on his face despite knowing exactly what she was talking about.
"Stop acting dumb," she pushed her index and middle finger against J.J.'s forehead, "You really thought she wasn't going to tell me?"
"Here we go again," Brit rolled her eyes.
"Here we go what bitch?" Jess tried to get to her feet but stumbled a little bit, losing her balance and falling down. J.J. reached over to help out but she pushed him away as she successfully made it to her feet this time, towering over Brit who was sitting down.
"Y'all aren't even together," she said on a low tone, trying to avoid eye contact.
"Do you wanna fuck him? Is that it?" Jess pushed Brit, using her feet and causing her to fall back.
"I think that's enough," J.J. quickly got up to his feet and separated the two, pulling Jess into the kitchen.
"Fuck off me," she tried to wrestle away but to no avail. She kicked at him a few times before trying to bite his hand but all of her attempts failed.
"Fucking stop!"
"I'll get her an Uber," Jen sighed as she pulled out her phone.
"What's going on?" said Eva as she came out of her room with Brooks behind her.
"Jess being a psycho bitch again," Brit scoffed, "Check your bitch Jen before I fuck that little girl up."
"Fuck you," Jess spat at Brit, missing her by a few feet. Some of the spit got onto J.J., causing him to lose the little amount of patient he had left.
"That's it," he said firmly as he started to drag her outside, "We're not fucking together, get it through your fucking head!"
Brit was more than willing to open the door for J.J. as he shoved her outside. They went to close the door but Jen stepped in, as did Eva.
"Come on," Jen pleaded, "We can't just throw her out."
Jen and Eva went outside with Jess who had began to sob as she walked frantically around the dormitory halls, "I fucking hate you!"
........
J.J. was very liberal with his syrup application, pouring it all over the stack of pancakes that he had placed on his plate. Next to that plate was a plate full of bacon and another just for his eggs. He had grew tired of cutting weight and instead opted to stay at 149 pounds throughout the season as opposed to his usual 160 and having to cut down to 149 for tournaments and matches. This required him to lower his caloric intake throughout the year and skip out on the goodness that was pancakes.
"It's not going to walk off," Eddy teased as they watched their teammate work his way through pile of pancakes after pancake, shoving some of them whole into his mouth.
"Fuck you," J.J. fired back as he continued to enjoy his meal, "You bitches only have to work your ass until February, that's when my season fucking starts."
"He's got y'all there," Nate shrugged, "I'm just saying, we should call him Mr. March now after back-to-back finals appearances."
"I've never seen a loss be celebrated so much," Eddy shook his head, "He lost in Nationals and the coaches spent a year sucking his dick."
"I then won it this year," J.J. replied, "Listen, Eddy. If you want the posters, you have to actually make it out of Big Ten tournaments and tic toc bitch, you're running out of time."
"Gentlemen," said a voice from behind them in uniform, "We're looking for Jean-Francois Dubois."
"Excuse me?" J.J. wiped his mouth as he noticed that somebody else in uniform was waiting outside the dining hall as well. They weren't wearing the traditional campus security uniform but instead looked like real cops. Probably because they were.
"Champ!"
"Welcome back, stud!"
"I always believed you!"
"Don't forget about us little people, bro."
J.J. smiled and nodded as he made his way through the crowd of people. He looked behind him every so often to make sure that Jess was still at the end of his arm. The days of him being able to slip in and out of establishments unrecognized were seemingly over, not after his latest performance and with his face plastered all over campus.
"The prodigal son returns," Brooks mockingly bowed to the junior, "I was the first motherfucker to roll with this guy, do I get something too?"
"Consider yourself lucky enough to have had your Highness even dare put his holy hands upon your wretched body," Walt kept the teasing going as it had been non-stop since they had return to campus.
"You should make them suck your dick," Jess told J.J., slurring her words a bit.
"Whoa," Walt laughed, "You just got here."
"Pre-party at Jen's," J.J. explained, "By the time I got there, it was a full on rager. I almost didn't even show up here if it wasn't for Brooks constant pestering."
"I'm going to be gone in a few weeks," Brooks placed his moist hands on the side of J.J.'s face, "We have to have one more legendary night, especially for a fucking national champion."
......
"Get me the peach thing," Brit said as she continued -- without much success -- to roll up another blunt.
"Coming right up," J.J. nodded, walking to the kitchen to fix himself a drink. He caught a glance of the clock, it was already 2 a.m. and the night was still pressing on.
They had shed a few pounds, losing mostly the guys as they had found a lady for the night. The remaining members of the caravan consisted of J.J. and Brooks along with Eva, Britt, Jen and Jess.
It had been a long night, enough for Jess to be drunk, sober up and get drunk again before adding high into the mix once they got back to Jen's apartment. It was supposed to be J.J.'s celebratory night after bringing home a national championship and finishing his junior season undefeated but he spent most of it babying Jess, at least until they got back to Jen's. She was now in a safe environment, clear of any perpetrators and J.J.'s fun night out really began.
"Get me something too," Jen instructed, "What are you drinking?"
"Jim Beach peach with a splash of juice," J.J. explained, "It's pretty good, ask Brit."
"It is," she nodded after she finished licking the rolling paper.
J.J.'s finished up his bar tending gig, getting both ladies and himself a drink. He returned to the circle they had formed on the ground to find a missing section as Eva and Brooks had retired to her bedroom.
"Again?" he asked, shaking his head in judgement.
"The heart wants what that pussy want," Brit joked, "Those two deserve each other."
"I'm not picking up the pieces anymore," Jen shook her head, "Your boy better be on his best behavior this time or we're going to beat his fucking ass."
"He didn't cheat," J.J. tried to defend his teammate, despite having a losing position, "If its a break, it's not considered cheating."
"Is fucking your girl's roommate considered cheating?" Jess quickly shot back, making everyone's head turn as she had been quiet for a while now.
"What?" J.J. asked her with a puzzled look on his face despite knowing exactly what she was talking about.
"Stop acting dumb," she pushed her index and middle finger against J.J.'s forehead, "You really thought she wasn't going to tell me?"
"Here we go again," Brit rolled her eyes.
"Here we go what bitch?" Jess tried to get to her feet but stumbled a little bit, losing her balance and falling down. J.J. reached over to help out but she pushed him away as she successfully made it to her feet this time, towering over Brit who was sitting down.
"Y'all aren't even together," she said on a low tone, trying to avoid eye contact.
"Do you wanna fuck him? Is that it?" Jess pushed Brit, using her feet and causing her to fall back.
"I think that's enough," J.J. quickly got up to his feet and separated the two, pulling Jess into the kitchen.
"Fuck off me," she tried to wrestle away but to no avail. She kicked at him a few times before trying to bite his hand but all of her attempts failed.
"Fucking stop!"
"I'll get her an Uber," Jen sighed as she pulled out her phone.
"What's going on?" said Eva as she came out of her room with Brooks behind her.
"Jess being a psycho bitch again," Brit scoffed, "Check your bitch Jen before I fuck that little girl up."
"Fuck you," Jess spat at Brit, missing her by a few feet. Some of the spit got onto J.J., causing him to lose the little amount of patient he had left.
"That's it," he said firmly as he started to drag her outside, "We're not fucking together, get it through your fucking head!"
Brit was more than willing to open the door for J.J. as he shoved her outside. They went to close the door but Jen stepped in, as did Eva.
"Come on," Jen pleaded, "We can't just throw her out."
Jen and Eva went outside with Jess who had began to sob as she walked frantically around the dormitory halls, "I fucking hate you!"
........
J.J. was very liberal with his syrup application, pouring it all over the stack of pancakes that he had placed on his plate. Next to that plate was a plate full of bacon and another just for his eggs. He had grew tired of cutting weight and instead opted to stay at 149 pounds throughout the season as opposed to his usual 160 and having to cut down to 149 for tournaments and matches. This required him to lower his caloric intake throughout the year and skip out on the goodness that was pancakes.
"It's not going to walk off," Eddy teased as they watched their teammate work his way through pile of pancakes after pancake, shoving some of them whole into his mouth.
"Fuck you," J.J. fired back as he continued to enjoy his meal, "You bitches only have to work your ass until February, that's when my season fucking starts."
"He's got y'all there," Nate shrugged, "I'm just saying, we should call him Mr. March now after back-to-back finals appearances."
"I've never seen a loss be celebrated so much," Eddy shook his head, "He lost in Nationals and the coaches spent a year sucking his dick."
"I then won it this year," J.J. replied, "Listen, Eddy. If you want the posters, you have to actually make it out of Big Ten tournaments and tic toc bitch, you're running out of time."
"Gentlemen," said a voice from behind them in uniform, "We're looking for Jean-Francois Dubois."
"Excuse me?" J.J. wiped his mouth as he noticed that somebody else in uniform was waiting outside the dining hall as well. They weren't wearing the traditional campus security uniform but instead looked like real cops. Probably because they were.
To Live and Die.
r word coming in hot
To Live and Die.
"Finish strong!"
J.J. pumped his arms as he continued to stray away from the pack, getting a decent gap between him and the closest teammate as he crossed the finish line. He walked around for a bit as the rest of the group tried to catch their breath. He had been dominating the runs today and he could feel it in his legs as they felt both powerful and a bit tight, especially around his thigh.
"Kicking ass today," Eddy shook his head, "Someone's got their head back into shit."
"You're telling me?" J.J scoffed as he kicked one of the pebbles, "I'm just happy to get that shit behind me."
"Did she drop or did they?"
"I don't know," J.J. shrugged as they got ready for their next sprint, "Once everyone made their official statement about what happened and literally everyone said I didn't hit her, they couldn't really do much."
"She was drunk as fuck that night," Eddy took a deep breath, "I always thought she would take that shit back once she was sober but fuck, it's been what, months now?"
"Five months to clear my name," J.J. sucked his teeth, "She even put a restraining order on me and shit."
"Come on guys," said one of the coaches as they put the whistle back in their mouth, "On your mark!"
Once the whistle blew, J.J. took off once more, creating a sizable lead right away. He peaked behind himself with pride as he continued to speed up until he couldn't. All he felt was a pop and next thing he knew, he was writhing in pain on the floor.
.....
"I think we should get like a TV in the kitchen," Francis suggested, "Just a little one."
"Let's relax," J.J. interjected, "I'm not trying to blow through all of my FAFSA money that quick."
"I don't know why your ass just doesn't turn pro," Francis lamented, "Especially once you're healthy again."
"We'll see," J.J. started unpacking some of the boxes, turning to Francis to get instruction on where in the one-bedroom apartment he wanted him to place it at.
The two continued to slave away throughout the morning as the empty apartment quickly began filling up with Francis' things. J.J. on the other hand had just a duffel bag with him and another suit case with his clothes. Ever since he left his parents home nearly a decade ago, he had learned to leave very small footprint wherever he went.
"Thanks for letting me stay here until I figure some shit out," J.J. told Francis as they enjoyed a cold beer following their work.
"Don't worry about it," Francis waved him off, "You heard back from Team USA yet?"
"Yeah," J.J. let out a brief sigh, "They still want me to visit the Olympic Training Center and stuff, even with me not wrestling last year with the injury and shit."
"So what's the move, zoe?"
"Get healthy, take a breather. Maybe even go back to Iowa to finish school," J.J. shrugged, "I got a few credits left but I couldn't stay up there anymore, not after all the bullshit that happened last year."
"All of that is in the past," Francis stood up, "Get dressed up, we touching the city tonight."
J.J. pumped his arms as he continued to stray away from the pack, getting a decent gap between him and the closest teammate as he crossed the finish line. He walked around for a bit as the rest of the group tried to catch their breath. He had been dominating the runs today and he could feel it in his legs as they felt both powerful and a bit tight, especially around his thigh.
"Kicking ass today," Eddy shook his head, "Someone's got their head back into shit."
"You're telling me?" J.J scoffed as he kicked one of the pebbles, "I'm just happy to get that shit behind me."
"Did she drop or did they?"
"I don't know," J.J. shrugged as they got ready for their next sprint, "Once everyone made their official statement about what happened and literally everyone said I didn't hit her, they couldn't really do much."
"She was drunk as fuck that night," Eddy took a deep breath, "I always thought she would take that shit back once she was sober but fuck, it's been what, months now?"
"Five months to clear my name," J.J. sucked his teeth, "She even put a restraining order on me and shit."
"Come on guys," said one of the coaches as they put the whistle back in their mouth, "On your mark!"
Once the whistle blew, J.J. took off once more, creating a sizable lead right away. He peaked behind himself with pride as he continued to speed up until he couldn't. All he felt was a pop and next thing he knew, he was writhing in pain on the floor.
.....
"I think we should get like a TV in the kitchen," Francis suggested, "Just a little one."
"Let's relax," J.J. interjected, "I'm not trying to blow through all of my FAFSA money that quick."
"I don't know why your ass just doesn't turn pro," Francis lamented, "Especially once you're healthy again."
"We'll see," J.J. started unpacking some of the boxes, turning to Francis to get instruction on where in the one-bedroom apartment he wanted him to place it at.
The two continued to slave away throughout the morning as the empty apartment quickly began filling up with Francis' things. J.J. on the other hand had just a duffel bag with him and another suit case with his clothes. Ever since he left his parents home nearly a decade ago, he had learned to leave very small footprint wherever he went.
"Thanks for letting me stay here until I figure some shit out," J.J. told Francis as they enjoyed a cold beer following their work.
"Don't worry about it," Francis waved him off, "You heard back from Team USA yet?"
"Yeah," J.J. let out a brief sigh, "They still want me to visit the Olympic Training Center and stuff, even with me not wrestling last year with the injury and shit."
"So what's the move, zoe?"
"Get healthy, take a breather. Maybe even go back to Iowa to finish school," J.J. shrugged, "I got a few credits left but I couldn't stay up there anymore, not after all the bullshit that happened last year."
"All of that is in the past," Francis stood up, "Get dressed up, we touching the city tonight."
To Live and Die.
Stopping for a moment to catch his breathe as he grabbed a pair of dumb bells, J.J. allowed his body to rest on the dumbbell rack. He looked up to face the mirror as he was completely drenched in sweat.
He composed himself and went back on the bench, lifting the weights above him in a consistent manner until he finished his final set. He dropped the weights on the floor, causing a few of the nearby patrons of the gym to look over. Who's kidding who, J.J. had gotten their attention way before that. His sabbatical year had turned into him getting blacked-out drunk, waking up in some stranger's bed and rolling himself into the gym for one of his notorious three-hour workouts. He looked like a Greek god and smelled like last night, a combination that made head turned as soon as he walked in.
He was still crashing on Francis' couch and didn't want to overstay his welcome so he avoided the apartment like a plague. The cheapest and most effective way to do was to spend almost the entire day at the gym and then follow it up with a few odd jobs here and there.
"You're killing it today," said Nick as he patted J.J. on the back, not seeming to care that his back was completely drenched.
"Trying to," J.J. wiped his face with the sleeve of shirt as he racked the weight back up, "How's it going man?"
"Hitting chest today," Nick started stretching out his upper body, "You just got in or....?"
"About halfway done," J.J. took a small sip from his nearby water bottle.
"I hate to be that guy," Nick groaned, "But the last workout we did together was fire, I felt that shit like for a whole week. I know you've been giving me pointers and shit but mijo, I'd love for you to work me out again."
J.J. opened his mouth but before he could get anything, Nick said the magic word.
"I'll pay you."
.......
"Never sacrifice weight for technique," J.J. told her as she laid flat on the bench, "We want to get it right or don't get it at all. You start to form bad habits and they'll follow you from workout to workout."
She nodded as she brought the weight up and did six reps on the barbell bench press. J.J.'s eyes would linger from her form to her form but he had done a pretty good of not breaking his cardinal rule so he quickly snapped out of it.
Living in a city that medalled in vanity came with it's perks. It didn't take long for J.J.'s role as Nick's trainer got turned into J.J. being a trainer for Nick and his friends. And then their girlfriends and then their girlfriends who were "models" and then those models boyfriends who were low-level professional athletes but nonetheless professional athletes.
His side business quickly outgrew the local gym he trained out of but gyms are a dime a dozen in Miami and he quickly found one willing to let him rent out some space for his clients.
"30 minutes on the StairMaster and then we're done," J.J. told her as they wrapped up their hour-long workout.
He walked out of his reserved enclosed area of the gym and into the main section, walking through the actual gym that was open to the public before making his way to the gym's office.
"Eric," J.J. nodded towards the only person that was also in the office, "How's your night been, busy?"
"You know it," he took a peek through the window into the main floor area, "I'm telling you, if we stayed open until 3am, this bitch would still be packed."
"I don't doubt it," J.J. grabbed his now cold sandwich out of his bag and took a bite, "I've had people trying to book appointments at like one in the morning and shit. I had to tell them that daddy gotta sleep at some point, you know?"
"Speaking of which," Eric opened up the drawer that was stationed underneath his desk and pulled out an envelope, "This came in today, some dude in a suit drop by while you were working the sleds outside."
J.J. opened up the envelope, worried that perhaps his problems at Iowa had followed him down here. As far as he knew, charges were never even filled and the police and witnesses were on his side but at the end of the day, Jess was a white woman in Iowa and he wasn't.
"Interesting," he said as he took a sigh of relief and sat back down.
"What's happening?"
"This fighter," he explained as he continued to examine the check, "He was trying to get his weight back under control and I worked him out a few times. He wanted me to travel with him to camp but I turned him down. Looks like he's not used to taking 'no' for an answer."
J.J. flashed the check to Eric who quickly got off his chair to see for how much.
"Holy shit," Eric laughed, "I guess you're going camping."
He composed himself and went back on the bench, lifting the weights above him in a consistent manner until he finished his final set. He dropped the weights on the floor, causing a few of the nearby patrons of the gym to look over. Who's kidding who, J.J. had gotten their attention way before that. His sabbatical year had turned into him getting blacked-out drunk, waking up in some stranger's bed and rolling himself into the gym for one of his notorious three-hour workouts. He looked like a Greek god and smelled like last night, a combination that made head turned as soon as he walked in.
He was still crashing on Francis' couch and didn't want to overstay his welcome so he avoided the apartment like a plague. The cheapest and most effective way to do was to spend almost the entire day at the gym and then follow it up with a few odd jobs here and there.
"You're killing it today," said Nick as he patted J.J. on the back, not seeming to care that his back was completely drenched.
"Trying to," J.J. wiped his face with the sleeve of shirt as he racked the weight back up, "How's it going man?"
"Hitting chest today," Nick started stretching out his upper body, "You just got in or....?"
"About halfway done," J.J. took a small sip from his nearby water bottle.
"I hate to be that guy," Nick groaned, "But the last workout we did together was fire, I felt that shit like for a whole week. I know you've been giving me pointers and shit but mijo, I'd love for you to work me out again."
J.J. opened his mouth but before he could get anything, Nick said the magic word.
"I'll pay you."
.......
"Never sacrifice weight for technique," J.J. told her as she laid flat on the bench, "We want to get it right or don't get it at all. You start to form bad habits and they'll follow you from workout to workout."
She nodded as she brought the weight up and did six reps on the barbell bench press. J.J.'s eyes would linger from her form to her form but he had done a pretty good of not breaking his cardinal rule so he quickly snapped out of it.
Living in a city that medalled in vanity came with it's perks. It didn't take long for J.J.'s role as Nick's trainer got turned into J.J. being a trainer for Nick and his friends. And then their girlfriends and then their girlfriends who were "models" and then those models boyfriends who were low-level professional athletes but nonetheless professional athletes.
His side business quickly outgrew the local gym he trained out of but gyms are a dime a dozen in Miami and he quickly found one willing to let him rent out some space for his clients.
"30 minutes on the StairMaster and then we're done," J.J. told her as they wrapped up their hour-long workout.
He walked out of his reserved enclosed area of the gym and into the main section, walking through the actual gym that was open to the public before making his way to the gym's office.
"Eric," J.J. nodded towards the only person that was also in the office, "How's your night been, busy?"
"You know it," he took a peek through the window into the main floor area, "I'm telling you, if we stayed open until 3am, this bitch would still be packed."
"I don't doubt it," J.J. grabbed his now cold sandwich out of his bag and took a bite, "I've had people trying to book appointments at like one in the morning and shit. I had to tell them that daddy gotta sleep at some point, you know?"
"Speaking of which," Eric opened up the drawer that was stationed underneath his desk and pulled out an envelope, "This came in today, some dude in a suit drop by while you were working the sleds outside."
J.J. opened up the envelope, worried that perhaps his problems at Iowa had followed him down here. As far as he knew, charges were never even filled and the police and witnesses were on his side but at the end of the day, Jess was a white woman in Iowa and he wasn't.
"Interesting," he said as he took a sigh of relief and sat back down.
"What's happening?"
"This fighter," he explained as he continued to examine the check, "He was trying to get his weight back under control and I worked him out a few times. He wanted me to travel with him to camp but I turned him down. Looks like he's not used to taking 'no' for an answer."
J.J. flashed the check to Eric who quickly got off his chair to see for how much.
"Holy shit," Eric laughed, "I guess you're going camping."
To Live and Die.
You just telling a story or hitting them sticks?