Unrequited - 6. Punishment

Punishment

Anthony's heart beat loud, keeping rhythm with the ball he was dribbling in his hand. The squeak of shoes on the gymnasium floor and the noise from the crowd were his backbeat. He passed the ball to Matthew, who threw the ball and gave the team a three point shot right as the whistle blew and won them the game. Anthony grinned as Matthew shouted and jumped up into the air. He joined the rest of his team in a jumping, shouting type of group hug, hearing the applause and cheers from the audience rising up like a wave over them. He helped a teammate haul Matthew up on their shoulders, since he was the one who won them the game and shoved his own fist up into the air, screaming his triumph until his throat was numb from it.

Samuel smiled and clapped from his spot in the bleachers. He wore an oversized hoodie with the hood pulled up to hide his face. He could see Emily in the bleachers, cheering for her brother and if she knew he was here, she would have most certainly come over to do something annoying, like try to sit in his lap or steal a kiss every time the team made a shot, and he just wasn't in the mood to fool with her tonight. He did want to see Anthony play and he enjoyed it. He knew just enough about basketball to know the positions of the players and how to score points. Anthony was the point guard and he was amazing to watch. He moved elegantly and gracefully, evasively and exquisitely and was so fast. Even Samuel, who knew so little about basketball, could see that Anthony had an amazing talent.

Anthony glanced up from the group and for a minute, Samuel was sure he felt that gaze on him, raking him up and down for a fleeting moment before Anthony was turning and leaving the court with his teammates. Regardless of whether it was real or imagined, Samuel decided tonight was a good night to press his luck and stood up, pushing his way through the packed gymnasium.

* * *

Anthony left the locker room a short time later, fully dressed with his hair still wet from the shower. The rest of the team was out celebrating but he had spent some extra time under the spray of the shower, trying to cool himself down. It hadn't worked.

He had seen Samuel lurking in the crowded bleachers. Emily, against her better judgment, was still dating him. Anthony hated Samuel. Hated him for what he had done. He had told the little fucker to date his sister. To keep her out of trouble, not lead her into it with eyes wide open.

Samuel hadn't even asked to meet with him anymore, denying Anthony the simple pleasure of telling him no. He hated Samuel so much it drove him crazy. Every time he saw him, he wanted to just punch him in his bespeckled face, to crush his glasses and his nose with his fist. Sometimes the urge was so strong, his fingers would curl to form a fist of their own volition and he would have to shove them into his pockets. As satisfying as hurting Samuel would be he couldn't let himself lash out at him. Firstly, Emily would hate him and when Emily got really mad she could probably make his life miserable. Secondly, he could get kicked off the basketball team for fighting.... he wasn't sure what he would do if that happened. Basketball was his golden ticket that would give him everything he needed... scholarships, a chance to go to college, maybe even a career in the pros. He couldn't throw that away, not for anything. And certainly not for the little runt that was worming his way into his sister's pants.

He heard a noise in the hall and glanced up, seeing a slim figure standing against the wall, Samuel's face and glasses pale in the dim lighting of the hallway. Anthony was still riding high on energy and testosterone, feeling aroused and aggressive, kicked up by seeing Samuel there, waiting for him.

He glanced around briefly, checking to make sure the halls were empty, before grabbing Samuel, his hand around the back of his neck and pulling him forward, capturing his mouth in a kiss. He was already hard and pulsing with need. He thrust his tongue forward, forcing it into Samuel's mouth, pressing deep, getting a strong taste of him.

Samuel moaned softly and Anthony's hand tightened, another hot sweep of anger going through him. Yeah, he knew exactly what that little fuck wanted. Well, Anthony was sure as hell going to let him have it.

A dull thunk echoed down the hallway and Anthony broke away from Samuel abruptly, his eyes widening in the low light. He glanced at Samuel then grabbed his hand, pulled him back towards the gymnasium. But before they reached the double doors leading inside, Anthony pulled out a set of keys, unlocked a door set into the hallway and pulled it open.

"Inside," was all he said, giving Samuel a strong push on the back. Samuel stumbled inside, bumping against something hard with his hip. Anthony followed him, the door shutting softly behind them. Samuel blinked weakly, his eyes straining to see in the darkness, the air redolent with the scent of sweat and leather. He stumbled over the laces of his shoes as Anthony grabbed him.

"Was she a good fuck?" Anthony asked. His hand snuck around Samuel's waist, grabbed his erection through the material of his jeans, giving it a hard squeeze.

"Anthony..." Samuel started, breaking off with a sharp intake of air as Anthony squeezed him again, to the point of pain.

"Shut up," Anthony panted, fingers moving to the buttons of Samuel's fly, undoing them deftly. He dug his fingers into the waistband of Samuel's underwear, pulling them both down until they bunched around his knees. His hand moved over Samuel's hard cock, and slid down to his balls, gripping them firmly. "Guys like you piss me off," Anthony grunted, releasing Samuel and pressing his elbow into his back, forcing Samuel to bend. Samuel reached out blindly until his fingers encountered some kind of metal mesh and locked his fingers in it.

Anthony continued speaking. "Guys who take advantage of young, virgin girls. Who use sweet compliments to talk them into their beds."

"I didn't know she was a virgin," Samuel growled. He could hear Anthony rummaging around in his gym bag. "And she came to my bed willingly. She asked for it."

Anthony's hand came down hard on his ass and Samuel winced at the contact.

"You're either a liar or an idiot and either way it pisses me off," Anthony said. His ripped open the condom that he kept in his gym bag, rolled it down over his erection.

"You never said I couldn't sleep with her."

"What, did I have to spell it out for you?" Anthony asked. "Did she cry?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Because it's your turn," Anthony said, and gripped Samuel tightly by the hips as he pushed in. Samuel gritted his teeth and his fingers tightened on the mesh until his fingers ached as Anthony pushed forward ruthlessly, painfully breaching his entrance with no preparation, just the hard hot cockhead forcing it's way through.

Anthony didn't stop, didn't pause to give Samuel time to adjust, just kept that hard, burning pressure sliding up inside him like a knife. Samuel pushed his lips together, clenching his teeth, his tongue rolling to the back of his mouth to keep from crying out.

Anthony pulled on his hips, tipping his pelvis for better access before pulling out and beginning to fuck him with short, harsh thrusts, no finesse, just hard jabs into him. Samuel tried to find some way to center the pain, like he did the first time but he couldn't. There was no anchor this time, no race of pleasure to blunt the pain. This wasn't Anthony fucking him. There wasn't any pleasure, not even an attempt at it. This was Anthony hurting him. Punishing him for the sin he committed, for touching his sister, for breaking an unspoken rule.

Samuel closed his eyes, gripped the mesh tightly until blood welled up from between his fingers, made his hands slippery. Focused on that. If he couldn't have pleasure, at least he could have another form of pain to blunt what was happening. The tears came, as Anthony had predicted, trickling from Samuel's eyes as his chest burned. He couldn't stop the tears but he would not sob like a child while Anthony was here.

Finally, Anthony came, grunting and tightening his grip on Samuel's hips. He slumped forward for a minute, resting his heavy weight on Samuel's slight frame, trying to get his breath back.

"You're just a whore you know," Anthony finally said. "I know it and you know it. And I can't keep you from dating Emily, but if you hurt her, I swear to God, I will make you pay like you would not believe."

Samuel didn't say anything.

"I, however, am done with you," Anthony continued. "I don't want to have anything to do with you. Don't look at me, don't touch me, don't even fucking think about me."

Samuel remained silent. Anthony pulled out of him, removed the condom and pulled his pants back up. "Do you understand?" he finally asked. "Stay the fuck away from me." He turned and left the room, leaving the door slightly cracked.

Samuel finally managed to straighten up. From the slender shaft of light, he could see he was in the school equipment room, crammed with basketballs, soccer nets, football helmets. He was still painfully hard and so he wrapped his hand around his erection and started jacking himself off, pulling hard and furiously, his sore hands still leaking blood and screaming with the contact and friction. He continued to tug and jerk, letting free the sobs that had collected in his chest. His cock was hot and throbbing in his busily working hands and he didn't even care that it was beyond the point of feeling good--he just wanted the release. He clenched his teeth, sobbing out a long shuddering breath as he came, spilling his cum all over the floor. He crouched down as he came down off the muted high, squeezing his cock gently and rhythmically, milking out the last remnants of his orgasm. He took a minute, trying to let the sobs run their course, then pulled up his pants, grabbed his hoodie and pulled it off. He pushed it across the floor with his foot, trying to clean it up the best he could, then left the supply closet, stuffing the hoodie into the garbage and pulling his T-shirt down, wiped at his eyes.

He needed to get out of there.

* * *

Samuel had never felt dirty after sex until now. He went home and showered furiously, turning the hot water up higher and higher until the steam billowed and his skin turned red and angry. He stepped out of the shower when the hot water ran out and pulled on some sweatpants and a T-shirt, scrubbing a towel over his wet hair and slipping on his glasses. He went downstairs.

He saw his mom, curled up on the couch with her laptop computer and a glass of wine. The television was on but muted. When Samuel entered the room, she looked up, smiled at him and closed her laptop.

"Hi honey."

"Hey."

She patted the sofa cushion next to her. "Come here and talk to me for a little bit."

Samuel sat down next to her. Suddenly feeling the need for comfort after what he had been through that evening, he leaned into her warmth, resting his head against her shoulder. A few moments later a gentle hand came up and ran itself through his hair.

"Are you all right?" his mom asked.

"I will be."

His mom ran her hand through his hair again. "I'm sorry I haven't been around lately."

Samuel sat up and shook his head. "No. I know that you have to work. I don't mind."

"What is bothering you then? Relationship problems?" She smiled at the surprised expression on his face.

"How did you-"

"I pay your cell phone bills. I've seen the new number you've been making all those calls to. What's her name?"

Samuel was silent. His mom tilted her head and frowned. "His name?"

"No!" Samuel said quickly and he could see the relief on her face. "No, her name is Emily. I'm thinking of ending things with her soon is all."

"Why?"

"She loves me. But I-I don't think I love her. I want to. But I love someone else. And this other person...they don't love me. I know that. And so I think I was using Emily to try to replace this other person. And that's unfair. To her and to me. So I think it would be best to end things and try to move on."

His mom nodded.

"Sounds like a complicated situation. Unrequited feelings are always hard to deal with. Who is this other girl?"

Samuel shook his head and his mom smiled, looking a little embarrassed.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Too nosy. But breaking up with this Emily sounds like that would be the best thing to do right now. You don't want to be in a relationship with another person if the feelings aren't there. But promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Feelings, even if they are not your own, are delicate things. So when you go to break up with his young lady, Samuel, be kind."

"I will Mom."

"Okay honey," she laid her cool hand across his cheek and smiled at him. "I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too late."

"I won't," Samuel promised her. He went up to his room after she had gone upstairs, checked his cell phone. Emily had called and he stared at her number for a long time.

He set the phone back down on his desk, thinking. He could let Emily go easily. With her it was a simple break up. "I don't think it's going to work out between us" type deal. It would hurt her, which was unfortunate. He really had no reason to want to hurt her.

Anthony on the other hand...

Anthony.

Well, they had some unfinished business to say the least. What Anthony had done to him that night...

Samuel felt his face heat up and pressed his cool hands against his cheeks. His eyes stung like he wanted to cry again, but he wouldn't allow it.

Feelings were delicate things but they were also tricky things. They had tricked him into falling for Anthony again and again. Anthony had wronged him, had hurt him a million different ways and Samuel wasn't going to let things go without making sure Anthony at least felt a little bit of it in return.