Chapter 12

Once he was out of his apartment, Lino quickly ran towards the direction of the street basketball court where his friends were waiting for him. He found them practicing their dribbling and shooting without any ball.

“Lino!” Kevin called cheerfully while waving his right hand at Lino as soon as the former saw the latter. “You’re finally here, man!”

“Yeah! I’m here now!” Lino answered in a loud voice before bouncing the ball on the concrete floor, making the sound of bouncing noises be heard. “So, shall we start now, guys?”

“Yeah!” Xavier replied eagerly. “But first, let’s see who will team up with whom. Each team will have two people.”

“Alright!” Lino answered excitedly in a loud voice. “Shall we do it by letting our hands decide?”

“Yeah!” Cain said excitedly in a loud voice. “Let’s do it!”

The four friends formed a circle and put their hands on top of one another’s. Then, everyone flipped their hands. Both Lino and Xavier’s palms were facing upwards, while the rest of them weren’t.

“We’re on a team, Xavier,” Lino said with a smirk on his face.

“Then Cain and I will team up!” Kevin said eagerly and excitedly.

“Please wait a moment,” Lino said and handed his ball over to Cain.

“Okay, man,” Cain said while holding the ball between his hands. “What will you do?” Cain asked curiously.

“I’ll take off my shirt,” Lino replied before beginning to take off his shirt.

After Lino took off his shirt, his nicely ripped body and nicely sculpted abs were revealed to all of his three friends. His shoulders were also wide and the biceps and triceps in his arms were lean yet rather large and muscular. His breasts were also muscular and nicely protruded.

“Woah,” Kevin said with his jaw dropped while also being obviously impressed by Lino’s muscular body. “You’ve got such nice muscles, man!”

“Thanks, man,” Lino answered with a smirk.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how often do you go to the gym?” Kevin asked curiously.

“Four to five times a week,” Lino replied with a smirk. “How about you, man?”

“Same as yours,” Kevin replied with a grin. “But I’m having a rather hard time building up muscles.”

“Maybe you should take some supplements to build up your muscles faster, man,” Xavier commented with a gentle smile.

“Maybe,” Kevin replied rather gloomily. “But I can’t afford it. It’s too expensive!”

“Try to research more affordable brands then, Kevin,” Cain said in his calm and monotonous voice.

Kevin sighed and, in a rather gloomy tone, replied, “I have tried that, but I haven’t found any so far, man.”

“Too bad for you then, man,” Cain said in his monotonous voice. “But it’s okay. Maybe you’ll build up more muscles someday.”

“Yeah, I hope so too, man,” Kevin answered with his smile back on his face. “I’ll do my best then!”

“Anyway, guys, how about we take off our shirts too, just like what Lino did?” Xavier suggested while smiling in a gentle manner.

“Sure!” Kevin said in a lively manner. “That’s a good idea! I wouldn’t want my shirt to get wet from my sweat either.”

“Alright, let’s all do it!” Cain said eagerly before all of the other three boys began to take off their shirts.

As revealed after taking off their shirts, both Kevin and Cain have lean and muscular builds, while Xavier’s build was a bit more muscular than theirs yet it was less muscular than Lino’s. All of the boys then put their shirts on the grass just outside of the court area.

“Well then, let’s start, shall we?” Lino declared eagerly while beginning to dribble the ball.

“Let’s go!” Kevin declared loudly as if shouting a war cry.

Since there was no one there who would handle the ball at a tip off for them, they unanimously decided that Lino’s team would have the ball since it was Lino who brought it.

“Let’s use only one side of the court, shall we?” Xavier suggested while grinning. “Or would you rather use both sides?”

“Both sides,” Cain said in his monotonous voice.

“I agree,” Kevin declared eagerly.

“No problem with me!” Lino said in a lively manner.

Xavier nodded and said, “Okay then. Two sides it is. Let’s start!”

At that instant, the game between the two teams started. Lino was easily able to pass through both Kevin and Cain and successfully shot the ball in lay up style, showing how massive either his experience or talent was in playing basketball.

[He’s fast.] Kevin thought while feeling amazed with Lino’s skill and speed. [He’s taller than me too. I wonder how my speed compares to his.]

Then Kevin and Cain’s turn came. Kevin dribbled the ball while Cain went forward towards the basket on the opposite side of the court. Even though Kevin tried his best to shoot the ball, Lino was able to block it, preventing them from scoring. This made Kevin feel amazed about Lino’s basketball skills even more.

[I hate to admit it, but he’s even better in basketball than me.] Kevin thought proudly after Lino managed to block the former’s shot very easily. I’ve got to give it all I have, or I would surely lose against him!

[This is too easy.] Lino thought with a smirk while dribbling the ball towards the other side of the court quickly and successfully making another shot again.

[I wonder if Kevin and I have any chance of winning against them.] Cain thought while wearing a serious facial expression as he also tried to analyze what he and Kevin could do together to win. [What should we do? What kind of strategy can we use?]

The friends kept on playing, with Lino’s team still having the upper hand. Eventually, the sun had set and all of them took a rest on the grass and drank water. Thus, the game ended with the team of Lino and Xavier winning.

“You’re so good, man!” Kevin commented in a cheerful manner, praising Lino. “I admit that you’re even better than me.”

“Thanks, man,” Lino replied while smiling.

“How long have you been playing basketball?” Cain asked curiously.

“About three years ago, I think,” Lino replied after thinking for a moment.

“That’s amazing, man!” Kevin commented cheerfully in admiration. “I’ve been playing basketball for eight years already, yet you’re better than me.”

“I guess the number of years of experience have nothing to do with the level of skill,” Xavier said while smiling. “Lino’s just that talented of a basketball player.”

“I guess so, man,” Kevin replied to Xavier before the former turned to Lino. “By any chance, have you joined any varsity basketball team before, Lino?”

Lino shook his head and replied, “No, but I was a member of the football team back in high school.”

Kevin’s eyes widened in astonishment and replied, “Really?! So that’s why you have that incredible running speed, man!”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Lino said while smirking. “Lots of running are required in that sport, after all.”

“That’s great, man!” Kevin exclaimed in admiration. “Anyway, why don’t we join the varsity basketball team, man?” Kevin asked nicely while smiling. “Your skills would be very useful there.”

“I’ll think about it,” Lino replied immediately.

“Okay then,” Kevin replied with a smirk. “But I hope that you will consider it. Don’t waste your talent, man. Who knows...what if you become a professional basketball player too?”

Xavier laughed and said, “Wow! You’re thinking too far ahead, Kevin.”

“Hey, I’m not!” Kevin said loudly in a rather irritated tone. “I just want my friend to make full use of his talent!”

“You don’t have to tell him that,” Cain said calmly in his monotonous voice. “Let Lino decide on his own.”

“Yeah, right,” Kevin replied while looking down at the grasses. Then Kevin turned to Lino and said, “Think about it carefully, man.”

Lino nodded and replied, “I will, man. Don’t worry.”

“That’s great!” Kevin said cheerfully while clenching his fist firmly. “Just remember this: whatever you decide to do, we’ll support you, man.”

Lino smiled and replied, “Thanks, Kevin.”

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It was already 7:30PM when Lino returned to his apartment unit. He felt exhausted and felt his muscles ache from exerting them in the game earlier. After resting for several minutes, Lino bathed, wore a new set of clothes, and began to cook his dinner.

While cooking his food, Lino checked his Android phone to see if he had received any messages via text and Messenger. He saw that he received several messages, including one from Pia. Lino opened Pia’s message first.

Pia’s message went like this: [Hi babe! How’s it going?]

Lino replied: [Things are good here. I played basketball with some friends earlier. How about you?]

[That’s great! How was your game? I’m fine too.] Pia replied.

[My teammate and I won.] Lino replied with a smiling and blushing emoji while keeping watch on the food he was cooking.

[Awesome! I knew you could do it, babe!] Pia answered with a kissing emoji.

[Thanks, babe! Anyway, I’ll be having dinner for now. Talk to you later.] Lino replied with a kissing emoji as well.

[Okay, babe. Love you.] Pia replied with a heart emoji.

[I love you too.] Lino answered with a heart emoji as well.

After having his dinner, Lino thought about Kevin’s advice for him to join the varsity. Lino has actually never thought of joining it before. Additionally, Lino was a member of the varsity football team back in high school, so going with a varsity basketball team this time would be something new for him as well.

[Should I...join that team?] Lino thought while his face wore a serious expression. [If I join that team, will I be able to balance it with my time as a member of the Soul Chorale too?]

Lino thought of the pluses and minuses of each option while his eyes were closed, yet he was still undecided. He needed more time to think about it.

[It’s not easy to decide upon.] Lino thought with his eyes opened and his face wearing a serious expression. [I’ll think about it some other time. For now, I’ll get some rest.]

Afterwards, Lino looked through the window and watched the lights and stars shining under the peaceful evening sky while thinking of his girlfriend Pia. He felt excited to meet her again on the weekend.

[Pia, I’ll see you again soon.] Lino thought with his eyes shining with love and happiness as he stared at the stars in the clear evening sky.