Hoops Shorts: A HOOPS Novella Collection

“This way,” I said, heading forwards with certainty. It was the way I lived my life. Never second-guess yourself. Barrel ahead like a bull with my horns down and the way would part before me. It always had and, as far as I was concerned, it always would.

I led us towards the nearest coffee shop.

“What the fuck?” Mason said as Luna followed right on my heels. “Now we’re stopping for coffee?” I yanked the door of the shop open and looked back at him, tut tut tutting.

“Ye of little faith. There are two things you come to Amsterdam for, genius. This is just our first stop.”

Mason made a frustrated noise, but Luna had already slipped past me and was poking around inside. She looked at everything on the shelves like the curious little kitty she was.

I followed her in and the rest came behind me. I headed straight for the counter and ordered for all of us. The barista handed me a small bag. I paid and shoved a handful of euros in the tip jar.

Then I took the package of ten “specialty” stroopwafels back to the group.

“Eat up. Half of one if you just want to have a good time tonight. A whole stroopwafel if you plan to really party.” I wagged my eyebrows.

Luna’s already large eyes went even rounder. “So they’re special special?”

I grinned at her and handed her a pastry. Her eyes sparkled as she gobbled it down.

For a rock band, we did surprisingly few drugs. It was a thing with Tank, and for all I liked to chase pleasure, I didn’t like to be out of control. That wasn’t the escape I was looking for. But I knew the edibles could heighten pleasure and loosen inhibitions. That was exactly what I had in mind for my bandmates tonight.

Cash took a waffle and even Mason accepted one. Luckily, Cash’s addictions were strictly the gambling kind. Tank held up a hand, coolly declining. I nodded and pulled the package back. The rest I’d keep for later.

Or I would have, except Luna snatched the package from me and pulled out another pastry, winking at me as she shoved another half waffle in her mouth.

I just laughed and Mason said, “Luna!”

“Chill,” I said to him. Then I turned to Luna and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Don’t worry. No one will stop you from any pleasure you want to seek tonight, Pet.” I took her hand and we started towards the door.

Over my shoulder, I called to the barista behind the counter, “Thanks, Bastiaan,” and he waved back.

Then we pushed back into the humid Amsterdam night air.

I led the group even further into the red-light district. Now this was what I was talking about.

Tank stuck like glue to Luna’s left side, protecting her from passersby and traffic on the street. I took her other side.

“Look,” I whispered as we passed windows lit up with red and purple lights. “In each window is someone you can buy an hour with. Like anything you see?”

She shoved my arm. “Where are you taking us? Because I’m not having sex with a prostitute.”

Then she stopped on the sidewalk. “And if you brought me here to watch you fuck somebody else, you can take me back to the hotel right now.”

I chuckled at seeing the kitty’s claws. Her jealousy pleased me more than I expected.

I ruffled her hair with my knuckles and she pulled away, annoyed. But I soothed her fears, wrapping my arm around her and pulling her back in. “Don’t worry, Pet. You’re all the fascination I can handle at the moment.”

Her hands hadn’t moved from her hips. “That mean you aren’t sticking your dick in anyone except me?”

I leaned down and smiled into her lips as I pressed mine against hers. “That means I’m not sticking my dick in anyone except you.”

“Good,” she said, pulling back from me with only the barest kiss. Fucking vixen. “Then lead on.”

So I did, keeping her sandwiched between me and Tank the whole way down the block to the Moulin Rouge. The most famous sex/strip club in Amsterdam.

Luna started jumping up and down once we walked up on the outside marquee with three neon outlines of pinups. “I’ve never been to a real, live sex club.” She turned to me, her pink hair shining red in the neon light. “What’s it like?”

I couldn’t help the permanent smile on my face when I was with her lately. I loved introducing her to every new pleasurable discovery the world had to offer. I had to stop myself several times from seeking her out last week during our time off, until I reminded myself who was supposed to be in control. “I guess we’ll have to go in and see.”

I led the way inside the dark club. There was a low, sexy beat and slow-moving lights streaming up and down over the crowd. It was busy but not packed. And interspersed amongst the crowd were stripper poles with naked women doing quite impressive athletic routines on them.