March Madness 2019 (M/M)

[bigsmile21]

Two teams, one winner. For those who enjoy basketball, and like bondage bets, this is a story for you. Dale and Billy, former college roommates, had each picked a side for the NCAA Championship: Dale picked the 3 seed Texas Tech and Billy picked the 1 seed Virginia. The friend with the losing team would be bound one hour for each point they’d lost by. The winner would get to pick the manner and timing of the bondage. Was there a steamy romance between the two friends? Sorry, no. A healthy bromance? You got it.

Leading up, they’d each made their own brackets, Dale for his own fun and Billy for his office pool. As all brackets go, their choices were far from perfect. The first week had been fun for each of them to send taunting texts back and forth about their own bracket progress. By the second week, both didn’t have much of a remaining bracket to boast about. Dale had the idea of letting all the bragging rights ride on the final game, since both teams were close in odds.

Billy stepped up the challenge by saying the loser would be “bound to their word” to serve out their time: one hour bound for each point behind the winning team. The winner would pick when, where, and how to tie the other person. Billy was a numbers guy during his day job and said the average point range was about 8 points for the final games in the last ten years. Either guy had handled long tie-up sessions from the other in the past, so both agreed to the terms. Dale went with Texas Tech since he liked rooting for the underdog (though a 3 seed taking on a 1 seed wasn’t really a David vs Goliath matchup).

“Game on”, both said, shaking hands.

A day passed, enough time for both guys to do some more research on their teams. Both teams this season were top defenders. Texas Tech had some real talent in its players for sinking 3-point shots. Virginia tended to take early leads and hold them. Billy agreed to host for the game night. Dale brought snacks. Billy’s place was mostly tidy, not having any pets helped. There was a little bit of tension in the air as they sat down before the game started. Nothing unwelcome, just the typical butterflies they’d get when it came to bets on bondage. Dale had looked more into the prior final scores and while the average difference was close to 8 points, last year’s game was 17 points. He’d gone 12 hours locked up before (with 6 of those being overnight) but “17” made him nervous. At the start, Virginia scored the first 2-pointer.

“Starting strong,” Billy said with a smile. A smile which was quickly wiped away as Texas Tech sank one of its delicious 3-pointers.

“Starting strong, indeed,” Dale chided back.

A play-by-play would get boring real quick, so the first few minutes showed Virginia taking and holding a strong lead. But anytime Texas Tech got the ball, it’d effortlessly sink a 3-pointer to help close the gap. At 5 minutes left in the first half, Texas Tech finally caught up to and passed Virginia, at 23-21. Both guys were glued to the screen. At 3 minutes left, Virginia had it tied again. In the last seconds of the first half, both teams were tied at 29-29 until Number 11 from Virginia sank a 3-pointer. The buzzer sounded and the teams broke for half time.

“Someone needs to tie up Numbers 5 and 11 during half time,” Dale said. “They’re your only players who are actually playing.”

“I don’t know,” Billy replied. “Both teams have me on the edge of my seat. It’s a good game to bet on.”

During halftime, Billy took a break for the bathroom. Dale had more chips, meanwhile googling players on his phone to see what he could expect points-wise in the second half. At this rate, only 3 hours bound didn’t seem too bad. He could crank that out in one sitting, and it would be just long enough to enjoy the long-term inescapability of it. Billy usually stuck with chains and locked restraints for his tie-ups on Dale. Dale preferred playing with his food and leaned more towards rope. If his captive got out, that just left more room for improvement on Dale’s part.

The second half started back after commercials, and again Virginia took and held an early lead. Number 5 got in a 3-pointer, and at this point Dale was personally starting to feel attacked.

“If I put out a Craigslist ad right now for ‘someone please tie up Number 5 from Virginia’,” Dale started, “do you think anyone will take it? I mean, it’s the internet so of course someone will take it. But will they act on it soon enough?”

“Dude,” Billy said, “stop trying to put a contact out on my players. You can ‘hit’ on them but you can’t ‘do a hit’ on them.” The next few minutes were painful for Dale, as Texas Tech just couldn’t seem to catch up. At 15 minutes left, there was a 7-point differential. 7 hours bound was a lot different from the 3 hours he was looking at over halftime. At 11 minutes left, Number 5, his player-from-hell, sank another 3-pointer, and Dale was looking at a 10-point differential.

“Getting nervous?” Billy asked. “You haven’t taken your eyes off the screen. I moved the chip bowl away minutes ago and you’d just been reaching at the air in front of you.”

“Just…yes!” Dale shouted. Virginia had passed the ball too short and Texas Tech swooped for the steal. An easy 2-pointer layup, bringing the differential to 8-points. Soon after, Texas Tech slithered in for another 2-pointer. For that one, they didn’t care about setting up any plays; the player with the ball essentially stormed in for the layup.

Texas Tech in the next few minutes got more offensive, while Virginia continued to lock down its defense. 2- and 3-pointers were racking up on both sides. At 3 minutes left on the clock, both teams were tied again, at 61-61. Until Number 5, Dale’s player-determined-to-ruin-his-life, literally jumped across court to catch a pass from his teammate and slam a 2-pointer, giving Billy an edge.

At 45 seconds left, there’s a skirmish over the ball and Texas Tech’s Number 23 and Virginia’s Number 5 hit the court floor. Hard. Number 5’s head clunked as he hit the wood. Number 23 held onto the ball, and that ownership lets Texas Tech take the lead at 66-65. Things get more assertive on the court, and Texas Tech gets fouled and earns free throw points, leading 68-65 with 20 seconds left. Dale’s done it. He’s going to win, he thinks. Then the whole court slows down, and Virginia tech lines up and sinks a 3-pointer, tying the game and taking everyone into overtime.

There’s a pause in the room. Dale’s blood is pumping. They had it. He had it! He was ahead and all they had to do was hold Virginia at bay for a few more seconds. Billy was looking up on his phone the prior overtime games.

“2008,” Billy said. “The last overtime games for NCAA were 2008, 1997, and 1989. About once every ten years, so I guess we were overdue for one.”

“I don’t know if I can handle this,” Dale said. “My heart’s pumping and my hands are shaking. I really thought I had you towards the end there. What are the rules for overtime?”

“Pretty simple,” Billy responded, “Looks like OT is 5 minutes, and each team gets an extra timeout. If they’re still tied, rinse and repeat until one team wins. You know…”

“What?” Dale asked.

“At this rate, I’m pretty confident Virginia’s got it,” Billy said. Not smugly, but matter-of-factly. “My guys keep taking and holding the early lead. And it takes your boys a good while before you start to catch up.” Dale grew apprehensive. Billy was running the numbers like a robot, and Dale couldn’t keep his emotions in check.

The game came back from commercial, and sure enough Virginia took the early lead. Texas Tech struck back with a 3-pointer but couldn’t catch up in the first 3 minutes. The differential grew wider: 4-points, 6-points, now 8-points. In last 20 seconds, Texas Tech fought their way through to get a 2-pointer, but Virginia retaliated with a wide pass to a lone player on the far end of the court, for a brutalizing slam dunk. Back up to an 8-point difference, with 15 seconds left. In Texas Tech’s last moments on offense, they missed a 3-pointer, and the buzzer sounded.

“That’s game,” Billy said. Dale just sat there. The crowd on the TV was roaring, flashing between excited college students, happy parents, and sweaty but thrilled Virginia players. 8 hours bound. It could have been 3. It should have been none, for him at least, if his team could have just stayed ahead for those last few seconds. Or if they’d been more assertive in the first half sooner. Or if that Number 5 was left bound and gagged in the locker room at halftime. Billy flicked the TV off, and laid out his plans for the bet.

[MaxRoper]

Eight hours. Yipe. Exciting, frightening, arousing. Maybe Dale can talk Billy into a couple four hour sessions instead?
Good story with tension building throughout (even though I knew the outcome). Thanks for posting!

[Shadesflirty]

A fantastic story.

And not even any actual bondage.

.....yet. (I hope)

[Deleted User 1644]

Well...it's well written, but....this is a TUG board. I am afraid I cannot say I like a bondage story without bondage..sorry.

[NeedControl]

Planning to tell us what Dale and Billy do next, [mention ]bigsmile21[/mention]?