Even by LA standards, B & B Butchers & Restaurant was on the upscale side. When David ordered a scotch, everyone relaxed. After he said that, Bo announced that he wasn’t too proud to let David buy, which helped.
It was funny that when you went to a place like this, they didn’t card you.
The one person who didn’t really know David was Wyatt. Matt had told how David had his recruiting coordinator hand out condoms to the boys who were there to learn about Kentucky, which resulted in all of them committing. After hearing that, Wyatt gave David a curious look. Then Bo and Bud talked about some of the mischief he’d gotten up to. None of it was malicious, but most of it was funny in how they remembered it.
At the end of the night, Wyatt pulled him aside.
“Thank you for including me. I’ve heard how you’ve worked to make USC better, and it sort of didn’t register. Hearing these coaches talk about you like that makes me realize that I need to start paying attention. I look forward to working with you when fall practice begins.”
“Just give me half a chance, Coach,” David said.
“I’ll do what I can,” Wyatt said and then added, “There is something you should know: Jaxson Pettis resigned today.”
Jaxson was on the hot seat for the FBI investigation into people paying to get their kids into better universities. One way was through the athletic department’s less stringent academic standards. As the athletic director, his job was in jeopardy, even if he wasn’t involved. He was the boss, and they would want to clean house.
“Will this affect football?” David asked.
Wyatt shook his head in disgust.
“It might.”
“Not you, though, right?” David asked.
“No, of course not,” Wyatt said. “By the time practice starts, we’ll know for sure.”
“Well, I’ll see you then,” David said.
◊◊◊
When David dropped Lisa off, she thanked him for not holding how she’d acted in the past against her. She said she really enjoyed her evening.
David put it down to now Bo owed him. Not that Lisa had been unpleasant; she’d not made a single misstep. She’d just been such a brat up to that point that he half expected more trouble from her.
When he got home, Phil’s and Colt’s doors were closed. When he got to his, it was, too. He opened it to find Dani’s sister, Ella, in his bed.
“Hey, what’s going on?” David asked.
“I’d abused Colt enough, so I volunteered to sleep on the couch. It has so many lumps that I was afraid I might not walk come morning.”
“This is nothing more than that?” David asked.
“Nope, nothing.”
“Then you can stay.”
David stripped down to his boxers and crawled into bed. Ella bit her bottom lip, which made him nervous.
“I promise I won’t make the first move,” she said in a sexy voice.
“That works for me,” David said as he rolled over and turned off the light.
He was almost asleep when he heard a heavy sigh.
“You’re seriously not taking advantage of no-strings fun?”
“You can go to the couch,” David offered.
She shut up and turned her back to him.
David suppressed a chuckle and willed himself to go to sleep.
◊◊◊
Chapter 48
David
David woke to Ella running her fingernails over his chest. He could deal with a handsy, horny, won’t-take-no-for-an-answer woman. The problem was she acted like a sex kitten, and hell, this girl could act. Another problem was that Mr. Happy was a method actor and began to get stiff. What should have been a simple turn-her-down had caused him to go rogue.
Ella crooked a finger to indicate that he should kiss her. David groaned inside. It was time to act as if he was as dumb as a box of rocks.
He looked over his shoulder as if she must have pointed to someone else. It couldn’t possibly be him, the guy she promised she wouldn’t make a move on if she could sleep in his bed. But there was no one behind him, so his clueless act wouldn’t work.
Something he’d learned was that if he made a fool out of himself, it was best to just own it. So he persisted, acting like he didn’t understand what she was trying to communicate. Ella wasn’t giving up. She mimed reeling him in.
David flopped on the bed like a carp trying to wiggle back into the water. He managed to slide out of bed and winked at her.
“Someone wants me,” Ella pouted.
David looked down at Mr. Happy, trying to break free.
“Most times when I listen to him, it’s trouble. You deserve to be more than a notch on my bedpost,” David said to scare her off.
“Ever think that you might be a notch in my lipstick case?” Ella shot back.
“Nice,” David said with a smirk as he realized that Ella was a bad girl.
“What do you say, big boy?”
“I’m saying not today because I have to go meet with Coach Mason. I don’t want to get your hopes up, but if the stars align and we have some free time … maybe when we get back to LA. Just don’t count on it.”
“What was yesterday about?”
David shrugged.
“I was caught off guard, Kylie and I are friends, and my brother told me it was okay to go for it. Like I said, the perfect storm.”
“Stars.”
“What?” David asked.
“You said the stars had to align.”
“Oh my, a hair splitter. I’ll be careful what I say around you.”
“Take your shower. You missed your chance,” Ella said and got out of bed, leaving David shaking his head.
Frustration churned through him, and David rolled his neck because he knew that if she got into his head, he’d end up doing something he regretted. Right now, he should focus on football. A shower was the best option.
◊◊◊
“Today is going to be a great day of practice. Greatness is a decision. Make that choice today and have a good practice,” Coach Mason said before they got started.
“Time is precious to me. Everyone has the same amount of time each day; you only choose how you allocate yours, not how much you get. Eventually, you run out of time. I’m going to make sure I get a full day … and I mean a full day,” David added.
“Practice like you play. No half measures. Be fast and finish,” Coach Mason encouraged and then told them the first play he wanted them to run.
“Why do we have to do that again? We finally figured it out yesterday. I want to learn something new,” Colt complained.
Before Coach Mason threw his clipboard at him, David intervened.
“We don’t practice until we get it right. We practice until we can’t get it wrong.”
“But …”
“Humor me. You’ve yet to show these clowns what you’re capable of,” David said, referring to the scouts and coaches in the stand. He turned to the other quarterbacks. “And I know you all can do much better. Today is about doing things you are comfortable with so you can shine.”
“Knowing something and believing it are entirely different. Now run the damned play,” Coach Mason barked. “Plant that back foot and rip it.”
The play was a post pattern where Coach Mason would move the safety to force Colt to make the correct read. On this play, the safety was outside the hash marks, which dictated throwing in the middle of the field.
Colt threw the football in rhythm, making by far his best toss all camp. It was like the ball was a laser-guided missile that gave the defenders almost no time to react. This was what had made Colt the top quarterback prospect in high school football.
David saw every coach in the stands lean forward. They had all seen what had just happened.
“Good ball,” Coach Mason called out to give Colt some rare praise.
“You said you wanted to learn more. I think you could have done better,” David announced.
Bo Harrington laughed from the stands. He knew what a perfectionist David was and laughed because all the other coaches thought they’d just seen the textbook definition of a post route.