David woke to the sounds of the shower. He contemplated joining Adrienne but stopped himself. She was in love with Tyler, and last night had just been a bit of fun to relieve the sexual tension built during their filming.
She didn’t need him acting like he thought it was more than it was.
Last night had been better than he remembered his past times with the supermodel. They’d gotten a lot more vigorous than in previous encounters, so much so that he’d discovered his condom hadn’t survived. While the ultimate fantasy was to have Adrienne have his child, she didn’t want anything to mar her body. She would have his head if she developed stretch marks or, God forbid, had to have a C-section.
She’d assured him that even though she wasn’t taking birth control—and why should Adrienne since she was with Tyler?—it was a safe time of the month. Adrienne also planned to pick up a Plan B pill sometime today, just to make sure.
She came out of the bathroom, and her eyes lit up when she saw him.
“Morning.”
“Good morning,” David said. “After your convincing argument last night, I’ve decided to help you and Tyler out.
I only have one condition.”
Adrienne tilted her head and then asked, “That is?”
“That I’m not a secret. I don’t plan to intrude in your life, but I don’t want our son to think I abandoned him, either.”
“Daughter,” Adrienne said distractedly. Then she met his eyes. “Let me talk to Tyler before I agree.”
“Sorry, but there’s one more condition,” David said, holding up a finger. “You have to tell my mom.”
Adrienne gave him a look that said he was a wimp, but she had no idea what his mother might do if he announced another child. When she discovered that last batch, she almost took him to the vet to get him fixed.
“When will I see you next?” Adrienne asked to change the subject.
“We film together again on Thursday, and then Friday, I fly out to Corvallis for our game with Oregon State. Maybe I could swing by when you’re filming at the coffee shop.”
“I’d like that. Now that all the naked stuff is done, I still want to spend time with you.”
This highlighted how his life was nothing like an ordinary college student’s. During the week, he was committed to doing something school-related, like classes, his podcast, or soap. And then there were all his football commitments. His calendar showed he was booked an average of eleven to twelve hours a day, Monday through Friday. Then it was even more on weekends, and you had to add family time to the mix.
Most college students only had fifteen hours of classes a week and, being generous for most, fifteen hours of studying. That left plenty of time to party, participate in intramural sports, play video games, join a frat, hang with friends, and the list went on.
Watching Alex made him realize he should have been a kicker instead of a quarterback.
Speaking of kickers, David needed to decide what was to be done with Knackers. David took an Uber back to campus, so he had a chance to call Cassidy while en route.
“I was thinking about slacker kickers, and I think it’s time we do something about Knackers. What do you want me to do?”
“What are my options?” Cassidy asked.
“I could have him tracked down, and we do a whole legal mess to bring him back to the states to face his crimes.”
Cassidy didn’t hesitate with her answer.
“Pass.”
“I could fly out, meet up with him, and kick his ass.”
“Yeah, no. I mean, I sort of like that one, but you’re too soft,” Cassidy said, dismissing that idea.
“I could fly you out and let you kick him in the nuts.”
She chuckled at that idea but said, “No.”
“I want to be there to make him look me in the face and apologize. I really want to see him cry real tears because he knows I could have his life ended,” Cassidy decided.
“He knows you or I would never kill him,” David said, shooting a hole in her plan.
“Shit,” Cassidy mumbled and came back with, “Call that fixer guy. The one that terrified Fritz.”
“Paddy O’Malley?!” David asked in shock.
“That’s the one. Paddy can make Oliver cry for sure.”
“But I promised my mom I would never call him again.”
“Who are you more scared of? Me or your mom?”
Cassidy asked.
David had to think about that one. When he didn’t answer immediately, Cassidy made a huffing noise to let him know she wasn’t happy.
“Do this for me, or I’ll make you cry in front of the whole football team. Imagine practice later today and me chasing you down and snapping your throwing arm. And then …”
“Stop! You win. I’ll call him,” David promised.
“You’d better,” Cassidy said and hung up on him.
David’s problem was tracking the Aussie kicker down, flying Cassidy and Paddy there, and having Paddy’s payment in cash. His bookkeeper, Megan, would know, which meant his dad would find out since she reported to him. Then his dad would tell his mom.
Then he had a thought. He called Lexi.
“I thought you’d forgotten about me,” Lexi said to answer the phone.
“Take it as a sign of faith on my part. Plus, I have very little time to myself these days.”
“Tell me what you need. I would hate to dig into your personal time.”
David ignored the passive-aggressive jab and told her about Cassidy’s wishes.
“No problem. I’ll tell Megan it’s a special project for Cassidy to get closure, and she’ll set up a new line item in the books. As long as it doesn’t exceed a certain threshold, your dad will let it go since you approved it,” Lexi explained.
“Could you maybe organize all this with Knackers, Cassidy, and Paddy?” David asked.
“Why did I not see that coming?” Lexi teased.
“You’re the best.”
“Well, I know you’re busy, and I should let you go …”
David bit his tongue so he didn’t tell Lexi what he thought of her new attitude.
“Look. I can talk until I get back to campus,” David began.
The two caught up, and her bitchy side didn’t resurface.
David did learn something unexpected: Greg had been using her to help him understand what David needed. One project they were working on with his mom was buying the Sigma Upsilon house, the frat that lost its charter. They were working on a homeless charity project.
Before David could get the details, he was at his dorm.
As he walked inside, David said, “Hey. If you want to talk to me, just send me a message or schedule time on my calendar.”
“Thanks. I’ll do that. I was just feeling a bit neglected,”
Lexi said. “And I get that you’re busy. I’ll do as you ask and not let it go next time. Talk to you later.”
◊◊◊
David arranged an after-practice video call with Coaches Mason and Hope. He and Coach Stackhouse were in one of
the football conference rooms. He was surprised when Coach Thomas, Coach Merritt, and Matt showed up. They obviously wanted to hear what his two mentors had to say.
After introductions were made, Coach Hope started the discussion.
“Last year, the Irish were 9–3 before winning the Citrus Bowl. Aside from schedule-strength arguments, Notre Dame is in the running for a playoff spot this year because their defense has taken a huge leap forward.”
“All eleven defensive starters are juniors, seniors, or grad students, with five backups who are also upperclassmen. It’s not just that they have one of the most experienced defenses in college football; it’s the quality of the players. They received a huge boost when their two best players, linebacker Dallas Lawson and defensive lineman DeShawn Narcisse, bypassed the NFL draft and returned to school,” Coach Mason said.