“That’s about the best version of ‘it’s not you, it’s me’
I’ve ever heard.”
“I would agree if I didn’t want to take you to bed right now.”
“Now that’s a good argument. I just have twenty more questions … yelp!” Crystal squealed as he attacked her.
“Brat,” David said breathlessly after they kissed.
“Seriously, though. Wren and Emily?”
“Little Timmy?” David shot back.
“Shut up before we start arguing again.”
Crystal took control and pushed David onto the bed and pinned him.
This was going to be fun.
◊◊◊
Chapter 35
Jason Merritt had gathered his staff together to talk about the upcoming game against Oregon State. OSU was the worst team in the Pac-12, so the Trojans needed to take care of business on Saturday. Toward the end of the meeting, he brought up something on his mind.
“I know I never jump ahead to an upcoming opponent, but I want to get your honest opinions about who should start at quarterback against Notre Dame. I am purposely keeping David in reserve to preserve his redshirt. If he isn’t needed for an emergency, he’ll be available to start that last game. I’ve implied that he may get the start,” Jason said.
The room went quiet because the coaching staff hadn’t faced this issue yet. Who was the better quarterback between David and Matt? When no one seemed to want to jump in with an opinion, Jason turned to his offensive coordinator, Wyatt Thomas.
“Tell me what you’re seeing with Matt this week in practice.”
“Matt’s feeling good about this week’s practice. He’s had three straight days of throwing the ball well after getting dinged up last week. The team likes him. David also showed he’s throwing well, and even Jaden showed some improvement this week.”
“If you look at the numbers, David is 3–0 as a starter,”
said Mike Bolton, their offensive line coach.
“Like I’ve always said, especially when talking to their parents, quarterbacks are like head coaches. They get way too much credit when the team wins and all the blame when we lose. That’s why I get paid what I do, to face that pressure. As a quarterback, that’s not really fair to them.
That’s why, in public, I’ve been supportive of both boys,”
Jason said.
“If a quarterback ever feels he has lost his head coach, he doesn’t have a chance,” Amy Stackhouse, the special teams coach and resident psychologist, added.
Jason was taken aback by that comment because he felt David thought that about him. He understood that between now and the Notre Dame game, he had some fences to mend, or he might not be able to start David.
“If it were up to me, I would start David against Notre Dame. I always believe that you can’t really get a measure of a quarterback until they’re on the field and stuff isn’t going their way. I’ve seen that David is more mature and focused out there, and he has a calming effect on his teammates and helps them get back in there. Where Matt can lose his cool at times,” Jackson Farrow, the defensive coordinator, said.
“David also got jerked around and missed most of spring ball and was up in the air about whether he was playing defense or offense during the summer,” Mike said. “He had to play catch-up, and I think he did a fine job—you did have both him and Matt at QB1.”
“I guess the question is, what do they bring that’s different to the table?” Amy asked.
“That’s a good question,” Wyatt said. “I think we’ve all seen the same things. I’ve seen that they must have come to an understanding because if someone in the press or outside the team asks about them, they turn it around and talk up the other guy.”
“I agree, and I think it’s genuine, and I think they have a lot of respect for each other,” Amy said.
“I asked Bill Callaway what he thought about Matt. He told me Matt’s a lot like David but doesn’t have the coach’s voice. I had to laugh because that’s how I see it as well.
They’re different in how I have to coach them. With Matt, I have to grab him and make sure he’s paying attention.
Whereas David locks in and listens to what I’m coaching,”
Wyatt said.
“Something I’ve noticed is that when Matt’s the quarterback in practice, David is either working with other players or standing behind him so he can see what Matt’s seeing. While when David’s out there, Matt is off getting a drink or shooting the shit,” Mike said.
“David’s mobility adds another dimension to our offense, something that Notre Dame will have to prepare for,” Wyatt pointed out.
Jason wanted them to focus on who should start the last game.
“My take on making a decision isn’t the one who’s the best passer or runner, but the one who runs the team the best and who gets the most out of the other ten guys on the field,” he said.
“That’s Dawson,” Wyatt said without any hesitation.
“I agree with Wyatt. As a defensive coordinator, I’d rather face Matt than David. They’re both good, but David is simply tougher to defend against—and makes the offense tougher to defend against.
Everyone else went quiet as they waited to see how Jason would react. It made him wonder if he’d made a mistake by betting on Matt this whole time. Wyatt was right; the offense played better when David was on the field. He wasn’t perfect, but what freshman would be?
“Okay, I know you all have a lot to do, so I’ll make this short. If you had to make the call today, should David be our starter for the Notre Dame game?” Jason asked.
The entire staff agreed that he should. With that in hand, Jason felt okay letting David start the last game of the year.
But, in reality, it would be Jason’s call when the time came.
He was the dick in dictator, after all.
◊◊◊
Today’s filming was at the coffee house. The sides of David’s mouth quirked upward when he saw Chloe was one
of the baristas. At David’s suggestion, she’d moved out from home and gotten an apartment with Kat’s old roommate, Yong. She needed something to supplement her income until she built her Internet-influencer stuff enough to live on.
David had suggested that either her mom or Alex could help her, but Chloe was determined to make it on her own, which he respected.
As he got his tea, his phone chirped. His mom had sent him pictures of Halloween. It was the first one where his kids sort of knew what was going on. They’d dressed up at daycare and had a party. His group all wore black ninja gear. David might have a clue where they got their clothes.
He got another message that had a video attached. It started with the five of them doing Tai Chi in unison. Little Carol nodded to her nana, who used her phone to play music. He realized they were his kids when they began their ninja dance. It was the cutest thing he’d ever seen.
After the video ended, he spotted Adrienne sitting in a corner by herself. The place was packed with fans of the show. He found it amusing that she was able to avoid having to sign an autograph or take a fan selfie with just a look. Adrienne’s New York attitude had somehow buffaloed the Southern Californians.