“He did not!”
There was a pause as she listened.
“Did he really?”
Her uncle was clearly on a roll.
“He got all of them to accept?”
They said their goodbyes, and she gave me back my phone.
“Okay, so you have a superpower. My uncle also likes you. It’s rare that someone impresses him, especially someone our age. Did you really get everyone to accept offers from Kentucky that weekend?”
“I guess I did. They all wanted to, but didn’t know how to ask. So I gave them a little nudge.”
“What’s this story about condoms?”
“Tell you what, that’s a story I only tell close friends. Let’s see how the night goes, and I might tell you later.”
“Can you hit on my sister tonight?”
Both my eyebrows went up on that one. This conversation had taken a sudden turn.
“What?”
“Sorry.” She gathered her courage. “My sister’s new boyfriend is a complete snob. He treats her badly, but I know her. She wants what she can’t have. I need her to become interested in you, and you have to resist her. She’ll dump the jerk.”
“Your big plan for tonight is for me to be your date so your sister will hit on me and dump her boyfriend?”
“No! Well, okay, yes. I don’t know. When you put it that way, it sounds kind of like a sucky plan.”
“You’re a frickin’ nut! I think I’m going to like you.”
She looked up with some hope.
“Really?”
“Yes, really. You keep me entertained with your half-baked plans for the rest of the night, and I’ll tell you the condom story.”
“Really?”
“You’re a dork. Can we go do something before dinner besides have tea?”
“You can’t call me a dork, dork. Dang it, why do you get me so flustered? That was the worst comeback ever.” She got a serious look. “You tell anyone about tonight and you die.”
I stood up and put my hand out to her.
“Come here. Your brain is just short-circuited. I know how to fix that.”
I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. At first, she stood very still and barely kissed me back, but as I ramped up the kiss, she became a willing participant, and wow. Just wow! Jennie Wesleyan was no novice to kissing. I could hardly keep up with some of her moves. When we finally broke the kiss, she looked me in the eyes.
“That was your plan?”
“Ah, it was worth a shot. I actually just wanted to kiss you.”
“Now I know why Tami calls you a ‘stupid boy.’”
“Come on, let’s go outside and let the cool air clear your mind. I need you coherent if I am going to seduce you and your sister at the same time.”
She didn’t even respond. She took my hand and led me outside. We walked the grounds and talked. She cornered me a couple of times and reminded me that she knew how to kiss. I think kissing is a great way to get to know someone.
BY THE TIME WE CAME back for our reservation, Jennie was herself again. When we got to the main dining room, we found that it was just going to be Jennie’s sister Carol and her boyfriend Carlton. Carol was a freshman in college where she met Carlton. She could be Jennie’s twin except her hips were a little bigger.
Carlton was a skinny boy who clearly had to be the center of everything. He was a junior studying prelaw. He took an instant dislike to me when he caught Carol eyeing me as we walked to our table. Jennie also caught the look, and we glanced at each other as if to say, ‘game on.’ When we sat down, Carlton tried to assert his dominance.
“Let’s get a bottle of champagne and get the sampler appetizer. Then we’ll get the cowboy rib eye with creamed spinach and garlic mashed potatoes.”
The girls looked at him as if he was insane, but neither said anything. When the waiter came over, I had other plans.
“I think we’ll be adventurous tonight. Tell the chef to plan a meal for the table. Let him know that Carol and Jennie Wesleyan always love his cooking and are looking for him to surprise us,” I said.
Carlton’s face went scarlet.
“But I thought we agreed.”
Carol put her hand on his arm to get his attention.
“David has it right. That sounds like fun.” She turned to the waiter. “Two of us are underage. Please get them some sparkling cider, and we’ll have some champagne.”
Carlton was sulking, so Jennie launched the next attack. Unfortunately, it was directed at me. She was just evil enough to turn me on.
“So David, my sister’s a huge Kentucky fan. Tell her the story about your recruiting visit and the funny thing with the condoms.”
I gave her a look for just a second. I could see her satisfaction in trapping me into telling her what she wanted to know. If she kept it up, I would have to punish her later. I wasn’t sure who’d enjoy that more.
“Wait! Are you being recruited by Kentucky? What position do you play?” Carol asked, totally ignoring Carlton.
“I received an offer to play quarterback on my visit in September. I originally was there to do a workout for the University of Florida, but when Kentucky found out, they wanted to watch it also.”
“What’s your last name?” Carol asked.
“Dawson.”
“Do you know who this is?” she asked, turning to Jennie.
Jennie gave her a blank look.
“What are you talking about?”
“This is Superman.”
I shrugged when Jennie gave me a look.
“I told you I had superpowers. I even had your uncle confirm it. Yet you still doubt me.”
I gave her a dramatic sigh. She gave me a look that would have me keeping my guard up all night.
“Bullshit. You’re just a kid. There is no way Kentucky would waste a scholarship on the likes of you,” Carlton said, getting his wind back.
I think it was about time he and I headed out to the parking lot. Instead, I decided to shut him up—without punching him. I pulled out my cell phone and opened my Dropbox app. I scrolled down until I found the scan of the offer letter and brought it up. I handed the phone to Carol.
“Carlton, you need to apologize to David.”
She showed him the offer. He got up and stormed out. Jennie had a hard time containing her joy, but I gave her a look to cool it. Carol wasn’t exactly happy that her date walked out on her.
“Here, give me the phone, and I’ll show you what Carol’s talking about.”
I brought up the YouTube video and played it. Jennie’s eyes were wide when it was done.
“I thought you played quarterback,” she said.
“I do, but I started the season at fullback.”
Carol snatched my phone out of my hand. She pulled up the quarterback rankings on 247Sports. Even with a week off, I was still the number nine freshman prospect.
“Look at this, Sis. Your date tonight could play in the NFL someday. Click on the link and look at who’s recruiting him.”
She read the list.
“Are you seriously considering Kentucky?”
“Look at the list and see who’s actually offered,” I told her.
“I see Kentucky and State, but are these other schools interested?”
“Yes, but I’m just a freshman. The big boys aren’t about to take a flyer on me. Scholarships are usually too valuable to be handing out offers to freshmen, but Kentucky has actually made an offer. I want to play football at the next level, so I’m taking their offer very seriously. They were the ones that made the first offer. I have to respect them for that.”
The waiter came to the table with our drinks. Carol explained that there would only be the three of us. The food was out of this world. For an appetizer, the chef did tuna three ways. The only tuna I’d ever had was out of a can. It melted in my mouth. For the main course, the chef prepared a rack of lamb with glazed baby carrots, roasted Brussels sprouts, and au gratin potatoes. For dessert, we had a hot vanilla soufflé that was amazing. It was the best meal I’d ever had, and the girls both loved it.
After dinner, we sat around and talked. People at the club came by and spent time talking to Carol and Jennie. You could tell people genuinely liked them. The girls enjoyed embarrassing me in front of the Kentucky fans who stopped by.