“Do you want me to tell her what a pretty-boy you are or do you want to?” Brad asked.
I really was trying not to get pissed.
“No, I think it’d be more fun to show her.”
I pulled out my tablet and brought up my portfolio. I set it on ‘slide show’ so it would rotate through the pictures. I put it on the table so both Brad and Cassidy could watch.
“Holy shit! You’re the guy that has all the supermodels fighting over him!” Cassidy exclaimed. “If the blond bimbo is too stupid to go out with you, I will. Where are you taking me Friday night?”
“How about I introduce you and Brad to some of my friends at my favorite pizza place?”
“Are you asking me out?” Brad asked with a nasty smirk on his face.
“You know us models, we swing both ways. I especially like brother-sister teams,” I said, trying to keep it light.
I had a feeling that Brad and I weren’t going to be friends.
Cassidy just looked at us as though we had two heads, and then just shrugged.
“If that’s what it takes to get you to go out with me, I’m game,” she said.
Brad started laughing.
“What?” Cassidy asked, confused.
I thought I was going to like Cassidy.
I looked up, and Suzanne was heading my way. She sat in my lap and proceeded to ‘say hello’ in a very convincing way. I wasn’t sure who was more shocked, Brad or Cassidy. I guess he could see I wasn’t gay.
“Oh my God! You ask me out, and two minutes later, you’re sucking face with a goddess. I’m going to have to get a very short leash for you,” Cassidy complained.
“Scoot over, bitch.”
I looked up and saw Cindy. She took my other knee and gave me a thorough greeting.
“What the hell! How can they just keep getting better looking? David, we’re going to have to have a talk,” Cassidy said, giving me a stern look.
“Up.”
I looked over; Beth was kicking Suzanne and Cindy off my lap. She grabbed the sides of my face and stuck her tongue down my throat.
Cassidy was pounding her head on the table and Brad was looking on in shock. Suzanne and Cindy were now sharing the chair next to Brad. When our kiss finally ended, I asked the girls, “We’re going to Monical’s on Friday. Want to join us?”
I got nods from the girls. I looked at Suzanne.
“Ask your brother if he wants to come, and whoever else you want to invite. I want to introduce Brad and Cassidy to the gang.”
Lily sat down on my free knee and kissed me.
“I heard you were giving out kisses and figured I wasn’t missing out on this.”
Gina and Alan came up, and she gave me a kiss on the cheek. Beth took over and started organizing the outing. She turned it into a ‘welcome home’ party. She called, reserved their banquet room, and ordered enough food to feed an army.
Brad pulled me aside when the bell rang.
“It’s good that I’m here. I think you need help with that many women.”
It was all I could do not to punch him to wipe the smug look off his face. I was already regretting inviting him out Friday.
WHEN I GOT TO MY LOCKER, Cassidy was waiting for me.
“Hey, locker-mate, you have some explaining to do.”
“Seriously, we’ve been going out for like twenty minutes, and we’re already having a ‘talk’?” I asked.
“Okay, I was worried there. I was afraid you’d forgotten we’re going out,” Cassidy said.
I just shook my head as I realized she was serious.
“I don’t think the blond bimbo had you trained very well. We’re going to have to talk about you letting other girls stick their tongues in your mouth.”
“Cassidy, before we do have that talk, I have to find out if you can even kiss.”
Oops, that was the wrong thing to say, and that’s how we ended up in the office for PDA. This was also how I met her dad, who happened to be my new football coach: Major Anthony Hope, USMC (Ret.). I cringed when Cassidy’s dad walked into the office in his military uniform. Turns out he was also working with the local college’s ROTC program and had just come back from a meeting.
The vice principal pulled the three of us into his office.
“Mrs. Sinclair found your daughter and David in the hall breaking the Public Display of Affection rule. Now, this is something we normally don’t have to enforce.”
Coach Hope was looking at me like he was figuring out the most painful way to kill me. The vice principal caught the look.
“Hang on, Coach. David was not the aggressor. Mrs. Sinclair said that Cassidy pushed David into the lockers and the proceeded to ... hang on, I need to read this ... and ‘climbed Mr. Dawson like he was a statue and assaulted him in a most unladylike fashion.’”
I couldn’t help myself, I laughed. That’s when it got worse.
“Daddy, I had to. David’s so cute, and all the other girls were kissing him. I had to let him know I liked him the most.”
At that moment, I think both the vice principal and I wanted to crawl under the desk. Coach Hope went bright red, and a vein in his temple throbbed. I thought that stuff only happened in movies.
“I think since this is a first-time offense, we’ll just let this slide,” the vice principal quickly said.
I took that as my dismissal and bolted for the door. Cassidy was on her own with her dad, or so I thought.
“Freeze!” Coach Hope said.
This was not good. He escorted Cassidy and me to his office, telling Cassidy he would talk to her at home. He pointed to a seat and I took it.
“David, this was not how I wanted to meet you, but it is what it is. In a way, this will make things easier for me.”
“How’s that, sir?”
“I wanted to talk to you about making a position change next year.”
Well, that sucks. I think he was waiting to see what I was going to say, but I surprised him when I just sat there without comment.
“Do you have an opinion on that, son?”
Several popped into my mind, most of which would get me expelled. I decided to play my cards close to my vest.
“I do, sir, but would like to hear your reasoning before expressing an uninformed opinion.”
“I can respect that,” he said, nodding his head in agreement. “With the graduation of so many key players, we need to play to our strengths. I watched you play fullback, and you were a game changer. I also think you’re a rare talent at quarterback.
“I’d like you to play fullback next season for two reasons. The first is we’ll need your blocking. Our offensive line will be weaker than it was last year. That dovetails into the next reason: if we leave you at quarterback, I’m afraid you’ll be killed. I know you’re one of the toughest players I’ve ever seen, but I can’t, in good conscience, let you take the pounding you did last year.”
If this were just about me, I would have to say no to the switch. I think that he was making a mistake not playing me at quarterback. However, he was the coach. I was in no mood to fight him about it because if the first few games go south on him, he was going to be crucified by the fans.
“Sir, do you really want my opinion or just my agreement?” I asked.
He thought about what I asked. He seemed to come to a decision.
“I promise that whatever you say today will get a pass. I’ll not hold it against you.”
“Okay, I think you’re making a mistake. The difference at quarterback between Brad and me is too much. I can make a larger impact at that position than I can at fullback.” I paused to gauge his reaction. I think he expected that. “But you’re the coach. If you want me to play fullback next year, I will. I just want a shot at quarterback my junior and senior years.”
He seemed to relax.
“I have to say I’m surprised you’re taking this so well. From my discussions with some of the other players, I expected you to be harder to work with. I’m glad you’re a team player.”
“Coach, before I leave for class, can I ask you a personal question?”
“Yes.”
“Is there something I should know about Cassidy?”