I looked up and Beth gave me a strange look, which clued me in that something was up. She looked at the other two girls and I knew she didn’t want to talk in front of them. Our habit was to spend thirty to forty-five minutes alternating between soaking and jumping in the pool to cool off. Then we would head home for dinner.
After we had all gotten dressed, I pulled Tami and Tracy aside.
“Hey guys, something’s up with Beth. She needs to talk to someone, so I’m going to eat dinner here at the Andersons.’”
I gave Tami a kiss on the forehead and Tracy a real kiss. I found Beth a few minutes later sitting in the den. Beth jumped when she saw me.
“I thought you’d left.”
“No, I invited myself to dinner.”
I waited her out to see what was wrong. We’d played this game a few times and she knew what I was doing, so she told me.
“I’ve been feeling lonely. Seeing you with Tracy has made me realize what I’m missing.”
Beth was a mystery. She was the head cheerleader, and every guy at school would jump at the chance to go out with her. The stereotypes didn’t fit Beth. You’d think the head cheerleader should date the star quarterback. I had never known her to date a jock. She seemed more attracted to the artistic types.
“When was the last time you went out on a date?”
“I went to Prom, but that was just a setup. He was the cousin of one of my girlfriends. The last real date was New Year’s Eve when I met that guy skiing.”
That was over nine months ago. I remembered the guy, because he was on Christmas break. I think he was a music major from Dartmouth. What I needed to do was find her a cute band geek.
“Can I ask you something?” She nodded. “Do you have anyone in mind?”
She blushed, so I knew there was someone. This was good news. Of course, the guy in me wanted to just solve the problem and call him, but I knew from experience that wasn’t how girls worked. I’d have to figure a way to get the guy to notice her.
“Okay, tell me who.”
“Gary Baxter.”
I gave her a look that said I didn’t know who that was.
“He’s a senior, cute and kind of quiet. He’s also in the band."
“Does he know you’re interested?”
“No, I’ve given him some hints, but I’m not sure he realizes I want him to ask me out.”
“Want me to talk to him?”
You’d think I had shot someone.
“No!”
Then it hit me: the band fundraiser.
“How about this: you’re recruiting bachelors for the band fundraiser. Why don’t you get him to volunteer?”
She jumped right in with the plan.
“Then I could bid and win a date!”
She squealed, launched herself from her chair to mine and wrapped me up in her arms. It was amazing to see her smile all through dinner.
Chapter 14 – The Comeback Kid
Tuesday September 24
I woke with my usual morning wood. My eyes were still closed, but I felt the presence of a warm female body in my bed. I felt a wave of pure bliss. In my sleep, my right hand found a handful of breast. This was almost better than waking up to a blowjob. Sleep started to leave my brain when I became aware I had no idea who was in my bed.
To my surprise, it was Tami. She had apparently borrowed one of my t-shirts. I was a little embarrassed to find myself pressed against my best friend’s butt. I could tell by her breathing she was awake. I made no move to let her go, but I did let my hand slide onto her belly and I kissed her neck.
“Good morning.”
She turned her head and we kissed. I could see she was emotional. She would leave me on Sunday. This wasn’t a teenage hormone-induced hookup. This was the intimacy of two people in love, who were familiar with each other as only best friends could be. We had never had any sexual contact beyond a kiss, but this held the promise of what someday might be like.
I heard the downstairs door open and someone walked up the stairs. My bedroom door opened and Peggy walked in. It was time for my run. When she saw me naked with Tami, she blushed.
“Oh, sorry.”
“Peggy, it’s okay,” Tami said, to ease her embarrassment. “We’re just friends. I’m leaving Sunday and I needed to be close to him.” She swatted my bottom. “Now, ready to run and let me talk to Peggy.”
I jumped out of bed, covered the important stuff and hurried into the bathroom. Somehow, girls could make me feel helpless. I wasn’t sure why I was so embarrassed. I sleep in the nude. If someone walked into my bedroom unannounced, they would figure that out. Peggy saw how I slept the first day we ran, so the little minx was trying to get a peek.
I came out of the bathroom, dressed, to find the two of them talking. Of course; Tami knew everyone.
“Peggy, you’re terrible.”
“Shhh, he’s back.”
They both looked at me like they were little angels. Peggy had warned me if I wasn’t ready to run, she’d do evil things to me. I think I might want to sleep in just to find out what those things might be. Then again, maybe not.
“Okay, I don’t think I really want to know what that was all about.”
Tami shook her head.
“No, probably not. Come on, we need to stretch and then run. Today’s a distance day,” Peggy said.
I just groaned and followed her to go run.
WHEN I GOT TO SCHOOL, Tracy had waited for me. She had Luke backed up to a wall and was flirting with him. He looked a little uneasy. When he saw me, I put my finger to my lips to indicate that he shouldn’t let her know I was there.
“How come you don’t have a girlfriend?” she asked.
I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her ear.
“So, I don’t see you for a few hours and you’re looking for an upgrade?”
She twisted in my arms and gave me one of her patented mind-erasing kisses. I swear when she did that I forgot everything.
“No, silly, I’m trying to set him up!”
Luke caught on, and arched his eyebrows. I think he thought Tracy had come on to him.
“Anyone we know?” I asked.
“Of course, Kim,” Tracy answered.
I smiled at Luke and I could see there was interest there.
“Good girl, I think he likes the idea.”
“Yes, I do like that idea,” he said, and then looked at Tracy. “Has she expressed an interest, or are you just testing the waters?”
“Oh, there’s interest. She’s waiting by your locker. Go ask her out.”
Luke gave us a sheepish grin and went inside.
“So you’re working as a matchmaker now. I think I like this.”
I wanted to go watch the show, but Tracy steered me to her locker. I slipped my hand into the back pocket of her jeans. She looked back and smiled. I felt her slide her hand into the back pocket. I kissed her nose and we worked our way to her locker. Several people had noticed us walking in like that. When we got to her locker, she gave me a hip bump and I let her go.
“Hey, I almost forgot. Dad has tickets to the Florida/Kentucky game this weekend. He wants to know if you want to go.”
“Wow! That sounds great!”
“Dad’s boss is a Florida booster and has tickets to all the games. He’s not able to go this weekend, so he’s sending his top people as a kind of thank you for job well done.”
“How come I get to go? Shouldn’t your dad take you or your mom?”
She snorted at the ridiculous idea.
“If you haven’t noticed, my dad likes you. Plus, he’s been bragging you up to the point his boss has set up an appointment with Florida to look at possibly recruiting you.”
“What?”
She had to be pulling my leg. She seemed perplexed by my confusion.
“David, I don’t want to sound harsh, but at some point you’re going to have to come to terms with you being a star. Everyone agrees you have the size and speed to make it at the next level. You’re the most punishing runner my dad’s seen at this level. If you continue to develop, there’s no ceiling for your talent. The main thing I see you lacking is belief in yourself.”