As I said, Hell had frozen over today. All I needed was an angry ex-girlfriend.
AFTER PRACTICE, COACH Harrington had me work on my footwork.
“On your toes! On your toes! Slide, slide, throw! Better. Let’s end on a good note.”
“Thanks, Coach. See you in the morning.”
I pulled off my helmet and turned to head to the locker room when I heard Tracy.
“David!”
I turned towards Tracy and I saw she was with Lily and Kendal. I closed my eyes for a moment to calm myself. Kendal was in my favorite fantasy outfit, the naughty Catholic schoolgirclass="underline" short plaid skirt with fitted white button-up blouse. Kendal had model-quality legs and curves in all the right places. She had long, blond, wavy hair. She had librarian glasses, which was another one of my favorite fantasies.
I fought getting aroused. Unfortunately, it was a losing battle. I heard Lily giggle when she realized what was happening. My face felt like it was on fire. I kept thinking ‘look in her eyes.’ I opened my eyes and I saw Tracy smirk at me as Kendal came up to me with her hand out.
“Hi, I’m Kendal Miller.”
I shook her hand and felt an electric shock when our hands touched.
“David Dawson.”
I suddenly noticed all the team managers were behind me to watch us. I turned on them and gave them a look that caused the group of gawkers to scatter.
“David, can I talk to you for a minute?” Tracy asked.
Oh, crud.
“Of course.”
Tracy led me a few feet away so we could have some privacy.
“You don’t need this bimbo. I can still handle everything. I know everything that’s going on and this is a big weekend. Now is not the time to make a change. You need me.”
I had never heard Tracy whine before; she was normally much more confident. I also had never heard her call another girl a bimbo. This could turn into a real problem.
“Tracy, I think you were there when you broke up with me. I seem to remember you doing it in front of a big crowd.”
“David, that was because we aren’t together. It didn’t have anything to do with everything else.”
“I kind of think it does.”
She actually stomped her foot.
“Uh uhhh.”
Was she ten years old? I didn’t want to piss her off, but she was on my last nerve.
“Tracy, let me talk to Kendal and see where you can fit in.”
“Are you sure? I don’t think you need her. I know you know I’m doing a good job.”
“Yes, you are. Your dad and I talked, and he’s helping out by loaning me Kendal. Give me a minute.”
We went back to Kendal and I could see Lily roll her eyes. Great, I needed to take control of this.
“Kendal, it’s nice to meet you. I see you’ve met Lily and Tracy. I hope they’ve been helping you get up to speed.”
I had to give it to Kendal. She acted extremely confident, but she showed her insecurities by trying to run the show.
“Yes, the girls have been very helpful.”
Uh-oh, did she just call them ‘girls’?
“I’m fully up to speed and ready to go,” she continued. “I’ll transfer the calls to my cell. I need you to forward any messages you received today so I can follow up. Then we need to schedule a press release letting everyone know that I’ll be handling your management.”
“Slow down. You do realize I can’t have an agent?”
“Sorry, I just worded that wrong. I’ll fix that.”
Tracy touched my arm. She could tell by my body language that I was about to lose my cool. I looked at her and she gave me a drawn smile. I started to understand what Tracy had tried to tell me, and Lily’s look. My dad always told me that you praise in public and you reprimand in private.
“Tracy, Lily, can you guys give us a moment?”
When they stepped away, I turned to Kendal. I could see her confidence was shaken. I didn’t want her to fall apart on me.
“Kendal, first of all, thank you for taking this on. You’ve been put into a difficult situation. My needs have popped up overnight and we’re trying to find our way. Lily and Tracy have been doing an outstanding job of keeping me organized.
“Tracy and I had a personal relationship up until the end of last week. I’m sure you’re aware that Tom is her father. I need someone I can trust to oversee everything. Tom suggested you could do it. I understand that this real-world experience will help you down the road. I want you to succeed. But more importantly, I want me to succeed,” I said, and saw I’d only confused her.
“I’m sorry. I just look at you guys and you look so young. I’m having a hard time understanding how you’ve been doing this,” Kendal offered.
“We may be young, but we’ve been doing okay. Have you seen the social media and website Lily’s running?”
“Yes, I’m impressed.”
“Then why would you want to take that over? You have a volunteer who’s putting in countless hours to help me be successful. Do you have a better plan?”
“No. I mean, I do have some ideas.”
“Do you have the time this week to do that with all the scouts and media coming in?”
“No, I see your point. But what about Tracy?”
That was the big question. I still didn’t trust her. My best bet was to level with Kendal.
“Okay, this is why you’re getting paid the big bucks.” She chuckled at that, because most interns worked for free. “Tracy can either be a huge asset to us or destroy us. Saturday she dumped me in front of several hundred people. I’m having some trust issues right now. That’s why you’re here,” I said, and gathered myself to continue. “Let me ask you, have you ever done a press conference?”
“No. But I was hoping to do some to get experience.”
“I hadn’t either. Tracy taught me how. If you let her, she can teach you how also. She’s a natural and I think she’ll eventually be in broadcasting. Pull some of the tapes and see how much I improved and how good she is.
“I guess what I’m trying to say is that I have a pretty good team in place. Things are getting bigger and more hectic. We need a full-time person to keep us organized. I need you to pull this team together and get us through this week. I’m leaving you in charge so I can play football. Can I count on you?” I asked.
“Yeah, I like the girls.”
“Slow down, you have to get over this age thing.”
“I will, and I do like them. I’ll work it out with them. Do you think we need more help this Friday?”
“Why don’t you talk to your team and figure that out?”
“In other words, quit bothering you with the details?”
We both smiled.
“Kendal, you’re going to do just fine.”
I could tell Tracy and Lily had eased over and listened to our conversation. They both had smiles on their faces, and Tracy mouthed ‘thank you,’ so I knew we’d be okay. With that, I went home to finish my math homework and ice my knees.
I HAD JUST FINISHED icing my knees. They’d been swelling because of the constant pounding they took. I jumped in the shower and was headed to bed when I got a text from Tami. I powered up my tablet and jumped on video chat. She was giving me her mock-pissed face, so I ‘accidently’ tilted the tablet so that she could see my semi-hard manhood. I heard a shriek and laughter.
“David, my roommates can see you.”
“Nice package,” one of them shouted.
“I missed it,” another complained, so I had another ‘accident’ and got another round of shrieks.
I saw four faces looking at Tami’s monitor. She shook her head at me.
“Guys, this is my best friend David. David, these are my roommates.”
“Hey, roommates, you guys want to have some fun?”
“David, you be good,” Tami said as she did her best mom voice, but she knew I was in a goofy mood. If she didn’t want me messing with her roommates, I would have known.
“You want to see some more?” I asked.
Tami threw her hands up and her roommates gathered around.