The fans were still in the stands, so we all went to the bleachers to thank them. They started chanting “Double D, Double D.” I had a grin on my face as I hugged my mom and dad. The coaches finally had to come get us and drag us back to the locker room.
WHEN I GOT INTO THE locker room, Coach told me to hurry up and change: I was wanted in the postgame press conference. I put on my suit on for the dance, so I looked very dapper. I was surprised to see Tracy at the podium giving out the stats for the game. Kendal must have decided she didn’t want the limelight yet.
“As you can see, David Dawson is now here,” Tracy said. “Coach Lambert will be out in a few minutes to give a statement. David will answer a few questions and then he has a dance to attend. If you have additional questions please see myself or Kendal Miller, and we will have David available for a nine a.m. conference call.”
“Thank you, Ms. Dole. I want to give a brief statement and then we’ll open it up for questions. Tonight, we played a fine team. As you saw, they had me on the run for most of the night. We caught some breaks and the game turned in our favor. Our defense played a heck of a game. On offense, Luke Herndon looked like an All State running back tonight, mostly due to the fine blocking of our offensive line. State is getting a fine player in Luke.”
“How are you feeling?” one of the local reporters asked. “You took some serious shots tonight, especially your first play.”
“Yeah, I thought he’d taken my head off. Once they figured out I wasn’t going to die, our trainers put some duct tape on it and sent me back out. I think they were trying to let me know they were the better team. All the rough stuff did was fire us up. We used that play as motivation.”
There were a few chuckles. Fox Sports was next.
“Your performance tonight will possibly vault you into the top 10 nationally among freshman quarterbacks. I see there are several college recruiters here tonight to see you perform. Did that have any effect on how you played?”
“Football’s a team sport, and I’m lucky to play on one of the best teams around. My team makes me look good, so if I’m ranked it’s due to them. As far as the colleges that have come out to see my fellow teammates and me, it’s testament to the fine program that Coach Lambert has put together. They wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t talent on the field.”
“David, I have to disagree.”
I hated this guy. Jeff Delahey was with our local paper and was usually a jerk.
“I’ve been critical of the decision to change the offense and entrust it to a freshman. I’ve even questioned the level of your competition. I have to tell you, I’ve been covering high school football for 23 years, and tonight’s performance rates in the top five I’ve ever seen. Do you think you can get any better?”
I didn’t know what to say.
“Jeff, I think if you talked to Coach Lambert he’d tell you that I have a lot of room for improvement.” That got a laugh. “At least, that’s what he tells me in practice.”
Tracy stepped up.
“Okay, Coach Lambert will give a ...”
I slipped out while she introduced Coach.
BY THE TIME I GOT TO the gym, the dance had already started. This year’s theme was Starry Night, and they had somehow gotten the ceiling to look like the night sky. Round tables that would seat eight were strategically placed. They surrounded the dance floor and all had silver tablecloths on them. I edged around the gym as I looked for Cindy and Suzanne.
I caught a glimpse of white hair that could only be Suzanne on the dance floor. As I went a little closer to the stage, where the band was playing, I saw both of them dancing. They were smiling and having a good time. My breath caught in my throat when I saw their matching black dresses. They clung to their bodies in all the right places. They both looked gorgeous. I felt someone get close to me.
“Hey, those are their exes,” Beth said.
I felt my stomach turn as I finally saw they were dancing with two guys I didn’t recognize. If they were interested in getting back together with them, there was nothing I could do about it. I liked both girls, but if they needed to spend some time for closure, I was fine with that. I turned to Beth and she slid under my arm as I kissed her temple.
“Thank you for everything you did today. Did everyone have a good time?”
She wrapped her arm around my waist.
“Yes, everyone had a good time. We met our fundraising goal.”
“That’s great news.”
“I’m relieved. I was getting tired of working on that.”
I looked around.
“Where’s Gary?”
She stiffened and I kicked myself because I could tell something was wrong.
“I don’t know. He and I didn’t work out.”
I turned and looked her in the eye and I could see the sadness.
“Beth, I’m so sorry. I know you had your hopes up.” I pulled her out on the dance floor. “Come on. If my dates are busy, I have time to dance with you.”
She grinned and we worked our way onto the floor and started dancing. It wasn’t long until I felt a hand on each of my butt cheeks and I turned to see Cindy and Suzanne grinning at me. Apparently, they had ditched their exes and joined Beth and I dancing.
“Dawson, you suck!” Luke yelled.
I just waved at him and he and Kevin cracked up. I was having the time of my life, dancing with the three of them. It felt comfortable to be with people that you liked. There was no pressure or worry like when I was with Tracy. I missed Tracy—there was something special about her—but this had no expectations. Anything that happened was fine. With how busy my life was right now, this was a relief. When the song ended, a slow song started. The three girls smiled at each other and somehow decided that Cindy would dance with me.
I figured it was best to let them decide things. She smelled of jasmine. I closed my eyes and felt her body mold into mine. We gently swayed to the music, enjoying the moment. I felt her head turn and she kissed my neck which caused my eyes to open and pull back a little so I could see her angelic face. There was a twinkle of mischief in her eyes, which caused a twitch in my groin. She could make my knees go weak with just a look. I leaned down and kissed her.
Suddenly we were in our own little world with our lips locked. That twitch turned into arousal, and when she felt it, she let me know by her body movement that she approved. Just as I thought the first day of school when she kissed my brother, she was a 10. I was suddenly brought back to the present when someone tapped me on the shoulder.
“Do you mind if I cut in?” a male voice asked.
Cindy seemed to snap out of it and I saw her face go from lust to anger. I looked to the side and saw her ex looking uncomfortable. She gave him a look that would cause me to go find a place to hide, and I could see it had the same effect on him.
“Bryan, I tried to be nice and dance with you. You see I’m with my boyfriend. Go back to college and leave me alone.”
She grabbed my hand and led me off the dance floor and we left Bryan in our wake. When we got to the table, she twirled around and planted a huge kiss on me. I thought that would be enough to give Bryan the hint he needed, because I saw him storm out of the dance. When our kiss ended, I was grabbed and turned. I found Suzanne as she pulled me into an equally hot kiss. When she finally let me up for air, Cindy slid in and kissed Suzanne. I heard several guys groan. I wanted to leave right now, but we had to wait because they were both in the running for Homecoming Queen.
When the song finally ended, we came to our senses and several people around us started to clap. We all were suddenly embarrassed. The girls giggled and left me to go to the bathroom.