Luckily for Brook, I leaned back instead of collapsing on her. I might have killed her because she wouldn’t have anywhere to go in the tiny backseat of the Jeep. I was panting like Duke after one of our runs when I looked down at Brook, who had a big smile on her face.
“What got into you?” she asked.
“What, don’t you do it like that every time?” I asked in feigned shock.
“Try never,” she shot back.
“You poor baby. You just needed a real man,” I teased her, reminding her of what Ken had said.
I also wanted to rub it in a little bit about her comments about older guys. I pulled out of her and got out of the Jeep to find our clothes. We got dressed. Brook wasn’t at all pleased about what I’d done to her bra, so I offered to replace it.
◊◊◊
On the ride home, Brook got quiet. I knew she wasn’t really on board with my declaration that I just wanted to have fun. That was much more of a guy thing, even though Brook acted like a guy at times. She was small and sexy and almost every guy’s ideal woman, but her attitude about sex fell more in the guy range. Brook seemed to be one of those girls who liked a variety of partners, if the rumors were true. She mostly went after college guys, because high school boys couldn’t handle a one-night stand and walk away.
I fully expected that we had just had our one time together and she would move on. At least I hoped so because I wouldn’t be able to tolerate being one of many men in her life.
When we got to her house, I pulled up and got out of the car to walk her to the door. I think that surprised Brook. Apparently, most guys she had been out with would have just pulled up and dumped her out after their fun.
“I had probably the best date of my life today. Motocross was something I’ve wanted to do for years. I’d like to pick our activity for next week,” I offered, to see if there would be another adventure date.
“I’d like that,” Brook said, then kissed my cheek and went inside.
◊◊◊
Chapter 15 – We Bounced All Over Wednesday September 23
The press conference was scheduled for last period. I thought it was genius for Coach to do that since we’d be able to cut it off so we could go to practice. I got a note that said it would be held in one of the meeting rooms in the new Lincoln Field House. As I made my way to the press conference, I ran into Brandon and Jeff, my favorite reporter, talking.
“This doesn’t look good,” I said.
They both looked guilty, as if I’d caught them doing something.
“Brandon was just giving me some scoop,” Jeff said.
“Was it that Eastside is so scared to play us they decided to forfeit?” I asked.
“Nothing like that,” Brandon assured me. “I’ll tell you after you’re done.”
I wondered why all the mystery. Tracy caught my eye. She’d made sure I was in my uniform. I walked in, and two things struck me: the first was the room was packed. It felt like a college press conference. The second was the wall behind the stage had been painted orange, and in blue lettering was ‘Lincoln High.’ On the right side was our logo of a bulldog, and on the left was the outline of the state with ‘State Champs’ and the year to represent last year’s accomplishments. I hoped to add two more to the wall before I graduated. On the stage was a table with microphones and a blue skirt. The school colors were evident. Now I understood why Tracy specified I wear our blue jersey.
“Did you read my talking points?” Tracy asked me.
I had to chuckle. I think she’d written down every cliché she could think of and gave them to me at lunch. Tracy had seemed proud of them, so I made sure to have read them and have them down, and planned to use them. I was sure this was going to be a long one. Coach Hope snuck up beside me.
“Do you think they’ll ask me a question?” he asked, making me jump.
“Did you get your talking points?” I shot back.
“Yes. Our new press secretary was most insistent.”
“Both of you hush. You’ll thank me for those later,” Tracy chastised us.
Tracy led us into the room at the appointed time. She was very insistent that we proceed in a timely manner. I agreed with her. It drove me nuts when people were always late.
“Welcome to Lincoln High. My name is Tracy Dole. If you need stats or additional information, please contact the office, and I’ll be informed. Before we get started, please turn your cell phones to silent, or better yet, turn them off. We’ll do this in a civilized manner. I will call on you one at a time. Everyone will get a chance to ask a question. If you jump the gun and shout out a question, the interview will be stopped and either the person that asked it will need to leave, or the press conference will be stopped. Is that understood?” Tracy asked, glaring at everyone.
I expected a few of them were going to challenge her once the press conference started. My bet was that we’d be down a reporter or two before this was over.
“You will identify who you are and what organization you represent before you ask your question. If we’re ready?” Tracy asked, and the cameramen all nodded, and a couple of reporters rushed up and put their cell phones on the table in front of us to record the interview. Once that was done, Tracy continued.
“We have Coach Anthony Hope. Coach Hope is in his second year at Lincoln High. He led us to our first State Championship last year. Also on stage is David Dawson. David is a three-year starter at Lincoln High. He was named Co-MVP at Elite 11 this last summer. He is the first junior to ever make the finals of that competition, which is designed to discover who is the best high school quarterback in the nation. David is currently rated as the number 1 quarterback and player in the junior class. As of this morning, he has received 28 offers, including such schools as Kentucky, Ohio State, Alabama, Stanford, Michigan State, and Oregon. Last Friday night he set the national record for passing yardage in a game with 848 yards. David is also a model and actor. His first movie, Star Academy, will be released at Christmastime. The first question goes to Jeff Delahey,” Tracy said, and then sat down.
The press conference was much as I expected. It made me glad when Coach Hope was asked some questions. He did well at handling the usual ones like ‘What’s it like to have David as your quarterback?’ and turning them into an answer that complimented the whole team. Tracy must have worked with him, like she had me, on how to turn any question into a point you wanted to get out there.
Tracy had done her homework and made sure the local press and TV stations got to go first. Then the national press and TV got their turn, followed by the big markets, then the recruiting services, and then everyone else. Tracy actually kicked out ESPN two-thirds of the way through, when their reporter decided he needed to do a follow-up question when it was someone else’s turn. The reporters roared with laughter when she did it. The ESPN guy was classy about it and left the room. I made a point to meet with him before practice and answer his question. He apologized to Tracy, which made him go up a couple of notches in my book. I think he wanted to be able to ask questions in the future.
Towards the end, one of the Internet guys surprised me with a bunch of football-related detail questions, like how I picked up reads. It was evident we had a bunch of football junkies in the room as we began an extended discussion about the technical aspects of the game. I was thankful I’d gone to all those camps and listened to Bo Harrington and Bud Mason. Coach Hope just shook his head when we were done.
When I came out, Brandon and Jeff were waiting for me.
“How’d I do?” I asked.
“Thank you for not using the page of notes Tracy gave you,” Jeff said. “You’re getting better. By the time you hit the pros, you’ll be an expert.”