We sat down, and an older woman brought out a spicy black bean soup. I appreciated that she brought me a bowl even though Halle and her mom got cups. For the main course, she delivered salmon with a creamy wasabi glaze and a side of chard. I’m not a big greens eater, but this was sweet which offset the bitterness of the chard. After dinner, we went to the living room to talk about what Rita had asked me over for.
“Adrienne called me today and wanted to provide clothing for our film. She said you had contacts with Range Sports, Jade, and Dakora. I didn’t realize you were such an entrepreneur,” Rita said.
I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not.
“Adrienne is one of my agents, and she organized a similar deal with my Star Academy film,” I said, to see where I stood.
“I see. Did you make any other money off of that deal besides the product placement?”
“I did a photo shoot for Dakora.”
“Do you think you could help Halle get a similar deal?” Rita asked.
“Has she done any modeling in the past?” I asked.
Halle jabbed me in the ribs.
“I’m right here,” she complained.
“Why do you ask?” Rita continued, ignoring her daughter.
“I ask because it would make a difference in how the shoot was organized. If Halle had never done one before, we’d need to find a photographer and other models that’re used to working with someone new. I’d also insist that Adrienne be at the shoot to help her. All of that would add to the cost, and Halle wouldn’t make as much money,” I explained.
“So, you’re saying that we need to have the right professionals to make everything go correctly,” Rita said.
“Exactly. As an example, I’m sure you’ve made allowances in the upcoming film because of my relative dearth of acting experience.”
“Did they do something like that for your appearance in Star Academy?” Rita asked.
“Yes. There were two stunt people who worked with me for all the action scenes before the movie, and I also took acting classes at State to prepare. In fact, we used the script in class so I could learn my lines,” I explained.
“Do you think we might actually get a script?” Halle asked.
Rita’s calm exterior cracked for a moment at her daughter’s jab, but she quickly recovered.
“We’re having some issues with the script,” she confessed. “The movie’s in need of some cash infusion.”
I suddenly realized that Rita was doing all of this for the first time and without help. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Tyler. I knew she would answer the phone.
“Hey, it’s David,” I said.
“What can I do for you?” Tyler asked.
“I’m sitting here with Rita James. Could you and possibly Adrienne fly out and talk to her about generating some cash for the movie?”
“Let me talk to her,” Tyler ordered.
I handed the phone to Rita, and she took it to her office so she could talk in private.
Halle took the opportunity to kiss me.
“Don’t be starting something you can’t finish,” I teased her.
“You wouldn’t dare. My mother might come in at any moment.”
I wish she hadn’t thrown down the gauntlet like that. Halle had on a skirt, so I dropped to my knees and stuck my head between her legs. I reached up, pulled her panties to the side, and gave her sex a lick.
“David!” she hissed as she grabbed the back of my head to hold it in place.
I think young Halle was sending me mixed signals. I was starting to get serious about getting her off when Halle’s phone chirped. Shortly after that, she pushed me away.
“My mom’s coming,” she whispered.
I pulled my head from under her skirt, and Halle took one look at my face and sent me to the restroom to clean up. While I was in there, I realized that Fritz must have seen us. I was a little pissed that he would be such a pervert to watch two teenagers have sex, but was grateful he’d given us the heads-up. Then I realized it wasn’t his fault we decided to have sex in the living room. I’d been told the house was monitored. Fritz must see things all the time as part of his job.
I felt sorry for Halle and Rita. If they needed this level of security, they would have very little privacy. You would have to trust your security people an awful lot.
Rita thanked me for introducing her to Tyler. Halle walked me out to my car to say goodnight. If I didn’t suspect that Fritz was watching, I might have started back up again. She did promise to come over to work on her art homework tomorrow.
◊◊◊ Friday September 25
Trust a politician to turn a simple pep rally into a media event. As I pulled into the school parking lot, there were two TV vans parked in front of the school. When I walked up to the entrance, Coach Zoon was there waiting. When he saw me, pointed at me, and motioned for me to come to him. Coach Zoon had been at the dojo last night and wanted all the details on my body-slam of Coach Hope. I offered to demonstrate the move, but he declined.
“Coach Hope wants to talk to you,” he said.
“This doesn’t have anything to do with Cassidy, does it?” I asked.
“I heard about that last night. Tony must have been crazy to agree to let you date his daughter. I know I wouldn’t,” Coach Zoon informed me.
“I think you would have to find a girl yourself first,” I shot back.
“Careful,” he warned.
“I’m not scared. Talk to Fritz or Coach Hope if you need to know what you’re tangling with.”
“You might find me a little tougher than either of them.”
I was so going to tell them about Coach Zoon’s boast! I simply smiled and followed him to Coach’s office.
“Dawson, get your butt in here!” Coach Hope boomed.
I walked in, and two state troopers were seated in front of his desk. He must have read my expression.
“That’s right. They finally tracked you down. You might as well confess now,” Coach Hope said.
I dropped my head and let my bottom lip quiver. The two state troopers sat up straight in their chairs.
“Cassidy, Coach Hope’s daughter, made me do it,” I said pitifully. I had to take a moment to compose myself. “She made me hurt him.”
“Hurt who, son?” one of the troopers asked.
“Coach Hope. We warned him,” I said, looking up and seeing Coach Hope give me a hard stare. “He’s been out of the Marines for a long time. He thought he was still tough. Cassidy made me show him he’s getting old and slow.”
Both troopers looked at me and then Coach Hope.
“He thinks he’s some kind of actor. Just ignore him,” Coach Hope said. I bowed and grinned at the troopers.
“Hi. I’m David Dawson,” I said, holding my hand out to welcome them.
“Captain Silva.”
“Lieutenant Jackson.”
“They’re here as part of the security detail for the Governor’s visit,” Coach Hope said.
“Congratulations on the record. We wanted to meet you since you’ll be on stage with Governor Higgins. I understand that you know him,” Captain Silva said.
“Yes, sir. He came to my uncle’s farm for his wedding. The governor knew my grandfather, Davey Dawson, very well.”
I must have been deemed to be okay because they sent me back to class.
◊◊◊
Finally, it was time for the pep rally. Everyone was in high spirits because we were playing our hated rival Eastside tonight. As I walked to the gym, all other sounds were drowned out by the clank of those damned cowbells. Whoever thought of that should be shot. The sad part was our fans loved them. The football team had been told to all meet in the locker room. As we waited, we heard the pep band play our school song. Coach Zoon came in.
“Okay, let’s go.”
I led the team in towards the end of the song, and everything was drowned out by cowbells clanging. The cheerleaders had made a corridor for us to enter the gym that put us in front of the podium. There must have been a thousand people there if you counted students, teachers, staff, reporters, and the governor’s security. Once everyone settled down, I decided to stir them up.