“The athletic dorm is outstanding,” Tim added.
“That sounds good,” Coach Michaels said and then smiled. “I have to admit that when we heard the three of you wanted to play ball together, I was hesitant at first. I can’t remember the last time we took three kids from the same high school in a recruiting class.
“That momentarily made me pause and consider if this would work. Then we saw the recent game film and reviewed reports from the people we’ve had at your games over the past two years. If I were being honest, I wish Ty Wilson had joined you this weekend. If things go our way, we would like to offer all four of you scholarships.
“I guess I’d like to ask what you estimate the chances are that we have a shot at you joining us,” Coach Michaels asked.
Tim and Wolf looked at me.
“Here’s how I see it. The Big 12 is a quarterbacks’ league. I have no doubt that I could make my mark here and help you win the league. The problem with that is it exposes the conference’s weakness, defense. There are probably only two schools that have a solid defense, TCU and Iowa State. The rest of them, including yours, are just adequate.
“I think that’s the reason the Big 12 is so hard to predict each year. It makes the league the most competitive from top to bottom. I’m afraid that once you go head-to-head with teams like Clemson, you’re at a disadvantage,” I said.
The last time Oklahoma made the College Football Playoffs, they’d gone up against Clemson and lost 34–17. Oklahoma just couldn’t stop them. They had the same problem yesterday with Ohio State. Upper-level teams couldn’t rely on offense alone. Granted, it made for exciting football for teams to score a lot of points.
“With that being said, how do we stack up?” Coach Michaels asked us.
“This is just me personally. I would say that I would rank my top three as Alabama, Ohio State, and Michigan. I would group the next three together, and that would include Clemson, Oklahoma, and USC. That was before this weekend. You’ve opened my eyes to what Oklahoma has to offer. I’m glad we made the trip.”
“I agree. That’s probably how I would rate them,” Wolf said.
Tim just nodded.
“It’s refreshing to have recruits give us an honest assessment. Most times, I think they just tell us what we want to hear,” Coach Michaels said. “Do you really plan to take ten visits?”
“We’re going to play it by ear,” Tim said. “If we decide on somewhere, we might cut the whole thing short.”
“I agree. I would like to enjoy my senior year and not travel every weekend,” I said.
“There are parties we’re missing,” Wolf said.
“We plan to continue to recruit you hard. If you make a decision, I’d appreciate it if you would let us know. I hope you make it easy and decide to come here. If not, we need to work on Plan B.”
◊◊◊
After we flew back, Mom and Dad invited everyone to our house for dinner. She made spaghetti and had Dad make a salad. While they cooked, I spent time with the boys. They were both growing like weeds, Coby especially. He was rapidly catching up to Little David.
Brook had come over, and I was amused to see Bandit had claimed her lap. I think he missed his mom, Halle. Speaking of which, she’d sent me an email telling me she was enjoying her new movie and thought that the whole cast had good chemistry. She did mention that her leading man seemed a little too friendly, but she was dealing with it. I sure preferred it when everyone got along. The Royal Palm was an experience I would rather not repeat.
Over dinner, I sat back and realized that our three families were getting closer, the dads especially. How could I tell? Wolf’s dad made several bad jokes about wives, and my mom didn’t even flinch. I glanced over at Dad, and he just shrugged.
◊◊◊
Finally! I had some alone time with Brook.
We walked up to my apartment to ‘study.’ When we got upstairs, Brook came to me, melted into my arms, and gave me a passionate kiss. It was obvious what would happen next, so I carried Brook to my bedroom and gently laid her down.
“Don’t move,” I ordered.
I lit five candles and turned off the lights. The candles gave the room a soft glow and made Brook’s hair shine. In the distance, I heard thunder rumble. A storm was brewing, and I was sure my hound would be begging to get into his apartment soon. I figured we had enough time before my mom brought Duke from the main house.
I stood at the end of the bed, pulled my shirt off, and dropped it on the floor. Brook stared and took in my ripped torso as the candlelight reflected off my chest. Her little smile told me that she liked what she saw.
I undid the button of my jeans and unzipped my fly, then kicked off my shoes, removed my socks, and stepped out of my jeans. I kept a straight face as I watched Brook take in my bod. While I was used to people looking at me, her look of pure lust woke Mr. Happy.
“Your turn,” I said as I crawled onto the bed next to her.
She appeared hesitant. The thunder crashed closer, reminding me we had a time limit. I smiled when I heard the rain begin to fall. Tough luck, Duke. There was no way Mom would bring him to my apartment in the rain.
I reached for her t-shirt and pulled it over her head. She seemed to want to say something, but then decided to keep quiet. I made quick work of her bra and propped myself up on one elbow. I used my other hand to caress her breasts and stomach. She closed her eyes and appreciated my attention. It was almost like she was starved for contact.
I ramped up my attention, and she squirmed under my touch. She was as aroused as I was. I let my hand travel south and reached around her waist so I could pull her to my body. Brook rolled onto her side, and our lips met. She gave herself to me entirely and moaned into our kiss.
I pushed down her sweats until they cleared her butt. I then slid my hand over the top of her panties and cupped her sex as I broke our kiss.
“Someone’s excited,” I remarked as I found her wetness.
“Don’t tease me,” she begged.
My palm pressed firmly against her core and made a small circular motion. In response, Brook arched her back and pushed against my hand. I rolled her onto her back and slid my hand inside this time, finding her button.
“Oh, God! A little harder,” she begged.
I thought about backing off, but then decided to help her get there. Apparently, I did an excellent job, because she went off like a firecracker.
I let her calm down.
“You ready for round two?” I asked.
She just nodded, so I leaned over her and kissed her stomach. I slid her sweats and panties off. Brook let her legs fall open so I would have access to her center. She was a greedy one. I kissed her navel and left a red-hot trail with my tongue to the top of her sex. She grabbed my ears and pulled me to where she wanted me.
I began to worship at the altar of her womanhood.
Hotness.
Desire.
The woman I loved.
It all combined to make this the perfect moment. I’d never felt like this with anyone else. Brook Davis would have to be careful with me because I would do anything for her. I tried to make it as good as I knew how. Brook cried out her desire as I licked her sex and used my thumb to tease her button. I inhaled deeply, wanting to remember her smell … her taste … how she felt and looked. I tried to sear this memory into my mind forever—the perfect moment of bliss.
Brook must have sensed my desire for her because she got off again. This time, it was more powerful. She thrashed around and about pulled my ears off.
“You’re such a jerk,” she said, looking pissed.
I guess my confusion showed on my face, so she elaborated.
“When you do that to me, I lose control. I lose my ability for coherent thought. If I didn’t trust you, I’d be scared that you could talk me into anything.”