“What are you guys talking about?” he huffed.
“Ah ... what’s your name?” I asked.
“Patricia.”
“You’ll be eating lunch with Patricia from now on.”
“Slow down, Big Guy. I’m not taking him off your hands totally. You have to eat with us, too,” she said.
“Now, wait a minute. I thought you were going to train him,” I complained.
“I will, but I think you need some training, too.”
I pinched my lips and shook my head. Yuri was almost panicked because he wasn’t sure what Patricia was offering, but it was a girl willing to talk to him.
“Okay, deal, but I have to be able to study during lunch.”
We shook on it.
AFTER SCHOOL, I WENT to Cassidy’s workout group. I noted who all was missing, and put Tim in charge of talking to them. Cassidy was in rare form and worked everyone hard. Even the wrestlers were complaining when she was done.
She made me stay after everyone left, as she was going to start teaching me self-defense. She told me her dad had been in Force Recon in the Marines. It was the equivalent to the Army Green Berets or the Navy Seals. Tony was moved to MARSOC (U.S. Marine Special Operations Command) when it was formed in 2006 until he retired. MARSOC was recently renamed Marine Raiders. Cassidy had learned from some of the best the Marines had to offer. She said that they thought it was cute that the little slip of a girl wanted to learn to fight.
I hadn’t realized her dad was such a badass. I could tell from the start that Cassidy was a good teacher. She was patient with me and took her time to show me the right way to do things. She told me that to be any good would take years, but she could teach me to keep from getting my butt kicked in a few weeks. Marines had to learn it in a short period of time, after all. She said I was almost as smart as the average Marine. I chose to take that as a compliment. She had hung out with the best of the best. Marine Raiders were no dummies.
After we were done, she wanted to talk about her personal life.
“I hear you and Wolf talked today,” she started.
“Yeah, what all did he tell you?” I asked, not wanting to break his confidence.
“That you want to date me,” she smirked.
“I think I said ‘ravage.’ I don’t remember saying I’d actually take you out on a date.”
“Hmm ... this puts a whole new light on the subject. Wolf said you weren’t willing to be naughty with me.”
“Cassidy, I love you to death, but we both know your dad would kill me if I even looked funny at you. Now that I know what he did in the Marines, there’s no way I’m going there.”
“You’re smarter than I thought. Daddy can be unreasonable at times. For some reason, he thinks you would corrupt me if we went out. Maybe I should tell him what I’ve been up to,” she teased.
“If you wish to see Jim and Wolf disappear, you go ahead. I personally like them, and would hope you wouldn’t.”
“What about taking me to a movie or dinner?” she asked.
“I’d enjoy that. Just make sure Coach knows that is all it is. My mom would hunt him down if I went missing.”
We took showers, and I gave her a ride home.
Chapter 27 – Christmas Dance
Wednesday December 17
I had my last final today. The weeks leading up to today had fallen into a predictable pattern. Peggy and I were getting closer. We were doing everything but, sexually. On Tuesday nights either Pam or Tracy were coming over for a little fun. Friday and Saturday nights were date nights with Peggy.
At lunch, Patricia was having a positive influence on Yuri. They weren’t dating yet, but they were becoming friends. The change impressed the girls enough to let the three of us join the cheerleader table a couple of times. Piper didn’t have to try and end Yuri’s life even once.
I’d started modeling again on weekends, and Mr. Hill had people lined up because of football. A lot of the local advertisers wanted me in their ads. We were careful not to mention football or Lincoln High. I also did some catalog work for Jade. They teamed me up with Sarah for those shoots. It was good to see her.
Tami and I had talked twice. We fell back into an easy rhythm and were working to become close again. There was an unspoken agreement not to talk about Simon. She was excited to be coming home. Tami would be flying in next Sunday. I was flying out tomorrow, so I wouldn’t see her. My family would join me on Monday. They’d get a chance to catch up with Tami before they came to Range Ranch for Christmas.
I’d wrapped up training for the movie last weekend. I would see Tish and Dylan on set for any refreshers I needed. I’d enjoyed my acting class with Kate, Terrance and Cheryl. Cheryl planned to go to Broadway and auditioning over Christmas break. Kate told me she thought Cheryl had a shot at making it. I would miss learning with them.
The other person I was going to miss was Paige. Her internship was done at the end of the semester. We’d gotten off to a rocky start, but I had come to like her, even after she’d put the blue goop on my junk.
Tonight, I was driving up to Wesleyan for their annual Christmas Dance. I hadn’t seen Missy or Harper since my trip with them to San Francisco. Sarah said the girls had plans for me and would make an evil laugh whenever I tried to get details out of her. I think she was having a little too much fun. I told her I just needed to be at the airport by noon on Friday for my one-fifteen flight.
Finally, the noon bell rang to set us free for break. Peggy walked me to my Jeep and gave me a reminder as to what I was going to be missing for the next three weeks. I finally got into the Jeep and drove to Wesleyan.
I CALLED TAMI BECAUSE she had made me promise we would talk on my ride up to see our friends.
“David, how did your finals go?” she asked.
“I aced them. I’ll be getting straight A’s this semester,” I told her, and then changed the topic. “I have some big news.”
I was happy Tami was not as plugged-in to what all was going on at Lincoln High. It felt more natural, now that she wasn’t stalking me.
“Oh, do tell.”
“I think something’s in the water. Couples seem to be breaking up, and new ones are forming. The big one, though, is Alan has a new girlfriend. He broke up with Gina.”
“No way! What happened?”
“They’re not saying. I don’t think it’s really a big deal, or Jeff would have clued me in. Jeff told me they had just figured out it wasn’t working anymore, and it just happened. I never heard any drama, and you know Alan if there was something he would have blabbed it.”
“That’s too bad. I thought they made a cute couple. Who’s he going out with now?”
“Stacy Clute. I got to know her in art class last year. She’s shy, so I guess opposites do attract.”
“I don’t know her.”
“She went to a different middle school than we did. You’d like her. She’s super-nice, and Alan seems to be happy.”
“Who else broke up?”
“Well, the threesome of Cassidy, Jim and Wolf is no more. The surprising thing is they didn’t kill each other,” I said, because I’d predicted it wouldn’t end well. “Jim’s going out with a freshman cheerleader named Piper, and Wolf’s going out with April,” I said.
“Did you warn Wolf?”
“She’s changed since I went out with her. She and Wolf seem to be doing well. Cassidy’s going out with Jeff.”
“What? Jeff has a girlfriend?”
“Yep. We were all shocked. You should see Jeff now. He’s become a little stud. Between working out with Cassidy, lifting weights and playing football, he has really changed. He’s also showing a lot more confidence. Jeff’s a good match for Cassidy.”
“I’ll have to make a point of seeing him when I get back,” Tami said. “What about you?”
“I’m still dating Peggy. We’re good for each other.”
“Is she still a virgin?”