“I want you to think about something. In the last few weeks, you’ve been close to Nancy, Halle, Peggy, Kara, Pam, Tracy, Sammie and now Lisa. Now I know you haven’t slept with all of them, and in the cases of Nancy and Peggy, it’s run its course. When do you think you’ll be ready to be with just one woman in your life? Oh, and something else to think about is your need to get close to them so quickly. Can you just be friends with any of these girls?”
That brought me up short. In a little over three months, Tami would come home for the summer. Tami could see I got her message. She gave me a look that told me she loved me regardless of whether I was all over the map with women. The clear message was to get my act together if I expected her to start dating me.
“I love you,” Tami said and then logged off before I could answer.
That was a calculated shot. I had to remind myself I was still in my mid-teens. Was I really ready to make a lifetime commitment, even if it was to Tami? I finally had to agree with my mom. It might be too soon for me to date Tami.
Wednesday February 11
MY DAYS WERE FULL; I had almost no free time. In the morning I would get up and run a little with Duke. He was growing like a weed and full of energy, so he needed the exercise and was a good running partner. He wasn’t confident enough to go off sniffing things, so he followed his pack leader. I wanted him to learn to stay with me because I didn’t want to worry about a leash all the time.
Dad surprised me. He’d taken on the task of training Duke in the evenings. Duke was learning to sit, stay and come. Dad also taught him things like to lie down in the other room when we ate. Duke had figured out that Kyle and Mac were sources of people food. Dad was waging a losing battle on that front.
I would run with Duke for several blocks and then take him back to the house where he would go terrorize my parents. Mom had put a footstool at the end of the bed, and he figured out how to navigate it to get some morning loving. I would then finish my run.
I would have breakfast and then go to school where I’d lift weights. Then it was off to my classes. Jeff and I would skip out of last-period study hall and come to my place. We’d let Duke out of his crate and then take him to the gym where there was always someone willing to watch him while we worked out with Cassidy. We would then go to the dojo and Cassidy would kick my butt.
I would take Jeff and Cassidy home and then eat dinner. After dinner, I would pick up Jeff, Wolf and Jim and meet everyone at State to work on baseball. Next, it was back to home where I would study and then go to bed.
The workouts and practicing the fundamentals of baseball had started to pay dividends. My hand speed and control of the bat had made a big jump from my freshman year. I’d learned to place the ball by trying to hit down each baseline, up the middle, and bunt.
I was surprised when word seemed to get around that we worked out at State each evening. It seemed like someone from State’s coaching staff would show up with a few of their players each evening. They taught us drills and techniques which we could all see would make us better players.
Some of the most fun I had was learning from Shiggy. Since I’d started working with him, my fastball speed had jumped from 78 to 82 mph. I now used my strong leg muscles to give me extra pop on the ball. I found I had more control as well. Part of it was just a natural growth in talent, but a big part came from Shiggy’s coaching.
Last year I had four pitches: the four-seam fastball, the two-seam fastball, the forkball and the changeup. Shiggy had added a slider and curveball. I about killed Wolf the first time I threw my curve in live batting practice. It forgot to curve. It’s a good thing we’re good friends, or he might have taken it the wrong way. Plus, I could outrun him. Jim was also good enough to let me hide behind him until Wolf finally calmed down.
What was my point of talking about my schedule? I didn’t have time to find a replacement for Peggy. She really had gone out of her way to accommodate my schedule. She made a point to come to my house and have dinner with us. Half the time, she and Dad or Mom made the meal. She’d be waiting for me when I got back from baseball, spoiling my dog. We would study and spend some quality time together. Then she’d go home.
I had no idea how good she’d been to me until she wasn’t there anymore. I missed her, but when I saw her with Mitch, I found I wasn’t jealous, which surprised me. I had to think long and hard about that one since I knew I would have gone nuts just a few months ago. I finally figured out Peggy had done a good job of preparing me. She was never the jealous type. She’d always insisted that we just dated. I found I honestly felt like we were more friends than lovers.
Two things hit me. First, I was lonely. I know, it had only been a few days, but I missed my time with Peggy. I was used to our talks every day. I missed the scent her cinnamon shampoo left in her hair. I longed for someone to just touch me and make me feel cared for. I missed the intimacy we had. Why did I need the intimacy so badly?
The second was something I wanted to work through, and that was what Tami had asked me. Was I ready to settle down? I didn’t know.
If all this was just about sex, I could find that with just a few phone calls. Hell, Lisa Felton was chasing me. Deep down I knew it would be a mistake, but I had a sinking feeling she might catch me this time. Tami told me I needed to get it out of my system before she got back from the UK. Could there be a better way to do that than with Lisa?
All of this swirled around in my head as I went to lunch. I don’t know why, but when I saw Lisa looking for a seat, I walked up behind her.
“Let’s find a table of our own,” I suggested.
That apparently startled her because she about dumped her tray. She checked to see if I was teasing her or if I was serious. She must have decided I was serious because she found a small table off to the side.
“What do I owe the pleasure of eating with you today?” she asked.
“I thought if we were going to go out, we should get to know each other better,” I said.
“Look, David, I’m not really in the mood to play any games today. If you’re just leading me on, please tell me. I really don’t think I can get my hopes up anymore.”
I took a deep breath. The last thing I wanted to do was to hurt her feelings. Was I ready for the backlash this would cause? Hell, just having lunch with her would get me a bunch of shit from my friends. Actually, dating her would be much worse. The thing was, though, I could survive it. I was a stronger person than I was a year ago. Not to sound conceited, but if I said it was okay, then my friends would accept her. That was one of the benefits of being a leader, or an ‘Alpha Male,’ as my uncle would have said.
“Here’s the deaclass="underline" I would like to date you. I don’t know if we’d ever become more than that, but I wouldn’t rule it out. How about I take you out Friday night? We do the dinner and dancing routine and see how it goes. I’ll warn you, though, I have plans for Saturday. Before you ask, I don’t plan on going to the Valentine’s Dance. I have a friend who’s sick and I want to spend the day with her.”
“Tracy?” Lisa asked.
“Yes.”
“What about your other friends? What about the actress?” she asked.
“Lisa, I never said I was going to be exclusive with you,” I said, and she stiffened. Even to me, I sounded like a dork. “I didn’t mean to be so harsh, but for now we’d just be dating. Could we get to the point where we’re exclusive? I don’t want to give you any false hope, but maybe.”
“You’re either the biggest dick or the most confident guy I know,” she complained.
“If you need to test the biggest dick theory, I might have some suggestions,” I teased her.
“I might enjoy that,” she said with a smile, and then got serious. “Seriously, though, I appreciate you letting me know where I stand. Most boys would have just taken me out and then dumped me. I can’t really see you doing that. Before I agree, I have one more concern: what’re your friends going to think of us going out?”