I HAD MY NORMAL WORKOUT at the dojo. I think everyone wanted to play ‘see how far you can toss David’ tonight. Believe it or not, it was a lot of fun, especially when they taught me a cool counter while Dylan had taken a break to take a call. When he came back, everyone was sniggering, and he knew something was up. He went to toss me again, and the counter worked like a dream. Fortunately, he had a sense of humor, because he slammed pretty hard on the mat.
After the ‘toss David’ workout, I did my sword work with Tish, with Dylan watching. She wanted to see how I was doing a certain move, and Dylan stepped in for her. Tish saw what I was doing wrong, and the next thing I knew, Dylan and I were doing the routine at full speed. I felt great when I was done, but tired. They had really worked my butt off.
Chapter 21 – Hot Crazy Matrix
Friday November 21
When I was doing my morning run, I realized I was without a date for tonight. In my defense, I had been so focused on working out with Dylan and Tish that I hadn’t even had time to think about it last night. I should probably do something about that, especially since it was last-minute. I started ticking off the possible candidates in my head. Tracy would go out if I asked her, but I would have to be careful she didn’t get the wrong idea. Pam; now that was an idea.
Pam and her California surfer-girl vibe was all kinds of sexy. I also knew she wasn’t a prude. Her hopping onto Mr. Happy at the away game was a minor tell in that regard. She’d also been teasing me from afar. The only downside was I was afraid I would like her too much. Even though I was just dating Peggy, I didn’t want to hurt her. The fear was Pam might be girlfriend material, and to be honest, I wasn’t quite ready for a girlfriend right now. The final deciding factor was I really didn’t know her that well.
Kim and Sammie came to mind next. Kim was a virtual climax machine. The problem was, that’s all there was between us. We just didn’t have a spark. Sammie, on the other hand, I respected a lot. She wasn’t afraid to tell me like it was. She had helped me get my head out of my butt when Tracy broke up with me at the bachelor auction last year. If Jeff wasn’t still interested in her, I would ask her out.
The freshman girls were next on the hit list. The only one who I would even consider was Piper. Either the others were dating someone, or I wasn’t interested. If this had been a couple of weeks ago, I might have broken down and dated my first freshman cheerleader.
Then inspiration hit: Lisa Felton. She had gone out with Brad, briefly, which was a huge negative on my part. The reason he said he finally broke it off was she wouldn’t put out. Now that was funny. I wondered if she was saving her virginity for me. A boy could dream. The only downside was my promise not to embarrass Peggy. This would do that, without a doubt. Plus, I would have to put up with a shit-storm. What we needed was a secret getaway weekend.
I briefly thought about the Wesleyan girls. I missed them, but this was very last-minute. The other issue was distance. I was sure one or all of them would come for the weekend if I asked. I just thought it was a little rude to call and say, ‘Hey, my girlfriend left for the weekend, want to come visit?’
Then a name popped into my head: Maggie Decker. She had a couple of strikes against her. The freshman cheerleaders had found her for me, and they were all friends. I’d asked her out twice, and both times I regretted it and backed out because she was too controlling. On the plus side, she was my type: long red hair, athletic body, and intelligent. I thought we had a winner.
I was surprised when Mr. Happy made his vote known. I had to explain that Maggie wasn’t anywhere near, and he was not coming out to play when we went on our date. He felt he could convince the big brain when the time came, and I was afraid he was right. I was a little on edge, and missed my ‘friends with benefits.’
Thinking of my friends made me wonder when Suzanne would be home. I wasn’t sure if she had class next week, or was planning on coming home early.
WHEN I GOT TO SCHOOL, I found Peggy telling everyone she was going on vacation for a week. By everyone, I mean Tracy, and that would, in turn, be everyone. When I walked up, Tracy gave me a look I recognized from when we were dating: desire. She smirked when she saw with just a look she could get me aroused. I had strategically placed my book bag before I started to attract unwanted attention.
Peggy saw me, came over, and gave me a kiss. She found my problem and gave me a big smile.
“Is that because of me?” she whispered.
“Of course, I’m going to miss you,” I replied.
Peggy proceeded to make me forget my name. I guess I’d said the right thing. Someone clearing their throat brought me back. I looked over Peggy’s shoulder to find Moose standing there.
“Mr. Dawson, Miss Pratt, you’re on school grounds,” he reminded us.
“Oh, we should leave, then,” I decided.
Tami had always said my first instinct was always wrong. Peggy and Moose would have agreed with her.
“No, I think you need to get to class,” Moose suggested.
Okay, it wasn’t really a suggestion. I just chose to give him the benefit of the doubt. Peggy grabbed my hand, and we hurried to our lockers. I guess the school bell had rung while she was ringing mine.
AT LUNCH, YURI HAD gotten us a prime table by the window. You had to get to lunch early to snag one of those. We were having mystery meatloaf. They combined all the week’s leftovers to make this concoction. I poked it because there was something green in it. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t mold. Not that it ever had been, but I was checking to make sure. While I was dissecting my lunch, I saw Maggie and the cheerleaders make it to their table.
I got out my phone and sent Suzanne a text.
‘Want to go out tonight?’
‘How did U know I would be home?’
‘Was hoping’
‘Pick me up @ 7’
I took a bite of meatloaf and promptly spit it out. They must have dumped a whole clove of garlic into that one bite.
“Hey, are you going to eat that?” Yuri asked pointing at my lunch.
I just handed it to him. I figured it wouldn’t kill him. Plus, he was a growing boy with a hollow leg.
My phone chirped. I had a text.
‘Cassidy wants to double.’
I was about to send a nasty response when another text came in.
‘Just kidding. Have fun with my sister tonight.’
“What are you doing?” Yuri asked.
“I’m setting up a date.”
“I thought Peggy was going on vacation.”
“She is, but how did you know?”
“Word gets around,” he told me like it was no big deal. “So, you’re looking to get a little strange while she’s away?”
“Yuri, are you trying to piss me off?” I asked.
“I, ahhh ... shit, David, I was just talking. Guys do that, you know.”
I thought about it for a moment. He was right. Most guys did talk that way.
“Sorry, I bit your head off. I just don’t talk about stuff like that. I think you’ll find it’s better if you don’t because word always gets back. And you, my friend, are already in enough hot water as far as the girls are concerned.”
Eating lunch with Yuri had kept the cheerleaders away. I was surprised when Piper came and sat down with us, which caused Yuri to get a nervous look on his face. She gave him a look that told him to not even look at her. Then she turned to me.
“Maggie wanted to know if you were really free tonight,” she said, in way of explaining her presence.
“Why didn’t she come over herself?”
“She didn’t want to mess up her chance at a date by saying something to make you cancel.”
“Let me guess, she thinks that because Peggy isn’t here, we should go out. If we do go out, I’m sure she wants to know where we’re going.”