Junior Year Box Set

“Think about it. I bet you can figure out how many people you had sex with,” I said, and by the expression on his face, I needed to be clearer. “No condoms, remember?”

He gave me a sour look. Clare had made a point that she wanted everyone to leave a deposit in her.

“That’s not the same,” he complained.

“Denial is a river located in Egypt. It’s not, however, the state of refusing to admit the obvious truth, despite what some misinformed friend might tell you. Don’t listen to him. It’s a river. Really, it is,” I said.

“Screw you, Dawson,” Wolf said.

“Don’t make me pull out ‘I told you so,’” I warned him.

“Again: screw you.”

I just grinned at him, which caused him to give me the middle finger. Go figure. I had only tried to be a friend.

“Just saying,” I said to give him one more shot. “Now let’s talk about fantasies. Have you and April ever talked about what either of you might want to do?”

He wouldn’t meet my eye, so I wasn’t sure if he had or not.

“Let me throw one out for you that you might relate to: let’s say April wanted to have sex with two guys. Would you consider that?” I asked.

He and Jim had dated Cassidy at the same time, and I knew they’d had a threesome.

“If I were one of the guys,” Wolf snapped back.

“Don’t you think that’s what Chad was doing? I’m sure April would never suggest something like that, but if she did, and in some alternate universe you had a brain cramp and agreed, wouldn’t you want to be there to make sure she was okay?” I asked, and then let that sink in before continuing. “Besides the fun of a threesome for you, I bet you’d want to be there for her.”

Wolf gave me the same look my dad did right before he needed a beer. I let him wrap his mind around that before hitting him with the big one.

“Clare’s fantasy was hers. We can debate all we want about what we’d do if our girlfriend came to us and told us she wanted to do multiple men. Chad’s a bigger man than I am. I would never agree to it, but I think he realized Clare might do it on her own to satisfy her curiosity. He was able to help her organize it, and then be there to make sure she was safe.

“I’m a big believer in communication. If April felt she could tell you something like that, I would hope you’d listen to her and not make her feel bad about it. If you jumped on her, she’d never feel she could tell you something that would make you uncomfortable. Now, I’m not saying you should go along with her desire to do everything April wants, just like she needs to filter some of your dumbass ideas. I guess what I’m trying to tell you is that it’s okay to react the way you did, but you were only looking at how it affected you. You weren’t looking at it from her point of view,” I said.

“I still wouldn’t let her,” Wolf said with a sheepish grin.

“I wouldn’t either,” I agreed.

◊◊◊

After football, I went with Cassidy and Brook to the dojo. On the ride over, Brook made me call Zoe and clear the air between us about what happened at the dance. It was a quick conversation, and she apologized. I did the same about not calling back right away. Someone—Tracy—must have clued her in about me not staying mad if you gave me a chance to cool off, so she was fine.

When we began to practice, I found that the weighted Bo staff I ran with each morning helped with my quickness. Cassidy was still lightning fast, but I was able to hold my own. Afterward, I usually found Pam in my apartment. She wasn’t around. I was ready to call her when I received a text from Frank Ingram, my new PR agent, to see if I had some time. I brought up my video chat.

“Have you heard of catfishing as it relates to online social media?” Frank asked.

“Yeah, I think there’s a show on MTV about it.”

“There’s a new show that will compete against it coming out this summer. They want to show how hard it is for someone people assume is a catfish to get dates. The premise is that no one would believe they were actually on social media to find a date. I think you’d be perfect for it, and it would raise your awareness,” he said.

“Sounds like a huge hassle. Plus, my friends already think I’m a diva sometimes. Wouldn’t I look like a D-list wannabe who was desperate for celebrity?”

“We would make sure you didn’t come off looking like a Kardashian.”

“God, I hope not! I can see it now: David A. Dawson, the next David Hasselhoff.”

“Do you sing? We can see about getting you bookings in Europe.”

“Thanks. I’ll be the next big thing in Romania.”

“Come on. It should be fun,” Frank said.

Maybe for him, it would be. I caught enough hostility online. I could just see it if I joined one of the many other dating apps; I’d be the target of even more Internet trolls with beer muscles. I’d already seen how unsettling that was when Tommy Cox had stalked my family and me.

“I’ll think about it,” was all I was willing to say for now.

“Don’t think too long. They need someone soon,” Frank said, and then showed me my new website.