Senior Year Box Set

“It would probably be too much to ask you all to forget that a little girl just took me down?”

“Dude, chill,” Tim said.

“Exactly! I think she’s taken us all down more than once. Look at it as a badge of honor. Then think what she would have done to you if she was serious,” Wolf shared.

“Show him your baton,” I encouraged her.

She snapped it out, waved it at him, and then it disappeared under her coat. Damion suddenly realized something.

“You’re the Cassidy that Tami threatens Mike with.”

Cassidy perked up upon hearing that.

“Him, I wouldn’t have been so gentle with,” she revealed.

I looked around.

“Where is he? I want to see that.”

“You two really don’t like each other, do you?” Damion asked.

“Let’s just say I would have forgotten to tell Cassidy to ‘release’ him until he cried ‘uncle.’”

He looked at Cassidy.

“I’m going to hug him again if that’s okay with you.”

She gave him a little nod to let him know he was safe. I suspect she just wanted to show off her protection skills. I would be sure to give Fritz a full report on what a good job she did taking down an athlete who was six-six and probably 210 pounds.

We shook hands, I wished him luck, and we headed to the airport. Tomorrow, I would visit one of the top three college football programs, as far as I was concerned. The other two right now were Alabama and Clemson. If you went by history, Alabama and The Ohio State University were probably the top two.

◊◊◊

Chapter 13 – Game of Phones Sunday September 25

I woke up because my bed moved. When we arrived at the hotel, Cindy Lewis was there with her boyfriend, Kevin. He played defensive end for Ohio State and had taken to the training a little too seriously. If I had to guess, he was juicing. I shuddered to think of him looping around a tackle with me in his sights.

Cindy wanted to go to a party, but I begged off. The last time I’d seen Cindy, she’d talked me into a threesome with her and Kevin. I didn’t want to do that to Brook. Plus, I was tired and had the thoughts and conversations of the last few days in mind.

Everyone else joined Cindy and Kevin while the dads and I stayed at the hotel. The dads planned to hit the hotel bar and relax. I went to my room and ended up doing homework and reading the next chapter in each of my classes. I chuckled when I thought about how everyone imagined my life was so glamorous.

After I checked to make sure it was Brook who’d climbed in beside me, I fell back asleep.

◊◊◊

I woke later to her snoring loud enough to wake the dead. I chuckled and found my pants where my phone was in the front pocket. After making sure the sheets covered everything, I shot a quick video so there would be proof when she later denied her ‘heavy breathing.’ I put my phone on the nightstand so it would be handy when she woke up.

I took my shower, and when I came out, Brook was gone. The plan was to meet Cindy and Kevin at Buckeye Donuts for breakfast and then go to the football offices.

I met everyone downstairs, where we checked our bags. We were going to pick them up on the way to the airport. We decided to walk since the restaurant was close by. Everyone had stopped at the doughnut shop after the party because they were open 24/7. When we arrived at Buckeye Donuts, it was packed, and Kevin had waited outside.

“David, good to see you,” he said in greeting and gave me a fist bump.

“Do you think we can get a seat?” I asked as I tilted my head towards the doughnut shop.

“Sunday mornings are a zoo. I’d suggest we send someone in to buy a couple of dozen and eat elsewhere.”

The dads made their way in and ordered doughnuts and coffee for everyone. The ones who went out last night seemed a little hungover, so that seemed to be a good choice. While they did that, Kevin and I got reacquainted.

“Cindy’s excited that you’re here. She wants to meet with you after you’re done with football to talk about the project she’s working on for you.”

It took me a moment to remember what he was talking about. Finally, it dawned on me that “the project” was renovating my California house. I’d had Caryn speak to Cindy about possibly doing the interior design. Cindy had good taste, and she was going to Ohio State to someday have a degree in interior decorating. Refurbishing the California house was something I’d left to Caryn and her team to figure out. I suspected my mom was also involved; she loved that sort of stuff. I just wanted the house to look updated and attractive. If we flipped it, the ’60s-era look wouldn’t cut it. At the very least, we wanted to spruce it up.

“I can’t wait to see what she’s come up with,” I said, warming to the conversation.

“Between us,” he said conspiringly, “Cindy views this as a big opportunity. To be able to say she did the design on your home will mean a lot to her.”

Sometimes, I forgot how people perceived actors. When I looked at it from that point of view, I could see it being a feather in her cap.