David reached over and took Lexi’s hand to let her know that he liked this outing.
After the fireworks, the place turned into an after-party. David was happy when he saw Phil having a good time as he snuck a beer or three. What made him laugh out loud was the sight of his older brother, Greg. Tami, of all people, was skillfully plying him with shots. David remembered his brother drinking beers in high school, but he couldn’t recall him ever getting drunk.
David decided that Canadians were crazy. Who would have thought to throw a party outside when it was freezing out? He nonetheless forgot about the frigid temperature when the music started, and Lauren pulled him out onto the dance floor.
“You having fun on our trip?” David asked.
“It’s nothing like I expected.”
When she didn’t elaborate, he shook his head with an amused look.
“Don’t leave me hanging,” he prodded.
“It’s been nice, actually. I expected it to be more like the party we went to at Lexi’s parents’ house. When we flew here on a private jet and the condo...” Lauren said and then trailed off.
David had a pretty good idea of what she meant. Traveling with an actor, you would expect them to be clubbing and doing all sorts of wild stuff to garner attention.
They danced another song before she continued.
“My friends back home are people like Veronica and Lexi ... well, the old Lexi. When we went out, we had to dress to be seen, arrive in the right type of car, and drink the best. If you didn’t, you weren’t invited to the next ‘must go to’ party. And the guys...”
“No, I get it. I’ve been guilty of taking advantage of what you’re talking about. I hope none of my friends made any unwanted advances,” David said.
“Nothing like that. At first, I thought maybe I’d done something wrong because your friends weren’t constantly trying to cop a feel or ... you know. Then I saw that they wanted to actually talk to a girl. Yeah, they’re still male sluts, but I was surprised to find they could also be friends. Like I said, it has been nice,” Lauren explained.
“So, you want to find a bathroom or coat closet?” David teased.
“Jamie warned me that you aren’t the good boy everyone thinks you are.”
“I’ve been focused on school and sports, not laying waste to the USC student body.”
“That right there is what drives Veronica to distraction. First, you didn’t fall in with her crowd, and second, you don’t act the way she expected. I’m glad I woke up and started hanging out with you guys,” she shared.
“We’re glad you did, too.”
The song ended, and he could tell Lauren was having a good time. She was someone he wanted to get to know better. Not in the biblical sense, though that would be nice. He thought he’d found another friend.
Chapter 52
David
David invited both Greg and Phil out to breakfast so they could spend some family time together without anyone else around.
“We really haven’t had a chance to talk,” David said to both of them. He then turned to his younger brother. “How was your trip to Uncle John’s?”
“We talked a lot. It helped me understand more about you guys, Dad, and the family.”
“Did he spring the blood test on you?” Greg asked.
Phil shook his head.
“No, but he told me about your Alpha Male talk. I didn’t realize that our bodies controlled us so much. He also didn’t treat me like slave labor.”
“Why is it that I’m the only one who went through that?” David complained.
“You’re the only one that Mom kicked out of the house. Phil was a guest, not a juvenile delinquent,” Greg reminded him.
“Did you at least get his help to create life goals?” David asked.
“Yep. As I said, I learned a lot. Uncle John explained how you used them to get where you are. My only question is, what went wrong with Greg?” Phil asked.
“Funny,” Greg groused. “I can still kick both your butts.”
That made his younger siblings laugh even harder.
“Dad sent me articles about how you did playing football,” David said to Phil. “I knew you could win the starting quarterback job. You’ve certainly put the work in. I was sorry to see that you lost in the second round of the state playoffs. I think you can win it next year,” David predicted.
“We seem to have the pieces in place to do that. I was surprised that Dad flew back to watch all my games. I figured with him in Malibu, I wouldn’t see him that much. But he was there, every time,” Phil said.
“I didn’t realize he did that,” David confessed. “I’m glad to hear it.”
“He said he had to go back to help manage your businesses,” Greg said.
David was sure that his dad made it a write-off. That had to be a win-win sort of arrangement. That was until he figured out that his company had paid for it. David had no doubt that his dad did spend some time overseeing everything. Since Scarlet had left as his COO to work for David’s management company in Hollywood, his uncle John had taken on that mantle. Truth be told, it was really Megan who ran the day-to-day, and Uncle John was in the process of grooming her for his position so he could focus on his farm.
Megan had come a long, long way from the ‘Megan the Mouse’ she’d been when he’d first met her, David mused.
“This will be a big summer for you. Have you picked out what football camps you plan to go to?” David asked.
Phil would be a senior next year. Unlike David, who’d been rated the top recruit in the nation, Phil was going to have to get noticed to garner a football scholarship. To do that, he had to go to the right football camps.
“I wanted to ask your advice about that and get your help. Dad suggested that I ask you if you’ll help me with getting a quarterback coach and possibly help pay for travel to the different camps,” Phil tentatively proposed.
David’s first reaction was to push back. Phil had expected their dad to buy him a car when he turned 16, as he had for Greg. When it was David’s turn, he’d known that money was tight for his parents. His dad’s work hours had been cut to part-time so the park district didn’t have to fund his health insurance.
David had suggested that he get the apartment over the garage in lieu of a car. That was done mostly so he could have his own place. David also knew his parents couldn’t afford another car but knew that they would have figured some way to make it happen. That ended up being the best suggestion he’d ever made. He’d loved that apartment.
When Phil had come and asked for a car, David had been vocal against it, at least partially because Greg had never demanded one. David’s point at the time was that Greg had worked around the house and helped out. Looking back on it, he was reminded of his conversation with Joey. Phil had never gotten the chance to do the things Greg had done.
While David didn’t want to turn into Phil’s personal ATM, the guy was family. David had also heard from Coach Hope that Phil had turned a corner and was now doing what it took. David suspected a lot of that had come from spending time on his uncle’s farm.
“Do you have someone in mind?” David asked.
“Dad talked to Coach Mason. I guess he’s doing much better, health-wise,” Phil shared.
Coach Bud Mason and David had met at one of the Elite quarterback camps. Before becoming a camp coach, Bud had been the quarterback coach and later offensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders. He’d kept busy coaching at Elite quarterback camps after he retired. Then, when David was a senior, Bud had offered to be his team’s offensive coordinator so that he could work with David. Bud explained that he felt David was a unique talent, and he wanted to be part of his development.
David had been worried about Coach Mason because he’d had a stroke and some other setbacks. Hearing that the old guy now felt well enough to possibly coach Phil made David’s day.