“Bullshit,” David said. He continued when there was nothing but silence. “The university is providing them with room, board, housing, an education, and free medical. At USC, that could easily be worth over a hundred grand a year.
“They should be looking at this as a job. In the real world, if they went out and got drunk the night before a meeting, to the point it affected their performance, they would be reprimanded at a minimum. Fired, if they were repeat offenders,” David said.
That he didn’t have a scholarship hadn’t been lost on David. The football team had promised him one when one came open. To date, that hadn’t happened. Yes, he could afford to pay his own way. The issue was that he was expected to sacrifice his time and energy preparing for two sports. When spring football practice started, he wouldn’t have a moment to himself.
It was the main reason David hadn’t wanted to live in the football dorm and had decided to work out on his own. He was thankful that he’d found Ridge, so David now had a few football players he could work with to hone his skills and to help them hone theirs. Ridge made it a point to get him snaps at quarterback, running back, and receiver, as well as having him play some defense.
When the time came for spring ball, David would be ready.
“Are you saying the ones involved should be suspended?” Coach Hob asked.
“I don’t know. What are your team rules for that?” David asked.
The coaches all looked at each other as the lightbulb came on.
“I’m not trying to be a dick,” David said to soften his approach. “But I know what’s coming. If any of them have any dreams of playing Major League Baseball, they’ll want to get their act together, and they’ll also want the team to start acting like a team.”
“What’s coming?” Coach Burris asked.
“When I was in high school, we had to expand our stadium to accommodate all the fans who came to see David A. Dawson, the movie star, play ball. Then there were the scouts—both college and professional. I was projected as a late first-round to fourth-round prospect, depending on who you talked to. One of my teammates got a minor-league contract because of the exposure he received when they came to see me play,” David explained.
“This is what I warned you all about,” Coach Deneau told his staff. “David was drafted by the Twins.”
David scowled at the memory.
“I thought it was the last round,” Coach Hob said.
“Yep. I’d made it clear that I had other commitments, and everyone else respected that. I guess the Twins thought they would take a flier and see,” David shared.
“They surely couldn’t match the money you made from your movies,” Coach Hob said.
“They offered me second-round money with a short initial contract. Honestly, if I hadn’t already given my word that I’d act in those movies, I would’ve had to look at the offer seriously. The key for me was the short contract. I would have been able to test the market a year sooner than average, so I could get paid. If I was sure that baseball was what I wanted and hadn’t already made those commitments, I would’ve taken it.”
Looking back on it, David realized that when Oklahoma had pulled their stunt, he could have played winter ball. Then he could have made himself available for this year’s draft.
Coach Deneau sighed.
“We’ve been so busy with the transition that we missed setting expectations. That’s on me. I think we’ll lose the team if we come down after the fact on the ones who broke curfew,” he said while giving Andres a meaningful look.
David could see how Coach Deneau had made that mistake. When he was at his last school, everyone had known the rules, and the coach didn’t have to think about them. It was just assumed that they knew what was expected and would do it.
David glanced over at Andres, who had a sick look. David might have been in the same boat if he hadn’t learned his lesson the hard way. As soon as he stepped into a bar, there would be social media posts. If the coaches didn’t know by morning, his mother would. If he ever did decide to ‘play’ on the road, he already knew it would have to be behind closed doors, like what had happened on the Alabama trip. Of course, he had three kids to show for that little indiscretion.
“Tomorrow, we’ll have the whole team at practice and spell it out for them. If there’s a repeat performance, there will be suspensions,” Coach Deneau confirmed. “And if I don’t see marked improvements over the next couple of weeks, we’ll give up on the season and start building for the future.”
If Andres had looked sick before, he was all but quaking in his boots after that pronouncement. David suspected Coach Deneau had said that knowing Andres would do just about anything to prevent the coaches from sitting the upperclassmen. Andres had dreams of playing at the next level. To this point, David hadn’t seen in Andres what it took to make that leap, but he had the physical tools as far as size, strength, and speed went.
It wasn’t much of a stretch to believe that a new coach would decide that the current players didn’t fit his system. Coach Deneau wouldn’t be the first to start all underclassmen with an eye towards a better team a year down the road. He was paid to win ball games. If he strung together a series of .500 or lower win-ratio seasons over the next few years, he would be looking for a job. Andres had to take that seriously.
Coach Deneau kicked them out so he could talk to his assistant coaches. Andres stopped David before they got to the locker room.
“I want you to help me pass the word. Everyone’s to be at the Baseball House an hour after practice. I want to get their heads straight before Mason or one of the other older guys makes an ass out of himself when Coach Deneau talks to us tomorrow.”
“If it doesn’t work?” David asked.
When he was a lowerclassman in high school, he’d seen older guys think they were above it all.
“Then I’ll let you loose on them. We’ll play good cop, bad cop. I’m confident you can get under the troublemakers’ skins enough to get them working together,” Andres said.
“I might have some ideas,” David said, smiling for the first time since they talked to the coaches.
David skipped going back to the dorm to eat and walked to the townhouse. Precious must have sensed him coming because she stuck her head out of the cat door as he approached the back door. When she saw him, she came running and jumped into his arms.
“I hear you’re kicking butt,” he told her as he loved her up.
He found the back door locked and used his key to let himself in. Apparently, the girls weren’t home yet. He let Precious down, and she showed him that her water bowl was empty. He filled it up to make her happy and started prepping chicken breasts and veggies for dinner. Once Precious had her drink, she was done with him. David wasn’t sure if that was the female in her or if it was a cat thing.
Pam arrived home first. Somehow, she distracted him.
“Orgasms make me hungry,” David said as he gave Pam a kiss on the forehead.
“Then it’s no wonder I’m starving,” she said, her voice full of mischief. “I’ve had three in the last ... what? Thirty minutes? More than I’ve had in the last six weeks.”
David’s eyebrows shot up. They had spent some quality time not too long ago. He knew for a fact she’d had more than that the last time they played.
“Really?”
“I think you’re off your game. If you want, you could come over, and I could coach you up,” Pam teased.
David realized that she had become more confident than he remembered. It was something he’d always hoped for. Hanging out with Tracy and Cassidy was good for her.
“If I didn’t have to eat and run, I would show you how wrong you are,” he shot back.
David and Pam came downstairs to find Cassidy finishing up the dinner preparations. Precious was weaving in and out between Cassidy’s legs to try to get her attention. The cat spotted David and bolted from the room.