They met at Kobunga, a Korean grill one of his exes had introduced him to. He spotted David walking from campus. He was about a quarter block away when a gorgeous Asian girl left her group of friends, walked up to David, and kissed him.
’Lucky bastard,’ Bill thought.
David said something to her, and the girl nodded her agreement. She told her friends goodbye. As they came to the restaurant, the two were stuck to each other like double-sided tape. When they got close, David gave Bill a smile.
“Mind if I bring a friend?”
“Not if they look like she does. Hi, I’m Bill.”
“Yong,” she said and then saw where they were going. “I love this place.”
They spotted an empty table, so Yong grabbed it while the guys bought lunch.
“Where did you meet her?” Bill asked.
“It was actually a bad situation. I dated her roommate a couple of times. The girl I was dating liked to party.”
“I bet that didn’t sit well with you.”
“Not when she became falling-down drunk before the night was over,” David admitted. “Yong and I became friends.”
’I bet that’s not all,’ Bill jealously thought.
“Are you two dating?” Bill asked.
“You trying to poach my lunch date?” David asked.
“No,” Bill quickly said, which made David laugh.
“Relax. We’re not dating, but she is someone I would like to get to know better,” David said to stake his claim.
They ordered their food. There was a soda fountain for drinks, so they got those while they waited.
“Are you doing anything for spring break?” David asked.
“I planned to stay here. I’m kind of short on cash,” Bill admitted.
“If you want, I’m putting a group together to spend the week in Whistler, skiing. Wolf, Tim, and my brothers, Greg and Phil, are going. I’m still waiting to see if Tami can get away. Also, some other people I’ve met at USC might be coming. All you would have to pay for is your food and drink. I got a package deal on lift tickets, and we would be staying in my condo,” David explained.
Bill knew everyone David had mentioned by name from back home.
“I think I’m going to pass. I’m focused on taking care of business this semester. I don’t need to fall off the wagon and party for a week.”
“You could hang with me. I might have a beer or three, but I won’t be getting out of hand, either.”
“Well, that, and I don’t miss the snow.”
“That, I get. When Greg gets here, you should come with me to my place in Malibu. We don’t usually get snow there. Besides, my parents would love to see you,” David offered.
“That I would love to do,” Bill admitted.
They grabbed their food and found Yong fending off a couple of fraternity boys. When the frat guys saw David and Bill, they decided they had something else to do.
Bill could tell that David barely knew Yong but deftly included her in their conversation as they ate. Bill wanted to hear about David’s travels while filming, so there was no talk about football.
When it was time to go, David collected Yong’s digits and invited her to his baseball game the next night, then sent her on her way. When they were alone again, Bill couldn’t help but ask.
“Did you hit that?”
He knew David would never confirm it, but he enjoyed giving him shit for old times’ sake. David just gave him a noncommittal shrug.
“What’s the deal with you playing defense?” Bill asked.
David shook his head and then related all that had happened. Bill knew that his friend was a good-enough athlete that USC could plug him in at just about any position except offensive line, and he would more than hold his own.
That being said, David was an elite quarterback. USC was wasting his talents on the defensive side of the ball. This was just another example of the coaches favoring their own recruits. They may have thought they were protecting their professional reputations, but the players all knew the coaches were simply protecting their own egos. It would cost the coaches down the line, but it would cost the players sooner.
“You made a mistake coming here,” Bill decided. “You won’t get a fair shake on either side of the ball.”
“Ridge let me know that in so many words. I’ll redshirt in the fall before I make a decision. I’m half-convinced that Matt will fall on his face at some point. Do they have anyone who can step in if that happens?”
“We have one senior who could fill in for a game or two. But if it comes to more than that, kiss this season goodbye. Coach Clayton has put all his hopes on Matt,” Bill said to share what he knew.
“I’m fine with the situation as it is for now. Playing defense is something I never thought I’d be able to do after high school. Maybe I can make Matt look bad when we play a little seven-on-seven.”
Bill groaned. He’d faced David in practice more than once, and even back then, he made Bill work for every catch he got.
“Do me a favor and make me look good. I’m trying to win a starting spot.”
“But I get to mess with the other guys, right?” David asked.
“Hell, yeah. If you do that, I’ll give you a little intel on each one of them.”
David rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
“I’ll put the word out. We’ll do what we can to help you win a starter’s job,” David assured him.
“Right. How are you going to talk the defensive players into going along with you on that?” Bill asked.
David just smiled.
As they parted, Bill had no doubt that David would pull it off. All he had to do was hold up his end of the deal and catch everything thrown his way.
Chapter 33
Yong
Yong’s roommate, Kat, had briefly dated David. That had come to a crashing halt when he’d brought her home drunk once again. Yong had been attracted to David from the moment she laid eyes on him. Kat had shared that he was both a football and baseball player, and jocks were Young’s weakness. She liked her men big and athletic.
She’d felt horrible about what had happened, especially knowing that Kat had previously gone through a terrible breakup. It had resulted in her roomate dropping out of Yale and coming home at Christmastime, which had caused no end of trouble for Kat.
Kat’s mother ran the local office for Senator Hatley. Her father was the managing partner of the law firm Burrows and Burrows, one of LA’s most connected law firms. Both of Kat’s older brothers worked at the law firm, and the plan had been for Kat to join them.
Her ex was Daniel Hatley, the senator’s favorite grandson. Kat long suspected that some kind of arrangement had been made that would someday find her married to Daniel. They’d been paired together at dinners and the like since they were in high school.
From what Kat had told her, it had just been easier to date Daniel than to fight it. So, when Kat caught him cheating, she took that as a sign and ran when the semester ended. Her parents were upset that she’d rebelled. From that came Kat’s further rebellion, including her tattoos, Goth look, moving in with Yong, and working at a coffee shop until she could figure out her next move.
The coffee shop was close to Sandoval Hall, which everyone called ‘The Palace’ because it was where the rich and famous lived. Kat arrived home the first few days after the students trickled back to campus, complaining about the entitled jerks that came in and hit on her. It reminded her too much of the crowd Daniel ran with at Yale.
If it hadn’t been for the owner, Doreen, Kat might have hit back physically. Doreen was a unique individual. She was always upbeat, loved to blast music in the shop, and had a penchant for younger men. The first time Kat had met David, Doreen had him cornered and was making a move on him. Kat had told Yong that when she first saw David, all thoughts of Daniel had fled her mind.
Yong found it amusing, listening to her roommate switch from a daily ‘poor me’ to an equally daily ‘I met this hot guy.’ It was almost a relief when Kat came home and announced that they had a date.