“I guess?” she said as more of a question than an answer.
David turned to the guy behind him.
“Hey, we’re bailing. Can you send me the video of today’s class?”
“Sure.”
“Pack your stuff; we’re skipping class.”
They were almost to the door when Professor Scarpa walked in.
“I’m making Alyssa skip,” David shared as they walked out.
They found a tree on the quad to sit under.
“Tell me what’s wrong,” David urged.
“Why would I tell you?”
“Because you don’t know me well, and I don’t have a dog in this fight. Plus, I’m a good listener.”
“My boyfriend cheated on me,” Alyssa shared. “And he wasn’t the first.”
“Boyfriend that cheated on you?”
“They’ve all been horse’s asses. Well, they don’t start out that way. They must just get comfortable and unmask themselves.”
“As horse’s asses?” David asked.
“Yes, the worst. I guess my selection process needs some work. It’s just that every guy I get attached to turns out to be ... ya know.”
“Am I in danger of turning into a horse’s ass?” David asked.
“Oh, no! With you, it’s no secret,” Alyssa said confidently.
“Well, then, we’re okay, right?” David asked.
“I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to picking guys.”
“If you know whatever you’re doing now isn’t working, why don’t you change it?” David asked.
“Well...” Alyssa started and then looked down.
“Is that a question only a horse’s ass would ask?” David asked, which made Alyssa giggle.
“Sorry. I’ve been mean to you.”
“It’s all right. I can handle it,” David said.
Alyssa turned to him and looked at him like she was seeing him for the first time.
“Why did you pick me?” she asked.
“For what?” David asked.
“To sit by and be a pest. I was trying to just take my class in peace. You could be friends with anyone because ... ya know.”
“You want the honest answer?” he asked.
She nodded.
“You looked right past me.”
Alyssa gave him a confused look.
“You do know who I am, don’t you?” David asked.
“You’re the actor guy, and apparently, you think you’re a baseball player as well.”
“I’ve had to become more careful because of my fame. I figured you were the most likely to become my friend for me and not what I appear to be,” he explained.
“A horse’s ass?” she asked.
“A horse’s ass that’s smarter than you are.”
“And a pest,” Alyssa grumped.
David smiled.
“I have an idea. Do you want to go on spring break with me?”
“You’re so weird. Why would I want to go on spring break with you?”
“Because you need to get out of town and away from all this. Plus, you’ll get to hang out with my friends. And if you think I’m a horse’s ass, I don’t have anything on that group,” David said.
“Right now, that’s probably a great idea. Count me in,” Alyssa said to floor him.
She didn’t even ask where they were going.
“Great! I’ll have my PA call you and fill you in on the details.”
“PA?”
“Personal assistant ... famous, remember?” he said with a smile.
“How could I forget?”
“You all better now?” David asked.
She thought about it for a moment and then smiled. He sent Lexi a text with Alyssa’s information. His work here was done.
When David arrived at football practice, there was a note in his locker telling him he would work with the defensive backs today. Monday, it had been linebackers, and Tuesday, he’d played some defensive end. It looked like Coach Farrow wanted to try him out at different positions.
After they’d warmed up, Coach Merritt, the defensive backs coach, pulled them together.
“Today, we see what you’re made of. A defensive back’s greatest challenge is to cover a receiver man-to-man in both press and off-man.
“The offense has graciously offered their receivers to test each of you,” the coach revealed.
David’s teammates perked up, letting him know this was one of their favorite drills.
While the other players got started, the coach pulled David aside.
“I know we’re throwing you to the wolves, making you cover a wide receiver, because you’re a big guy. I imagine that if you end up playing linebacker, you’ll cover players more your size.”
He was talking about tight ends who were generally bigger because they also were expected to help block. David just nodded.
“Let’s talk about your off-man stance. As a linebacker, they teach you to square up. What I want you to do is drop whichever foot is nearest the sideline so the toe of the dropped foot is behind the heel of the up foot. This will feel more natural to you, being a bigger guy.
“Also, bend at your waist instead of at your knees. It’ll put you in a more relaxed position, and when you do that, your front knee will naturally unlock, so you’re ready to make a football move.”
The coach then showed David how to get into position. He had him bend at the waist and drop his hands like he was tying his shoes while keeping his back level. Then he had David pull his hands up so they were even with his knees. The final adjustment was to raise his chest just a bit, with his head up.
The press-man stance, where you squared up with the receiver, was closer to the linebacker stance he’d already learned.
David appreciated Coach Merritt showing him different techniques. When they were done, he was sent to join the rotation.
They started with the defensive backs off-man, meaning they lined up seven yards downfield for the drill. David watched the guys in front of him to see what they did and hear what the coaches were telling them.
“Keep inside leverage! Don’t let him cross your face!”
David had to chuckle because his buddy Bill had just owned the guy right in front of David.
He was now up. He got into his stance and saw he was up against a little jitterbug of a receiver. David knew that the kid wouldn’t want to get physical but would try to use his quickness to get open. He also knew that the defender in front of him had been chastised for letting Bill get inside position. Once that happened, the quarterback had a clean throwing lane to get the receiver the ball.
“Go!” was called.
David began to backpedal because the jitterbug had burst off the line. If David had stood and waited for the wide-out to get to him, the guy would have just run past him. When they got close, he read the receiver’s center mass instead of falling for his head fake to cut inside. The receiver planned to sidestep David and sprint past him outside.
When they were almost even, David flipped his hips so he could run with Mr. Speedy.
“Ball!”
That let him know the pass was in the air. Mr. Speedy looked back and was surprised when he saw David running stride-for-stride with him. When the receiver’s hands inched up, David looked back and spotted the ball. He used his big paw to swat it out of reach.
The USC offensive players were offended that someone as big as he was could hold his own. What they didn’t know was that he’d been brought in to play defensive back a few times in high school when his team had faced receivers the regular starters couldn’t handle.
David had the time of his life with the drill because when challenged, he excelled. He did let Bill slip past him with a nifty swim move, which caught his coaches’ attention. Otherwise, he owned the receiver corps.
When practice was over, he felt good about football for the first time since he’d come to USC. David had no doubt that he would eventually get to show what he could do under center, but if he had to, David could play defense and do it well.
Chapter 35
Crystal