Chip: When was the last time you had a freshman lead your team?
Coach Deneau: I don’t think age matters when you have talent. David might honestly be the best player I’ve ever coached. He just sees the ball better than anyone else. Take that curveball he hit to seal the game. All our guys struggled with that pitch tonight, and for good reason. That might be a major-league-caliber pitcher we faced. He would have won tonight’s game if he hadn’t met an even better player in Dawson.
The questions continued until it was announced that there was only time for one more. David pointed to Tracy, who hadn’t gotten a chance to ask anything yet.
Tracy: Tracy Dole, the Daily Trojan. David, be your biggest critic. What do you need to do to improve?
David: I have to be more a student of the game. You only get so much time on the field to be focused in a live setting. My teammates and I get more comfortable with each other the more we play together. I personally learn something every time I step out there.
I also want to become better at playing center field and knowing where to go with the ball when it’s hit to me. That will come with more playing time.
Tracy: Why is that?
David: I’ve only played center field for about a year. I’d always played shortstop until a scout in the Cubs organization suggested the position change.
Tracy: Why don’t they have you pitching? It’s my understanding that you even pitched in the Pan Am games.
David laughed.
David: I hardly have enough time as it is with school, football, and baseball. I can’t just pick up a ball and pitch at this level. Pitching takes constant practice.
When it was over, he went to find Tracy.
“Thanks. Not everyone got to ask questions,” Tracy said.
“You’ll always get one if David is in the room,” Cassidy said.
“Did they play your interviews from the fundraiser today?” David asked.
“They did. I sent your publicist the raw footage. He said he would work it up and see if he can get more outlets to show it. He said he might get it on TMZ,” Tracy shared.
“I’ll have to find out if they have a GoFundMe page that people can donate to,” David said.
“I’ll let Crystal know. That’s a great idea,” Milena said.
Tracy had to go write a quick article for the Daily Trojan. Cassidy decided to track down her rowing crew, leaving David and Milena together.
David left his protective bodysuit on but changed out of his baseball uniform and replaced it with shorts and a t-shirt. The bodysuit was prudent, just in case he clipped himself with a foul ball.
When he was dressed, David took Milena to the batting cage so he could talk to her as he practiced.
“This isn’t how you planned your night going, was it?” David asked.
Milena giggled.
’That giggle,’ David thought. It made his dick hard. How could one giggle convey so much? It sounded playful, sweet, and innocent, all wrapped up into one, with an underlying sexiness. If David could make her giggle like that in bed, he knew he could turn it into moans of lust. That would lead to all kinds of fun.
Milena had to be about five-eight with the brownest eyes he’d ever seen. She’d brushed her brown hair back in a casual, messy style that said she didn’t really care because Milena knew she was damn sexy and didn’t have to try. And her body. Damn! She’d been a major distraction when they DJed together.
David was pulled back into the moment when her phone rang. He could tell something was wrong. She looked up at him.
“Crystal says Matt’s drunk and is mouthing off to the Deltas. They’re going to kick his butt.”
“Tell her we’re on our way,” David said.
David took Milena through the locker room so he could grab his keys. They ran out to his car, and she directed him to the party at the Phi Sig house.
“Can’t Matt handle a few frat boys?” David asked.
“The Deltas have a bad reputation. They’re the rugby house, and if Matt isn’t careful, they’ll kick the crap out of him,” Milena said to clue David in on what he was facing.
When they pulled up to the party, it looked like a war zone. Several different groups were fighting. David spotted Crystal crying on the front steps. When they came to a stop, she ran to the car.
“You have to help Matt. Three Deltas are beating the shit out of him.”
Crystal pointed around the side of the house.
“Come with me. I might need your help to get Matt to the car while I hold them off,” David said as he jumped out of the car and jogged around the side of the house.
Matt was surrounded by three guys. He was bleeding over his left eye, and his right arm was down like his ribs were injured. The Deltas appeared to know what they were doing. The one closest to David was at least six-six and had to weigh close to three hundred pounds. He had arms thicker than David’s thighs. The next guy was about five-ten and was very quick and wiry. He clearly knew how to fight. The last guy was overweight and huffing like a freight train. He was nearly done.
The big guy reached out with his giant paw and tossed Matt against the house. The little wiry guy began to throw a flurry of punches to devastating effect. Matt was covering up the best he could, but David could tell that it wasn’t going well.
The overweight guy was bleeding from his nose. Matt must have smacked him pretty good. The big guy sent a vicious hook into Matt’s ribs, and you could hear him grunt deep down. It was the kind of grunt you heard when you hit someone, and it did serious damage.
“Who’s the major douchetard now, smart mouth? You and your girl Crystal, with her blown-out pussy, can stretch your lips around my fat cock,” the little guy said with an evil grin.
Matt made a lunge at his tormentor, but the big guy hit him again in the ribs. It took Matt to his knees.
“That taught him some manners,” the mountain of a man said.
David didn’t hesitate. The big guy was nearest him and the most significant danger. If he hit Matt again like that, Matt would be done. David gave the guy a roundhouse kick that caught him in the ear. The big guy’s head snapped to the side, and he went down like someone had turned the power off. Contrary to what movies show, David had to strike him extremely hard to drop him with a single shot.
David stepped around the big guy, and before the heavyset Delta realized someone new had joined the fight, David punched him in the kidney. He fell to the ground, writhing in pain.
The wiry guy arched his back and instinctively dropped his nearest arm back to protect his back after witnessing what David had just done. David grabbed his thumb, pulled his arm back and up, and the guy screamed. His shoulder was all but popped out of its socket. David pushed the little guy into the wall and heard a sickening smack as the guy’s nose broke from the impact. The three Deltas were out of the fight.
“Get Matt to the car,” David ordered Crystal.
She was in hysterics.
“Matt, Matt, Matt, are you okay? Baby, are you hurt?”
Matt struggled to get up with Crystal’s help. He stumbled, and David caught his other arm to help steady him. He shrugged David off.
’Really!’ David thought as he stepped back.
When they cleared the side of the house, they could see that several girls had piled into the back of David’s car. David looked in at Milena, and she just shrugged while Crystal helped Matt into the passenger side. David was headed around the back of the car when he was tackled by another Delta.
“The fuck!?” David yelled as he sprawled across the concrete.