He had a vague idea of how people got paid as influencers. It looked like social media was here to stay, so it wouldn’t hurt to understand how it all worked.
“I might want to help, too.”
Crystal smiled, leaned in, and gave him a kiss. David had the rest of the day and Sunday to relax. He should probably get to that.
◊◊◊
Chapter 59
David
Before practice on Monday, David was summoned to Coach Merritt’s office. He found Rachel sitting out front, playing gatekeeper. He noted her curly hair looked like she’d stuck her finger into an electrical socket. It was what girls called a ‘bad hair day.’
“I see you took some extra time this morning to make yourself pretty for me,” David teased.
Rachel laughed, making her green eyes come alive, getting him to smile.
“Is that your amazing ‘fuck me now’ smile? The one I’m sure you practiced in the mirror this morning?” she fired back.
“Is that Dawson out there?” Coach Merritt called from his office.
“Yes. And he’s out here sexually harassing me,” Rachel told her boss.
“Send him in when he’s done,” Coach Merritt said.
“Wow. I better get in there before you turn me in,” David chuckled as he went into his coach’s office.
He found Coach Stackhouse already there.
“Shut the door,” Coach Merritt said.
David closed the door and then sat down next to Coach Stackhouse.
“Did you see the depth chart?” Coach Merritt asked.
David nodded. They’d listed both him and Matt as QB1. At first, David had been miffed that he wasn’t the starter, but after what he’d gone through during the spring and summer, he would count sharing the top spot as a win.
“I did,” David said warily.
“What are your thoughts?” Coach Stackhouse asked.
Asking about his thoughts reminded him of his uncle asking about his feelings, making him cringe.
“Do you want my honest answer, or do you want me to give it to you in team speak?” David asked.
“Tell us what you really think,” Coach Merritt encouraged.
“If you have two quarterbacks, you have none. I think our offense works better with a running quarterback. But I can see you hedging your bets for now since neither Matt nor I showed you who the clear number one was. All I ask is you tell me what you want me to do to become the starter,” David said.
Coach Stackhouse raised her eyebrows as if she were trying to communicate something to Coach Merritt.
“Just say it,” Coach Merritt told her. “Both David and Matt deserve us telling them the unvarnished truth.”
“Our discussion with Matt went a bit differently, which highlighted his immaturity,” Coach Stackhouse shared.
“And you’re concerned about turning over the reins to someone so volatile,” David guessed.
“Yes,” Coach Merritt said, which shocked David.
“Then why would we not consider you the clear-cut starter?” Coach Stackhouse asked.
David stopped himself from giving a quick answer because they were being honest with him, and he didn’t want that to stop. It was refreshing not to feel like he was being misled somehow.
“The interception at the end of the scrimmage exposed my biggest weakness. I haven’t had Matt’s number of reps running this offense. In essence, having me as your starter would be like asking a true freshman to lead the team.”
“If I’d been in charge over the summer, I would have been looking for a transfer as a stopgap for a season. It would have given both you and Matt another year to get ready to take over,” Coach Merritt shared.
David took a moment to absorb that. He might have thought the same if he were the head coach.
“I understand your concern, but there’s something you should know. I never played football until my uncle forced me to go out my freshman year of high school. I had to be a fast learner because I was thrust into the starting role by midseason because of injuries. They had players with more experience and older players who could have taken the lead, but they gave me the job.
“I might not have Matt’s experience, but I can tell you this: I was the number one quarterback in my recruiting class because I won. If I’m allowed to be the starter, I’ll find a way to overcome my inexperience. I’ll do whatever it takes to lead this team to victory,” David promised.
“You’ll get a chance to prove that in the first game. I want you to know that I don’t need you to step out of your comfort zone and make something happen like you did Saturday. I want you to simply do your job and protect the football. I would much rather you’d either taken the sack or run the ball when you were flushed,” Coach Merritt said.
‘You throw one interception … Argh!’ David thought.
“You have to realize that UNLV will try to put maximum pressure on you. I would be blitzing, running line stunts, or trick coverages on every passing down if I were them. I would try to get you to do exactly what happened Saturday: turn the ball over,” Coach Stackhouse said.
David knew that was how you lost games. The reason he’d thrown the ball was that he hadn’t seen that kind of speed out of Mario in practice. College ball was played faster, and the only way he would learn to handle the difference from high school was to continue to get live reps.
“So, if I’m in doubt or get pressure, I’m to tuck the ball and run?” David asked.
“I would rather punt than turn the ball over,” Coach Merritt said.
David didn’t like it, but he knew that he had to play in the confines of Coach Merritt’s wishes, or Matt would be starting. David wasn’t one to ride the bench.
“I can do that,” David said.
“Can you do one more thing?” Coach Stackhouse asked.
“If I can?”
“Do you know any other kickers?” she asked.
“Why? What’s wrong with Alex?”
“His dad has insisted that we do a full battery of tests to make sure he can handle the physical side of his kicking chores. We’re sending him to a specialist to fully evaluate him. Our doctors think he’s fine, but after he collapsed this summer, we want to be sure,” Coach Merritt said.
“I don’t blame Umberto for being worried. But I also don’t think you have anything to worry about with Alex. It’s my understanding that his issue came about from something cumulative. Did you know the average soccer player runs seven miles during a game? We won’t be asking him to do anything like that,” David reasoned.
“Thanks for stopping in. Go get ready for a good practice today,” Coach Merritt said to dismiss him.
“And keep the sexual harassment at a minimum,” Coach Stackhouse quipped.
◊◊◊
By the time Cassidy was done with them, David’s muscles were screaming, and his lungs were on fire. After conditioning, he sat down with Coach Thomas to watch practice film for an hour. Once he was mercifully done for the day, all he could think about was going back to his room to take a nap.
Before he made it to his room, he received a message. Craig wasn’t feeling as tired as he was and was entertaining a jock bunny. David was torn about what to do. Did he go find some players to hang out with, or was his bed at the townhouse calling him? Being a leader won out.
He found Willy and the other linemen in the lounge shooting the shit, so he joined them.
“Any word on Hansen?” David asked.
Their third-string left tackle had to be helped off the field during practice.
“He’s getting it checked tomorrow, and we’re hoping it’s just a knee sprain,” Willy shared.
David smiled when Alex walked in.
“How was your doctor’s appointment?”
“How did you know about that?” Alex asked.