G. Younger
A Better Man Story
A Better Man: Book Three
Prologue
Cassidy knocked at David’s dorm room door. Alex answered.
“He’s in his room taking a shower.”
Cassidy went into David’s room and sat down in his
‘reading’ chair by the window. His ex-PA, Lexi, had decorated his room and had spared no expense. What college student has a sixty-inch TV as their PC monitor?
The reading chair was an oversized leather high back that might be the most comfortable chair she’d ever sat in. She planned to have him leave it to her in his will.
She heard the water turn off, and a few minutes later, David walked out naked. He almost jumped out of his skin when he realized he wasn’t alone.
“What the fuck, Cassidy?”
“Alex said you wouldn’t mind.”
“I did not,” Alex called from the other room.
Cassidy ignored Alex. David didn’t bother to cover up while he tracked down his boxers. It gave Cassidy a chance to be reminded why he was in such demand as a model and movie star. David had put on twenty pounds when he thought he would play defense for the football team, and it had all gone to his legs, chest, shoulders, and arms. She looked forward to seeing him play quarterback this year.
He was going to be a beast.
“What do you want?” David asked as he pulled on his boxers to end the floor show.
“I want your car keys.”
“Nope,” he responded without even thinking about it.
“Not the Demon, the Porsche. I’m the designated driver tonight.”
“Where are you going?” David asked like he was her dad.
“The football party, and before you ask, I’m meeting Oliver there.”
David chuckled.
“Knackers finally wore you down, did he?”
‘Knackers’ was USC’s new Aussie punter who earned his nickname when she kicked him in the nuts for being fresh.
He was old for a freshman at 25 and could be annoying as hell. But despite that, he somehow grew on you, and you no longer thought he had a punchable face once you knew him better.
For some reason, Oliver had made it his mission to get Cassidy to go out with him. It wasn’t like he didn’t use his Aussie charms to seduce anything with a skirt; he did. And he did it in such a way that when women shot him down, they would do it with a smile. But many fell for his charms.
So, he never looked back if he was rejected. That was true for everyone but Cassidy.
Over the summer, Cassidy had hooked up with Tank Bryce, USC Football’s Strength & Conditioning Coach. But they’d agreed it was just a summer fling after Cassidy found out that Tank had a long-term girlfriend who was moving in with him.
David had always told her that it was hard to go without once you got used to having sex. It had been almost a month, so Oliver began to look better because she knew she would never be serious about him.
Of course, her roommates constantly teased her that she should just get her lady balls and tell David how she really felt. If she thought he was anywhere near ready to settle down, she would’ve made her move. But right now, he was kidding himself by saying that he and Crystal were faux dating. They’d told themselves they would be each other’s plus-one and hook up to ease their sexual needs after their breakups.
For Crystal, it was Matt Long, who she’d broken up with.
Matt was David’s main competition at quarterback. Crystal
wasn’t ready to date yet.
David’s ex was Lexi, his former PA. For some reason, those two could never be totally honest about how they felt, which led to Lexi sleeping with one of David’s acting friends. In football, they have a term for how something like David’s summer had gone: Unsportsmanlike Conduct.
Lexi’s infidelity led to all kinds of regrettable situations in his love life.
Part of his coming out of it was Crystal. Cassidy hated to admit it, but David and Crystal were a good match on paper. They were both leaders with ambition, and they honestly looked damned good together.
“I wouldn’t go there if I were you,” Cassidy threatened.
David just went to his dresser, grabbed the car keys, and tossed them to her.
“What are Pam and Tracy doing tonight?” David asked.
“They’re going to a party at Loyola Marymount,” Cassidy said, then asked, “What are you doing?”
“Crystal has to take her sorority to a frat party, and I’m not really up for that, so I figured I’d watch some UNLV
game film.”
UNLV was USC’s opponent for their first game, which was next Saturday. It was being nationally televised because David was starting his first college game. The storyline of the number one recruit and movie star was the perfect draw for the first week of college football, where there were mostly meaningless games.
If it had been anyone else, Cassidy would have been worried about the kind of pressure that would put on David. But something she knew from experience was that David thrived when thrust into the spotlight. And it wasn’t just because he was an amazing athlete, although he was.
David simply worked harder than anyone she knew. Tonight was an example. Everyone was out partying while David would watch game film.
“If you want company, I can bail on the party,” she offered.
“Hell, no. Knackers is irritating enough. If I stole his girl, I would never hear the end of it,” David said.
“But it would be worth seeing him whine,” she said with a chuckle.
“It would,” David admitted. “Have fun.”
Cassidy gave David a kiss on the cheek and left.
◊◊◊
Oliver was on the lookout for Cassidy. When he saw a group of USC women rowers, he walked over to a cooler and grabbed a beer for his ‘date.’ Once he found her, he handed her the beer, and Cassidy took a long draw.
“Tell me something good.”
“Well,” Cassidy contemplated for a few seconds. “I’m still hot!”
The reason he liked her so much was that she was fearless.
“Where’s your sidekick?”
“David is home watching game film. But let’s not talk about him. Tell me something about you. Do you have a secret girlfriend I don’t know about?” Cassidy asked.
“No secret girlfriend. How about you? You don’t have a girlfriend either, eh?”
“Tell me about your first girlfriend,” she said to deflect his question.
“Tish was the hottest girl in school. Her boyfriend, Josh, was the coolest guy. They weren’t just part of the in-crowd; they led it. But I knew old Josh was a player, so I waited for him to cheat and made sure Tish was aware. She kicked him to the curb, and I slipped in.”
“Why did you break up?” Cassidy asked.
“She said I was too nice.”
“Christ. You couldn’t have been going out long. Did she even know you?”
“That was low. I think you should have to do a shot,”
Oliver said.
“No way. I’m the designated driver.”
“I dare you.”
◊◊◊
He’d dared her, the dillhole. After a few, Cassidy felt no pain and thought she could dance. She promptly tripped over Oliver’s feet and crashed into Chuy’s date, spilling beer all over her top. Not to be outdone, Oliver tried to catch her and ended up face-planting in the middle of the living room. Cassidy’s embarrassment factor lowered from 100 to, oh, a 97.
Oliver rose to his feet, disappeared into the kitchen, and returned with two beers—some Aussie microbrew for himself and a can of the cheap crap for Cassidy.