2.
After the safety, USC had to do a free kick from their twenty-yard line. Cal ended up with good field position and managed to put together a few plays. They were at USC’s twenty-nine-yard line when the Trojans blew a coverage over the deep middle. A Cal receiver caught it, and suddenly it was 14–9.
Even with Cal rallying, David felt USC had the game in hand.
Six minutes later, Cal had the ball again and drove down to the USC five-yard line. The Bears’ quarterback handed the ball off, and they ran up the middle. The running back
wasn’t even touched as he scored. Cal went for two and failed, making the score 15–14 in Cal’s favor.
That was when everything changed. Cal was suddenly energized, and USC began to doubt itself. It was highlighted on two plays where USC had to call a time-out because they couldn’t decide on a play, and another time if they should go on fourth down or not.
With four minutes left in the game, Cal lined up for a punt. Mario Robinson, USC’s All-Conference safety and defensive backfield leader, heard something from the Cal bench and responded in kind. He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct with a fifteen-yard penalty and an automatic first down.
With only one time-out remaining, USC was all but helpless to stop Cal from running out the clock. When the final horn sounded, David and his teammates were gutted.
They were now 5–5 with two games left, one at UCLA and then the big one—Notre Dame—to reach that magic six-win mark to play in a bowl game. Both were against huge rivals. If the Trojans played like they did in the second half, they would lose both games.
◊◊◊
When David returned from the game, the party set-up had begun. Since they were going to have a food truck in the parking lot, he drove his Demon to his townhouse. He knew Cassidy and Greg were already traveling, so he stopped to see Tracy and Pam.
“Honey, I’m home!” he called as he walked in the back door.
“David?!” Pam called from upstairs.
It sounded like when he and Greg were children as they pounded down the stairs. It was always followed by his mom yelling, ‘No running!’
Pam almost knocked him down as she pulled him into a bear hug.
“Someone misses me,” David chuckled.
“Cassidy always tells us how busy you are, so I don’t want to disturb you,” Pam said.
“Princess, you can talk to me anytime. You know you’re my favorite,” David half teased.
She buried her head into his shoulder and hugged him even tighter.
“What’s wrong?” David asked as he stroked her hair.
“It’s just … just that the guy I was dating also likes guys, and that was why he never …” Pam sobbed into his shoulder.
“Why didn’t you say something?” David asked.
“I couldn’t tell Tracy or Cassidy because they would tease me and, worse, tell you.”
She looked up into his eyes. Pam had always suffered from self-confidence issues. He worried that if she met the wrong guy, he might take advantage of her. She seemed to be doing much better here in LA, but now he wondered.
“When did this happen?” David asked.
“Last weekend. He told me he was done living a lie and wanted to date others … specifically men. I guess I was his beard. I just wish he’d told me that instead of leading me on for so long. I liked him enough that I would have been his friend. I just feel he was dishonest with me,” Pam said.
He could hear her pain in her voice, and it broke his heart.
“I really wish you would’ve come to me sooner. I hate that you had to carry this burden all on your own. How about you come to tonight’s party as my date?” David asked.
Pam had a little grin for the first time.
“Cassidy and Greg told us that you decided to become a man-whore again and build a harem like you had in high school. They said you’re dating four different women. Tracy
said that being around all your football horndogs will eventually turn you into someone who hooks up with jock bunnies,” Pam said.
“Did they, now?” David asked.
“Tracy also said that she heard a couple of your teammates are being treated for sexually transmitted infections.”
David had to bite his lip at that. It seemed Tracy knew more than Matt and John wanted her to. He was glad, though, that she hadn’t reported on it.
Then Pam gave him a playful look.
“I should take you up on your offer. It might make your harem up their game if they know they have competition. I can tell them that you love me best.”
“Before you start spreading that rumor, I don’t have a harem. I am casually dating with zero commitments,” David explained.
That made Pam laugh. She knew him too well to believe that. Plus, she knew he and Crystal had been seeing each other exclusively for half the summer and fall. He just threw his hands up in defeat.
“Save me from myself,” David said.
“If you answer me one question.”
“Yes, Pam?”
“Am I your favorite?”
“Always.”
“Then I’ll come to your party,” she assured him. “And David?”
“Yes.”
“I want to dance, get a bit drunk, and spend the night at your place.”
“Anything you want,” David said as he tried to hide his secret smile.
◊◊◊
Pam was glad that David had Alex pick her and Alex’s girlfriend Chloe up for the party. When she walked into the lobby, there was a line of people who were guests and had to get checked off the list. Alex came to the rescue again and allowed her to bypass the queue with a nod and
‘they’re with me’ comment.
When they got to David and Alex’s dorm room, a girl who looked upset was waving her hands and talking a mile a minute.
“Oh, boy,” Alex said as he and Chloe darted past the confrontation.
“I’ll call and get it delivered,” David said.
The girl’s demeanor changed, and she kissed his cheek.
“You’re the best.”
“Give me five minutes, and then I’m all yours,” David told Pam.
She grabbed the bowl of mixed nuts on the counter in their kitchenette and took them to the couch to munch on.
She was amazed at how clean their dorm room was, then remembered they had a cleaning lady.
Cassidy had explained how crazy David’s schedule was.
This week had piled up on him with the Cassidy-Aussie punter drama and his business venture with Dare running into trouble.
Greg was nominated to tell his brother that two companies had announced VR sports systems that were vastly cheaper than what Dare and Corvus had created.
One used several off-the-shelf miniature high-resolution cameras that could be put on long tripods to film. Greg had said that teams could quickly and easily set up and position the tripods instead of having to permanently install cameras around the practice field. The cameras could be repositioned as needed and easily taken down when practice was over.
Cassidy said David had lost a lot of money because the other two VR systems didn’t need robust hardware and
took advantage of open-source software to render the video. The cost saving was significant, even though the quality wasn’t the same as what Dare created.
David explained to Greg that he wouldn’t have put up the money if he wasn’t prepared to lose it; he did it because he believed in Dare. David said it was a rule of thumb everyone should use when lending money to family or friends. When you give it to them, write it off in your mind because the odds of getting it back are slim. Pam could see the logic in that.