“Look who that cat dragged in,” David said as he walked up.
Jim embraced him in a bro hug.
“I hear you put in a good word for me.”
“Dawson!” Tank yelled across the weight room. “This is my time! Get your ass out of here!”
“Please, don’t piss him off,” Willy begged.
Tank was notorious for his evil ways of getting his team in shape. David interrupting weight lifting could be the excuse he needed today to spring something on them.
“You know what?! I’ve changed my mind. We’re doing legs!” Tank boomed.
“Fuck you, Dawson,” Willy said under his breath.
David chuckled as he made a hasty escape before Tank forgot he was on concussion protocol and made him join in.
◊◊◊
Chapter 6
Last week, when the school year had first begun, Emily had bounced out of bed at the sound of her alarm, ready to start what had the potential of being a bright new day.
Now? She had a bit less bounce and a whole lot of crawl.
She’d barely sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes when there was a knock at her door. Thinking it was her roommate forgetting her keys again, Emily opened the door. She blinked twice before she recognized Taylor from Alpha Mu.
“Good morning. I brought you a bid to join our sorority,”
Taylor said as she handed her an envelope.
Emily was fully awake.
“Yes!” she squealed and began to dance around in excitement.
Taylor joined her in her squeals and dancing. She looked to be just as happy at her acceptance.
“We’re going to have so much fun!” Taylor babbled.
“Come to the house after your last class. I want you to meet everyone and all the new pledges.”
“I get done at three.”
“Perfect. Dress casual. We’re going to Phi Sig’s tonight for a party, so we’ll have dinner at the house, and … this is going to be so much fun,” Taylor said again.
“I can’t wait,” Emily admitted.
“I have to go and hand out more bids. I’ll see you this afternoon,” Taylor said as she left.
Emily opened the invitation and pinned it to her corkboard over her desk. Her mom was going to be happy for her. She’d been a Tri-Delt and had told Emily she could get in as a legacy, but everyone said that Alpha Mu was the house to join.
Her first class was soon forgotten as she called her mom.
◊◊◊
David had just been told by Coach Stackhouse that he wasn’t traveling with the team to their game at Stanford this weekend. They would only take 85 players, which meant that players didn’t get to travel to away games if they were injured or way down on the depth chart.
He decided to fly up, so he went to the athletic director’s office, where he found Rachel acting as the gatekeeper.
“Did you get a promotion?” David asked.
“No. Someone called in sick.”
“Well, I’m glad they left you in charge because I need a favor.”
She gave him a tight smile. David wondered if the Dawson charm might have just failed him.
“I need tickets to tomorrow’s football game,” he explained.
“Call the ticket office.”
“Come on. I know that you guys get a block. Be a sport and grab me a handful.”
“Uh … yeah … that would be a ‘no,’” Rachel drawled.
“Tell you what. I would even be willing to pay for them,”
David countered.
“What’s in it for me?”
David smiled because Rachel was finally negotiating with him.
“I don’t know. How many tickets can you get me?” David asked.
Rachel left her desk to go into the athletic director’s office and returned with six tickets. The away team was given a block of tickets for each game so their fans could all sit together. They were usually situated on the lower deck near the goal line on the visitor side of the field. These were ten rows up, nearly perfect for seeing the field.
David reached for his wallet.
“Not so fast. We haven’t settled on what I get out of all this,” Rachel said.
“I see how it is. Okay, what do you want?”
“I have a few questions first. Where do you plan to stay, and how are you getting there?”
“I was going to have my PA call around to find a hotel, and I planned to fly up in a private jet.”
“Then here’s the deal. You buy me two tickets, pay for a hotel room, and fly me and my plus-one up for the game.”
“If your plus-one’s a girl, then the two of you could stay with me.”
“No way, perv. And for your information, my plus-one might be a guy.”
“Then I would get you two rooms because your father would never approve of me helping corrupt you with an overnight male guest.”
“This isn’t the 1950s,” Rachel pushed back.
“So, do you need one or two rooms?”
Rachel blushed.
“Two.”
He kept his look neutral. He could tease her after she gave him the tickets.
“I was just about to call the hotel and release the rooms that no one claimed. I can reserve some in your name if you give me your credit card,” Rachel offered.
David decided on five rooms because one of the people he was taking was Tami, and she could stay in her dorm.
And he knew Crystal wouldn’t be able to go; her sorority planned to use the weekend to get to know their new pledges. That meant that he would only need a room for himself.
Rachel sold him the tickets and reserved the hotel rooms. He said he would send her a message to let her know when to be ready to leave.
◊◊◊
David realized that Dr. Liao could put a stop to his weekend plans, so he stopped by to get checked out. The doctor seemed reluctant to give him clearance, but after reassurance from David that he wouldn’t do anything strenuous, Dr. Liao gave his approval for David to fly to Northern California.
◊◊◊
David had Jim—who couldn’t play for USC until next year—and Chloe in the car as he drove up to Rachel’s apartment building. She was waiting outside with her overnight bag. Standing beside her was a guy with well-worn blue jeans hanging low around his narrow hips. The band of his boxers peeked over the top. David guessed that Rachel’s boy thought the sight of his underwear was like a crooked finger beckoning her. In truth, he could hear his mom telling Rachel’s boy to pull his pants up.
The guy wore a black t-shirt, was sporting what looked like the start of a beard, and wore black-rimmed glasses.
David estimated him to be about five-eight and hundred-forty pounds. He suspected that if he tried anything, Rachel could take him.
David jumped out of the car, jogged up, and took Rachel’s bag.
“David, I’d like you to meet Cormac.”
“Seriously? Cormac, the son of defilement? Your dad will kill me,” David said, shaking his head.
Cormac barked out a laugh. “I’ll have to tell my dad. He always pegged me as being gay in high school. He’ll be so proud.”
“If you two are done male bonding, let’s get this party on the road,” Rachel said.
When they got into the car, David introduced everyone.
Chloe pulled her phone out and made a recording about the fantastic trip she was taking with Academy Award-winning
actor David A. Dawson. Alex was right; she was using them to kick-start her new career as an Internet influencer.
When they arrived at the airport, his plane was ready.
David made a quick walk around, and they were soon in the air. Chloe joined him in the cockpit. She must be determined to milk her time with him for all it was worth because she chatted with her followers about how great it was to have him piloting them.