You might have to get someone to help her. At a minimum, she’ll have to rehab, and I’m assuming that the athletic department will help her with that,” Tami said.
“I should talk to Joey and Greg. Greg might be able to help out while Joey gets her back to health. I would feel better if I knew who was working with her; it would put my mind at ease,” David decided.
“What’s next?”
“Crystal.”
David explained how they’d only gotten together to avoid another lousy rebound and that they could help each other in other ways. Of course, Tami figured out what that was—sex. It kept them both from finding someone for some casual fun and the complications that inevitably occurred when the casual partner wanted more.
“Let me guess. You’re starting to have feelings for her,”
Tami said.
“After a good round of sex, Crystal said she loved me. I chalked it up to the forty-eight-hour rule that it doesn’t count unless said at least that long after orgasm.”
“You’re a dumbass.”
“Don’t mess with my beliefs, missy.”
“What did you do afterward? Tell me that you didn’t lie low and hoped it would blow over,” Tami said.
“I don’t think I should say.”
“Dumbass. Yep, you are a total dumbass.”
“She went with me to the football game, and we spent time together last night and this morning. I think all is well,” David said.
“Did you have the same feelings? And don’t lie to me because I can tell.”
“No, you can’t. If I wanted to tell you a lie, I could,”
David said confidently.
“Try me,” Tami challenged.
If he said he didn’t have feelings for Crystal, Tami would guess he lied. He wondered what she would do if he told the truth.
“I think I have feelings for her,” David said cautiously as Tami stared into his soul.
“Wow. You told me the truth.”
‘How does she do that?!’ David thought.
“I think you better have a talk with Crystal and redefine your relationship. That is, unless you want to risk her finding some other guy. Where is she tonight?” Tami asked.
“Their sorority is going to a frat party.”
“Hm. Alcohol, horny frat boys … I don’t see a problem at all,” Tami quipped.
“You really are evil.”
“Settle down. Crystal is a smart girl.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to her.”
“Anything else you need to tell me?” Tami asked.
“Not that I can think of,” David said honestly.
“Not even about Lexi?”
He’d almost put that out of his mind.
“It really isn’t that big of a deal,” David said.
“Then explain to me how Lexi went from hooking up with Ben and crying about it to willingly sleeping with him in Paris. Then all the craziness when Ben’s girlfriend exposed them, to now. What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Tami demanded.
“I don’t know. Tracy for real went crazy and slept with my biggest enemy, and she and I are good friends now,”
David tried.
“Deep down, Tracy always cared for you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have given her a second chance. And by the way, that is something I love about you.
“Lexi is a whole different kettle of fish. Everyone, and I mean everyone who knows her, has told you not to trust her. You know that she acts as you expect her to act when she’s with you. The emphasis is on the word ‘act.’ I would suggest you gracefully remove her from your condo as soon as possible,” Tami said.
“But …”
“I don’t care if she is the best PA you’ve ever had,” Tami said, reading David’s mind.
His head knew she was right, but his gut told him she was wrong. His gut made him say yes, even though his head told him to run.
“I guess I’ll see.”
“You’ve been warned. I’ll be there when she rips your heart out again, but I will have the pleasure of telling you,
‘I told you so.’”
“And I’ll deserve it,” David reluctantly agreed.
◊◊◊
When David got up, he took the kids to the house and fed them. He then played with them in the pool until he had to return to campus.
Duke told him he wanted to go back to campus with him, so David called Pam to see if the hound could stay with them this week. She said, ‘yes.’
When they got to the townhouse, Duke knew where he was. He ran in, expecting to see Precious. He ignored Pam and Tracy as he tried to find the kitty.
“Looks like someone misses that damned cat,” Pam said.
“She had her moments,” David said.
“You weren’t here for Thunderdome. I thought for sure she was going to kill that other cat. What was his name?”
Pam asked.
“Admiral Snuggles,” Tracy said.
“He was not coming out from under the couch,” Pam said.
“You should have been there when Precious caught the squirrel. Duke freaked out and chased it into Brit’s shirt when Precious let it go. Then it climbed my mom and launched itself to the roof of our garage. That had to be the funniest thing I ever saw,” David reminisced.
“I think everyone has a favorite Precious story,” Tracy said. “But the truth is that they all involved some kind of maiming or mayhem. I, for one, am glad Brit moved into an apartment.”
David might have to go visit his feline friend when he went home.
“Did Cassidy tell you that she plans to come back?”
David asked.
“Good, because she’s the only one who knows your password for the grocery store app,” Tracy said.
David knew he’d given it to all of them at some point, but it looked like Cassidy was put in charge of groceries, and they’d forgotten.
“You guys should have told me, and I would’ve given it to Tracy,” David said with a straight face.
“But … but you love me best,” Pam pouted.
“Tracy would make sure she only bought healthy stuff,”
David said.
“What if I need to get something for Coby?” Pam asked.
He and Tracy laughed.
“Honey, he isn’t falling for the Coby line anymore,”
Tracy said.
“Thank you,” David said.
“What if I want something?”
“Dummy. All you have to do is ask. He’ll do anything for you,” Tracy said.
“I want the password, too,” Pam said.
He wrote it down for them. They grabbed Pam’s phone and began to order food. He was worried about how much the first order would be because they’d been living on a college student’s budget since Cassidy went home.
David got ready to leave, and Duke was at his side, ready to go.
“Think I can sneak him into my dorm?” David asked.
“You’re David Fricking Dawson. Just act like it’s no big deal and walk in,” Tracy said.
David was shocked when the security guy just buzzed them in. When he reached the top floor, he ran into the floor’s RA. She even took a moment to give Duke a scratch behind the ear before going back into her room.
Maybe he was David Fricking Dawson.
When he walked into his suite, Chloe, Crystal, and Alex were watching pro football on the giant TV.
“We got a dog?” Alex asked excitedly.
“Duke needed a break from the kids, so I took him for the week,” David said.
“I always wanted a dog, but my dad said ‘no,’” Alex shared.
David put Duke’s food and water bowls down and gave him his favorite tennis ball. Duke seemed to know which room was David’s because he went in there to take a nap.
Crystal got up from the couch and pointed to his room.
“We need to talk.”
◊◊◊