First, I’m not tall enough. Then there’s the competition at USC. I would be behind David and Matt Long to start with, and then Colt will slide into the picture.
“I might end up being a career backup if I go there, while there is a clear path to playing time at State,” Phil said.
“Do you honestly think David would set you up to fail?”
Phil’s first thought was ‘Hell, yes, he would,’ and then he stopped. David would never pull something like that for anything that mattered. He might make a practical joke, but he’d been there when the chips were down. All Phil had
to do was think back to when David beat the crap out of Mike Herndon for him while saving Jill, his girlfriend at the time.
“I guess not, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a downside to living in his shadow,” Phil finally responded.
“Is there really a downside?”
‘Maybe that’s my unspoken answer to my unspoken question,’ Phil thought. David did tend to suck up a lot of the attention in the room, but was that necessarily bad?
Phil benefited from being his brother but had none of the same expectations. It allowed him to run under the radar, so to speak. And the benefits could be substantial, especially with the ladies.
When Jill left to pursue her modeling career, Phil suddenly became very popular. Both his brothers had pulled in the ladies when in high school. Greg was a serial dater who would hook up with a girl for four to six weeks and then move on. David had collected what was essentially a harem for a time before becoming somewhat monogamous, first with Brook, then Lexi, and now with Crystal. Phil, on the other hand, didn’t really ‘date’ anyone; he just bounced from bed to bed.
After his afternoon at the Baseball House, he doubted it would be the same if he went to USC. He’d heard all about jock bunnies, and his ultimate goal was to become the team superstar and resident man-whore. Life was too short not to take advantage of being David’s little brother, and that would be much easier if he were to go to USC.
Then again … he felt sort of creepy, even if he was seventeen and full of cum. He would have to grow up at some point, but it might not be today.
“USC is an excellent place to go to school for a business degree. And the weather’s great. I would just have to trust that I would eventually get playing time,” Phil said.
“Meet with Coach Thomas, and Roc will do the same.
Talk to your parents and friends. After you talk honestly
with everyone, I predict it’ll become clear where you should go to school.”
“I hear you. The key is talking it out,” Phil said.
“Sounds like my work is done.”
“Not quite. You still have to deal with David.”
◊◊◊
David hit a booming drive down the sixteenth fairway.
He was consistently slicing, so he began correcting to the left on the back nine. He’d caught Greg and was now nipping at Phil’s heels. Who knew golf could be so much fun?
“Your turn,” Uncle John announced.
He joked about how he hated these talks, but his uncle did know what he was doing and had helped him immensely. He grabbed his golf bag and put it in the back of Uncle John’s cart.
“What were your life goals?” his uncle asked.
David reached for his wallet, pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to him.
Life Goals
1. Financial Stability
a. Comfortable Life
b. Good Education
2. Physically Fit
3. Solid Moral Foundation
a. Religion / Faith
b. Man of Integrity (Man of my word)
c. No Gossip
d. Think before saying ‘yes’
e. Learn to say ‘no’
4. Healthy Sex Life
5. No Regrets
6. Make a Difference
7. Be a Great Dad
“Are there any you think you can take off the list?” Uncle John asked.
“I think, at this point, the first two are a given. I’d have to do something idiotic to not have enough money to be comfortable. Since I’ve also committed myself to getting a good education, I don’t see that as a problem. And I can’t see anytime I won’t exercise, with both sports and acting in mind.”
“I agree with that. What else?”
“Under Solid Moral Foundation, I can see taking off the last three. I wrote the gossip one as I was going into high school, and it felt like everyone was doing it. Now that I’ve gotten older, that’s not something I have time for.”
“What about the ‘yes’ and ‘no’?” Uncle John asked.
“Those were the hardest to learn. I still struggle with those at times, but now that I’m aware, I think I do a good job of that.”
“Healthy Sex Life?”
David chuckled.
“Again, I wrote that when I was going into high school and a virgin. I think I have that one covered.”
“What about the last three?”
“I think they all should stay,” David said.
“Any new ones?”
“I think I’m good.”
Life Goals
1. Solid Moral Foundation
a. Religion / Faith
b. Man of Integrity (Man of my word)
2. No Regrets
3. Make a Difference
4. Be a Great Dad
“So, how’s college?” Uncle John asked.
“Crazy. I’ve started dealing drugs and sleeping with professors in exchange for grades.”
“How does that make you feel?”
They both broke out laughing.
“Seriously?” Uncle John asked.
“I love my critical thinking class. Did you know there’s something called Neuro-Linguistic Programming? There’s a whole industry behind NLP designed to manipulate and influence thoughts in others through the power of speech and gesture,” David said as he nodded.
“Yes. I agree,” Uncle John said in a robotic voice and nodded back.
“Bite me,” David said with a smirk because his uncle had figured out that he was trying to get him to agree with the nod.
“What about your business classes?”
“All good. I’ve discussed my plans with my adviser.
Between taking extra hours over the summer, all my high school AP credits, and the like, she thinks I can graduate after my fall semester next year. Then I can get my MBA in a year and a half.”
“That sounds awfully aggressive. Can you take those kinds of loads and play football and baseball?” Uncle John asked.
“If I accelerate my education, I can’t see playing baseball. It’s my favorite sport, but if I want to give football and school my all, it needs to take a back seat. If I wanted to take my time with school, I might not have to make that choice.”
“I can’t say that I expected that, but I don’t know what all it takes to become the best at something like football or baseball,” Uncle John said.
“If you get a chance, talk to Cassidy. The accident has turned her world upside down. She had to drop out for a semester and learned that her dream of becoming a Marine might be gone.”
“How do you feel about all that?”
“Like I want to be a white knight and make it all better.
Brook set me straight and explained that Cassidy was old enough to make her own decisions about her recovery.
Brook pointed out that I shouldn’t just open up my wallet and do whatever was possible to help.
“I did do an end run on her, though, and have Lexi looking into doing some fundraising for expenses,” David said.
“Two questions. First, won’t Cassidy’s medical expenses be taken care of by your car insurance? And second, Lexi?”