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Saturday September 7

I watched Suzanne drive away and was ready to walk home when the JV Cheerleaders stopped me. They were some of the best-looking sophomores at Lincoln High. Their ringleader and captain was Tracy Dole. Tracy seemed to be everything I despised about high school. She was the heir apparent for Queen of the social elite once the senior class graduated. Despite being a sophomore, it was almost a given that when she moved up to varsity she would be Cheer Captain. This would be an unheard of promotion, since a senior had always held that position.

To Tracy’s credit, she didn’t seem to be mean spirited. For the most part, she ignored the socially inept like me. The one thing she had going for her was she was drop-dead gorgeous. If I hadn’t watched her breasts grow from mere pups to the melons they were now, I would have said she’d had a boob job. On her petite frame, they were spectacular.

“Hey David, I’ve been remiss in not inviting you to my birthday party this Friday.”

I was caught off guard. I’d only talked to Tracy a couple of times and wasn’t expecting her to be so friendly. Before I made a complete fool of myself, I pulled it together. I quickly checked my social calendar and that day was free. We had a rare Saturday varsity game this week, which left Friday wide open.

Tracy’s birthday party was something everyone wanted to attend. It was invitation-only, and you knew you were part of the ‘in’ crowd if you were invited. I’ve only attended one of these coveted parties. It was in second grade, and her mom made her send an invitation to everyone. When I arrived, it was obvious I didn’t fit in. In third grade, the same thing happened and I hadn’t gone.

“I’d love to come,” I replied, thinking ‘I need to spread my wings a little.’

It would at least make me more dateable if I was seen at Tracy’s party. A couple of the girls giggled, and I got the double meaning. Who knew cheerleaders had such dirty minds? Tracy played it as if she didn’t get it, but she was sharp and I knew she had.

“Great, we would all love for you to come,” Tracy said as I raised my eyebrows. “I mean, I would love to have you.”

“Tracy, you don’t have to try so hard, I’m pretty easy when a girl as pretty as you asks.”

That got the group to laugh. I liked this big-breasted girl with the quick wit. What surprised me was I wasn’t tongue-tied at all with her and her friends. I guess that in my mind I had no shot, so my nervousness went away. “Since it’s your special day, do you think I’ll be enough for you, or do you need me to bring a present?” I asked just loud enough for her friends to hear as I moved closer to Tracy.

Tracy Dole actually blushed and giggled. I’m sure she wasn’t used to someone who flirted with her so brazenly. She recovered and made a little circular motion with her finger.

“David, give us a little twirl, so I can tell if you’ll be enough.”

I stepped back a little, raised my arms to shoulder level with my hands raised about ear high, and did a slow turn.

“What do you think? Will I do for your present?” I asked.

I’d forgotten I didn’t have any underwear on. I saw several of the girls get a little flushed when they saw I’d gone commando, but Tracy took it all in and checked me out from head to toe. She had a big grin on her face. When I faced away from her, she grabbed my butt. I just looked back and smiled at her. She looked around at the other cheerleaders.

“What do you girls think?”

From the head bobbing, it was apparent I was a hit. She laughed at them and turned to me.

“When did you become so cool?”

I just grinned at her. Did she just say I was cool?

“I guess I have to go along with the squad and say you’ll be enough. Do you know where I live?” she asked.

Yep, she lived in one of the nicest subdivisions in town. I played dumb.

“Not exactly, why don’t you put your contact info into my phone?”

It was her turn to call bullshit, but she played along, and put her digits and address into my phone. Things were looking up. I just scored the JV’s Cheer Captain’s phone number. Jeff and Alan would wet themselves when they heard this.

WHEN I GOT HOME, I found Greg in his room resting on his bed with his headphones on as he listened to music. I jumped on his bed and scared him when I gave him a big kiss on the cheek. He tried to push me off.

“Get off me, you little fairy!”

I acted like a six-year-old who got a dirt bike for Christmas.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

He pulled his earbuds out and smiled.

“So, I take it your lesson went well?” he asked.

I could tell he had talked to Cindy.

“Dude, Suzanne is frickin’ fantastic! I learned so much. You and Cindy are the best mentors ever!”

“Well, you’re welcome, and yes, Suzanne is fantastic.”

I suddenly felt really close to him. I told him about Suzanne introducing me to the JV Cheerleading squad and that Tracy Dole had invited me to her birthday party. I didn’t share what we’d done in the equipment shed or anything we did at Cindy’s. I figured if they wanted to tell him, they would.

Greg got a concerned look on his face and grabbed his phone.

“Hey Princess, David said you were great today.”

I could hear Suzanne as she talked to Greg, but I couldn’t make out the words on her end.

“No, you’re no longer the ‘Ice Princess.’ From what Cindy said, you thawed today.”

I heard her laugh at him.

“Hey, question for you. Tracy Dole’s having a birthday party and she invited David to go. Can you tell me what to expect?”

My brother listened to the other end of the conversation for what seemed like hours. In reality, it was probably not more than five minutes. I couldn’t get a read on him. He wrapped up the call and shook his head.

“Bro, you’re screwed!”

What did that mean?

“Why’s that?”

“Apparently, you made quite the impression on Miss Tracy Dole.”

I couldn’t read Greg.

“And that’s bad?”

“No, Tracy’s a great girl. The problem is, over the summer Tracy went out with Bill Rogers.”

I stiffened. Bill was bad news. I was sorry to say I’d hung out with him when I went through my drug-and-alcohol phase. It was rumored he had stabbed someone over the summer. In addition, he treated girls like shit. I’d been at a party where he coerced one of the girls I didn’t know into pulling a train. When I understood what was happening, I felt physically ill when Bill tried to get me to join in. That wasn’t how I wanted to lose my virginity.

“It seems Bill doesn’t think he’s done with her. I would stay far away from that situation until it’s resolved,” Greg advised.

It was advice I planned to take to heart. I didn’t want anything to do with Bill.

AFTER GREG LEFT, I jumped into a hot shower. I was sore from playing football and I smelled of sex. I let the water pound me as I reflected on the last week.

I hadn’t comprehended how tense I was when I heard Bill’s name again. He’d played a central role in my corruption last spring by introducing me to drugs as my supplier. I seriously didn’t want to run into him again. He had a mean streak I feared could be lethal. I decided I’d call Tracy and make sure he wouldn’t show up.

However, I had bigger issues. What was really going on with Cindy and Greg? Whenever I saw them together, they acted like they were a couple. I’d missed something, though. They seemed to be more like friends than each other’s soul mate. I’ve seen Greg with girls he really liked, and it wasn’t that he didn’t like Cindy, but there wasn’t a spark.

I also had trouble reconciling how he had stepped back and allowed Cindy to direct my education on dating. He’d disappeared today. If she were my girlfriend, I would have been there. Brother or not, things could have gotten out of hand. The only thing I could figure was Greg must trust Cindy implicitly. He did know he could trust me. To be honest, most high school kids aren’t self-confident enough to have that level of trust in their significant other. I figured it wasn’t really my issue, so I would let them work it out, but I didn’t want to see either one of them get hurt.