The film session was one of the most excruciating and most educational experiences I had ever had. I had a lot to learn about the mental aspects of the game before I could become a top-flight quarterback. I had the physical skills but needed to spend time playing and watching film.
I enjoyed our comeback. At the half, Beverly had been up 28–7. We came storming back and held a 31–28 lead late in the game. With less than two minutes, we had the ball and then the fumble happened. I’d never seen it before. I stepped up to point out a blitzing linebacker when the center snapped the ball. The coaches in the room all groaned when they saw it.
I still think that if they’d let me back into the game, we could have won. But I’m not unique. Any top athlete thinks the same, or he wouldn’t be elite. We lost 35–31.
I SHOWED UP AT THE Chi Omega house at six and knocked on the door. Stork answered it.
“Mr. GQ, you’ve been the talk of the house. I take it you’re here to see Candy.”
“Actually, I’d like to see Nancy, and my name is David.”
“David, I’m Jill. Let me get Nancy. You can wait in the living room.”
It seemed to take a long time for her to come down. While I was waiting, every girl in the house stuck her head into the room to check me out. Nancy came down in a nice conservative outfit, but I knew I was in when I saw she had taken the time to put on makeup.
“So now you’re a stalker,” Nancy greeted me. “I thought I made it clear I wasn’t interested.”
“I wouldn’t be here if you weren’t. You ready to go on our date?” I asked.
“Do you always make wild-ass assumptions?”
“Do you answer every question with a question? Come on, I’m starved, and you’re going to show me a great spot we can go eat and get to know each other. I promise to not make any inappropriate remarks or to even talk you into giving me your panties,” I assured her.
“Who said I was wearing panties?”
“There you go with the questions again. I think you’ll make a great lawyer someday.”
She followed me out the front door and we stopped on the sidewalk in front of the sorority house.
“So where do you want to go?” she asked me.
“Again, with the questions ... you’re a strong, independent woman. I would expect that you could decide where we’re eating. The only requirement is that I’m on a high-protein diet and would like to stay on it, but would go off of it just for tonight.”
She just smirked at me and led me to her car. We ended up at a nice mom-and-pop place.
“So tell me about yourself, David.”
I smirked. Had she said anything yet that wasn’t a question? I gave her the basics and told her I would be a sophomore this year. What a coincidence, so was she. She finally figured out I meant high school.
“Dang it, and I was thinking you might be okay,” she complained. “You might have noticed I’m a little picky about who I date, and apparently for good reason.”
“Maybe I made a mistake. I pegged you as someone who doesn’t have to follow the social norms. I thought you were stronger than that. Who says a woman has to marry an older man to support her? If you’re worried about that, I can show you my bank balance.
“The only other objection I can think of is that you might be afraid of what others will think. That just doesn’t seem like the woman I’ve been getting to know.”
“I don’t really have that much of a problem with it except for the legal one. That I have a hard time ignoring.”
“Finally, we’ve found a starting point for these negotiations. We just need to figure out how far we can go before we break the law,” I said, waggling my eyebrows.
“Yikes! Again with the come-on lines.”
“Nancy, it’s only a come-on line if I don’t mean it,” I told her. “What I said yesterday was true: I only had eyes for you. There were other women there last night. I only danced with one other, and that was before you showed up.”
“How do I know you’re not just some kind of player?”
“Because you talked to your sorority sisters, and know that I didn’t make a pass at anyone but you. I think you’re just scared that someone could be interested in only you.”
She looked at me like I was from another planet. It was too soon to push it, so I changed tactics.
“Let’s go do something fun. All my teammates are at Dave and Buster’s. I’d like to introduce you to them so you can see me as I really am.”
“You just want to show me off as the girl you bagged at the fraternity party,” she accused me.
“Is it so bad that I want to show you off? Every guy there will be envious of me because of who I have on my arm. But that’s true for any place I could take you. At some point, you need to realize that you’re special.”
“Nice save,” she told me.
OMG! I was making headway. I paid our bill and we walked to her car. I pulled her to a stop and kissed her.
“What was that for?” she asked.
“I knew you were curious, and I didn’t want you worrying about it the rest of the night.”
I just laughed when she rolled her eyes at me.
I think it took all of thirty seconds for word to spread that I had brought Nancy. I was surprised when the guys were on their best behavior. She joined in on the games and soon won them over. I watched as she made a point to meet each one. I introduced her to my dad. I think she was surprised he was there, but they hit it off. She took him aside and he was soon telling her stories about me. I could see through her evil plans.
At ten-thirty, she took me back to my dorm because I had a curfew.
“So? Same time, same place, tomorrow?” I asked her.
“Are you up for meeting my sorority sisters?”
“Of course.”
“Then we’ll have dinner at the house. What do you want to do after that?” she asked me.
I leaned over and kissed her as an answer. She shook her head as I got out of the car.
Friday June 12
I WAS SURPRISED WHEN John and I were met by ten guys who wanted to run with us. They were a mix of Washington and Lincoln players. John ran us through the business district near campus. You felt like you were in a smaller town than the half-million population in and around Lexington.
I was in a good mood when we went for breakfast.
“Good morning, men. It’s a wonderful day in Lexington,” I announced.
“I’m worried about you,” Mike said.
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“I’ve never seen you this cheerful. Something has to be wrong,” he teased me.
My phone dinged. It was a text from Tami. I was free to talk, so I called her back.
“Good morning.”
“Someone’s happy. Did we meet a new girl?” Tami asked.
“Yes, we did, but that’s not the only reason I’m happy. I get to play football today.”
“Yeah, let’s skip the football junk. Tell me about Nancy,” Tami ordered me.
“Why don’t we cut out the middleman and I give you her cell number?”
“Good boy, I see my training is taking effect.”
I did, and she hung up on me. I turned to the table.
“Okay, who’s Tami’s mole?”
“Sorry, man. I talked to Suzanne before going to bed last night, and she asked about you. I guess I’m the leak,” Jim confessed.
“Who’s Tami?” Isaac asked me.
“She’s my best friend. I thought I was free from her web of spies, but she found me even here. It really is no big deal. She’s been keeping tabs on me since we were six years old. I just like to uncover her sources of information,” I told him.
“Sounds like she’s a little bit of a stalker,” Isaac offered.
“Maybe, but she keeps me out of trouble.”
WE HAD SOME TIME BEFORE we needed to be in camp, so I went and lifted. Coach Braun caught me as I was leaving.