“If we were in Hollywood, your offer to show quote-unquote ‘appreciation’ would have meant something different,” Rita clued me in.
“Oh, OOOOHHH,” I said, late on getting it, and joined them in laughing. “I guess if that’s a job requirement …”
“David!” Halle complained.
“I’m sorry, I was just teasing. If I stepped over any lines …” I started.
“Are you sure he can play a stuck-up jock?” Rita asked.
“Hey, cheerleader-type, go get me a Coke while I hit on your mom,” I told Halle.
Halle’s eyes got big, then she realized I was playing along with her mom. I told them my parents were out of town, and they took pity on me and fed me. Rita turned out to be a lot of fun. She told me stories about the famous people she had met and worked with.
Halle gave me a quick kiss and sent me home. I was almost to my car when Fritz appeared out of nowhere. I mean literally, one minute he wasn’t there and the next he stood next to me. I almost hit him; he surprised me that much. Fritz asked me where I worked out, so I told him about Shiggy’s Dojo. That reminded me I needed to get my butt back to training with Cassidy. It was like anything else, you only got out of it what you put into it.
◊◊◊
When I got home, Mona was in my apartment. I was starting to wonder if I should just get a new lock because every girl I knew must have the code to get in. I had to let Duke out and take him for a walk, or he’d be up all night. I also needed to run off some of his adolescent energy. We decided to head to the park.
“Where were you?” Mona asked.
“Halle needed a ride home, and I got to meet her mother. I found out she’s involved in the next movie I’m doing.”
Mona looked nervous. I think we both knew how fragile our dating alliance was, especially after the Mike incident. I handed Mona the tennis ball I had grabbed before we left. She let Duke off his leash and threw the ball. Sucker! He, of course, came back with it and it was slimed with puppy mouth. Mona was a champ, though, and threw it again.
“Halle and I met during the shooting of Star Academy and became friends. We were the only ones the same age, so it made sense,” I said.
“Bullshit, you’re not fooling me. She’s hot, and I saw the tabloids. There was more there than just you two being friends.”
“Can I tell you something and it just stays between us?” I asked, and she nodded. “Halle and I only kissed. I don’t think she has ever, you know…”
“Are you telling me I have two virgins on varsity?” Mona asked.
It took me a second, but then I realized she was talking about Zoe, which caused me to smile.
“Shhhhit! You’re going to be the death of me,” Mona said.
“Why, what did I do?”
“Oh, let’s see,” she said as she threw the ball for Duke and started listing off my problems. “You get your heart handed to you by probably the dumbest smart girl I know in Tami. You have my resident crazy girl in Tracy, who thinks you hung the moon and is secretly in love with you. I have a surfer girl in Pam, who thinks you two are just friends, but everyone knows there’s more. Zoe and Halle, my two virgins, would give it up to you. Then I have my problem child, Brook, who’s determined to steal you from me.
“When you finally get your head out of your ass and quit singing the blues, I might have actual bloodshed during a game. They’ll be clawing each other’s eyes out to see who gets first shot at you,” Mona explained.
I gave her a leer.
“You mean Brook wants to do something naughty with me?”
“If I hadn’t had a talk with her, she would have moved in with you by now.”
I smiled and then got a serious look on my face.
“We need to talk,” I said.
Mona must have expected this because she didn’t even flinch when I said it.
“We never agreed to be with just each other,” was her opening gambit. “Mike’s not a nice guy, but I’m not completely innocent in all this. I’ve been attracted to Mike for a long time. I could have said ‘no.’”
Mona had finally confirmed what I’d thought. There hadn’t been the outrage there was this summer when something similar had occurred. If Mona hadn’t been okay with what had happened, Mike would have had his family jewels handed to him. What pissed me off was his personal attack by going after Mona. Mike knew what he did, and now I knew Mona was not averse to it happening.
The Alpha Male in me reared his ugly head, and now I wanted to find Mike and tear his head off. Mike had been the Big Man on Campus since middle school. He could have had any girl he wanted. I’d heard from Tami that she thought Mike had a cute butt. Maybe if his butt had some dents in it, it wouldn’t be so cute. The other person hurt in all this was Gina. I considered her a much better friend than Mike ever was. At this moment, I regretted agreeing to allow Mike to remain on the team. Deep inside I’d known it was a mistake at the time.
Now I had to decide what to do with Mona. The obvious answer was that this faux-girlfriend bit was bullshit. I should never have done that. I didn’t need a false front to protect me. I was strong enough to say I wasn’t ready to be in a relationship right now. I also didn’t need to lie to my friends.
“I’m out as far as being your boyfriend. If you want to date Mike, feel free,” I said with a little more heat in my voice than I’d intended.
“Hang on. I never said I wanted to date Mike.”
“Sorry, I didn’t really mean that, but the fact is I don’t want to date you anymore.”
“What’s your deal? Peggy put up with you sleeping around, but if the shoe’s on the other foot, you have a problem? What the hell, David?”
“My hell is you were my fake girlfriend. I no longer want a fake anything. Go screw whoever you want, and I’ll do the same. Let’s just be honest about it,” I said.
My words took the steam out of her.
“I still don’t get what I did that made you so mad,” Mona said.
“Take us out of the equation. Another person was hurt by what you two did,” I said.
“Gina.”
“Yes, Gina. The poor girl was happy dating Mike until you decided to, well, you know,” I said, trying not to get too graphic. “Did you think it okay to help him cheat on her?”
Mona wouldn’t look at me for a minute. Duke came back, and she tossed his ball. Then she looked at me and nodded.
“I get it. You’re right, it was a pretty shitty thing to do. Is Gina okay?” Mona asked.
“No, she is most definitely not okay. That’s why I have the rule about not dating anyone who’s with someone else. First, I’m not that guy. Second, it’s a sure way to ruin friendships.”
“So, no more faux relationship?” she asked.
“No more lies,” I said.
“Does that mean you want to be my real boyfriend?” she asked.
I will never understand women. My confusion caused Mona to laugh. It took me a moment to realize she had just pulled my leg, so to speak. We both laughed at that. I pulled Mona into my arms and gently kissed her. While I didn’t want to date Mona, Mr. Happy still liked her.
“My first time was on the little island. There’s an area where no one can see us. Want to help me recreate some memories?” I asked.
Mona glanced around, nervous someone might see us. Before she had a chance to chicken out, I took her hand and led her through the bushes into the private area that had a picnic table. The only people that might be able to see us were any who happened to be on the other side of the lake, but there were no paths in that area, so I was reasonably confident we wouldn’t be seen.
“I don’t know,” Mona started, but I kissed her to slow down her saying flat out ‘no.’
Duke came over and showed us he had his ball.
“Park it,” I said and pointed under the picnic table; he crawled under and lay down.
Mona stopped kissing me, and I spun her around so I was leaning against the picnic table and she was wrapped in my arms. I wanted her to see how secluded this spot really was. I leaned down and kissed her neck.