She just kissed my cheek and left me to figure this out for myself. I ended up in a boys-room stall, taking care of Mr. Happy. I could tell it just took the edge off a little. I needed to get laid.
AT LUNCH, THE GIRLS were all wrapped up with their vampire show. I guess the guys were ‘just dreamy.’ Nick and I zoned out. When there was a break in the conversation, I became aware they’d gone quiet. I snapped out of it and looked at Nick to find him staring at me, too. I must have missed something important.
“Huh?” I mumbled.
“Tracy told us you were a big-game hunter, and only went after really hot girls. She said you have stupid skills when it comes to talking to girls. We were wondering if you could show us?” Piper asked.
I got a gleam in my eye. This sounded like fun.
“Who do you want me to go after?” I asked.
They all raised their hands. Nick didn’t seem pleased when Kylie was about to come out of her seat. I needed to set them straight.
“Okay, slow down. I need to talk to you all. First of all, I like you all a lot,” I told them.
“Crap, he’s breaking up with us,” Emma moaned.
“Funny you should say that. I’m used to going out with older women. It would be a terrible idea for your first boyfriend to be me. Ask Gina Tasman, she’ll tell you I’m a slut,” I said, to their chuckles. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll help you all find boyfriends if you’ll find me women who are willing to put up with me.”
Emma kicked Nick and me out so they could talk. We dumped our trays and went outside. I wanted his help because I didn’t know the freshman guys as well as he did. We went and sat under my favorite thinking tree.
“Who d’you know who you’d let date one of the girls? Keep in mind, I think of them as little sisters and would be pissed if they got taken advantage of,” I told Nick.
“Wayne Turk and Ray Quinn are two of my friends. They’d treat them right.”
Wayne and Ray both played football and were freshmen. Wayne played cornerback, and Ray was a linebacker. I knew who they were, but not well enough to recommend them. I believed Nick, but I needed to get to know them better before I allowed them to date my girls.
I mentally slapped myself. Where did ‘my girls’ come from? This wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought. I looked up, and they’d found us and sat down next to us. I couldn’t read them. I looked at Nick and I think he was a little scared. That made me chuckle.
“What are you laughing about?” Emma asked me.
“I think you’re scaring Nick.”
They all looked at him and smiled. He seemed to relax.
“So, what did you ladies decide?” I asked.
“We’re not ready to date yet; well, everyone but Kylie,” Emma told me. “We still want to do things with you, but we understand you want to date, so we’ll help you find someone. We just need to know what you’re looking for.”
“First of all, I’m not looking for a girlfriend. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to go out, I’m just not looking for a serious commitment,” I started out.
I was still hurting over Tami leaving. I was finding that our breakup, for lack of a better word, was affecting me more than losing Tracy ever had. A big reason had been Tami. I always knew she and I would eventually get together. She’d been my safety net. I was finding myself hesitant to put myself into a position where I might get hurt again. I was positive I didn’t like it because I was horny. I just couldn’t seem to get past it, though. I think my survival instincts had kicked in. I couldn’t allow anyone to get close to me again ... at least, not right now ... because Tami leaving hurt too much.
“If you ask me my type, I’m okay with just about anyone as long as they have a personality and are fun to be around. I also don’t need bossy, clingy, needy ... I think you get my point.”
“So, Emma’s out of the picture,” Piper, her sister, teased me.
“Exactly!” I agreed.
Emma gave us both her teen girl ‘look’ that told us we were idiots.
“You don’t care if they look like a regular girl?” Faith asked.
I laughed.
“I’m not opposed to a good-looking girl, I just want her to be smart enough to be able to have a conversation every once in a while,” I leered.
“I assume you’re looking for a good time, too,” Carmen stated.
I hated to admit it, but I wanted to get laid.
“Yes, I’m used to a good time. I’d like them to not be a blushing virgin,” I fessed up.
“If I got more experience, you’d consider me?” Kylie asked.
“NO!” I said before Nick could wrap his mind around what his girlfriend had just said.
“Two rules. The first is I will not date someone who’s dating someone else. That’s a huge deal-breaker for me. The second is I really will not date anyone younger than me,” I told them and then turned to Kylie. “I would be very disappointed in you if you tried to get experience just to go out with me. That goes for all of you. Looking back, I wish I’d waited to have sex. I didn’t even date my first afterward. Your first time should be special, and with someone you care about. Don’t rush to grow up. I’m a terrible role model, as far as that’s concerned.”
“Are you still willing to teach us stuff?” Emma asked.
I gave her a curious look.
“Carmela, Ann, and Gabriella would like to learn what you taught us this summer,” she clarified.
Did I really want to do that? Crap, Mr. Happy was back. He voted ‘yes.’ He had a one-track mind, though. I looked up and Nick had a funny look. I suddenly wished he wasn’t here. I didn’t want word of what we’d done getting around. I gave him a hard look.
“Nick, I need to tell you something. My brother was a legend around here. He dated many girls and never had one of them mad at him when they broke up. I’m going to give you some advice, and I hope you pay attention: if someone tells you something in confidence, or you do something with someone, you need to keep it to yourself. These ladies have entrusted you with information, which if it got out, would hurt them. Do you understand what I’m telling you?” I asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“If I hear of anything they shared with us getting around school, I’ll track you down,” I said, leaving no doubt what I was talking about.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” he assured me.
I then turned my attention to Carmela, Ann and Gabriella.
“Do you know what they’re talking about?” I asked.
They shook their heads ‘no.’
“Talk to Emma in private. If you decide you want me to help, I will.”
The bell rang, to my relief.
OUR BUS PULLED UP AT Washington High. There were about twenty Washington fans there to greet us. This was new. They were rabid Washington supporters, based on the comments we were hearing. One held a sign with my picture on it with a circle and a slash through it. Under the picture, it said ‘D-Roid.’ It made me laugh. It was creative to try to pin the steroids on me. I think the poor girl holding the sign just about shit when I walked right up to her.
“Now that’s funny. The guys will be giving me a new nickname, ‘Droid,’” I told her good-naturedly.
She started chanting, “DROID, DROID, DROID ...!”
I grinned and walked into the locker room. I had no one to blame but myself for that one.
I COULD SEE THE GUYS were nervous. Most of them had never played varsity ball before. I had them gather around.
“Lighten up! This is what we’ve been working for. Let’s go have fun,” I said.
I could see that my attempt didn’t work. I looked at Wolf.
“Tell them one of your jokes.”
He thought for a moment.
“I have a cure for you if you have a bad cough that just won’t stop. Take a laxative, then you’ll be too scared to cough.”