Junior Year Box Set

Waiting for me at my car after football practice were Brook and Cassidy. Cassidy I expected, because we planned to go to the dojo and let her whack me with batons again. Brook was a surprise. I decided to keep her off-balance, so I walked up and gave her a kiss. There was something there between us, and we didn’t stop until Cassidy cleared her throat. I let go of Brook and then pulled Cassidy into a kiss as well. Cassidy was shocked at first, but she was into it once we got started.

“What do you think you’re doing?” a male voice asked.

I turned to see Coach Hope right behind me with a scowl on his face. I released Cassidy like she was radioactive and then pushed her between us.

“Hi, Daddy! David was just thanking me for teaching him,” Cassidy said.

While Cassidy distracted her dad, I took the opportunity to use my key fob to unlock my Jeep and get into the driver’s seat. Brook was faster than Cassidy and got shotgun. I pulled out of the school parking lot with Coach staring daggers into my retreating taillights. I hoped he calmed down before he saw me again.

Once we had made our escape, I turned to Brook to figure out why she was with us.

“Do I need to drop you off somewhere?” I asked.

“Cassidy told me you go to the dojo several times a week. I thought it would be fun to learn how to protect myself. Cassidy said they have a beginners class that’s available while she works with you.”

At the dojo, I introduced Brook to Shiggy and got her signed up. He suggested she watch the beginners class for the first day. While Brook did that, Cassidy decided to have us work on our forms. Her dad had made a rule that she was not to potentially injure me the day before a game. I liked to do forms because it stretched me and I could lose myself in the physical activity. Cassidy wanted me to focus and clear my mind of everything else. The mental exercise was as important as creating the muscle memory. It also helped me with football. With Cassidy’s training, I was able to get into the zone much more readily on the field and block out the circus that surrounded our games now.

The time at the dojo flew by, and before I knew it, Cassidy reached over and swatted my butt to get my attention. I heard Brook giggle when she saw my startled look from the sudden contact. Shiggy was with her and just shook his head.

“How was your first day of class?” I asked Brook.

“Exhausting. I’m also starving. You need to feed me,” she said.

I rolled my eyes because she was full of it. I’d seen her lounging around and watching the first class. How exhausting could that be? I could already tell that Brook was going to be a handful. I also thought she might be able to read my mind. We had the ingredients to make chicken enchiladas at home.

“How does Mexican sound?” I asked.

“Great!” Cassidy said.

“I’ll make dinner. Call your dad and see if he wants to come over,” I told Cassidy.

He had dinner about once a week at our house, now that Brad had gone off to college. Neither Coach Hope nor Cassidy was what you’d consider much of a cook, so they jumped at the chance to eat a home-cooked meal. Cassidy went to call her dad when I saw Shiggy lurking.

“You can come too,” I said to him.

He just smiled at me and went to take a shower and change. That left Brook and me alone.

“Do you always have people over for dinner?”

“Sometimes. With my brother and his family out of the house, it’s nice to have company. Plus, I cook better for a crowd than for just myself,” I explained.

I was on my own tonight. Mom and Dad had started to have date nights, and tonight was one of them. I really didn’t like to come home to an empty house. We waited for Shiggy after Cassidy confirmed that her dad would join us. Cassidy claimed shotgun on the ride to my house. When we got there, Coach Hope was waiting for us.

“It’s a nice night. Why don’t we eat outside?” Coach suggested.

We had a patio table big enough for everyone to eat at. Shiggy and Coach wiped down the table and got everyone drinks while I was in the kitchen making dinner. Brook and Cassidy were my helpers. I made corn and flour tortilla enchiladas in separate baking dishes. Brook took on the task of making cheese quesadillas. I showed Cassidy how to make guacamole. I prepared a salad while they were working on their dishes. Then I created a simple dressing out of sour cream and salsa for the salad.

The girls helped me bring everything out, and we had a nice dinner together. I watched Brook as she took it all in. I think she’d been taking my measure the last few days, and when she saw everyone having a good time, Brook seemed to relax. I don’t know what she thought, or what her dad had warned her about, but she appeared to be in a better frame of mind once dinner finished.

When everyone else left, Brook helped me get everything into the dishwasher. We just chatted like an old married couple. It looked like she wanted to say something, so I let her find the right time to say it.

“You’re nothing like I expected,” she finally said.

“How’s that?” I asked.