Junior Year Box Set

For the other days, I had the knowledge needed to coach the skill positions and also the linebacker and defensive back positions. Don Crown and Tom Wells showed some real skill as receivers. Don and Tom were also new to Lincoln High. They had lived in smaller towns that weren’t noted for football, but they were stars on their teams. They hoped that by playing at Lincoln, they could position themselves to get college scholarships.

On defense, Yuri and Ray Quinn showed me they were going to start at outside linebacker. Nick Rake and Wayne Turk looked to lock down the cornerback positions. It was good to see some of the juniors step up and begin to earn playing time on varsity.

When I was done, I was impressed by how hard everyone had worked this summer. I felt like we had a serious shot at repeating as state champs for a third straight time.

◊◊◊

Destiny Crown was another problem altogether. On Tuesday, I seriously debated whether I should go to the park. I was a teenage male, after all. But too many red flags had gone up while I talked to her Monday night. As I’d guessed, she had an idea who I was. I hate to admit this, but she might be more of a slut than I was. For some reason, when I believed she was in college, I was okay with it. When I found out she was my age, I had a problem. I knew I had no room to talk, but I got the vibe that she might have had sex with anyone who’d shown up. That caused my whole ‘women I’m with are mine’ stance to fly out the window.

Instead, I walked next door and knocked.

“What has Precious done this time? I’ll get Brit,” Brock said and turned to go find his sister.

“Hang on. I wanted to talk to you.”

“That cat’s not around, is it?” he asked as he peeked out the back door.

“Last I saw her, she was tormenting Duke,” I said to calm him down. “I wanted to know if you and your brother would help me out this morning.”

“If Duke takes care of Precious, we’ll be more than happy to hide the evidence,” he said and showed me a fresh scratch mark on his arm.

I didn’t feel sorry for him in the least.

“Do you have condoms?” I asked.

All concerns about the cat from hell left his mind.

“Bryan, get your butt down here. David needs our help,” Brock called.

When I had them both at the back door, I explained.

“You know the new guy, Don Crown?” I asked.

“Yeah, he just moved here. He’s pretty good,” Bryan said.

“He has a sister who’s our age and going to be a cheerleader. I met her Sunday at the park before I knew who she was. Let’s just say that we had some fun. She’s expecting me for an encore performance this morning.

“Brook wasn’t happy when she found out I was spending time with one of her cheerleaders, so I decided that I’d better not go,” I admitted.

I figured that was better than telling them what I really thought. I would also hope that if one of my teammates came across a similar opportunity, they would keep me in mind. The two dorks laughed at me. It seems I might have a reputation for spending time with cheerleaders.

“What exactly did you want from us?” Bryan asked.

“I thought you two might head over to the park and … ah … see if she was in the mood to get to know you better,” I suggested.

“What’s wrong with her?” Brock asked.

“Dude, she’s a cheerleader and has the right moral attitude. You want to help me out, or do I need to find someone who will?” I asked.

“I don’t know about my brother, but I’ll take one for the team,” Bryan said with a big smile.

“Just don’t go blabbing about this. Her brother is one of our teammates,” I reminded them.

Later that day at football practice, two very happy boys tried to hug me to death. All they would say to their teammates was that they should do whatever I asked because they wouldn’t regret it. By the end of the week, they’d broken up with the Hernandez cousins and were now dating Destiny. I’d forgotten they were still dating Carmela and Gabriella. I’d assumed that like most high school romances, they’d broken up by now. Personally, I thought they’d made a serious mistake. I got a bad vibe from Destiny and doubted she’d be faithful to them.

Brook wanted to take me to task when she figured it out, but I think she was just happy that Destiny was off the market. She did recommend that I talk to her before having any other bright ideas. I just shrugged it off. I didn’t need anyone running my life.

◊◊◊

Tonight, I’d volunteered to watch all the little ones so that my parents, Greg, Angie, and Peggy could all have a night off from childcare. I probably should have called Brook about this bright idea beforehand. The kids were either overexcited that their Unca David was watching them or they were cranky. Both Little David and Coby had picked up summer colds. Coby’s had turned into an ear infection, so he was pulling at his ears and fussing.