Junior Year Box Set

I didn’t plan to run today because it was near certain that Coach Hope would run our butts off on the first day of practice. This was always my favorite time of year. I didn’t have any injuries and felt great. Plus, this was when every football player across America thought they were going to have a great season. The first day of practice was always filled with optimism. I decided to go ahead and dress for practice, instead of waiting until I got to the locker room. I put some street clothes into my duffle bag and set my slightly upset dog free.

If you ever want a Lab to come to you for affection, just ignore him. Duke was a people-pleaser to the nth degree and couldn’t stand it if you pushed him away. I rolled my eyes as Duke acted cute and nudged my hand so I would scratch his ears. I couldn’t stay mad at him, so I complied. I had to chuckle when I realized he had me trained pretty well. Who was in charge here, anyway?

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, Duke became alert. This told me the Callahans’ cat, Precious, was lurking somewhere outside. Precious was the terror of the neighborhood who had somehow adopted my pup. She seemed to keep an eye on him but made a point of stalking him and putting him in his place on a regular basis. Duke was almost quivering with excitement when I opened the back door. He went from zero to sixty in a second as he bounded straight at Precious, who had her back turned to him. I tried to grab his collar to save him, but he wasn’t passing up this opportunity to roll his friend/nemesis.

Ever watch National Geographic where the lion stalks its prey only to have events turned on him? Precious had laid the trap perfectly. When Duke was only a couple of lopes from success, she flipped around and let out a yowl that froze me in terror. Your typical house cat did not sound like a bobcat in attack mode. Duke realized his mistake and tried to dodge the leaping feline, but went sprawling. Precious sailed over him, which saved Duke from certain death, or that’s what it looked like. He got up with as much dignity as possible in a situation like that, and Precious walked up to him and rubbed up to his side.

I shook my head as they bounded into the back yard so Duke could take care of his initial business and then do his main job: squirrel patrol. I let them chase each other and run off some energy before calling Duke and sending him in to get his morning loving from my mom and dad. I about shit when Precious darted into the house after him. I reached down to stop her, but she took a swipe at me, and I jerked my hand back. She was out of sight before I got to the kitchen. My mom was going to be pissed.

“David Allen Dawson!” Mom yelled.

I grabbed a towel to protect myself with and quickly walked to my parents’ bedroom. I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing when I saw Duke had claimed my mom’s pillow and Precious had my dad’s. Both my parents had a healthy respect for the damage Brit’s cat could do and were pressed against the wall.

“Get that cat out of my bed!” Mom ordered.

I tossed the towel to Dad.

“Throw it over her and then you can pick her up,” I suggested.

Who would have believed your own parent would say such things about you? Ever since I saved Precious from the mastiff, she’d been okay with me. Well, ‘okay’ might be too strong a term; she tolerated me. I told Duke to get off the bed, then reached down and Precious let me pick her up. She eyed my dad and hissed. For some reason that cat hated men. I suspected Brit’s brothers had done something or somethings awful to her, which pissed me off. She might be the cat from hell, but she was still a pet, and someone loved her. Duke and I took Precious home while my parents got their day started. Brit answered the door and smiled when she saw what I had in my arms.

“What did she do this time?” Brit asked.

“She followed Duke into our house this morning and chased my parents out of their bed,” I said with a big grin.

I needed to wipe the amused look off my face before I got home, or Mom would skin me alive. I started to leave, but Brit touched my arm to stop me.

“I need to ask you something,” she said and looked down nervously. I just waited her out. “They’re having cheerleader tryouts today. I’m on the fence as to whether or not I should go out. My brothers are against it. They say you only date cheerleaders, and that there’s no way they’d allow that.”

I cocked my head in confusion. Did she want to go out with me, or be a cheerleader? I reached out and caressed her chin so she would look up at me. Brit blushed as she looked me in the eyes. While attractive, in a blonde, big-breasted Nordic Goddess sort of way—which I was totally into—I had never made a move on her because I knew her brothers wouldn’t approve. They would be blocking for me, after all, because they had been penciled in as starters on the offensive line.