Junior Year Box Set

“Send his parents a bill,” I teased, winking at Brandon in the rearview mirror.

He took notes and Alan looked worried. I just let him think I wasn’t paying for him. Alan looked at Tami, and she gave it away.

“‘Stupid boy,’” Alan mumbled.

“What did you say?” I asked.

“Nothing,” he shot back.

“After the game, there’ll be something for the players only. Everyone else is free until the next morning. There’ll be a breakfast, and then you’ll work out. It’s my understanding that two other quarterbacks will be here this weekend, Felix Johnson from Miami, Florida, and Ben Luck from Springfield, Missouri,” Brandon said.

“Flee! I hope he brought Candy,” Tami said.

Flee had been at my camps at Ohio State and Alabama. He had also made it to the Elite 11 competition. His size was an issue for many of the programs he wanted to play football for. I was glad Flee had picked Northwestern as a possible destination. He would be a good fit for their style of play. I also knew Ben. He had been one of the quarterbacks in my group at the camp in Houston. While Ben had been one of the better quarterbacks, I felt Flee was the better player. It would be interesting to see what they both did in their workouts for Northwestern.

“Offers will be made after the workouts,” Brandon said. “Of course, you already have one from them, from when you came to a game last year.”

As I drove, Tami and Alan talked poor Brandon’s ear off. I’d picked up on Brandon saying that Tami and Alan wouldn’t go to the after-game festivities. I had been worried about Tami, and me potentially having to watch as a college guy picked her up. I was nowhere near ready to experience that. It was one thing to theoretically talk about Tami wanting to date other guys; it was quite another to watch it.

◊◊◊

We stopped at the hotel first to get everyone checked in. I was surprised that Tami was rooming with me. Alan and Brandon had a room. When we unpacked, I questioned Tami about it because there was only a king-size bed.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“If you hadn’t noticed, this is a big game for Northwestern, and there wasn’t another room available. I had to choose between rooming with you or with Brandon. While he’s cute, I prefer your company,” she explained.

Tami could tell I wasn’t ready for this and came over to me and gave me a hug.

“I’m sorry,” she began. “I know this is hard on you, but you need to get past it. At some point, you might even see me with a guy.”

“Why are you really here?” I asked.

Tami could have visited Northwestern any weekend she wanted to. She had a car, after all. It wasn’t as if she had to come with me.

“How are you doing, knowing you have another brother?”

I guess my mom had talked to her because I hadn’t revealed that tidbit of information to anyone outside the family. As far as anyone knew, including Phil, he was my uncle. I hadn’t heard from my parents since they’d gone to Las Vegas to talk through their issues. When Mom found out about Phil, she was madder than I had ever seen her.

I’d been shocked to discover my dad had strayed from his wedding vows. He was the one Dawson I thought would always be faithful to his spouse. I figured it was just a matter of time before Greg and Uncle John slipped. I was somewhat surprised Greg hadn’t already. I thought his chances of staying faithful were going up because of Kyle, Mac, and Nate. Combine that with Angie being a total babe, even as a MILF. I worried about my brother still, because he’d been used to a variety of women while in high school. Greg also seemed very interested in hearing about my exploits.

I always felt I was more like my dad. I wanted a woman to love, and it would be just the two of us. When I found out he had a son out of wedlock, I didn’t really know what to think. For the first time in my life, I felt disappointed in him. Not necessarily for cheating on Mom, but more for how the whole situation had been handled. I could never have a son and not be part of his life, and I’d thought my dad was the same way. I never doubted he loved Greg and me. How could he turn his back on Phil all these years? I was also disappointed in my grandpa for helping cover it up.

“Did you talk to my mom?” I asked.

“Yes. Don’t worry about her. She’s working through it and still loves your dad. She also recognizes she mistreated you and is sorry.”

I realized I was still angry with my mother. She’d forced me to stay home from the party where Mona had ended up in bed with Mike. Everything considered, I was better off knowing what a complete ass Mike was, and that Mona would do what she did. But I still had a hard time with how Mom had handled it. Something I’d thought I could count on was complete honesty with my parents. Any and all topics were fair game. We had very frank discussions within our household, but my new half brother, and everything he entailed, was an entirely new ballgame.