Chapter 4: The End of Summer 1995 (9th Grade)

Fortunately, the next few weeks passed by fairly uneventfully. The team recognized the conflict that was probably inevitable and both the coaches and other players tried to keep us fairly separated. Rachel was right; I made it past the tryouts and was given a slot in the program. Until school started, we had practice twice a day, six days a week.

In the mornings, I would wake up and Rachel would pick me up and drive me to practice. She'd wait with me through practice then drive me back to the farm so I could work all day before the afternoon practice. When my work day was finished, I'd get a ride from someone in the family back to the school fields. After practice, I'd shower and change into clean clothes and get picked up by Rachel. We'd usually get some dinner on my dime and then head to a party, a movie, or any number of other date-like activities. But inevitably, I'd fall asleep. I saw half of about six movies in those weeks.

And of course, our sex-life definitely suffered because I was so exhausted from work and practice. A few times, instead of going out, Rachel would just park her car behind a building and we'd have awkward car-sex. It wasn't very satisfying, but it let us know we were both still hot for each other, just too busy and tired to get real time for sex.

The last Saturday before school started, the coaches gathered us all together in the morning and started separating us into two groups, Varsity and Junior Varsity. I noticed that myself and about five other guys all sophomores and freshman like me were left over. Coach Haskell, a history teacher and head of the school athletics department as well as the head football coach, said, "The six of you are all going to be playing for both teams. You'll each probably be starting on the JV team, but you'll also suit up as backups for the Varsity team. If you do play during a Varsity game in more than one quarter, even if it's just for a single snap in each quarter, you will not be eligible to play on the JV team in their next game, so remember that. Our program uses JV as training and practice to better shape future players, but each of you exhibits talent that can be used possibly on the Varsity team.

"However, in the past there have been players who were upset because they went from playing most of a JV game to playing only a few minutes in a Varsity game. If you don't think you can handle the position we're asking you to take in this program, you need to speak to Coach Norris sometime today." Coach Norris was a geology teacher and the JV coach. From all my time with him over the last few weeks, I knew I was going to enjoy playing for him and also probably enjoy having him as a teacher. He was a fairly young guy amongst the coaching staff, only in his twenties, so it was easy to get along with him and his easy-going ways.

Probably the best thing about playing for the JV was the coaches, because while Coach Norris was fun and easy to get along with, his Assistant Coach was definitely worth the two-a-days. Miss Norris was absolutely gorgeous. Coach Norris's wife was the school's biology teacher, and in the spring, she was the Women's Track & Field coach, but in the fall, she joined her husband to help out with the football program. Rumor was, ever since they'd both joined the school and the football program, the team had been better conditioned and played better.

Supposedly, the school board was already grooming the Norrises to take over the school's football program when old Coach Haskell retired. But none of us on the JV wanted that to happen too soon, because Assistant Coach Norris was one fine looking woman. While she may have been twenty-five or twenty-six years old, she looked like she could go to this school as a senior. She was tall, probably just under six feet, and leggy. Her long tan legs seemed like they took up most of her body. She wore very short shorts which further showed off their perfection and worse, often caused the players uncomfortable issues with their cups.

Miss Norris, as she liked to be called even though she was a Mrs., was built like a goddess. Her long blond hair was nearly always pulled into a loose ponytail, but a few times we caught glances of her pulling it out of the ponytail and her hair would simply fall around her head and shoulders like a mane of golden perfection. To top it off, though she hid them fairly well, her perfect breasts were quite impossible to hide all the time.

I remember one day during afternoon practice when a large senior offensive lineman bumped into her with a full cup of water and spilled it all over her white Vallivue High School Football t-shirt. She also had on a windbreaker, her staple device for hiding her bosoms, but when soaked, she pulled off the windbreaker and the entire team suddenly seemed to freeze and stare at the wet t-shirt encasing her large breasts. It wasn't until the third or fourth whistle that the team seemed to snap out of it and continue with the practice.

We all ran several extra laps that afternoon, but I also nearly attacked Rachel when she picked me up. We didn't eat dinner until late that night after filling a couple of condoms full of my sperm. During dinner, she'd actually guessed pretty accurately at why I'd been so randy that evening. If I remember right, she asked me over a plate of French fries if Miss Norris had bent over in front of me that day. I was so speechless, I remember Rachel just laughing and nodding, saying, "I thought it was something like that."

That last Saturday of practice though, after the six of us were singled out and told we'd be suiting up for both teams, Coach Norris took the JV to the other practice field and started shouting out assignments. I was both pleased and surprised to learn I'd be starting as a Safety. I knew I'd probably be playing defense, as I wasn't consistent when it came to carrying and catching the ball, but I also felt I had a good head for the game and I really loved to tackle. But I'd been worried that because I was already bigger than most of the other players, I'd end up on the defensive line, which was not where I wanted to be.

Luckily, though I'd started to fill out from all the hard work on the farm, I still had a fairly gangly build. Coach Norris told the six of us who'd be playing for both teams that while we would probably be backing up the same positions on the Varsity, that we should be prepared to play just about anywhere on the Varsity team if they needed us. Then he broke us into offense and defense. We ran through a few simple plays on both sides working each play until it was learned.

By the time morning practice was over, the change in gears from heavy workouts to the mental exercise of reading the offense/defense and learning plays was already taking a toll on many of my team mates. Some of the guys, mostly talentless sophomores, already knew these plays, but even so, it was still hard work for most of the team. For me, it came easily.

When we broke, most of the team would hit the showers before heading home, but it was already my custom to just shrug out of my pads and practice uniform and put on work clothes for the day ahead. When I came out of the locker room, I headed through the double doors leading outside and I saw Rachel leaning against her car and reading a book waiting for me. But when I started heading towards her, Miss Norris cut me off, her piercing violet-colored eyes boring into me.

"You know, I've noticed that you don't shower before heading home like the rest of the team. It's not very good hygiene, Nathan," she said with a concerned look on her face.

I shrugged, "A shower wouldn't make much sense Miss Norris. Thirty minutes from now I'll just be getting dirty again."

"Oh?" Miss Norris lifted her eyebrow inquisitively and glanced back behind her at Rachel. "Well, you might be getting dirty, but your girlfriend would probably appreciate you smelling a bit nicer."

If I'd been drinking water when she'd said that, I would have probably drowned from inhaling it. Instead, I simply stammered, "N ... No. It ... it's not like that. Rachel drives me home so I can work on the farm. That's what I meant ... I mean, that's why I don't shower. Because I'll be getting ... um ... dirty from work."

Miss Norris laughed. It was musical and made my already stiffening cock shiver in excitement. "Oh! I see. I'm sorry. So you've been working every day this summer between practices!?"

I nodded.

"Oh my! You should have told us! We didn't know your family needed you to work so badly. The coaches probably would have made an exception so you could only be required one practice a day. Running and exercising in this heat is hard enough twice a day, but working a full day between those practices ... it could have killed you."

I shrugged, "I'm fine. Really. And I didn't have to work. I wanted to work. My parents pay me pretty well and I like what I do and the money I earn. I want to play football and I'll do the work that's required. Mostly, these last few weeks I've really only been neglecting my girlfriend. It's hard to stay awake in the evenings."

Miss Norris nodded, "Well, this afternoon's practice will be short and mostly more of what we did this morning, so you shouldn't be so tired this evening. You should definitely do something special for Rachel tonight."

I glanced at Rachel who I could see was trying very hard to watch Miss Norris and me without looking up from her book. I could feel the jealousy and intrigue boiling out of her from fifty feet away. "You're right Miss Norris! I really should do something fun with her tonight. Thanks for the suggestion." I smiled and then jogged past her towards Rachel.

Normally, Rachel would kiss me before pushing me away and telling me that I stank before driving home, but today, Rachel grabbed onto me and nearly swallowed my tongue. When she did release me, I glanced out of the corner of my eye and saw the reason—Miss Norris was watching us, and Rachel was simply marking her territory, like any good predator does. It was fascinating, thrilling, and downright a complete turn-on.

I kissed Rachel again, running my hand up her side and under her t-shirt a bit so my hand was only millimeters away from her breast, in plain view of Miss Norris. But then, I simply released her and jogged around to the other side of the car and let myself in. Rachel climbed in after me and was a little out of breath. When she put the key in the car and it purred to life, I was looking out the passenger-side window, facing away from her. I said quietly, "You know, I think Miss Norris might have a little crush on me."

I heard Rachel gasp, and when I turned towards her, and she saw my grin, I laughed, "What!? Are you jealous?" When she realized I was kidding, we were both laughing. The rest of the ride home, I mostly just tried to listen to Rachel talk about all sorts of things, nodding and such when appropriate, but my mind was already working overtime to come up with a plan for this evening.

When we stopped at my house, I told Rachel, "Wait here for a minute. I'll be right back."

She looked confused, but simply turned off the car and waited. I ran into the house and found my mother, Natalie, and Georgia in the living room. My mother was on the computer working on lesson plans, while Natalie read a book on the couch and Georgia was sewing something, a new hobby she'd recently developed—cross-stitch.

"Mom, I can I ask you a question?"

Without looking up from the computer screen, my mother teased, "You just did."

"MOM!"

Startled, my mother looked up, "What?!"

"Sorry. I have a serious question."

My mother pushed back from the computer and looked at me, "Alright. What is it?"

Now that I had her attention, I wasn't really sure how to ask this question, but I made an attempt anyway, "Can I go out tonight?"

My mother was a bit confused, understandably. I'd been going out with Rachel every night of the week pretty much. I'd quit asking after our camping trip. "Uh. Sure. Why the sudden need to ask?"

"Well, can I go out late tonight? I've been pretty tired the last few weeks with work and practice, and school starts on Monday. I think you know I've been home way before curfew these last few weeks because I just can't stay awake. But practice was light today and practice this afternoon should be light, so I'd like to do something special with Rachel tonight."

My mother nodded, "Yes, you've been very responsible. Since you've asked, I'm sure you can stay out a bit later tonight. So, what? Like two o'clock?"

I looked to the floor. This was going to be harder than I thought, "Actually, two sounds fine, but I'm not sure we have the same time in mind."

My mother was now completely perplexed and this was becoming so awkward I wasn't sure if I could go through with it.

"What do you mean, Nathan?"

Georgia gasped from across the room, "Geez Nathan. Just spit it out!"

My mother, Natalie and I all stared at Georgia, who obviously she knew what I was driving at. When I simply stood there with my mouth hanging open and no words coming out, Georgia said, "He wants to stay out all night."

My mother looked at me, "Is that right?"

I nodded sheepishly, but quickly tried to defend my request, "Look, I can be home by a certain time tomorrow, I can even call to check in if you want. I just wanted to do something special with Rachel and—"

"With Rachel?" my mother said. While she'd phrased it as a question, I had no doubt it was rhetorical. She knew what I meant, we'd shared a tent when we were camping and though we'd been very quiet, I'm sure my mother knew that Rachel and I had been intimate.

"Yes," I nodded, "With Rachel. I've been too tired and too busy to really spend any quality time with her these past few weeks and I need to ... we need..." I almost blurted, 'God, Mom! I need to get laid!' But I didn't say that. My mother may know that I was sleeping with Rachel, but saying something like that would have been very disrespectful of Rachel, at least from my mother's point of view.

After a moment, my mother nodded, "I understand. It's alright with me, I guess. I want you home by dinner time tomorrow. Call if you get into any trouble at all, and ... well, I don't really want to know what you're planning, so just ... well, tell one of your sisters at least so someone knows where you're going to be, OK?"

I nodded, but then realized there was one more thing I needed to ask, "And if Rachel's parents call here?"

My mother smirked, "She's staying here tonight with the girls, but they just went out for ice cream."

I leaned over and kissed my mother on the cheek, "You're the best!"

I ran outside and found Ray chatting with Rachel. When he saw me coming, he yelled, "Hey, you're late. I figured you'd be out in the field by now. We need you driving that grain truck so I can take a load in to the seed factory. Right now I've got Carlos," another farmhand, "driving the truck so Joe has a place to dump the grain, but I was going let you have the hours and send Carlos home."

I nodded, "Alright. Sorry, I'm a bit behind today. I'll just be a few more minutes."

Ray nodded, and headed into the house.

I turned to Rachel and kissed her, I was quite excited. "Listen," I said, "Pack an overnight bag and tell your parents you're spending the night with my sisters tonight before you pick me up after practice."

Rachel's eyes shot open, "No way. It was weird enough sharing a tent with your parents only a dozen feet away. I'm not spending the night here while your parents are home."

I grinned, "I didn't say you were staying here. I said to tell your parents you're staying here."

"What do you have planned?!" she gasped.

"Nuh-uh. It's a surprise. You just be sure to pack a bag, tell your parents and pick me up after practice. Everything else is up to me."

Rachel still seemed unsure, but I simply smiled widely, kissed her on the lips, and headed back into the house waving goodbye. She climbed back into her car and after turning around, I saw that she was already trying to figure out what I had planned.

I turned to open the door and found Ray coming back out. He pulled me away from the house and behind one of the large bushes between the yard and the large rocky driveway. When we were hidden from the house, Ray said, "OK, your mother just told me she gave you permission to stay out all night. With any other fifteen year old boy I'd have thought she'd gone nuts, but I'll admit, you've definitely shown that you are much more mature than most young men your age. So I'm not going to try to talk her out of it, but I'm wary of letting you out alone with your girlfriend all night."

"Uh ... OK. Thanks." I wasn't really sure how to respond.

"Look, I have no illusions. I know you and Rachel are ... well, intimate. But this is getting a bit more serious than most relationships at your age usually are. She's quite a bit older than you too."

I nodded.

Ray shrugged, "I'm not really sure what I'm trying to say, but I guess it's this—be careful. And I'm not just talking about protection. Don't let yourself get too close too fast. Rachel's going to be graduating in nine months and you've still got several years of high school left. OK?"

I nodded, "We've talked a bit about what happens after she graduates. We're not like ... planning the rest of our lives or anything. But I think the option for us to stay together after this year is still a possibility, but it's slim. I know what you're saying Ray. I'm ... I'm not counting on it. We're ... we're just trying to enjoy each other while we can."

Ray nodded and patted me on the shoulder, "That's all I'm saying. So, it sounds like you have some plans to make for tonight. Why don't you take the rest of the day off? Make your plans, and then take a nap. You've got one night to enjoy; you might as well be rested for it." And then Ray winked.

I nearly laughed at how absurd it was, but I simply nodded and said, "Thanks."

When I came in the house, Natalie was still reading, my mother was back to work on the computer, but Alice and Georgia were both waiting for me. They led me from the living room into the family room and pounced.

"So what are you planning?" Georgia asked excitedly.

"Please tell me you actually have a plan other than 'a whole night with Rachel'!?" Alice pleaded sarcastically.

I'd been thinking about this on the drive home from practice, and I knew I had the means to do it. The nice thing about having a well-paying job as a teenager and proving my responsibility with money was that I also had some nice benefits from that; specifically, a checking account and a credit card. At first, my mother had objected to the idea of a fifteen year old with a credit card, but Ray had been the one to say it would be good for me to start building my credit history and also since I was out with Rachel a lot, I could use it for emergencies if I had to.

So far, I'd only used it once last week when I'd first got it to pay for a nice dinner one night after practice. Even Rachel thought it was rather impressive that a fifteen year old had a credit card. Since I had a savings account with a few thousand dollars in it and steady deposits into my accounts, the bank had given me a $1000 credit limit on the VISA card, so I knew I could do what I wanted for this evening, but since I had Georgia and Alice more than willing to help with the planning, I knew I could really pull this off.

"Alice," I said finally, "Go get the cordless phone and the yellow pages. Georgia, go get something to write with."

When they scurried off, I went back into the living room and sat down next to Natalie. She looked up from her book and I said, "I know that you don't like—No. Wrong way to say this. Um ... I understand why you don't like Rachel and me together. Or, at least, I understand why you don't like the 'idea' of us together. I'm not angry with you, and I want you to know that I miss you."

Natalie looked at me, and I could tell her eyes were misting up a bit, but I continued, "I do love you. But," I whispered, "I love Rachel too." My mother was still in the room and I really didn't feel like announcing my love for Rachel in front of her. "If you're up to it, I'd really like your help planning this night. I'd like it if you and Rachel could be friends. I know you and she started down that path after we went camping, but I want that to continue. And I haven't seen you spend any time with her since. Both Georgia and Alice have though, and I'm concerned.

"You're my sister, and you're still my best friend. I need my best friend to help me plan this night for my girlfriend. Can you do that? For me?"

Natalie nodded, "Of course." Then she dropped her book and hugged me. She whispered in my ear, "I missed you too. I'm sorry I got so j—"

She broke off, and when I pulled back, she was biting her lip and on the verge of tears. I simply smiled and said, "Come on."

She followed me back into the family room and, with the three girls helping, we managed to make a list, then lots of phone calls and reservations. At first, Natalie seemed a bit reserved, but by the time lunch rolled around, all three girls were giggling and laughing at the excitement of planning a 'special evening' for me and my girlfriend. With the exception of the aftermath of Natalie's confession about her rape, this was probably the event that finally sealed the bonds of true sibling-hood between Georgia, Alice and I.

After a lunch, with the plans finalized, I simply crawled into bed, still covered with grime and a layer of body oils from morning practice, and went to sleep. Alice promised to wake me up half-an-hour before she would take me to practice. As such, I only got about three hours of sleep, but my body felt more rested than it had in a long time. I packed a set of clothes into my bag like I normally did, but this time, I also packed an extra pair of socks, and an extra pair of boxers. I had a drawer with two boxes of condoms in it, and rather than pack a few from the open box, I simply put the entire new box inside the bag. 'Might as well swing for the fences, ' I thought to myself.

Even on our best day when we'd been camping, I'd only used four condoms. The idea of using all twelve in a twenty-four hour period was probably a bit more than I could pull off. I may be fifteen, but even I had my limits. Besides, I wasn't planning to just fuck for a day. I'd made some pretty good plans.

I also threw in my toothpaste and toothbrush on my way past the bathroom. Generally, I'm a bit of a clean freak when it comes to being dirty, so the idea of a quick shower actually sounded quite nice, but I didn't really have the time, and besides, I'd be sweaty again in an hour. But I still looked at the shower for a few seconds and debated it. Finally, after double-checking my bag and what I'd packed, Alice drove me to practice.

When I came out of the locker room, I was surprised to see Rachel's car was already in the lot and she was sitting in the stands to watch with several other parents, friends, and family. She was sitting with Laura, who was obviously there to watch Mark. Mark was the starting half-back on the Varsity team, and as such, ran in completely different circles than I did. We were cordial to each other, and the few times I'd hung out around him before I'd started dating his sister, he was fairly friendly.

Since that fateful day at the mall when Rachel and I had started becoming a couple, I hadn't really seen him until football tryouts started. I then realized the reason was, Mark was friends with Tommy Fitzgerald, and also, I don't think Mark liked the idea of me dating his sister. He wasn't mean, and in fact he was one of the guys keeping Tommy and I separated at all times, but he wasn't friendly either. I suspected that in the time between that day at the mall and the start of football tryouts, Rachel was specifically keeping us apart, but I'd never actually asked her about it.

I didn't really care if her brother liked me, as long as she did.

I waved and smiled at Rachel, and both she and Laura returned my wave. Mark saw them waving at me, and I think it was enough to distract him enough that neither he nor I saw the six-foot three-inch two-hundred thirty pound starting Varsity middle linebacker come running full force into me. Obviously, he'd seen them waving at me too.

When I came to, I was lying on my back on the field and Miss Norris's breasts were in my face. At first, I thought I was dreaming, especially when I saw Rachel's face and cleavage right next to Miss Norris's. But then Miss Norris put something under my nose and it smelled horrible. I coughed, and tried to pull some clean air into my lungs.

"He's coming around," Miss Norris said.

"Nathan! Are you alright!?" Rachel sounded a bit panicked.

"Uhhh! What happened?" I groaned.

I heard a voice and Coach Haskell said, "Is he alright?"

Miss Norris said, "Can you get up?"

I nodded and sat up, then crawled to my feet. Rachel hugged me and sobbed, "I'm sorry."

I was still confused. "What happened!?" I demanded.

Coach Norris was standing with Coach Haskell and he looked mad, he turned to me and said, "You were attacked."

Coach Haskell said, "It wasn't an attack. Boys will be boys. I'll have a talk with Tommy. It won't happen again."

Miss Norris said, "Coach Haskell, that wasn't just an attack. That was assault. If Mr. Crane here wishes to press charges, I'll call the police myself."

"Wait! What the hell happened!?" I yelled.

Everyone seemed to stop and listen then. Coach Norris turned to me again and said, "Tommy Fitzgerald tackled you to the ground, hard. You're lucky you were wearing pads, but you didn't have your helmet on, so you hit your head. You probably have a concussion. You should probably go to the hospital and get your head checked out."

Miss Norris said, "I don't think it's that bad. He wasn't unconscious, just dazed for a few seconds, and he came right back. Though I still think this is serious. It's one thing to attack a member of another team, but to attack your own team mate!? How can you defend that Coach Haskell?!"

The old coach turned to her and smirked, it was definitely a smirk that said 'Listen toots!', but the old man was smart enough to know he couldn't say that with her young strong husband within striking distance. Instead, he said, "I'm not defending what he did. But the boy has come a long way since he was a hot-headed freshman. I'm going to talk to him."

Miss Norris said, "That's not enough. If any other player on this team had attacked Mr. Crane here, you would be considering kicking them off the team. I know Tommy is a great player, but he's got to be disciplined. If you don't do something, I'm definitely going to Principal Walters and the school board."

Coach Haskell shook his head, "What do you want me to do?!"

Coach Norris spoke up, "Suspension. Three games."

"No way. That's a third of the season! I'll suspend him for one game."

Miss Norris said, "Two games, and he makes a formal apology to Mr. Crane here in front of the entire team before returning to practice. He's done for today though."

Haskell thought it over for a moment, and then said, "Alright. That's fair. I was planning on suspending him for one game anyway and making him apologize. I don't need my team fighting each other."

"One more thing Coach," Miss Norris said.

"Yeah?" the grizzly old coach asked warily.

"Tell Tommy if he attacks Mr. Crane here on school grounds again, I'll make it my mission in life to have his scholarship offers revoked. And if he attacks Mr. Crane off school grounds, I'll make it my father-in-law, Sherriff Norris's, mission to make his life even worse. You make sure he understands that."

Coach Haskell smiled, and then said to Coach Norris, "That's some wife you got there. I'd hate to see her if this kid was your own."

When Coach Haskell walked away, I saw Mark and several other senior players sitting with Tommy Fitzgerald about twenty yards away. Tommy's nose was bloody and he was still holding it up and trying to stop the bleeding.

Rachel was still holding me in a hug, and I whispered to her, "Did I do that?" motioning towards Tommy.

Rachel giggled, "Uh. No. You went down like a sack of potatoes."

"Then how did Tommy get beat up?"

Rachel sighed and looked towards Tommy, "Mark did that. He pulled Tommy off of you and punched him square in the face. I ... I need to thank him for that."

I nodded, and released her so she could walk towards Tommy and his cronies, though I didn't really like the idea of her being closer to Tommy at all. Mark seemed to be thinking the same thing, because he stepped quickly away from Tommy and held up his hands like he was blocking her from getting anywhere near Tommy. But Rachel simply threw her arms around her brother and hugged him tight.

Behind them, Coach Haskell was already pulling Tommy away from the group of players and into the school building, most likely to tell him about his suspension. My head told me that my feud with Tommy Fitzgerald might now be over, but my gut told me that Tommy wasn't one to be stopped by coaches, rules, and threats. I was still going to have to learn to watch my own back a bit better.