Chapter 3: California

Friday January 17, 2014 – Freshman Year

When we were getting ready to go to school there was a knock on the door. It was Barb Grimes and a young guy.

"Hey, Barb, we're just getting ready. Would you like some coffee?" I asked as I ushered them in.

"David, I would like you to meet your security for the weekend. This is Chuck Lowery."

We shook hands. Chuck looked to be in his early twenties and about 5'10" 180 lbs. with short brown hair. He had a quick smile and firm grip. I got a cop vibe from him. I took them into the kitchen and got them coffee. Uncle John and Greg came into the kitchen.

"Morning," Uncle John said.

"This is Chuck, who will be going with me today. Chuck, this is my Uncle John, and my brother Greg," I said. Angie and Kyle made an appearance. "This is Angie, and Kyle who puked on me last night."

"That means he likes you," Angie quipped. "Thank you by the way. Greg and I have decided that now that you can handle the changings and feedings, Kyle will move in with you. That way we can get some sleep."

"I don't think so. I would be worried he would be stealing all my girlfriends. He's a little chick magnet."

Angie handed him to me so she could cook breakfast. It was her turn. I handed him to Uncle John who looked like I handed him something explosive.

"I need to take a shower and pack."

I noticed Chuck was following me. When we got to the apartment he made me wait while he checked it. When he was satisfied, I took my shower and packed. We came back to find two new off duty police officers. One would be with Angie and the other with Greg. Uncle John was on the phone with a contractor to get the doors and windows taken care of.

Barb wanted to talk to us once I got back. She handed us each what looked like a small black piece of plastic with a button. It had a metal ring so you could attach it to your car keys.

"This is a panic button. It has a GPS tracker in it that will alert us of your location. Do not hesitate to use this if you think you're in trouble."

She demonstrated how to push the button. I saved the smart comments that jumped into my head. One of the benefits of having security, which became instantly clear, was that Chuck had a car. He drove me to school. Our first stop was the office to explain the security. Luckily Coach Hope had smoothed the way. I was not looking forward to going another round with the office secretary who declared me dead.

When I got to my locker, Cassidy and April were waiting on me. April didn't look happy.

"David, when were you going to tell me that you were breaking our date for tonight?"

Oops. I turned to Chuck.

"Get ready to earn your money."

"Sorry, you're on your own," Chuck informed me.

What was I spending all this money for?

"Ah, I guess now would be a good time. I'm sorry April, but I need to go see my Mom and Dad."

She gave me a pout and then kissed me on the cheek.

"I'll forgive you this time."

Cassidy just rolled her eyes.

"Give it up sister. You'll never get this one trained. Might as well accept that he's going to do whatever he wants," Cassidy told April. Then she looked at Chuck. "David is so rude, I'm Cassidy and this poor girl is April."

"Hi, I'm Chuck."

The bell rang and I grabbed my math book and iPad. Pam had Chuck sit in the back of the room where the teacher's aide would sit. I could tell that Pam was interested in him. They had to be about the same age. I caught him checking her out.

I convinced Chuck to join us in our afternoon workout. He was being all cocky before it started, yet he only lasted thirty minutes. Cassidy got in his face.

"Get up maggot! You will not lie down while others are working. You will finish, do you hear me!"

Chuck got unsteadily to his feet and joined us. I tried not to smirk because at some point he might have to protect me.

When we were finally done, Chuck was sucking air, trying to get his lungs working correctly. I sauntered up and made his day.

"Almost done, we just need to do a quick five mile warm-down run," I said with a straight face.

He got up to his elbows so he could look me in the eye.

"We do that, and I'll off you myself. How you talked me into this, I have no idea," he complained.

"Come on, let's go shower and catch a plane."

I half-carried him to the locker room.

Okay, I admit it. I'm becoming a wimp. Flying coach sucks. Flying from Chicago to San Francisco is a long flight to have your knees buried in the seat in front of you. The little kid in front of me decided to recline his seat the whole flight. I was never so happy to get off a plane in all my life.

Chuck rented a car and we headed to Palo Alto, about forty miles southeast of San Francisco. After leaving Chicago's frigid 17 degrees, I was enjoying the temperature being in the mid-60s.

We drove the 101 south in silence, as I prepared myself to see my Mom. I talked to Dad last night and he said that Mom's new treatments seemed to be working. He also told me that she was weak and had lost some weight. The GPS system had us get off the highway and wind us through town until we found an apartment complex.

Dad answered the door. I gave him a big hug and introduced him to Chuck. Chuck seeing I was safe and sound took off to his hotel. He made me promise that if I left the apartment complex that I was to call him.

Dad took me into a nice two bedroom apartment. We sat down in the living room.

"So where's Mom?" I asked.

"Right here," she answered walking in the door.

I noticed she had a scarf on her head. Dad had told me that she had him shave her hair off. I could tell she had makeup on, trying to hide dark circles under her eyes. I got up and she gave me a bear hug. We both had tears in our eyes when she finally let me go. We sat down.

"So tell me," I started.

"The new treatment is working," Mom told me with a big smile. "It's still early, but we got some very positive blood work results today. I'm by no means out of the woods yet, but if things keep improving they say I can go home in a week or so. They can continue my treatment at home."

"That's great news. Everyone has been asking about you. We'll have to throw a big party when you get back."

"Speaking of parties, we're having some people over tonight," Dad said. "We ordered some pizzas and people from the complex are stopping by to celebrate your Mom's news."

"The Cancer Center has made arrangements for this wing of the complex to house families getting treatments. I've made some friends while I've been here," Mom said.

"Sounds like fun, plus I'm hungry. What do you need me to do?"

"Go unpack. People should be arriving soon. I've been bragging on you. So go put something fun on so you can show them the old Dawson charm," Mom instructed me.

I looked at Dad and he just shrugged. While I changed the pizza came. My parents' appartment was a ground unit that backed up to the pool area. I found them in lounge chairs relaxing and talking to several people. You could almost feel the stress coming off this group. They were all there facing a nightmare. I found the pizza and a cooler with sodas. I grabbed a chair at a table and began to eat.

"You must be David?" I heard as a girl my age sat down beside me.

She was bald and had scars where she must have had surgery before. I smiled at her before answering.

"Yes I am. Who might you be?"

"I'm Terri. Your Mom and I get treatments most days together. She talks about you."

"I'm glad she has someone to go through this with. How are you doing?"

"Better, but not great," she said as she took a deep breath. "Let's not talk about that. I want to know about your three girlfriends. Is Adrienne really taking you to Prom?"

I caught her sincerity and played it straight. We talked about my undying love for Sunny, Kara and Adrienne. I explained how I couldn't choose between them. Terri needed something to take her mind off herself for a few hours. I was more than happy to do it.

When the party ended, I spent time with Mom and Dad.

"I see you have a new admirer," Mom said trying to get a rise out me.

"Yep, they just keep throwing themselves at me. It's the bane of being a Dawson," I bemoaned.

"I hear that. Your mother never understood the trials the fairer sex put us through," Dad added in support.

"You both could die tonight if you're not careful. Terri is my friend and you better treat her with respect. I brought you into this world and I can take you out," Mom glared at me. Then she turned on my Dad. "Brave words, buster."

Dad gave her a sheepish grin. I winked at her and she couldn't keep her mock anger in place.

"See Dad, she loves us. Just like all the other girls."

"Leave me out of it. She already has me on a short leash. I don't need to get neutered too. I would avoid any car rides in the near future if I were you. That is how Duke lost his balls. Dumbass fell for the old Let's go for a car ride scam."

Nope, I was not going to the vet. Duke had been my dog when I was ten.

"If only it was that easy," Mom said thoughtfully.

I didn't like the direction of this conversation. Luckily Dad changed the direction. Not that I thought it was much better.

"Tell us what happened to Tracy."

"To be honest, I can't figure her out. Deb Thomas and Tom got it in their heads that I needed a faux- celebrity girlfriend. That the real one I had was bad for my image. Tom took it upon himself to talk to Tracy about it," I said as my shoulders slumped.

"The worst part was that Tracy and I had already talked about it. I told her that I would not give her up for my job. We were on the same page and then she talks to her dad. She didn't even have the guts to tell me to my face. She made Kendal do it," I said as I got up and started to pace.

"Then after I got home from the hospital, it got worse. I was getting pressure to capitalize on my fifteen minutes of fame."

"What are you talking about?" Dad asked.

"The Managing Partners at Tom's firm had talked to Ford and they wanted me to fly out to New York. They had a media tour setup and were lining up jobs. They wanted me to go full-time."

"I thought you were taking time off," Mom said.

"I am taking time off. Kendal and Tom took care of it. We also talked to Devin Range. Range Sports has been a big help. I actually did an ad for them. They're doing a campaign on 'David Approved' clothes. They're the clothes I was wearing."

I made the wise decision to tell my folks everything at that point. I even told them about what Tom had said when I confronted him about Tracy. I told them about Tracy jumping into the sack with Luke. I then told them about the talk I had with Tom. Mom can be a mother bear protecting her cubs if you went after her children. I was surprised when she remained calm. She wasn't happy, but she wasn't acting out.

That was when Dad took over. I think with Mom being sick he must have taken charge. He had been involved with the security issue. Now he took the lead with this. He called Tom Dole. They talked for over an hour.

While that was going on, Mom took me to her bedroom and had me give her a massage. She put on shorts and a t-shirt. I had given her massages before. I wasn't quite ready for what I found. She had lost a lot of weight. Mom told me not to do it too hard because she would bruise. I took my time and was gentle as I could be. She had a lot of tension built up. A couple of spots were painful and I cringed when she would cry out. But she told me that it felt a lot better when I was done. I finally had her so relaxed that she was sound asleep when I was done.

All Dad would say was that he and Tom had an understanding.

Saturday January 18, 2014 – Freshman Year

I found Mom and Dad in the kitchen making breakfast. It's a little disconcerting to find your Mom smoking. I made a cross at her as she blew smoke at me.

"It's either this or I don't eat," she explained.

I gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I better not get tested positive from a contact high."

She stuck her tongue out at me. I knew she was in a good mood. I heard a knock at the door. I was surprised to see Terri and Chuck together. They must have arrived at the same time. Terri walked in like she owned the place. I think my parents must be adopting her. Chuck sniffed the air and gave me a dirty look.

"Chill. It is medical marijuana for my Mom."

"Oh, I guess that's okay. What's the plan for the day?"

"I don't know about you, but I need to eat."

He nodded.

"I could eat."

Chuck followed me into the kitchen in time to see Terri take a hit. Dad was making biscuits and gravy. I grabbed a coffee for Chuck and got an OJ for Terri and me. She gave me a sly smile when I sat down.

"So what is the plan for the day?" I asked Mom.

"This morning Terri and I have a treatment. Today is a heavy day, so we won't get done until around one. Then it's time for my nap. Why don't you take Chuck running and see the campus," Mom offered.

She pulled out a map of the Stanford campus. She pointed to where we were.

"Here is the apartment complex. If you follow Campus Drive it will take you on a loop around the heart of the campus. The stadium is here," she said pointing at the map. "Your Dad tells me there are a lot of pretty girls playing soccer on Saturdays."

He just gave her a dismissive wave, not wanting to get her started.

"You better be careful, David. Those college girls will eat you alive. You might want to come back here and take me to dinner instead," Terri suggested.

"I would love to Terri, but this trip as all about seeing my parents," I said trying to slow her down.

"Eh, we will see you in a couple of weeks. Take Terri out tonight."

I could tell that the fix was in. I just smiled and said, "I would love to."

"You are such a pussy," Chuck said under his breath.

"Don't worry Chuck, I have a date lined up for you also," Mom informed him.

"But ... but ... I'm working. Plus I have a girlfriend," Chuck stammered.

Poor guy, he didn't know who he was dealing with. She gave him a Mom glare and he snapped into line.

"Yes ma'am, I would love to."

"Who is the pussy now?"

"David Allen Dawson, you be nice to Chuck. He's a guest," Mom scolded me.

"Yeah, be nice to me."

"Chuck, don't test me," Mom shot back.

I gave him a smirk. Dad had breakfast ready and we ate. When we finished, Dad took the girls to their treatment. I went to the spare bedroom and found I had not brought my workout gear. I came out of the bedroom and told Chuck my problem. We went out to his car and went to a local sporting goods store. I found the Range gear and got what I needed. I also bought Chuck a set of gear because if he was going to be with me he should be wearing it also.

I saw a little 'David Approved' sign with my picture next to their ski gear. I pointed it out to Chuck who just rolled his eyes. When we got to the cash register we picked the line with the best looking college girl. How that happened I have no idea. She rang our order up, and I handed her my Range Sports card. When she ran it the total changed to zero.

She gave me a funny look.

"One moment please," she said politely. She picked up the phone and called someone.

"I can explain," I tried to offer.

She just gave me a patient look. People in our line started to move to other lines. My phone chirped and I looked to find a text from Sandy Range. I called her.

"You didn't tell me you were going to Stanford for the weekend. I would have fixed you up. Anyways, since you're in one of our partner stores, can you let them take a few pictures?"

"All I can say is I'm impressed that using this card had you on the phone in less than five minutes. Do you have some kind of tracker on it?"

"Actually we do. Who do you have with you?"

"I have my security guy. Why and how did you know?"

"You bought a different size, and is he fully outfitted with Range gear?"

"Let me ask," I turned to Chuck. "Do you have any Range gear besides what we are trying to buy?"

He shook his head no.

"No he doesn't," I told Sandy.

"Have him get clothes for the trip and put it on the card."

"You're the boss."

I sent Chuck to get what he needed. I chatted with Sandy until the store owner came in with a camera. We took a couple of photos and Chuck and I were finally on the road. Sandy sent me another text letting me know that her travel department would arrange dinner tonight for my family, Chuck and our dates.

Since we had wasted almost an hour, we decided to change at the store, and drive over by the sports facilities. We were stretching when I spotted several games of flag football being played. I jogged over to get my football fix. I hadn't touched a football since the bet in Florida. I found a cute girl watching a few of the guys' gear and there was a football.

I gave her my best smile. Dad always says you have to sell it.

"Hi, my friend and I are just in for the weekend. Do you mind if we borrow that football to play a little catch?"

She had been reading a text book and she started to give me a get lost look until she saw me. Then her attitude changed. She let us borrow it and I was soon playing catch with Chuck. I was going easy on him and just lofting the ball so it was easy to catch.

"I thought you were good. Is that all you can put on it?" Chuck teased me.

The next one I put a little more on it, not wanting to hurt him. He just snorted at me. Okay, big guy, let's see if you can catch this. I rifled the next ball at him. You could hear it whiz through the air. He got his hands up but it squirted through and thumped him in the chest.

"Fuck!"

"Too hard, you need me to back off?" I teased him back.

"Okay, I admit it that was too hard. Man you have an arm. How far can you throw it?"

I just smirked at him.

"Go long."

He took off down the field and I hit him on a rope thirty-five yards down the field. He came trotting back. The girl that we borrowed the ball from came over.

"Hey, my boyfriend wants to know if you guys want to play. They just won their game, but a couple of the guys have to go study."

I looked at Chuck with a glint in my eye begging him to agree. He nodded. I tried to stay cool. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this.

"We can play."

She took us over to meet the guys. The team was made up of all med students. They were playing in their intramural league. Their next opponent was a fraternity. The girl's boyfriend was Bert and seemed like a nice guy.

"What positions do you guys play?" Bert asked.

"He plays quarterback and I play wide out," Chuck told him.

"Are you any good?" Bert asked me.

"I do okay."

"Don't let him fool you, he is better than okay." Chuck told Bert.

Bert just shrugged and introduced us to the rest of the team.

"Guys this is David and Chuck. David will be playing quarterback and Chuck will be a wide receiver. I'll move to the other wide receiver slot and Bill you move to center," Bert said getting everyone situated. "Our next game is against Sigma Nu. They won the fall league and beat us pretty handily in the playoffs. Remember, this is just for fun, but it's more fun to win."

That made me smile. We won the coin flip and decided to receive. The kickoff was bobbled and we were downed on the ten yard line. They played flag football on a narrower and shorter field. I would guess it was fifty yards. The chalk lines were pretty much blurred, so I wasn't sure. We got into the huddle and I took charge.

"Let's get a quick score. Chuck, you run a post and I'll roll out to the right. Go on the first sound."

I dropped back into the shotgun and barked out, "Down!"

The ball came to me and I saw Chuck put a move on his defender. He obviously had played some ball. I drifted to the right and saw a couple of the Sigma Nu defenders shed their blocks and give chase. The safety bit on me running and it left the middle of the field open with Chuck having position on his man. I launched a pretty spiral that found Chuck in the end zone.

The Sigma Nu captain rushed up to the referee and was throwing a fit. I heard ringer mentioned more than a few times. The ref came over to me. He seemed irritated.

"We have a rule that if you play college ball you can't play intramurals."

"I played high school football, does that matter?"

He laughed.

"No, I'll straighten this out."

I turned out that Sigma Nu was good. Neither team could stop the other. Once their captain settled down, the game became fun. We were talking smack to each other. Bert decided that we had a shot, so he made a bet. Loser had to buy the first round at a local bar. We ended up squeaking out the win.

We walked with both teams across campus to a local sports bar. I got to see the campus. It was beautiful. The buildings have red tiled roofs and solid sandstone masonry in a Californian Mission Revival style of architecture. The place featured rectangular stone buildings linked by walkways of half-circle arches.

Bert was playing tour guide. I was surprised when he told me that there were only about seven thousand undergrads. Each year they receive over thirty-five thousands applications and only let in about twenty-five hundred freshmen. Stanford was just as exclusive as Harvard.

I asked about the schools of medicine and business. They only offered graduate programs for those two. For undergraduates, they offered science degrees that would work for Tami in biology and chemistry. I could get a degree in mathematics or statistics. After we graduated, she could go to med school while I got my MBA. Another direction I could go would be to enroll in their Theater and Performance Studies. So there were options for us.

The Sigma Nu guys walked into the bar like they owned the place. The manager found us several tables and pulled them together. I suddenly found that being a frat guy had some perks. A bevy of sorority girls soon joined us. There were not enough seats and I found a cute Asian girl sitting on my knee. She had a t-shirt on that had three triangles on it.

I figured if I was going to have a cute girl sit on my knee I should clean up some. So Chuck and I went to the restroom so I could wash some of the sweat off.

"What does the shirt of the girl mean that is sitting on my knee?" I asked Chuck.

"She is in Delta Delta Delta or Tri Delts. It's a sorority."

I went back and found a beer waiting on me. I frowned when the girl sat back down on my knee.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Oh, sorry, I just don't drink."

"Let me fix that," she said as she grabbed my beer and drank it in one try.

I was both impressed and worried. She was only five feet tall and couldn't have weighed more than a hundred pounds. She handed the glass to one of the other girls close to a pitcher.

"He's out. Can you fill him up again?" she asked sweetly.

"Uh, thanks?"

"No problem," she said as she gave me a wink.

She flagged down a waitress.

"Can you get me a coke?"

When the coke got there she handed it to me. I took a big swig since I was parched. She thought she should join me and downed her beer. She handed it back and they gave her a full one.

"How many have you had?" I asked.

She giggled and downed the next one. I was getting worried that she would end up getting sick drinking that fast. I had learned that lesson the hard way. They gave her another beer.

"I have had enough to do this," she said as she ran a hand up my thigh and cupped my balls.

I saw Chuck and Bert arch their eyebrows when they saw what she was doing. I suddenly had a noticeable bulge. I gave her a look of mock horror.

"Now look what you've done," I hissed in her ear. "I think you need to fix that."

She got a big grin on her face and shifted so that she could kiss me. It wasn't the best kiss, but it got my motor going. She used her fingernails to lightly run up and down the length of my cock through my shorts. If she kept that up, I was going to have a huge wet spot in my shorts. I suddenly stopped kissing her and grabbed her wrist.

She gave me a smirk and hopped off my knee. She grabbed my hand and led me to the ladies' room. She pulled us into a stall and she took a seat on the toilet. She grabbed my waistband and my shorts and jock were around my knees. Mr. Happy snapped loose and caught her on the chin leaving a trail of pre-cum.

I swear that her head must have spun around and her jaw became unhinged as she did her impersonation of a sword swallower. As the head of my dick pushed into her throat I could actually see it bulge. The sight of my man meat stuffed into her dainty face was obscene. If I had not wanted this to last the rest of my life, I would have blown my nut right then.

She let me fall out of her mouth.

"You have a nice one. I want you to fuck my face."

I think I saw Mr. Happy stretch another quarter inch. I was so hard it almost hurt. I grasped the base of my cock and rubbed the tip over her lips. She let them part and I pushed home. I gave a few short deep strokes and she was pushing me back to catch her breath. We repeated that several times. She began to drool all over my tool.

I guess I wasn't being forceful enough because she slammed her face into my pubes and took everything I had. I could feel her swallowing, trying to take more of me down her throat. It was the weirdest, most erotic, thing I had ever experienced. She finally backed off so she could breath. She jacked me off as she recovered and then she did it again.

After the sixth time, I couldn't take it anymore and I fed her my load. The head of my cock was buried in her throat as she did her swallowing. She moaned as I roped load after load into her throat. After I came, she let go of my hips and I stumbled back into the door of the toilet. We both were smiling at each other and breathing hard.

She didn't say a word as she cleaned up and helped me up with my jock and shorts. She led me back to the table to applause from everyone sitting there.

"Sato wins," one of her sorority sisters announced.

She handed her some folded bills. She gave me a quick kiss on my cheek and she and her sorority sisters got up and left. One of the Sigma Nu guys gave me a hard time.

"Dude, you just ruined it. I think the Tri Delts were having a pledge task that ... shall we say ... would be enjoyable for all of us."

"I can't help it if you guys didn't make your move," I shot back.

"He has you there. He had the balls to go for it," one of the other guys said.

I looked over at the door and this big guy looked pissed scanning the bar. Sato came rushing in and I heard, "No Rob. I did it as a pledge task. You can't get mad every time I blow a guy."

He pointed at me and asked, "Is that him?"

She dropped her head and nodded. Oh shit. Chuck got up to intercept him, but I shook my head to let him know that I wanted to handle it.

I stood up as Rob came up to me. He glared at me.

"Did you let my girlfriend give you a blowjob?"

"Yes, but so we are clear, she gave me no indication that she was seeing anyone."

He turned on her.

"Sato, is he telling the truth?"

She just gave him a slight nod. I could see his shoulders sag. He turned around and walked out. Next thing I knew, Sato had buried her face into my chest and was crying. I didn't quite know what to do. What is the proper protocol when you get a blowjob from another guy's girl, and then cause them to break up? I looked around and none of the guys wanted to meet my gaze.

A couple of sorority sisters came and saved me. They gathered her and took her home.

"I think we should go," I told Chuck.

He agreed.

On the way back to the apartment, Chuck and I stopped at sub shop. We decided to get them to go because we both wanted a shower. I got a couple of extras in case Mom and Dad wanted some. If they didn't, I was sure I could take care of some of the left overs.

When we got back Dad and Terri were watching basketball. Mom was taking a nap. We all went to the kitchen to have a sandwich.

"So what did you get up to today?" Dad asked me.

"I realized that I didn't have any running clothes so we went and got some. I made the mistake of using my Range credit card."

"Why is that?" Terri asked.

"Because we had to get our pictures taken," I complained. "But Chuck made out like a bandit. He got all kinds of clothes."

"Hey, I didn't ask for it. You made me get them," Chuck defended himself.

"Whatever," I said dismissively. "Then we went to the campus and played flag football."

"He actually is not too bad," Chuck offered.