Chapter 12

I laid around for a few hours watching TV, not much was on. I was just about to call it quits, when I ran across a program on the Sports Network pertaining to this year’s draft class. I decided to watch for a while, maybe get some useful information. As is usual with programs of this nature, the glamour positions such as quarterback, running back, and wide receiver get top billing. Finally after about two hours, they got around to the defensive side of the ball. As I had been told, there was definitely a lack of pure quality pass rushers in this draft class. In fact after the top two obvious choices, they made mention of several underclassmen that might declare. I sat up startled as my name was mentioned, several highlights of the National Championship game was shown, especially the last defensive play I had made. Two of the three analysts on the show felt that if I declared, I could possibly be a late first round draft choice. They all agreed that while even young, I had a tremendous upside, and they thought I had the tools to play in the pro’s. I watched for about thirty more minutes then decided to go and take a shower.

I took about a fifteen minute, long, hot shower. The water felt really good, bringing me back to life. As I got out the shower, I noticed I had forgotten to grab a tee shirt out of my drawer. I dried off, put my shorts on, brushed my teeth and walked to the laundry room to toss in the towels and dirty clothes. I stopped in the kitchen to pour a glass of tea before heading back to my room. I had just put the pitcher back into the refrigerator, when the back door opened, both Ashley and Stephanie walking into the kitchen. There was no where to go, I was trapped, just standing there in workout shorts and no shirt.

“Jesus Christ, this boy is some kind of fine.” giggled Stephanie, to Ashley, “Any way you can hook me up?”

Ashley look at her friend kind of funny, grinning, but it was an uncomfortable one at best. She mumbled something back to her friend, I was not sure what she said.

“I’m sorry Ashley, I just got out of the shower, I forgot my tee shirt.” I said, extremely embarrassed.

“Oh honey, you don’t need a shirt on my account. I could look at you all day and night. I have never seen muscles like that in person.” laughed Stephanie.

I excused myself quickly and went into my room and grabbed a tee shirt out of the drawer. I went back towards the family room and grabbed my normal spot on the sofa. Ashley and Stephanie stayed in the kitchen whispering back and forth quietly, I couldn’t make out what they were talking about but they were obviously enjoying themselves. I decided to call it a night, turned off the TV and went to bed, it didn’t take me to long to drift off.

I woke up Saturday morning early, it was about seven o’clock, I laid in bed for a few minutes listening to see if Ashley was up but I heard nothing. I got up, dressed, then left the house and drove into town. I stopped at the local diner and had breakfast, everyone was congratulating me on the big win. I finished breakfast, drove across town to the gym and stopped in to see Carl, as I always did. As usual the gym owner was already on the floor instructing people, answering questions, making sure things ran smoothly. He smiled as soon as he saw me crossing the floor towards him, excusing himself from his student.

“Well if it isn’t one of my star pupils, great job in the big game, I saw every play.” he said, shaking my hand.

“Thank you Carl, I really appreciate it, we were very fortunate.” I answered.

We talked for a few more minutes, he offered me the use of his facilities while I was in town, as he always did, then excused himself back to his client. I left the gym, drove back across town to my house, it was close to ten o’clock when I got home. Ashley was up, drinking coffee in the kitchen as I walked in. She asked what my plans were for the day, although I really didn’t have any. I really only had one thing, I really wanted to do before I left town.

I went back into my room and unzipped the large duffel bag I had brought home with me from school. In it was all the gear we had been given before, during and after the National Championship game. As I sorted through the many shirts, shoes and warm ups, finally coming across the items, I had been searching for. I had been issued two jersey’s for the National Championship game, I had worn one, the other was my backup. Each jersey was specifically cut for my size, my name and number embroidered on the back with the National Championship patch on the front of the jersey. I was intending to have the one I wore in the game framed and mounted for myself, the extra one I wanted to give to Mr. Timmons. Especially after he had so graciously given me his watch at Christmas time. I also had thrown a few pair of cleats in my bag, I fished out the shoes I had worn on the game, white tape still wrapped around both mid shoe areas for support. I took both the jersey and the shoes and went back into the kitchen. Ashley was still in the kitchen cleaning up as I tossed the shoes and jersey on the table. She turned and looked in my direction.

“What ya doing?’, she asked.

“I am going to give this jersey and the shoes I wore in the National Championship game to Courtney’s Dad. Do you have a Sharpie around here anywhere?” I answered.

“Yes I think I do, be right back.” she said, going back to her room.

She reappeared a minute or so later with three different coloured permanent markers in her hand. She offered me all three, I chose the basic black one. I laid the jersey across the table carefully so that the number 99 was smooth and flat across the back.

“Is that a jersey from the Championship Game?” Ashley asked.

“Yes, it is.” I answered.

“You don’t want to keep that for yourself?” she asked, rather strangely.

“It’s not the jersey I wore in the game, it was my backup, I have the game worn jersey in my room.” I responded.

“Oh ... well ... alright.” she stated, sounding disappointed.

“Is something wrong Ashley?” I asked her.

“Well ... Uh ... I don’t want to ... never mind.” she answered.

“No, tell me, what is it?” I inquired, once again.

“I feel terrible asking this ... but ... I would really like to have one of your jerseys for myself.” she said softly, looking down.

“Oh, well it’s ok then, you can have this one. I still have two more from the regular season in my bag, I will give him one those.” I told her.

“No, no ... I can take one of those for myself, you give him that one, it will mean a lot to him.” she said smiling.

“You sure? I want you to get the one you want, I really do.” I coaxed.

“I am sure, I will, take one of the others, thank you Brian.” she said.

I then bent over the jersey and inscribed the following words inside of the two large gold number nines on the back of the shirt.

“National Championship Game Issued - Brian Stevens #99”

I took the shoes as well and inscribed the following :

“Game Worn - National Championship - Brian Stevens #99”

I handed the marker back to Ashley and left the items to dry properly on the kitchen table, I would go see Mr. Timmons tonight if he was not busy. I would call him later in the day to see what his schedule was. I ate a small lunch then laid down to take a nap, it was about noon. I woke up sometime around three that afternoon, the house was very quiet. I got up and looked around, Ashley was out. I took a shower, got dressed then decided to call Mr. Timmons to see if he would be home later this evening. The phone rang several times before someone picked it up.

“Hello.” said the soft voice, it was Courtney.

“Hey Court, it’s Brian, how are you?” I asked.

“Hi Brian, I am doing ok, how about you?” she answered, cheerfully.

“I’m good, thanks.” I replied.

There was an awkward pause, the kind of one that goes on between two people who were every close at one time, now being world’s apart. I finally broke the silence.

“Is your Dad there by any chance?” I asked.

“Uh, no. He and my Mom are out, he will be back in a few hours.” she answered, sounding somewhat disappointed.

“Oh alright, I just have something for him, no big deal.” I said.

“Oh my God Brian, he watched the National Championship game over here with his buddies. They were absolutely insane, my Dad was screaming at the TV, cheering you guys on. When you made that last play, when you hit the guy’s arm, he was crying. He was so happy for you.” she said.

“I’m glad he got to see it, I wish he could have been there.” I replied.

“So, you coming over tonight?” she asked.

“Yeah, if it’s ok.” I asked.

“Sure, I will tell him to call you later.” she answered.

About an hour and a half later the phone rang, it was Courtney’s Dad. I asked if I could come over later, he said absolutely, he was looking forward to it. He quickly asked if he could call a couple of his buddies to come over as well, I couldn’t say no. I told him I would be by around seven o’clock in the evening and hung up.

I ate dinner with Ashley then watched a little TV before I left for Courtney’s house. I sensed Ashley wanted to say something to me but she never did. I pulled in Courtney’s driveway right after seven o’clock, there were at least a half dozen cars there. I knew I was in for a long night of questions, it always happened. I rang the bell, Courtney opened the door very quickly, almost like she had been waiting. She looked amazing, very different from the last time I had seen her. Her long hair had been cut very short and was now very blonde. She had lost a few pounds as well, her figure was incredible in her tee shirt and shorts.

“Wow, look at you. You look so different.” I said smiling.

“Different good? Or different, different?” she asked.

“Different good. Very good.” I answered.

“Well then, come on in.” she giggled, taking my hand.

She held on to my hand tightly as she led me towards the family room. I couldn’t help but look at her ass as she walked in those tight little shorts. She had definitely under went a serious transformation, it had to be for a guy, no doubt. As I rounded the hallway corner into the family room, Mr. Timmons was seated on the sofa with three of his friends, all of which I had met before at one time or other. He jumped up quickly when he saw me, extending his hand.

“Brian, good to see you son. Congratulations on the National Championship, you played a hell of a game.” he said excitedly.

“I don’t know how you do it Brian, but he never jumps up that fast when I come into the room.” Courtney whined, “You sure you’re not my brother?”

“Uh, no.” I said.

Every one erupted into laughter, as Mr. Timmons reached out and pulled Courtney to his chest, hugging her gently.

“Aw, sweetheart, you know I love you. You just can’t play D-Line like Brian can.” he answered her.

Again everyone roared in laughter, Courtney pulled away from him a frown on her face. She put her hands on her hips and looked up at her Dad.

“Yeah but can he give you grandchildren like I can?” she said smiling.

He thought, but only for a quick second before he replied in a devilish grin.

“Oh I hope so, you two getting back together? Please say yes.” he said softly.

Courtney opened her mouth wide and put her hand over it in embarrassment, she was mortified, her eyes shifting to mine. I had no idea what to say, I didn’t know what the latest was on the home front. She reached out with her left hand and smacked her dad across the shoulder.

“You are an evil man, I will get you for that one.” she said, smiling.

We all sat down on the sofa and began to catch up on what everyone had been doing, what was upcoming. Courtney was noticeably quiet, judging from what I had heard, her life lately had become quite uneventful, just working for her dad, not much else. Finally the topic of the game was brought up, it was inevitable.

“So when do you guys get your National Championship Rings?” one of the men asked.

“I think in a few months sir, we have already been measured for them.” I answered.

“I hope I get to see it the next time you come home.” he replied.

I reached over and opened the bag I had brought with me, opened it up and reached inside pulling out the items slowly, I could see the other men staring intently. I handed both the jersey and pair of shoes to Courtney’s Dad. It took him a second of reading the inions before he realized just exactly what he had.

“This is from the game? You wore these?” he asked in amazement.

“Yes, those are the shoes I wore in the game, that is the jersey I practiced in before the game, it was my backup.” I answered.

All of the other men just stared at the items in a sense of disbelief. To be honest, I had never understood the fascination of collecting sports memorabilia like these men did. The price for the real authentic items was astronomical to say the least. Unless you got something right from the source, you always had to question it’s origin.

“Brian, I don’t know what to say. This is ... I mean these could eventually be very valuable.” he said.

“Well look at it this way sir, if they ever become really valuable, that means I am playing in the pro’s and I get paid really well, so I don’t mind.” I answered.

“Great, more items for the Wall of Fame at the office.” Courtney laughed.

We sat there talking for a while, after about an hour, I think I had relived every single play of the last game, at least it felt like it. The other three men all left about nine o’clock, Courtney’s Dad excused himself from the room for a few moments just Court and I alone together. Again that awkwardness set in, it happened every time.

“Uh, so what are your plans for the next few weeks?” Courtney asked.

“Nothing really, just hanging out, relaxing, trying to figure out what I am going to do about the draft.” I answered.

“You’re thinking about leaving school early?” she inquired.

“Yes, I am. I have been told it might be better for me this year, than waiting until next.” I replied.

“Wow, I had no idea, my Dad never said anything to me.” she stated.

“I haven’t told him yet, I am still running it around in my head.” I answered back, “So how about you, what have you been up to?”

“Me? Nothing much, just working full time, saving money, I hope to get my own place in a year or so. My Dad said he would help.” she answered.

“Somewhere around here?” I inquired.

“Yes, my Dad wants me to eventually take over his company, so I will have to be close to this area.” she stated.

“That makes sense.” I answered.

“So how about we get together before you head back up to school, just hangout or something?” Courtney asked.

I didn’t want to be obvious and come right out and ask what had happened, but the last thing I needed was to get caught up in any drama. I know Courtney’s dating life had been less than stellar, although perhaps a lot of it had been my fault. Maybe had I been more possessive, things would be different.

“That’s ok I guess, I mean as long as it doesn’t cause any problems with anyone.” I answered.

“No problems, I am unattached, haven’t been out in close to seven months, how about you?” she shot back.

“Nope, no one.” I answered.

We talked for a while longer, I told her I would call next week, maybe we could go out for dinner, a movie, something like that. She answered that she would be looking forward to it. I left shortly there after and headed straight home.

The weekend passed quickly, Ashley went back to school on Monday she still had four days left before her break would come. I went to the gym every morning and worked out, laid around the house most of the rest of the time. It was always good to be home, taking the time to wind down from school and football. I had went out during the early evening on Thursday, I was dying for a burger and fries. The diner wasn’t very busy yet, so I sat in a booth in the back corner. I had just received my food and was preparing to eat when I heard a familiar voice behind me.

“Well look who it is, eating all alone. We can’t let that happen.” the soft female voice said.

I turned around to see Stephanie, Ashley’s co-worker from school standing there with a huge grin. I had no choice but to offer her the opportunity to sit down. She slid in the booth across from me right away. She called the waitress over and placed her order immediately.

A few short minutes later she received her food, and settled in.

“So what are you up to Brian?” she asked softly, wiping her moist lips with the napkin.

“Nothing much, just felt like a burger and fries, they monitor so much of our diet at school, it gets old.” I answered.

“By the way, I wanted to ask you, do you have a girlfriend up at school?” she inquired without hesitation.

“No, I don’t. I keep real busy with football and class work. I barely have any free time.” I replied.

“You have to be kidding me, I can’t believe you’re unattached. Well good then, how about before you go back to school, we go out on the town?” she asked, smiling.

This girl didn’t waste anytime, she got right to it, I thought to myself. I mean how could I possibly date a teacher from my old high school, much less a close friend of Ashley’s. True, she was barely two years my senior, but it was still small town America, this would be gossip for sure.

“Oh wow, um ... I don’t think that would be a real good idea, I mean I know you’re new in town, but people get real vicious with gossip. You and I out on a date would give them material to use for months. It would probably hurt you at school as well.” I answered.

“Really?” she asked.

“Really. You have no idea.” I answered.

“Well then, just come to my place one night, we don’t have to leave. No one will see us there.” she said, winking at me.

“I don’t know, this town, it’s just really weird.” I told her.

Before I left she had me give her my cell phone number just in case, she said she would call me later on. As I drove home, I couldn’t help but laugh at how the town would react to this. I got home that evening, Ashley was already home, her vacation starting for spring break. She was on the sofa reading some papers as I got in, I sat down in the chair across from her. I wondered if I should say anything about Stephanie, they were friends after all. I decided not to, there was no way I was going to see Stephanie anyway, why cause trouble?

Courtney called me around noon on Friday, asked me what I thought about doing something later that evening. By now I was pretty bored of sitting around, so it sounded good. I told her I would come pick her up after six or so, she agreed that would be fine. Later that evening, I took a shower and was dressing as Ashley knocked on my door. I opened it and she stepped in, a puzzled look on her face.

“You going out?” she asked.

“Yes, for a while.” I answered.

“With who?” she countered.

“Courtney.” I replied.

“Brian, you have got to be kidding, after all she has did to you, you’re going back for more?” she asked, sternly.

“It’s not a date, we are just going to hang out for a few hours.” I said, trying to defend myself.

She just turned and walked out without saying another word. I knew this was going to happen, I know that after the first time Courtney had dumped me for Darren, Ashley had wrote her off permanently. And I guess after it happened twice, I should have too. But odd as it was, I still felt something for Courtney. I couldn’t explain it, it was just there.

I finished dressing and headed for the kitchen door, I could see Ashley on the sofa watching TV.

I picked up Courtney, we decided to go to the movies, then we grabbed a late meal at the dinner. I dropped her off about ten thirty that evening, we had a nice time. There was absolutely no physical contact of any kind, it was almost like two friends just hanging out. I drove off and headed straight home, walking in just about eleven o’clock. As I made my way to my bedroom, I heard the shower running in Ashley’s room, then I heard the water stop. I leaned my head into her bedroom, letting her know I was home.

“Hey Ashley, I’m home. Gonna hit the shower.” I yelled.

“Ok.” I heard her yell back.

I grabbed some clothes, took a nice hot shower, took the dirty things put them in the laundry basket, and went into my room. I could hear the TV on in the family room, I figured Ashley was watching something. I decided it was much easier to just go to sleep, then sit there feeling uncomfortable.

I woke up early Saturday morning and went straight to the gym getting in an early workout. I took a shower at the gym then headed straight home. It was about nine thirty when I entered through the rear kitchen door, Ashley was drinking coffee at the table.

“Hey, been to the gym already?” she asked.

“Yes, I woke up early.” I answered, pouring me a cup of coffee.

“Say, I have to ask you something. Did Stephanie really ask you out on a date?” Ashley pondered.

“Who told you that.” I answered.

“Uh ... She did.” Ashley replied.

“Oh, well not really a date. She wants to go over to her place one night.” I stated.

“Oh, does she?” Ashley snapped, “And I hope you know why she wants you over there?”

“I can only guess.” I answered.

“I can’t believe her, I mean ... dang.” Ashley replied, shaking her head.

“Look Ash, I know how this town works, trust me. There is no way in hell, I would go over there, morning, noon or night. I know better.” I shot back.

That seemed to calm her down for the moment, although really, if you thought about it, it wasn’t that far fetched that Stephanie and I could date. We were a mere few years apart, not really that big of a deal. I was just about finished my first cup of coffee when my cell phone rang. It was Courtney, she wanted me to take a ride with her to a town about two hours away from ours to pick up some work related material for her Dad. She didn’t feel like the long drive alone, she wanted company. Since I could tell Ashley was in less than great spirits, I decided to tag along.

She picked me up a few minutes later, I met her out at the car. We drove over to the town, picked up her Dad’s things then drove back. On the ride we talked about everything in general, nothing specific. It seemed though that the more time I spent with Courtney, the more I noticed a subtle change in her. She seemed more independent, more mature, she was less clingy than she had been in the past. We decided to go out again one night during the week before I went back to school.

I guess it was three thirty in the afternoon when I got home, Ashley’s was not there. I made something to eat, cleaned the kitchen, then laid on the sofa for a few hours. I fell asleep, waking when I heard Ashley in the kitchen. I got up, walked into the kitchen to see she had been at the grocery store. I helped her put away the groceries, took out the trash, then went back to the TV. Ashley came in the room about thirty minutes later, sitting down in her usual spot in the chair.

“I feel like going to a movie tonight, maybe grab something to eat, I checked TV, nothing much is on. You wanna go with me?” Ashley asked, her eyes on the TV.

“I dunno, what do you want to see?” I asked, trying to give myself some time to think.

“Let me see what’s playing.” she answered, heading to the kitchen to get the newspaper.

While she was gone, I was twisting things around in my head. Maybe if we went out, spent some time together, we could discuss the situation here at home. It had been pretty awkward lately, maybe a night out would ease tensions a bit. By the time she had come back, I had decided I would go.

“There’s nothing much playing here in town, but Midway has two good shows playing, both starting at seven.” she informed me.

Midway was the next town over, it took about thirty minutes to get there. Obviously she was planning to make a night of it, judging by the time.

“I guess so, nothing much else to do.” I answered.

We both showered and changed, I was out and sitting on the sofa long before Ashley appeared. When she finally came out, it was apparent why she had took so long. She looked absolutely ravishing, beyond normal “Ashley Hot”. She was wearing a short jean skirt, a tight white knit top, sneakers with long white socks pushed down around her ankles. Her hair was in a ponytail, her makeup was impeccable. She actually looked like a high school cheerleader, rather than a teacher.

We took her SUV rather my old truck, but she wanted me to drive. As soon as we were both inside of the vehicle, her incredible scent filled the air. She smelled clean, fresh, almost like a new born baby smell.

It was extremely hard trying to concentrate on the road with her short skirt high on her thighs, her scent filling my head. We arrived at the theatre about thirty minutes early, there was a short line for tickets. As I stood in line with Ashley, I could see every guy eyeing her up from head to toe. They would then look at me and try and figure the situation out, I guess. I let Ashley pick the movie she wanted, she paid for the tickets, we went inside. She wanted to go get our seats first, making sure we had good ones. We entered the theatre and I followed her as she climbed the stairs to the last row against the back wall. She entered the aisle and moved exactly to the middle of the row, we were right below the opening when the projector was. We sat there for a while, then I went to the concession stand and got a large popcorn and two Coke’s, returning just minutes before the show was scheduled to start.

The room was maybe half full at best, there was no one else on the aisle where we were sitting. I pushed my seat back and settled in for the show. The movie was maybe ten minutes old when I figured out this was definitely a chick flick, there was nothing here for me. I pretended to be interested for Ashley’s sake, truthfully I could have taken a nap. At a point maybe halfway through the movie, Ashley placed her arm on top of mine, which was resting on the arm of the seat between us. Her hand immediately came down upon mine, causing me to basically freeze in place. I had no idea what this was about, I decided to just act as casual as I could. Her hand had been there for maybe a minute when I felt her fingers pushed down between mine, our hands were now intertwined. She was moving her thumb back and forth across the side of my hand closest to me, she was sending chills up my spine. I had a lump in my throat and one forming much, much lower.

I took my thumb and began to slowly stroke her little finger, very gently up and down. I wanted to make sure, this was, what I thought maybe it was. She didn’t pull away, instead I felt her gently squeeze my hand once, then resume her thumb movement’s. We sat just like that for the remainder of the movie, our hands entwined, staring straight ahead. Once back at the car, I really expected her to say something, but she acted very casually as we discussed where we would eat dinner. We decided to try an Italian restaurant that was located just a few blocks away, it was supposed to be very good.

We arrived within a few minutes, the place was very crowded, we had to wait about twenty minutes for a table. We were finally seated at the left front side of the room, our table was against the wall. We sat down, opened the menu’s and starting talking about what to order. The waiter returned and we placed our order’s, he wrote quickly then turned back towards the kitchen. We had been sitting there for maybe ten minutes when I noticed several people kept glancing in our direction, some of them whispering to each other. Ashley and I were making no physical contact so I had no clue why we were drawing such interest. As we sitting there talking a young boy in his early teens at best came up and stood right next to our table. We both turned in his direction, you could sense he was nervous.

“Um ... Are you that # 99 guy, Stevens?” he asked, very gingerly.

“Yep, I’m that #99 guy.” I laughed.

“Oh wow, I thought it was you. Could I have your autograph?” he asked, very excited.

I glanced down at his hands they were empty, no pen, no paper nothing. I once again laughed and looked at the young boy.

“Sure I guess so, what do you want me to sign?” I asked.

Suddenly it dawned on him, he was woefully unprepared. He got a puzzled look on his face, then turned back toward the table where his parents were sitting. He mumbled something about being right back, then turned quickly and moved to his table. His Mom fumbled through her purse and fished out a magic marker, handing it to him. The boy quickly made his way back to our table extending the marker to me.

“Please sign my shirt.” he asked.