Chapter 4

We arrived back at school at twelve thirty Saturday night, it looked like the entire town was there to meet us. There were people everywhere, cars lined the streets for miles. As we pulled up and stopped, everyone rushed the bus to greet us. One by one the players filed out, I waited until last with the trainer to exit the bus. As I stepped down I saw Ashley standing near the front of the bus. I moved over to her, I could see she had tears in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close to her.

“Your Dad is so proud of you Brian. You played like you were possessed, I have never seen an effort like that in my life.” she whispered in my ear.

“Ashley, please not too tight, my ribs are broke.” I softly said as I winced in pain.

“Broke? You played the game with broken ribs?” she asked loudly.

“Shhhhhhhhh. It’s not bad, I am just really sore. It was my decision to play. They wanted to me to sit out. Just please don’t say anything to anyone.” I begged.

I could tell by the look on her face she was not overjoyed but she promised she would keep quiet. Several people walked over to us all congratulating me for my effort and on the state record. It had been a long day, I was tired and hurting, I asked Ashley if we could leave. She agreed and pointed in the direction where she was parked. Before we could head that way Courtney and her parents walked up to us. Courtney ran up to me and jumped into my arms, wrapping hers around me. The impact about doubled me over, I almost went down to one knee.

“Brian, oh my God, what’s wrong?” she cried out, stepping back.

“It’s ok Court, I am just really sore.” I answered.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.” she whispered, tears forming in her eyes.

I reassured Courtney I was ok and hugged her gently. Her father stepped up and extended his hand.

“Great game Brian. You were head and shoulders better than anyone on that field. I can’t remember watching someone dominate a high school game like you just did.” he boomed.

“Thank you Mr. Timmons.” I replied, shaking his hand.

As we spoke for a few minutes it was clear he was as excited about the win as we were. He had been an athlete in high school and college, he loved football. Before we parted he informed us that the entire town was putting on a huge celebration in a few weeks at a large open facility just outside of town. The entire town was going to be there. We excused ourselves and headed to Ashley’s car which was a few blocks away.

We arrived home quickly, I went in my bedroom and undressed, getting ready for bed. I went to the kitchen to get a couple of pain relievers and ran into Ashley who since I wasn’t wearing a shirt, saw the bruises on my side.

“Oh God Brian, you’re hurt bad. I need to take you to the hospital right now.” she exclaimed.

“It’s ok Ashley, I had two sets of X-Rays, they are fractured but not broke. I will be fine.” I replied.

I went back in my room and laid down in my bed trying to unwind from the long day and all of the excitement. I laid there for a few minutes, the pain seem to intensify, my side was now throbbing. I sat back up and after a few minutes the pain did ease up a bit. I grabbed a blanket and a pillow and made my way to the family room. I sat down in the large recliner and tilted it back a little. I was able to sleep on and off for a while, mostly waking whenever I moved. Early the next morning, I felt someone’s arms around me. I opened my eyes and looked up to see Ashley looking down on me from behind the chair.

“How are you feeling?” she asked sincerely.

“I’m ok, I just feel better sitting up then laying down.” I replied.

Even though Ashley had been married to my Dad, the fact that she would be twenty eight a few days before I would be nineteen, in my mind every now and then, I couldn’t help but think of her as just a woman. She was always stunningly beautiful, her body was flawless and she always smelled so good. Now her hands were rubbing my shoulders and chest ever so gently, I could not help but think of things I shouldn’t.

“How about some breakfast?” she asked.

“Sure, sounds great.” I answered.

We had just sat down to eat breakfast when the phone rang. Ashley got up and answered it, a strange look crossing her face. As she was talking on the phone, I heard my cell phone ringing in my bedroom. I got up and walked down the hall and picked it up. It was a long distance number which I didn’t recognize so I just ignored it. By the time I got back to the kitchen the phone was ringing again. After the second call Ashley sat down, a smile on her face.

“The first call was from Alabama, the second from Texas, they both are sending someone out here to talk to you hotshot.” she stated.

“I just got a long distance call on my cell phone too. I wonder who that was from.” I answered.

For the rest of the day and night the phone rang constantly, recruiters trying to set up an appointment to come out and talk to me. I had no idea what to do, I was relying heavily on my Father to handle this situation, without him this was going to be a mess. I decided to call Coach Mike and try to meet with him to get some guidance.

I met with Coach Mike after school on Monday for several hours, we laid out all of the criteria that I was looking for in the next phase of my football career. First and foremost was a great education, the chance of playing football past college was a very long shot. I also wanted to play if not close to home, near enough that coming back home was not a problem. Lastly I wanted to play hopefully, at a major college and for a program that would push me as hard as possible.

All week recruiters were filing into school in hopes to get a chance to talk to either me, Jason or Devon, all expected to get major college offers. By the end of the week it had gotten so bad, Ms. Carter decided to shut it down. She set aside our lunch period as the only time we could meet with recruiters or coaches. I had somewhat narrowed my choice down to schools in Texas, Alabama, Louisiana and Arkansas. All had great programs and all four had expressed a possibility of offering me a full or partial scholarship.

By the time Friday rolled around, I seriously needed a weekend off. I was physically and mentally exhausted, as was Ashley. We decided to unplug the house phone for the weekend, we would only answer personal cell calls. Courtney and I were just going to go out Friday night and take it easy, maybe a movie or something. When I arrived at her house to pick her up, there were cars everywhere. I had to park down the block and walk up to the house. I rang the bell and Courtney’s mother answered the door.

“Hi Brian, nice to see you honey, come on in.” she greeted, waving her hand behind her, “Please ignore my husband, he has one of his famous all guy parties going on. They do this once or twice a year.”

“Thank you Ms. Timmons, nice to see you too.” I replied.

I followed her to the family room where several dozen men were either sitting or standing around, all drinking beer or eating. Courtney’s Dad jumped up and quickly crossed the room.

“Brian, hey come on over and meet the guys.” he cried out.

He grabbed me by the arm and drug me into the middle of the family room excitedly, like I was his new toy.

“Guy’s this is Brian Stevens, Courtney’s boyfriend, and defensive end from our State Championship Team.” he exclaimed.

I waved to everyone, somewhat embarrassed by my introduction, and stood quietly next to Mr. Timmons. One guy who was standing right next to us spoke up.

“Jesus H. Christ son, you’re only in high school? I find that hard to believe.” he stated.

“I’ll be nineteen in a few days sir, I will graduate this year.” I answered calmly.

Everyone started asking questions all at once, I did my best to try and answer them one by one. Courtney’s mother came to my rescue after a few minutes.

“Ok, that’s enough. Brian is here to see Courtney, not entertain you old geezers.” she said.

She grabbed me by the hand and pulled me out of the crowd and into the kitchen. She told me Courtney would be down in a few minutes, to make myself comfortable. Less than five minutes later, Courtney came down ready to go. We started out passing through the family room when her Dad called out to me.

“Wait before you go Brian, come here for a minute.” he called out.

I looked at Courtney and shrugged my shoulders, what could I do? I walked over to where he was standing with another man, apparently they were engaged in a friendly argument. He pulled me over to where they were standing.

“Brian, this is Steve Donnelly, he graduated from Parkview High, years ago, we made a bet. You have to settle it for us.” he roared.

“I’ll try sir.” I answered.

“He doesn’t believe you played the entire game hurt, he says you were one hundred percent for four quarters.” he stated.

I really did not want to get into this conversation, much less have to settle a bet. I gave some lame excuse about just having the wind knocked out of me, that it was no big deal. No one outside of our locker room and Ashley really knew the true extent of what happened.

“Brian, I know better. You’re a very polite and well mannered young man, so don’t lie to your possible future father-in-law. And do not cost me money.” he shot back, “I know for a fact, one of your teammates told me.”

I didn’t know what to say, I really did not want to cause any problems for the school, coaching staff or the trainers. I figured I better at least try to settle it with the least possible detail I could.

“Ok, I did play three quarters with bruised ribs, no big deal.” I answered.

Before I could say anything, Courtney’s dad reached over and pulled my tee shirt up, exposing my bruised upper torso. By now the bruising was extensive, wrapping around my chest and back.

“Oh my God.” Courtney cried out, her hands covering her face.

“Oh damn Brian, I am so sorry son.” Mr. Timmons said softly.

“It’s ok really, I am fine.” I replied, pulling my shirt back down.

Courtney grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room, which had become very noticeably quiet. We were out of the front door in a flash, walking down the street. Courtney apologized for her Dad, she told me he got carried away when it came to football. She said for the last few weeks he had been wrapped up in planning the large celebration next Saturday night that would celebrate our big win. We went down to local diner and grabbed a bite to eat, then went to the late show at the movie theatre. We got back to her house just a little after midnight, there were still several cars in the driveway. We went in and entered the family room to see her Dad, Mom and two other guys seated on the sofa talking. I sat down on the end of the large sectional, Courtney went to the kitchen to get us a glass of iced tea.

“Brian, any news on where you might be headed next fall?” Courtney’s mother asked.

“No mam, not yet. But I have narrowed it down to a few schools, I am waiting on offers.” I replied.

Courtney rejoined us and we sat down and more or less followed along with the adults. It was getting late so I decided to say my goodbyes and head home. It was about one thirty in the morning when I arrived home, all the lights were out. I very quietly opened the kitchen door and went in, closing the door behind me. I pulled off my shoes as to not make any noise and wake Ashley up. As I walked down the hall towards my room, I could see Ashley’s door was slightly ajar but the light was out. As I entered my room, I heard a very faint sound come from Ashley’s room. I stopped and stool still, the house was extremely quiet. I sat down on the bed and began to take my shoes off when once again I heard a very faint noise.

Once again, I sat still and listened, only this time I heard it several more times. I quietly got up and walked out in the hall towards Ashley’s room pausing at the door. I looked in the slight crack in the door and frame, I could see Ashley lying in the bed flat on her back. As I looked closer I noticed she was wearing a tee shirt and panties, her right hand was inside of her panties. She was moving her hand back and forth across her pussy, she was oblivious to everything except the feeling her fingers were giving her. I knew I shouldn’t be watching but I couldn’t help myself. I eased myself over and leaned against the door frame, my eyes fixed on Ashley’s movements. I sensed from her body movements she was getting close to an orgasm, something I really wanted to see. I shifted my weight against the door to get a slightly better view. When I did, the wood frame cracked sharply with the change in pressure. I quickly stepped away from the door and hurried down the hallway to my room. I closed the door quietly behind me and moved to my bed. I had no sooner sat down when I heard a knock on the door.

“Brian, you home?” Ashley said softly.

“Yes mam, you can come in.” I replied.

The door opened and Ashley stepped in, she had put her on her robe to cover herself. Her face was still flushed, her hair disheveled. I kept my head down, taking off my shoes.

“Did you just get in?” she inquired.

“Yes mam, just a second ago, why?” I replied.

“I thought I heard something in the hallway.” she said, her eyes staring intently into mine.

“That was probably me opening my door.” I responded, but from her demeanour, I could tell she was not buying it.

“Well ... Ok, goodnight.” she said, slowly closing the door.

As I laid in bed that night I felt both guilty and excited at the same time. I felt bad about watching Ashley and invading her private moments alone. But another part of me was so aroused at what I had witnessed. I went back and forth in my mind until finally I drifted off to sleep. The following morning I woke about seven thirty, I could smell breakfast cooking. I got up and headed for the kitchen, Ashley was standing at the stove.

“Hey.” she said.

“Good morning.” I replied.

I could instantly feel a chill in the air, now I was certain Ashley suspected I had watched her last night. I really felt terrible now. Ashley had always been wonderful to me, I felt awful about embarrassing her. I thought for a while, should I bring it up or just see what happens? I decided to just keep quiet for the time being. We pretty much ate in silence, which was extremely rare for us. I helped her clean the kitchen then went to my room to get dressed for the day.

The rest of the weekend went pretty much the same, a total awkward feeling between Ashley and I.

By early the following week, I had narrowed down my choices to three schools, Texas, Alabama and Louisiana, They were all three in the process of setting up visits for me. The phone was ringing off the hook, three different recruiters and head coaches all keeping a constant eye and ear to my movements. I had started to heal up from my injuries but I was still staying away from the gym. I had decided to take four weeks off to make sure I had completely healed and was well rested before resuming any serious weight program. Everyone in the town was excited all week about the huge celebration that was planned for this Saturday night just outside of town. We would receive our State Championship Jackets and Rings, everyone would be there.

Soon it was Friday afternoon, we were out for the weekend. Courtney and I had planned an evening out tonight. I got to her house about seven o’clock, she was ready to go. One of her friends was having a party at her house, a few dozen people would be there. We arrived about eight o’clock, it looked like a bigger than expected crowd. One of Courtney’s best friends, Jasmin was hosting the party. She was one of the head cheerleaders for our school, as well as a very talented basketball player on the girl’s varsity. She was a very light skinned black girl, her complexion made her appear to be more Latin than African American. She was about 5’11, one hundred twenty five pounds with a very fit, athletic body. She had a beautiful face, with long straight jet black hair.

She greeted us at the door and invited us in. Most everyone at the party went to school with us or had recently graduated. I am really not big on these types of events. It always seems someone drinks too much, the wrong thing is said, then people want to fight. I guess we had been there for about an hour when I noticed Courtney mixing a drink at the table. I had never seen Courtney drink alcohol before so I was surprised to say the least. When she finally made her way back to where I was sitting, I confronted her.

“Since when do you drink?” I asked.

“Oh God Brian, it’s one drink. Chill out.” she replied exasperated.

I didn’t say anything more, but I noticed her back at the liquor table several more times that night. By the time we left, I could tell she was not her normal self. I was really quite put off, I didn’t want her parents getting upset with me, thinking I had anything to do with it. She could tell on the way home, I was not too happy. By the time we arrived at her house, it was close to two in the morning. All the lights were out in the house, I pulled into the driveway along side the large house. Almost as soon as I turned the key to the off position in the ignition, Courtney slid over in her seat. She reached over and pulled me close to her, her mouth pressing to mine. I could still taste the alcohol on her lips and tongue, very bitter and sharp. Her hand immediately reached down and began to squeeze my cock through my jeans. I could tell the alcohol had just about wiped away any inhibitions she may have had, Courtney was never this aggressive.

She reached down and quickly unzipped my pants, pulling out my hardening cock. She didn’t hesitate for a second, she lowered her head in my lap and sucked my cock deep into her mouth. She had never did anything even remotely close to this before, I was somewhat stunned. In a matter of seconds, her lips and tongue had my cock rock hard and throbbing. She continued to bob her head up and down on my cock, her lips sucking me relentlessly. I knew I was just about to cum, I was not going to be able to hold back.

“Court, baby ... I’m gonna cum.” I whispered.

“Nooooooooooooo,”, she cried, releasing my cock from her mouth.

She got up and looked me square in the eyes as her hand continued to stroke my cock slowly. He reached her other hand down between her legs and began to rub herself through her jeans. She leaned in close, gave me a quick kiss, her tongue licking my lips as she pulled away.

“I want you to fuck me, Brian. Right now.” she whimpered.

“Court, I can’t. I don’t have any thing with me, we can’t take that chance.” I warned her.

“It’s ok Brian, you can pull out of me before you cum.” she urged.

My Dad had warned me about this exact thing a few years before. In fact this is what he and my mother had did years ago, she came up pregnant anyway.

“I can’t Court, no way. I will get a condom for next time ok?” I asked.

“God dammit Brian, you’re more like a Dad than a boyfriend. I want to fuck now, come on.” she said.

“Sorry Court, I can’t. I have too much riding on my future to make a mistake now.” I answered softly.

“Your future? So I am not part of your future? Thanks a lot, Brian.” she snapped sharply.

“Court, that’s not what I mean. We can’t do this right now, no way.” I shot back.

“Fine, be an asshole Brian.” she spat at me, flinging open the truck door, and jumping out.

She ran up the steps quickly and unlocked the door. Before I could get out, she went in, slamming the door behind her. I stood there for a few minutes, thinking she would come back out and least say goodnight, but she never did. I walked back to my truck, pulled out of the drive and went home. I grabbed a Coke out of the refrigerator and went and sat down in the family room. I was just sitting there in the dark, when I heard Ashley behind me.

“What’s wrong Brian.” she asked.

“Nothing.” I replied quickly.

“Brian, what’s wrong?” she asked.

“Courtney and I had a fight, no big deal.” I responded.

“You want to talk about it?” she asked, “I can give you a female’s point of view.”

“No, thank you ... I am going to bed.” I answered.

I had a hard time falling asleep that night, I really had never saw this side of Courtney before. Perhaps it was the alcohol that was talking, I had never seen her drink that much, that had to be it.

I woke up early Saturday morning and went to the gym, it felt good to be working out again, I was beginning to get lazy. I got back home about eleven that morning, Ashley was out shopping. So I took a long shower and changed clothes. The State Championship Celebration would be tonight, the entire town was buzzing with excitement. The celebration was scheduled to begin at four in the afternoon and would last until midnight.

I still had not heard from Courtney, so I decided to call her and ask what time she wanted me to pick her up. Her cell phone rang three times, she picked up.

“Hello”, she said in a very dry tone.

“Hey Court, I just wanted to know what time to pick you up this evening?” I asked.

“Uh ... I am going to ride with Jasmin and Kelly. I guess I will see you there.” she shot back, a certain chill was in the air.

“Oh, ok. I will see you there then.” I replied.

I left the house about four thirty and drove to the outskirts of town where the huge event had been set up. When I arrived police officers were guiding cars into a parking area in an open field. There were well over a hundred vehicles already there and a long line behind me to get in. I parked and started to make my way toward where the stage, music and food were setup. As I made my way through the crowd, I was continually congratulated on our historic season. I saw a few guys from the team huddled together with a few girls, I made my way over there. I guess I had been there for about thirty minutes before I saw Courtney, Jasmin and Kelly across the fields from where I was standing. Two guys from our school were standing with them. One was Kelly’s boyfriend, the other I was not sure of.