Chapter 6

I was beginning to see more playing time in practice, in fact I was actually getting rep’s with the first string, which really surprised me. By now I was beginning to hold my own with the upper classmen, I was not being pushed around as much. There was no doubt that the defense was going to determine just how good this team would be for the next few years. We were loaded with size, speed and talent.

We were three quarters of the way through the season and still unbeaten, although the meat of our schedule was left to play. We had an away game in Arkansas next, then we had our bye or week off, then came back after Christmas to play a team from Georgia at home. Since I was not allowed to travel with the team and we had our bye week right behind a road game, I had eleven days off from classes and practices over the holidays. I asked and received permission to go home for that period of time, more importantly I needed the break. I had been talking to Courtney about once a week or so, the same with Ashley, trying to keep up on current events around my hometown. I decided to take the last bus out on Friday night, that would put me home about six in the morning, Ashley agreed to pick me up. As the bus pulled into our sleepy little town, I saw Ashley sitting in her car waiting for me. I got off the bus and made my way to it’s underside, grabbing two large bags from under the bus storage compartments. Ashley met me halfway, wrapping her arms around me, jumping into my arms. I was actually quite surprised by the greeting she gave me.

“It’s so great to see you again hotshot. Damn it looks like you’re still growing.” she said.

“Hey Ashley, it’s nice to be home. I’m exhausted.” I answered.

On the ride home, she gave me the quick update on the town’s goings on since I had left. What was happening at the old high school, so forth and so on. By the time we arrived home, all I wanted to do was sleep. I excused myself from Ashley and hit the bed, I slept until seven that evening. I found Ashley in the kitchen cleaning up for the night.

“Hey, you’re finally up. Did you sleep well?” she asked with a smile.

“Uh huh.” I answered.

“There’s a plate for you in the fridge if you’re hungry. I am going to take a shower.” she said.

“Ok, thanks.” I responded.

I warmed up the food and sat and ate at the kitchen table. It was nice to be home, this was the first time I had been really relaxed in months. I cleaned my dishes, loaded them in the rack and went to the family room. I was watching TV when Ashley came back into the room, her hair wrapped in a towel, wearing shorts and a tee shirt. It didn’t matter what Ashley was wearing, what time of day it was, or what she was doing. She was absolutely drop dead gorgeous all of the time. It was really hard for me not to stare at her. As close as we were, I still felt very uncomfortable when I was alone with her, almost afraid. We were watching TV when she turned to me with that evil grin she had, the one that let you know she wanted something.

“So, you have a girlfriend up at school yet?” she asked, smiling.

“No, I haven’t dated once, there is no time.” I responded.

“No time? Come on Brian, I know there are girls everywhere. You can’t tell me different.” she laughed.

“Oh there are tons of girls, but so far I haven’t talked to anyone.” I answered.

“Well just so you know, Courtney asks me about you every time I see her. From what I hear, she hasn’t been dating anyone either. You two have an agreement?” she inquired.

“Yes and no. It’s really informal.” I replied.

She went back to watching TV and the topic died off quickly. About thirty minutes later, I decided to call it a night and go back to bed. I fell asleep quickly, I was still exhausted.

I awoke Saturday morning to a dreary, gloomy day, the rain falling in a steady pattern. I ate breakfast, then decided to go to the gym and get in a quick workout. It was good to see Carl again, he seemed eager to hear about my training at school. We talked for a while, I had a good workout, took a swim, then headed home. Around two that afternoon my cell phone rang, it was Courtney.

“Hey Brian, I heard you’re home. Whatcha’ doing?” she asked.

“Hi Court. Not much, just relaxing.” I answered.

“Can you come over later tonight, maybe have dinner?” she inquired.

“I guess so, about six?” I asked.

“That’s great, see you then.” she ended.

I left for Courtney’s about six that evening, arrived a few minutes after. I could see several vehicles in the drive, so I figured her parents were entertaining again, they did that quite a bit. I rang the bell and within seconds Courtney answered the door, jumping into my arms.

I hugged her tight, it was good to see her again. She led me into the family room where her mom and dad, as well as two other couples their age, were talking and drinking wine.

“Hey look who came home for a few days?” she shouted as we entered the room.

“Brian, it’s so nice to see you son. It looks like school is treating you well.” Mr. Timmons said, extending his hand.

“Yes sir, things are going well.” I replied.

I always liked Courtney’s Dad, he was a genuine person, but he never made you feel like he was judging you. He reminded me a lot of my own Father, he appeared to be a man you could go to and get advice when needed. He offered me a seat on the sofa and began to question me about how life was away from home. The men were all interested in my answers, the ladies appeared to be bored. Football was not king in their world. After a few minutes, Courtney’s Mom interrupted the conversation.

“Ok now, I’m sure Courtney and Brian have a lot of catching up to do. Leave them be. Now you two run along.” she said, waving her hand towards the front living room.

Courtney jumped up, grabbed me by the hand pulling me up. We walked into the formal living area and sat down next to each other. Courtney began asking questions about school as well, although I really think she had other things on her mind. She seemed extremely relieved when I told her just how hectic my days were, I barely had time for myself. She chimed in that she had been working in her Dad’s office, she had been very busy trying to learn the business. She made sure to tell me she had not been out on a date since I had left town.

Just about that time her Mother called out that dinner was ready, everyone gathering in the large dining room. Courtney and I were seated at one end of the table together, across from her parents. Conversation was mostly adult oriented, business, family and friends dominated the conversation. Finally as I knew he would, Courtney’s Dad interjected football into the night’s conversation.

“So Brian, any idea if you will get to play next year?” he asked.

“No sir, not really. I am rotating with the first unit in practice, I am getting a lot of reps, but the competition is unreal.” I answered.

“Oh come on Brian. You’re telling me the defensive line is that good, to the point you can’t start next year?” he laughed.

“Yes sir, it’s that good. In fact I have heard the coaches say a few times, we could be the best defense in the country next year.” I replied, “We should average 290 lbs. up front and our backers are all over 250 lbs and quite fast.”

“That’s unreal.” he said, shaking his head.

Courtney’s Mom once again reeled her husband in, taking the topic away from football. We finished dinner, the ladies all helped clean up before rejoining us in the family room. Courtney and I had planned to go out the next evening alone, so I decided to call it a night early. I thanked her mom for a nice dinner and walked with Courtney out to my truck.

“I will see you tomorrow night.” Courtney said softly, wrapping her arms around me, kissing me softly on the lips.

I slept in late the next morning, getting up about nine o’clock. Ashley was in the kitchen, grading papers, drinking a cup of coffee. I poured a cup of coffee and joined her at the table. She asked how my evening had been, I recalled the details to her, although it was really bland to say the least. I picked Courtney up that evening and we went to the seven o’clock show at the local theatre. She looked really good, she had on a short jean skirt, a white sweater and suede brown boots. I could see several guys eyeing her up as we walked into the theatre, she knew it too. Don’t let anyone fool you, beautiful girls know you’re watching, whether they let on or not.

We sat in the last row, in the middle of the room, we were lone in the row. She held my hand throughout the entire show, almost as she was afraid I was going to run off somewhere. After the show we went to the local diner for a hamburger and fries, arriving just before ten. The place was packed, I saw a lot of familiar faces from school. We had to wait for a few minutes, but a booth in the back finally opened up. We ate rather quickly and made our way to the register to check out. I paid the waitress, handed her a tip and we walked out. It was getting close to eleven as we pulled out of the parking lot of the diner. As I was about to turn on the main highway into town, Courtney turned and touched my arm.

“Can we go down to the lake for a while, just the two of us?” she asked softly, her fingers tracing up my arm.

“I guess we can for a while.” I answered, turning the truck in the other direction.

We made our way quickly to a secluded spot near a few large oak trees on the northeast corner of the lake. There were only two other cars there, both of them several hundred yards away from us. I turned off the engine, cut the lights and sat back in my seat.

“This is nice.” said Courtney, reaching out and grabbing my hand in hers.

She turned and placed her back against the truck door, swinging her legs somewhat up on the seat between us. She was wearing a very short jean skirt, I caught a glimpse of her red panties as she opened her legs. She began to ask about life at school again, I knew where the conversation was headed.

“So what do you do in your spare time at school?” she asked, trying her best to seem interested.

“I don’t have any spare time Court.” I replied, “I go for about 14 hours a day. If I’m lucky, I have off Sunday, which I spend sleeping most of the day.”

“You don’t go out ... Like, you know ... with the guys?” she inquired.

“Court, I haven’t been off campus once since I got there.” I answered.

“Wow, that sounds boring to me ... I would go insane.” she said.

“Sometimes, it gets to you, but I work through it.” I responded.

She got quiet and started looking out of the front windshield towards the lake. It was a clear night, the moon was shining off the water, it was a really peaceful night.After a brief moment, sher turned back to me.

“So Brian, how do you feel about our situation? Have you given it any thought?” she asked.

“Actually yes I have, quite a bit. How about you?” I inquired.

“Yea, me too.” she said.

“And?” I asked.

“No, you first.” she stated, nervously.

“Well, I am ok with us going back to where we were before I left, if that’s ok with you. But if anything happens to change how you feel, just please call me and be honest, no sneaking around.” I stated.

“That sounds good.” she said, looking relieved, “But you do the same. If you meet someone up there and you’re serious, please let me know.”