Chapter 1: Baby Steps

Monday January 16
I left my apartment to start my day and decided a run was out of the question because it’d snowed last night. It was the perfect reminder of what I would miss about LA. The day’s only saving grace was that I didn’t have to go to school. It was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which meant almost everything was closed.

I came into the kitchen and was met by Duke, so I let him out. The traitor had moved in with Coby and Little David while I was gone. Peggy finally took his crate up to the boys’ room. We were still a few months away from Little David being old enough for a big-boy bed. Duke’s crate was mentioned as the replacement bed for Coby. It was his go-to place to take a nap, and Mom said he fussed when he had to go to bed in his crib at night. For once, Duke wasn’t protective of his stuff. He was happy to have Coby sleep with him.

I found my dad drinking tea instead of his usual coffee.

“I wondered how long it would take to convert you to my way of thinking,” I said, being smart.

He ignored me.

“What are you doing today?” he asked.

“I called Moose to see if I could get in a workout at the field house. Baseball season is just around the corner. He told me that Tim had already called him, and the whole team would be there for voluntary workouts.”

“Speaking of school, your mother changed your classes,” Dad warned me as he handed me my new schedule.

I was glad he gave me a heads-up. I would have been in a terrible mood if I’d shown up and discovered this change.

What I’d planned to take:
• PE – Strength and Conditioning
• Business Math (I figured it would be a breeze for anyone who’s had precalculus)
• Computer Applications (basically an introduction to MS Office)
• Lunch
• Rock Music Appreciation (I’d tried to sign up for this before with no success)
• Honors Drama (this would be a piece of cake for me with the training and experience I’d had)
• AP Econ & Virtual Enterprise (even though it was an AP class, I knew I needed this and was willing to work at it)
• Study Hall (a chance to skip out early)

After my mom changed my classes:
• PE – Strength and Conditioning – Coach Rector
• AP Calculus – Ms. Lowden
• AP Chemistry – Mr. Dutton
• Lunch
• AP English Lit/Poetry – Mrs. Hedge
• Spanish II – Ms. Cruz
• AP Economics & Virtual Enterprise – Mr. Quiroz
• AP Physics – Mr. Hicks

The target of my ire walked into the kitchen.

“I see you gave him his schedule,” she said and gave me a look that dared me to object.

“I really wanted to take Rock Music Appreciation,” I complained.

“First, you should be thanking me,” she said and paused for me to do just that.

I still didn’t get how she was able to change my classes. There surely was some kind of rule against that. When she saw that Hell might freeze over before I ‘appreciated’ her meddling, she continued.

“With five AP classes, you can overtake Gina Tasman for valedictorian. She’s only taking three,” Mom explained.

Advanced Placement classes had a multiplier that added to your grade point average. Gina was slightly ahead of me in the class standings. The competitive side of me could see my mom’s logic, but I did want to take the rock music class.

“Did you give Dare a heads-up that you were changing my schedule?” I asked.

“He needs to learn to be more independent,” Mom said.

She had a point. Until now, I’d had Brook to help keep an eye on him. My first option now was Cassidy, but I would bet big money that she wasn’t interested in any of the classes he would be in.

Speaking of the little ninja, I heard the back door open, and she waltzed in. Someone felt comfortable enough to walk right in without knocking. It made me smile because when I was growing up, Tami, Alan, and Jeff had done just that. We treated each other’s houses like our own.

“Oh, good, I didn’t miss breakfast,” she said as she claimed my seat at the table.

Everyone looked at me, and I suppressed a smile. Leave it to my family to bring me back to earth. In their eyes, I was just a high school kid, not a movie star. I went to the refrigerator to see what I would make for breakfast.

Cassidy was upset that I wouldn’t let her drive the Dodge Demon in the snow. It was too much car on dry pavement; I didn’t even want to know what would happen if it was driven in icy conditions. Instead, we took the SUV. I felt much safer with her driving that.

When we pulled up to the school, I got out, and Cassidy scowled at me.

“I’m supposed to do a security check before you get out of the car,” she complained.

I looked around, and there wasn’t another car parked within thirty feet of us. She made me get back in and, out of spite, had me wait while she did her check. When she opened my door to let me out, I grabbed my duffle bag and bolted for the school’s front door.

“Jerk!”

There was a girl between me and the building. She heard my boots crunching in the snow, which caused her to turn to see who was coming. I darted past her to open the door to be a gentleman. She pushed around me and was halfway in when she recognized me. The girl stood in the middle of the doorway, looking up into my eyes with her mouth open. Then she did the full checkout as her gaze ran up and down my body. I was both amused and irritated when the girl looked at my crotch. Mr. Happy must have felt the scrutiny because he twitched awake. She saw the movement in my jeans and blinked several times.

“Not that I mind you staring, but I need to get inside so I can go lift,” I said.

By now, Cassidy had caught up with me and was taking in the show.

The girl pried her eyes away from my crotch and looked totally mortified at being caught ogling me. I felt like I was a piece of meat she was about to kneel before and devour. Her eyes finally met mine, and I had an ironic smile on my face that I hoped conveyed that I wasn’t serious. She opened and closed her mouth a couple times before she could talk.

“Ah, yes, uhm, nice of you to, ah ... I mean nice of you to meet with me, me, to meet you. Uh, I mean...” she managed. Then the girl turned to run away like I just asked her to sacrifice kittens to raise some demonic entity from the depths of Hell.

As she stumbled through her incoherent little speech, I’d zoned out because she was the vision of just the type of cute girl that I wanted to get to know. Her eyes were the dark blue of the night sky and a great complement to her gorgeous full lips. Her thick dark hair smelled of coconut and looked silky to the touch, making me want to run my fingers through it. I couldn’t tell much else because she was bundled up in an oversized parka that hung down to her knees. She was such a little tease, hiding her goodies from me.

Then this girl did the unexpected. She stopped herself from scampering away, then turned and squared her shoulders. It was my turn to blink. She made sure she had my full attention and then looked down at the bulge in my jeans. Her little pink tongue darted over her lips as those dark eyes watched Mr. Happy make a play for the body. It caused him to thicken and stretch as he attempted to escape through my jeans like that monster in Alien that burst from the guy’s chest.

I shoved my hand into my pocket and shifted my duffle bag to hide my growing problem. Cassidy barked out a laugh at my not-so-subtle attempt to salvage my dignity. Brook had left me less than a week ago, and here I was, already looking for her replacement. What was wrong with me?

Cassidy pushed me aside, hooked her arm inside the new girl’s elbow, and pulled her inside.

“We need to talk,” she said.

I watched them walk away. Damn! I was just getting to know her.

It took some doing, but I talked Mr. Happy down. After I’d had a chance to think about it, I was more than a little embarrassed by how I’d acted. It wasn’t like me to flirt with a random girl at school.

Not that she wasn’t flirt-worthy, it was just that I felt it was way too soon after Brook had left.

The hard truth was I’d convinced myself that I wasn’t going to start another relationship with only a semester left in my senior year. That was why Lexi was such a perfect solution. With her, it was just a hookup. I could get behind a no-strings, fun romp in the sack. The problem was that I wasn’t sure there were many girls my age who were interested in that. The only two that came to mind were Lisa Felton and Destiny Crown. I certainly didn’t want to go there and face the wrath of my friends.

When I got to the locker room, I made the rounds. I was pleased that everyone had shown up to lift and work on their baseball skills on a holiday. I talked to each guy and let them know that this year we were not goofing off. We would make a push to win State.

Last year, our squad had been divided, with some key players playing seven-on-seven football instead of baseball. Two players I targeted were younger quarterbacks, my brother Phil and Trent Buchannan. They would battle next season to take over the starting quarterback job. Playing seven-on-seven football was critical for both of them.

I’d made them a deal which I knew Moose would back me up on. If they joined the team part-time to help with pitching depth, I wouldn’t mess with their spring football teams. The only condition was that they had to show up for preseason workouts and get enough pitching in each week so they would be useful. I also might have alluded to the fact that I would work with them so they were better football players.

I dressed in my workout clothes and was on my way to the weight room when Moose stopped me.

“Before you go lift, I want you to meet our new strength and conditioning coach.”

“What happened to Connor Fletcher?” I asked.

Coach Fletcher had been hired to help us, and I’d assumed he would continue in the role.

“He’s going to focus on his job at State as their strength and conditioning coach. He recommended our new one. Mr. Hasting talked the school into hiring her as part of our training staff,” Moose explained.

“Her?” I asked.

He shrugged, pointed at the training room, and went back into his office. I figured I might as well get this over with. I walked in and found Cassidy talking to Jill and Becky, our trainers. When they saw me, all conversation stopped. I suspected that Cassidy had been filling them in on my encounter with the new girl.

“Hey, I need you to look at something. I have this discoloration on my skin, and I’m not sure what the problem is,” I said as I walked up to them.

They barked out a laugh when I showed them my tan line on my hip.

“And it begins,” Jill said as she shook her head at me.

“Give me a hug, I’ve missed you,” Becky said.

I gave them both hugs. When I released Jill, Becky introduced me to the newest member of their team.

“David, I would like you to meet Joey Marshall.”

I turned and caught Cassidy’s huge grin. Yep, it was the girl from earlier. Only now I could see what was hidden under the parka. Joey looked like a woman you’d see in a fitness magazine. She had on a half tank top that highlighted an impressive rack, and her abs were more defined than those on most of the guys on our team. Joey’s yoga pants did nothing to hide her round, perky ass that just screamed ‘squeeze me.’ Her muscular legs made me wonder if she’d played volleyball in college.

“So you took over for Fletch,” I said. “I can already see that you’re an improvement.”

“And I can already see that you’re going to be my problem child,” she snapped back.

I bit back several retorts that involved my ‘problem’ and decided I wanted her on my side instead of tattling on me the first day.

“All I care about is whether you can make me a better athlete,” I said, getting serious.

She looked at me for a moment and must have decided I wasn’t playing around, so she gave me a slight nod to show we were on the same page.

“Ms. Hope, get David’s folder, and we’ll see where he’s at now,” Joey said.

I’d talked to Coach Hope about what Cassidy wanted to do beyond high school. One of her goals was to help me stay in shape. She already had the cardio down, now she would learn from Joey and the rest of the training staff about the strength side. That was why she was now a student trainer.

Cassidy came back with my folder and handed it to Joey. It was somewhat thick after four years of football injuries.

“Take your shirt off,” Cassidy ordered.

I took it off and saw Jill and Becky trying to hide their laughter as Cassidy held out her hand to Joey.

“I’ll pay you later,” Joey said under her breath to Cassidy.

“Did you want to see my skin discoloration?” I asked, turning slightly to show her my butt.

“No!” Jill and Becky said at the same time.

“Behave,” Cassidy admonished me.

I gave Cassidy my drowning puppy look, and she had to turn away. I think I’d finally nailed it.

“Okay,” Joey said to try to bring back some professionalism to the conversation. “Let’s get his measurements.”

Both Jill and Becky had to go to the office because they were ‘being a distraction,’ according to Joey. I decided not to offer her all my measurements since I could see she was just trying to get through this.

I was officially six-four and a quarter and weighed 222 pounds. Joey and Cassidy next took me out and had me do some stretching, running, and then the workout that I usually did in the weight room. I quickly found that the newest member of our staff knew her stuff. She had me show her how I did each exercise and quizzed me on why I did certain things. Joey took a lot of notes and only made a few comments while I worked up a decent sweat.

It felt good to get back into our facilities. To be honest, our weight room setup was better than what Pepperdine had. Over the last three years, our booster club had poured some serious money into getting us everything a top-flight program should have.

Once we were done, Cassidy and Joey took me back to the training room to talk.

“What period do you have PE?” Joey asked.

“First.”

“Okay,” she said as she made a note of that and then looked up. “I can tell you’ve dialed it back since football season. I’m glad you did because it gave your body a chance to completely heal. I understand you were in an accident, is that right?”

“Ribs, hip pointer, and right arm,” Cassidy relayed.

“I want you to come in early tomorrow so that Dr. Grog can check you out. If you need further testing, we may need to schedule an appointment.”

“Doc Grog,” I said.

“Excuse me?” Joey asked.

“He likes to be called Doc Grog,” I shared.

“Okay, I’ll remember that. Thanks.”

“Should I run tomorrow morning?” I asked.

“No. I’m going to shake up your routine. You’ve gotten to a point where your improvement has tapered off. We’ll shock your system by having you do different exercises intending to show a significant increase in your strength, speed, endurance, coordination, and flexibility. I want to get you ready to play baseball and then lay a foundation for when you go to college.

“Many athletes at your skill level don’t seem to improve like they should when they go to college. It all comes down to your having elite training similar to what you’ll experience when you go up a level. That means you won’t improve as much as athletes who didn’t have your same training in high school. What I want to do is make sure you continue to improve. We don’t need anyone catching up with you,” she said with a smile.

“I’m on board with that,” I assured her.

“Tell me that in a month when you can hardly walk,” she said with a grin.

“David won’t back down,” Cassidy said to show her faith in me.

I was glad she was more confident than I was at that moment. I didn’t even want to think about what evil plans Joey had for me. Who knew what sort of torture she had in mind? I just prayed it wasn’t Pilates. I’d done that my freshman year and just about died.

After we were done, I took Cassidy to lunch and then to the airport. I’d scheduled my last two hours of required flight time. Roy took me up, and we finished that. He had me go through everything they frequently tested for on the checkout flight. I told him I wanted to get it done this week, so he scheduled my written test for Wednesday and my checkout flight for Thursday.

I also booked him for a trip this coming weekend because I wanted to fly to Cincinnati to see Brook. I wanted him to go with me for safety reasons and in case of inclement weather. My license wouldn’t allow me to pilot the plane if there was a chance I might have to fly via instruments. I didn’t want to get stuck at Brook’s on Sunday if a weather front came through.

Cassidy let me know that I was taking her with me. I would never tell her no when it came to her being able to see her best friend.

On the way home, I received a text from Caryn.

‘Can I buy a mattress?’

Attached was a video she’d shot of my new condo in Canada. Caryn had decided to take her vacation before she moved to Cincinnati. And oh, my! I quickly discovered that Zander could not decorate to save his life. It looked like a frat boy with no money had outfitted it.

There were four theater-style leather recliners in the living room, the kind with drink holders in the arms. Unfortunately, they were all different colors and looked like he’d picked them out of a dumpster. I might have been okay with them if they’d been complementary colors, black, or brown leather. Instead, they were canary yellow, salmon, eggplant purple, and neon green, and there were noticeable scratches where they’d been abused.

I did approve of the TV that dominated one wall. Under it was a gaming system and a pile of video games with a tangle of cords and controllers on top. On the floor was a DVD player.

The walls were still the contractor white, and the carpet was a dirty brown with stains. Then again, it may have just been filthy.

Caryn walked through the empty dining room and into a modern kitchen. At least it had good-looking cabinets and appliances. In the corner was a card table with folding chairs for you to eat at. She then went to the master bedroom. There was a mattress on the floor with no sheets or pillows. I cringed when I saw the stains. I didn’t even want to think about what had caused them. Our next stop was one of the other bedrooms. Again, scuzzy mattress, but this time there was a massive stain on the carpet that looked suspiciously like barf.

When the video ended, I called Caryn.

“It’s not the Ritz,” Caryn said when she answered.

“It looks like I should just sell it.”

“No. The unit itself is nice, and it’s in a good building. They have a shuttle service that runs on a regular schedule to and from the ski resort. It’s only a five-minute trip. It looks like a party house after the festivities. If you did a little decorating, this would be an ideal vacation spot,” Caryn assured me.

“You want me to put you up in a hotel?” I asked.

“No. I came to ski and don’t plan to hang out in the condo that much. I called, and I can have a bed delivered. Of course, that’s assuming you approve. I presume you want a California king for the master bedroom.”

Since I was six-four, the extra four inches offered by the California king would be a godsend.

“That works. Get whatever you need for your stay, and I’ll see about making the place livable after you leave.”

“I didn’t want to complain because staying here is saving me money, but when I saw the mattress...”

“Yeah, I would have turned around and walked out,” I admitted.

“I’ll get it taken care of. And David...”

“Yes?”

“Thanks. I needed a vacation,” Caryn said.

I spent the evening with my family. Ashley and Scarlet came over so I could spend time with Allen, Dawson, and Carol. They all seemed to need their daddy time, and I think it was my job to wear them out. Actually, I think they may have worn me out.

When they finally wound down, Ashley and Scarlet went home, leaving me with Little David and Coby. I scooped them up and took them upstairs to get them changed into their pajamas. Peggy joined me when I was just about done.

“I think we need to cut the legs off Coby’s crib. He wants to climb out of it, and I’m afraid he’s going to hurt himself,” she shared.

“I’ll talk to Wolf and Tim. I’m sure they have the tools to take care of it.”

The boys snuggled down. Mom had just let Duke back in. He checked to make sure I hadn’t done anything wrong with his playmates and went to his crate. Peggy grabbed my hand and led me through the Jack-n-Jill bathroom to her bedroom. She sat on the bed and patted it for me to join her.

“I heard about Brook. Are you okay?”

“Her dad did something boneheaded that caused her parents to realize there were problems in their relationship. They’ve decided to try to work it out and are determined Cincinnati is the place to do that since the new business will be located there. I think if they weren’t having problems, Brook might have opted to stay here. Regardless, I totally agree with her decision to go with them,” I said.

“What is she supposed to do?” Peggy asked.

“If it were me, I would offer them support and act as a buffer so neither of them would go too far over the line.”

“I’d never want to go over the line with your mom. She can be scary, and I think you’re the only one that has the guts to stand up to her,” Peggy offered.

“Dad will surprise you sometimes, but he’s learned to pick his battles. I’m still learning that lesson. I don’t fall for her goading quite so often anymore.”

“If you say so,” Peggy said and then leaned against my arm to give me a little shove to show she was teasing.

“Now that Brook is gone, what do you plan to do?” Peggy asked.

“About what?” I asked.

“Do you plan to date anybody?” she asked.

“Not really. I’ll take it slow, take baby steps. I don’t want to start something and then leave at the end of the school year.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Peggy said.

“What about you? Any guys you need me to do a background check on?” I teased.

She just shook her head and then gave me a sideways look with a glint of mischief in her eyes.

“You should remember that you have baby mamas who have needs.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. While I cared for all of them greatly, I didn’t want to bounce from bed to bed. As much fun as that would be, I had found something with Brook that made me want to be a one-woman man. Then Peggy invaded my personal space, which made me pay attention to her.

“Let’s take this in baby steps,” she said to use my words against me. “It’s actually that time of the month for me. Would you be willing to just cuddle with me until I fall asleep?”

“Sure.”

Who knew ‘cuddling’ meant you stripped down to your boxers? Mr. Happy didn’t care that the big brain was attached to a ‘stupid boy.’ He just knew that Peggy had been my crush since middle school. She discovered my problem and reached into my boxers to fish out my growing member.

When she wrapped her fingers around me, a groan slipped out of my throat. Oh, yeah. There’s nothing better than the feel of a woman’s hand on your cock.

Nope, I was wrong. Peggy’s tongue found the tip, and holy shit, it was so much better than her hand.

I did what every guy does in that situation: I fell asleep as soon as she was done taking care of my problem.

Tuesday January 17
Paul took me to school today because I had to be there early. I went straight to the training room and found Doc Grog with Mr. Hasting, our head trainer. I received a thorough physical, and then they made me do range-of-motion exercises to see how my side and hip had healed. That was followed by a lot of unnecessary poking and prodding.

“Looks good,” Doc Grog said.

“So, no restrictions?” Mr. Hasting asked.

“No. He’s good to go.”

I gave them a tight smile and made a hasty exit before they decided to torture me any further. I’d just gotten to my gym locker when my phone rang.

“Hey, it’s Tim.”

“I know. I have Caller ID, dumbass,” I shot back.

“Where are you?”

“The locker room. I had to come in early to get cleared by Doc Grog,” I explained, and then got curious. “Why do you need to know where I am?”

“Dare can’t find you, and he said that you blocked him from sending you text messages or calls,” Tim explained.

“Oh.”

“I’m sending him your way,” Tim said and chuckled.

Everyone thought it was amusing that I’d taken the little misfit under my wing last fall. It wasn’t what a typical jock would do. At most high schools, Dare would be a prime candidate for getting stuffed into a locker. Smart, shy kids who skipped several grade levels tended to get picked on, and Dare had been a target at his previous school. When he first came to Lincoln High, he would barely talk to me because of that.

A minute later, Dare came rushing into the locker room. When he saw me, I could see the tension leave his body. I guess I was his bodyguard of sorts. I wondered how he survived a week without me being at school.

Behind him, the three amigos, Paul, Yuri, and Roc, came in arguing about something.

“Not that I really want to know,” Roc said to my half brother, Phil. “But when you first get up each day, do you gaze upon your glorious good looks in the mirror for one hour or two?”

I held my finger up to let Dare know that I wanted to hear this one.

“Two,” Phil revealed.

“I suppose you give yourself a fist bump,” Yuri said.

Roc gave Yuri a nod to show he agreed with his addition to the conversation.

“I probably should, when I have all this going on,” Phil said as he flexed. “Then, I kiss each of my biceps and give props to the man upstairs for giving me just that little extra to please the ladies.”

I will give the little dumbass credit; he owned it as his friends teased him. I might not have grabbed my crotch, but the other two appreciated his bravado.

“Jesus Harold Christ! I hear he’s amazing in bed,” Yuri said, acting like he was a girl swooning.

“He probably started that rumor himself,” Roc revealed.

They finally couldn’t help themselves and burst out laughing. I rolled my eyes at them and then turned to Dare.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“We’re not in the same classes.”

“My mom changed my schedule on me. Let me see yours,” I said.

Of the eight periods, we were not together for three of them. Dare had a different PE, was taking a computer science class while I’d signed up for a business one, and he’d snagged study hall as his last period.

“Okay, I’ll unblock you,” I said, getting out my phone. “You can only text me if it’s important.”

He watched me, then furiously tapped at his phone, and I received several text messages.

“Dude, I’m right here. Don’t make me regret unblocking you,” I warned.

Dare gave me a sly smile, and then the bell rang. He hurried off to his computer class.

I decided I didn’t like Joey anymore. Being hot only goes so far. Today she was determined to show me how out of shape I really was. She’d unveiled two new torture devices that they’d purchased while I was gone. One was a vertical climber, and the other was a rowing machine.

The vertical climber was slightly tilted away from you. When you used it, you looked like you were climbing a ladder. It gave you a full-body workout. Joey pointed out that I should take high steps and simulate running. She assured me that it was easier on my joints than pounding the pavement. I started out with twenty minutes and alternated between full speed and slower periods. It was similar to what I did for speed training.

I’d used a rowing machine when I went to the Elite 11 camp. At the time, I thought I wanted to get one because it kicked my butt. Somehow, I’d never gotten around to it, and after thirty minutes, I cursed whoever figured we should get one. I could already tell that the combination of the two had worked muscles that I usually didn’t use. I predicted I would feel it in the morning.

After my shower, I checked my text messages from Dare. I’d thought he was just being a pest this morning. I guess he did follow my directions and only sent me text messages I needed to see. The first was one that said he was sorry that Brook had left.

In the second one, Dare wanted me to talk to Megan and get him more money for the stealthy drone. His Russian contacts had a set of blades that he said would make the drone whisper-quiet. He promised they would deliver. I still thought they were a little shady for my taste, but I wanted to see what the kid would come up with, so I sent Megan a text to give him what he wanted.

The third one wanted to know where my drone from California was. I’d had it shipped back, and it hadn’t arrived yet. My mom and Dare had passed their commercial test and could now use the drone in my mom’s real estate business. They were eager to get started using it to film properties from above.