Chapter 45

David
It was Thursday, and Senator Hatley’s fundraiser was scheduled for that evening. When David had stopped in at the coffee shop in the morning, Kat had been equal parts excited about seeing the senator and dreading running into both her family and her ex, Daniel.

For David, the week had flown by. He’d finished all his midterms and felt good about how he’d done. As for baseball, they’d dropped another game. This time, they’d lost to Pepperdine, which made five straight losses. Coach Deneau was glad that they were going on spring break so that everyone could relax, have some fun, and get their heads back into the right frame of mind.

Football had been a mixed bag. Coach Clayton had made it clear to the team that David was only standing in for Matt until he returned after spring break. That meant that David would be going back on defense then.

That didn’t dampen David’s spirits because he gave it his all and shined at times to show what he was capable of.

David had been coached in high school by a retired Marine Corps major who never minced words. And on one of his movies, he’d had a director who absolutely hated him. Were it not for those experiences, some of Coach Clayton’s remarks might have shaken him. He’d learned to look through the bluster and focus on what Coach Clayton was trying to convey.

Sometimes, it was just him being a dick. Other times, they were legitimate criticisms. Thinking back on it, Coach Clayton was a lot like the director who’d hated him, though with the asshole dial turned down a bit.

David made it a point to never let Coach Clayton see that he sometimes got to him. He didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. He’d watched the other players to see how they handled it. The younger guys wilted when the head coach confronted them. As for the older quarterbacks, Jaden, the junior, would get mad, while Travis, the senior, didn’t care.

At first, David thought that Travis was putting up a brave front. Then they talked, and it became apparent that Travis genuinely didn’t care what Coach Clayton had to say anymore. What Travis shared made sense. His self-worth as a football player wasn’t dependent on what Coach Clayton thought. Yes, their coach controlled Travis’ playing time, but his comments didn’t mean that Travis wasn’t a worthwhile person. David immediately recognized that for what it was: a life lesson he should take to heart.

Then Travis confided in David that he planned to transfer because he wanted a chance to start, and it was apparent to everyone that he wouldn’t get that chance at USC. That was particularly evident since David had stepped up and taken the majority of the practice time since Matt was injured.

David immediately thought of his former personal coach, Bo Harrington, who’d gone on to be the quarterback coach at Alabama and was now the head coach at Western Michigan. They’d gone 11–3 last year and had a good core of players coming back. Their starting quarterback had graduated, and they would have to rely on a redshirt freshman to lead them this coming year.

David knew that Travis could play. If anyone could get Travis to the NFL, it was Coach Harrington. He was thought of as a quarterback fixer and had made his living doing just that until he took the coaching job at Alabama. He’d helped David become the best high school quarterback in the nation. David surmised that Travis might be a good fit to tide Western Michigan over until the younger guy was fully ready to lead their team.

David offered to put Travis in touch with Coach Harrington once he placed his name in the transfer portal. To do so before that could be seen as tampering, which was frowned upon.

After class, David was almost back to his dorm when he spotted Cassidy standing out front with the Delta he’d fought when he saved Matt. The guy was still sporting two black eyes and had a splint taped to his face from David shoving him into the side of the house and breaking his nose. When the Delta saw David, he stiffened and glanced over at Cassidy, who gave him a narrow look before turning to David.

“David, this is Silas Kemp,” she said.

“Mr. Dawson, I want to let you know that there are no hard feelings over what happened at the Phi Sig house,” Silas said, holding out his hand.

David took it, and they shook.

“Can I go now?” Silas asked Cassidy.

She nodded and then smiled at David.

“What was that all about?” David asked.

“The Alpha Mus told me that he planned to look you up. I went to the Delta house today and explained to them that you were off-limits.”

David took a moment to wrap his brain around what she’d just said.

“So, you talked to him, and he agreed to come over here and tell me that?” David asked to help clarify what had just happened.

“Yeah, let’s go with that.”

“Cassidy,” David said in his best ‘dad voice.’

“I might have had to convince them. And maybe made an example of him. The Deltas aren’t nearly as tough as they thought they were. In the end, they saw it my way, and they won’t bother you.”

Some things were better left unsaid. The only positive was that she’d probably reached her quota for hurting boys for the semester. That meant that his dumbass friends were safe over spring break.

“Come on. I’ll buy you lunch at The Palace.”

Cassidy rolled her eyes at him because David had paid to allow her to use the cafeteria in his building for lunch. That way, she could eat there before their workouts. Cassidy wouldn’t accept money from him for being his trainer for some strange reason. This was his compromise, which she’d taken.

They went up to his dorm room and dropped off their books before going downstairs to eat. On the way down, David decided to press his luck.

“You owe me money for the massages I’ve been doing.”

“What money?” Cassidy asked.

“What you’re charging the girls. I should get some of that,” he pressed. When he saw her confused look, he broke out laughing. “You didn’t think to charge them, did you?”

“No,” she admitted.

“If you go to a spa or workout place, they charge you for extra services. Women pay good money for stuff like massages,” David explained.

“I’ve never been to a spa,” she admitted.

“Call Lexi and tell her to set up a spa day for all the girls going on spring break as my treat,” he offered.

“You’d be willing to give massages?” Cassidy asked.

“No, I don’t have time. Talk to Greg, and he can help you figure it out. I’m sure you could find someone who would come in and work for you. There are plenty of people in this dorm who would pony up for being pampered,” he suggested.

“Will you still help the girls out?” she asked.

“If I have time, I will. They might have to come to my room late at night,” David said as he waggled his eyebrows.

“Jerk.”

“Hey, I’m not the one who’s killing them. You can’t expect them to jump in and work out as hard as you make me,” he shot back.

“But don’t you want them to look good? Plus, it gives you a chance to perv out,” Cassidy fired back.

“Bite me, Buttercup,” he said with a smile.

This felt like old times, David and Cassidy giving each other a hard time. When they reached the cafeteria and grabbed their lunches, they found that Jamie and Lauren had saved them a table.

“Did Lexi let you all know what the plans are?” David asked about their trip.

“Just that a shuttle would pick us up Saturday morning here at the dorm,” Lauren said.

“It’ll take us to LAX, where we’re meeting some guys flying in from Oklahoma. Then we’ll head to Canada,” David shared.

“I saw some names on the list that I didn’t recognize,” Jamie said. “Who are we meeting from Oklahoma?”

“Two of my best friends from high school, Tim and Wolf. They play football at the University of Oklahoma,” David said.

“Lexi said we’re all rooming in the six-pack. There were two people listed for that room that I didn’t know, Tami and Alyssa,” Jamie said.

“Tami and I have been best friends since grade school. Alyssa is in my accounting class,” David shared.

“Why is Alyssa coming?” Cassidy asked. “I don’t know her.”

“She just got cheated on, so she dumped her boyfriend. Alyssa needs time away from school. I suggested she come along with us to get her mind off her ex,” David said.

“What if she gets all weepy? If she does, you’re dealing with it,” Cassidy warned him.

“Cassidy said your brothers are coming. Tell us about them,” Lauren said.

“Greg is a senior in college, and he’s bringing his girlfriend, Joey.”

“Wait! Joey’s a girl?” Jamie asked.

“No question about it; she’s definitely a girl. I had a huge crush on her, but my brother swooped in and stole her from me,” David said dramatically.

“What the stupid boy isn’t telling you is that she was hired by our high school to be a trainer. She helped David get into shape,” Cassidy shared.

“I take it Phil is your younger brother?” Lauren asked.

“That he is. Phil is actually my half-brother that I didn’t know I even had until just a few years ago. He’s a bit ... uhm ... socially awkward,” David said with a straight face.

“He’s cute and fun. David thinks because he’s a big brother, he has to pick on poor Phil. We’ll have to make sure he’s included,” Cassidy said.

Then she asked, “When are your brothers getting here?”

“They fly in tonight and will stay at the house in Malibu. I wish I hadn’t said I would go to Senator Hatley’s fundraiser tonight. The earliest I’ll see them is tomorrow afternoon since I have class in the morning,” David complained.

“No one goes to Friday classes after midterms. All they do is hand your tests back,” Jamie said.

“That’s just David. He has his priorities all wrong. It’ll be our job to set him straight on spring break,” Cassidy said.

“As of noon on Friday, I plan to have some fun. I need to blow off some steam,” David admitted.

Cassidy quickly pulled out her phone and began to furiously type out a message.

“What are you doing?” David asked.

“Letting everyone know that ‘Fun David’ is coming out to play on our trip.”

’This won’t turn out well,’ David thought.

The fundraiser was being held in a hotel in downtown LA. Kat wore a little black dress that David noted covered her tattoos. He guessed she did so to appease her parents. On the ride there, she’d filled him in on her family.

Her dad, James, was the managing partner of the law firm Burrows and Burrows. Kat’s mother, Sandra, had stayed home to raise Kat and her two brothers, Seth and Ethan. Both of them were older than she was and worked for her dad.

Once Kat and her siblings had gotten older, their mother had begun doing volunteer work to keep busy. One of her ventures was to help Senator Hatley. That had turned into a paying position a few years ago. She now ran the local office for the senator.