Chapter 71

David
David walked in the back door of the townhouse with his first armful of clothes. His car was loaded up with his belongings. He’d had to move out of The Palace for the summer. And so, for the next couple of months, at least, he would reside at his townhouse on the edge of campus near the football practice facility. Thankfully, it was only two blocks from USC’s campus.

He’d talked to Alex’s stepmom. She’d said that even though it didn’t look like Alex would be back, David could leave anything he wanted since he was going to resume living there in the fall. Camilla had also offered to leave all of Alex’s furniture. She’d sent a couple of guys to come to clean out all of Alex’s personal gear.

Kirk, David’s roommate for the coming year, mourned the loss of the gaming system. David had never really used it, but after Alex left to play soccer, Kirk and a few of the guys on the floor took it over.

Alex’s sister, Nat, who lived at the other end of the hall, had her roommate buy a bunch of liquor before she graduated. She’d decided that David should store it in his closet over the summer. He suspected that her parents were coming to help her move out, and she didn’t want them to see it.

He stepped into the townhouse and immediately froze when he heard the all-too-familiar yowl of the cat from hell, Precious. She was perched on the kitchen island, staring him down.

“Are we going to have a problem?” he asked and then felt stupid for talking to the cat.

Precious flipped her tail up and turned around, and when she got to the edge of the countertop, she jumped off and disappeared.

David would be staying in the bedroom on the second floor across from Cassidy. The girls had used it as an office/study room with only a daybed, but David would make do.

The girls were all still taking finals, which gave David a chance to settle in.

David was reading a message from his mom when Tracy came home, looking exhausted. His parents had gone back to Illinois for Greg’s graduation ceremony, and Mom was letting him know they’d made it.

“I need a drink,” Tracy announced.

David was prepared. He’d checked the refrigerator and found it had no food in it, so he’d used the app to have a literal grocery list of food, booze, and other necessities delivered. David cracked a bottle of Jameson and pulled out a pitcher of real lemonade. He filled a highball glass with ice and made a faux whiskey sour, which he handed to Tracy to try.

“Mm, you’re handy to have around.”

“One of the sound gals taught me to make that. She called it Hemingway’s Lemonade. After I had a few, they talked me into being a male stripper. One of the production assistants was celebrating her birthday,” David shared.

“Join me.”

“I was thinking about heading home before I fly out on Sunday,” David pushed back.

He wanted to see his kids before going to London to begin his part promoting the James Bond film that would be out in two weeks. He’d surprised Tami for her birthday, and she was going with him, Frank, and Lexi. She’d gone to school in the UK for a year on a study-abroad program and had stayed with a host family there. David had invited them to an exclusive sneak showing while he was there.

“Nope. You are going to act like an honest-to-goodness college boy and get drunk after finals. It’s one of those rites of passage you need to experience,” Tracy ordered.

’What the fuck,’ David decided and made himself a drink.

“Congratulations,” Tracy said.

David had been named USC’s MVP for baseball and made the all-Pac-12 team along with Andres. Cassidy had also made the all-Pac-12 team in rowing. They were the only freshmen to make either team.

David’s phone chirped to let him know he had a text.

“My tutor just let me know that I got straight ‘A’s,” David shared.

“You suck. If I didn’t like you, I might have to stuff you into a garbage can or lock you in your locker,” Tracy complained.

Precious made a reappearance, sauntered over to the back door, and stuck her head out the kitty door. She pulled it back and began to pace.

“Cassidy’s home,” Tracy explained.

David made another drink and handed it to his little ninja as she came in. Of course, she had to love-up the evil cat first.

“Welcome home, Buttercup,” David said.

Cassidy took a sip, and both her eyebrows went up as she dropped her book bag.

“This is yummy,” she said to Tracy, not even looking towards David. “It might not be that bad having him move in.”

“I was going to make lunch,” he said, not put out at all by Cassidy’s antics. Then he remembered something. “Oh, and my cleaning lady wanted to know if it would be okay if she cleaned the townhouse over the summer. She needs the money, but I said I had to ask you guys first.”

Both Cassidy and Tracy just stared at him for a second before breaking out into laughter. Tracy hopped off her stool and sauntered over to him.

“Come on. There’s another rite of passage you need to have before we eat lunch.”