Chapter 14

Tracy had been a smart girl and scheduled his interview for early in the morning. He’d had to call Janis, Sadie’s mom, and tell her he had a conflict and wouldn’t be able to pick up Sadie.

Before he went, he stopped to see Doreen and to get a complimentary tea, a slice of coffee cake, and a hug.

“There’s my favorite person in the whole wide world!”

“It sounds like you’ve had some good news.”

“I sent out a social media blast that said you filmed your soap opera here. You would not believe how many girls are now showing up.”

“That means the guys will soon figure it out, too. I’m glad you’re getting the boost for your business.”

“I need to hire some people. If you know anyone...”

“I’ll send them your way,” David said, taking his order to go.

When he got to the studio, Tracy took half his coffee cake and a sip of his tea without asking. She called him a bad word when she found it was tea, not coffee.

She told him they would do a half-hour segment, hoping the Pac-12 Network would use ten minutes of it for the Saturday morning pregame football show.

Professor Blum interrupted their conversation.

“I wanted to thank you, David. The USC ads, your soap opera, and the Trojan Inquirer have given a lot of people in the film program opportunities to be involved in meaningful projects. It’s an experience they’ll be able to proudly add to their résumés upon graduation.”

“You’re welcome. If I don’t get a chance to thank them all, let them know I appreciate their help,” David said.

Professor Blum nodded and left them to finish planning the vodcast.

“That was nice of him,” Tracy said. “I don’t think you realize how it gives people a leg up when you generate stuff like this. I learned yesterday it was you who suggested me for the Pac-12 job. Thank you.”

“Keep that in mind when you interview me,” David teased.

“It’s my job to make you squirm.”

“C’mon, be good.”

“I will if you give me honest answers. But if you start with all your old clichés, the gloves are coming off,” Tracy mock-warned.

“Welcome to Trojan Inquirer. We took a little break, but we’re back. The time off has given us a chance to shake things up slightly. I’d like to introduce you to my new cohost, Tracy Dole.”

“Thank you, David. We didn’t have a chance to find a guest this week, so I thought we would interview you.”

“It comes at a good time,” David said. “With Matt Long injured, and with me recovered from the concussion I got in the UNLV game, I’ll be starting against Arizona this weekend.”

Tracy and David did a good ten minutes of him going on about how good Arizona was and making sure he didn’t give them any poster material to rile them up.

Then Tracy turned the spotlight on David, talking about all his accomplishments in football and baseball.

“So, as a football player, what do you think sets you apart from everyone else?” Tracy asked.

David almost went into his usual spiel, but he’d promised her an honest answer.

“The simple answer is I work harder than anyone else. But it doesn’t really seem much like work because I love football. When I’m on the field, it’s our offense against their defense, with a stadium full of fans rooting for their team. We’ve called a play designed to defeat our adversaries on each snap of the ball. In practice, we’ve run it over and over again with the goal that it be perfect.

“What makes it beautiful is we’re trying to achieve something that’s unattainable,” David said.

“Then why try to achieve it?” Tracy asked.

“If you don’t aim for perfection, you cannot achieve anything great, even though perfection is impossible. So, you have to reconcile yourself to failure. It’s not perfect, and you have to make your peace with that.”

“So, what do you do?”

“You go to practice the next day and strive for perfection,” David said with a silly grin.

“That sounds crazy,” Tracy said.

“Wonderfully crazy, maybe,” David admitted. “Our coaches teach us ‘to do our job.’ My job is to try to be the best quarterback I can be. To do that, I have to practice, I have to train, I have to watch a ton of game film. I pride myself on how much work I put in.

“My advice to other quarterbacks, and other football players in general, is to train as much as you can and as often as you can. For example, a day in the life of a typical football player starts at ten in the morning, lifting from ten to twelve. They then have to pause their workout to let their body recover.

“Next is practice, from four to six, and maybe watch some film. From there, they go home, eat dinner, study for their classes, go to bed, and do it all again the next day. That’s two, maybe three training sessions for that day.

“Now imagine, if you will, my typical day. I get up earlier and start working out. I’m up at dawn, go for a run or use the rowing machine for my cardio, and then I recover. After that, I’m in the weight room for an hour or two. I recover while I’m in class, after which I find someone to throw the ball to so I’m ready for practice. Next is practice; then, it’s time for film review sessions with the coaches. I then go watch more film on my own. That’s five, maybe seven, sessions of football-related activities a day.

“You asked what sets me apart. Look at how much more training I’ve done simply by starting at dawn. I keep doing that as the years go by, and the separation I have from my competitors and peers just grows larger and larger. I’m now in my fifth year of working harder than anyone else. It doesn’t matter what kind of work they’re doing now; they’re never going to catch up.

“So, if you’re thinking about becoming good at anything, including football, you need to get up early and put the work in each and every day. Consistent commitment to your goal of perfection will get you there,” David said.

“Listening to you makes me realize what a slacker I am,” Tracy said with a self-deprecating laugh.

On his way to class, David’s phone rang.

“Come get me,” Cassidy ordered.

“I’ll be there next week.”

“No. Come get me now. I’m about to go crazy just sitting around all day. My dad won’t even let me do sixty minutes of hell with his stupid, wimpy football team. He’s worried I might hurt myself.”

“Have the doctors cleared you for something that strenuous?” David asked.

David had to mute his phone because he busted out laughing when Cassidy went into full meltdown mode. Everyone could jump off a cliff if they thought she was some kind of invalid.

“So, come get me,” Cassidy tried again.

“Next week,” David said and then softened his tone. “Buttercup, everyone is trying their best to take care of you. Your dad is only worried you’ll get hurt. You have to remember that when I called him, we didn’t know whether you were even going to make it. Maybe give him some slack.”

“I hate you.”

“How about I bring you a chocolate cupcake from Mwokaji Cakery when I come to get you?”

They made the best cupcakes in LA, in David’s opinion.

“You better.”

’The nerve!’ She hung up on him.

Emily met Crystal for lunch. They went through the line and found a table in the back.

“How are you doing?” Crystal asked.

“What do you mean?”

Crystal opened her laptop, and the top LA paper had a front-page article about what happened Saturday. USC’s president had put out a letter. Emily skimmed through the lengthy story.

USC Fraternity Suspended After Reports of Possible Drug-Facilitated Attempted Sexual Assaults

The incidents were reported confidentially to the university through its Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Services (RSVP). The school said that the fraternity has been placed on interim suspension and is barred from hosting parties, social gatherings, or any other activities at its house.

Police arrested eight fraternity members when they live-streamed the attempted assaults on social media. All eight were released from custody Sunday morning. The police had no comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

The national Sigma Upsilon Fraternity said it is ‘concerned by these serious allegations’ and intends to work with USC to investigate them.

“I plan to make sure they’re closed down. They don’t belong as Greeks with behavior like that. I still can’t believe the four of you got yourselves into such a dangerous situation,” Crystal ranted.

“Thanks, Crystal. Way to blame the victim.”

Crystal’s eyes got big when she realized how that sounded. If Emily felt she really meant it, she should be upset.

“I’m sorry, Em, I shouldn’t have said that. Of course it’s not your fault. I’m just upset that all this happened in the first place. We, as a sorority, let you down.”

“You hear tales of danger concerning getting drugged at a party. I just never thought it would happen to me. I’m not sure I want to go to any more parties for a while,” Emily said.

“It should be fine. Everyone will be on their guard at the next party,” Crystal promised.

“It’s not just that. One of those guys is in my math class, and he tried to talk to me today.”

“We can’t have that. I’ll—”

“It’s okay,” Emily jumped in. “Chuy is in my class, too, and he offered to meet the guy in the parking lot. The guy promised to never come near me again.”

“I’ll have to personally thank Chuy for that.”

“Lars enlisted his fraternity, and they and the football team are walking the four of us to classes this week. Bear said David asked the team and Lars to be on the lookout for us. You’re lucky to have him as a boyfriend,” Emily said.

“I wish I’d thought to ask them to do that. Sorry, I hadn’t thought how you might be nervous with the Sigma Upsilon guys roaming the campus. I’ll be sure to thank all your escorts,” Crystal promised.

“I know that you and David study together. Would it be okay if I joined you? I just need somewhere that I feel safe.”

“I’m sure David won’t mind.”

Emily had gone to the sorority house the day before. She didn’t realize how Saturday night’s experience had affected her until it came time to walk home. Her imagination got the better of her, and she felt like every shadow concealed some kind of danger.

All she wanted was to put this behind her so she could get on with her life.

Abigail was nervous because this was the day she would test David’s resolve on ‘no nudity.’ The day’s scene had Nikki showing up at Mick’s new place with a housewarming gift. One thing leads to another...

“What are you stewing about?” Moira asked, interrupting her train of thought.

“How to break it to David that I want him to bare his butt for today’s scene.”

Moira shrugged.

“I messengered the new script to him last night. Neither he nor his agent has called you yet, so that must mean he’s on board with it.”

“Or he hasn’t read it yet,” Abigail said.

Moira didn’t seem concerned. They would just have to wait and see.

Abigail was relieved and amused when David showed up with his own cock sock—the one-eyed minion from the children’s movie Despicable Me.

“I’m not going to even ask where you got that,” Abigail said.

“It’s a long story that doesn’t really matter. What does matter is this script is crap. Why don’t you let Callie and me ad-lib it and see where it goes?” David asked.

“I’ll give you one take, and then I want the script,” Abigail conceded.

He gave her a boyish grin that made her quiver inside, then trotted off to talk to his costar in the scene. The two of them disappeared for thirty minutes before returning. David wore a pair of old ripped jeans and a fitted t-shirt that showed his arms and shoulders.

Callie was sexy in a short skirt and braless in a white spaghetti-strap tank top. You could make out her areolas and nipples through the sheer material.

Despite her concerns, Abigail couldn’t wait to see what they had come up with.

The scene started with Nikki knocking at Mick’s apartment door. He opened it, and a predatory grin came across his face.