Chapter 9

"I've got two conditions, myself. First, Bernie has to agree to be my date for homecoming. Second, she can't be my girlfriend unless I get to kiss her. It just wouldn't be right."

Bernie looked at me, then looked at the girls. Both of them winked at her, and she huffed "If I must", before launching herself at me. Bernie was a bit larger than even Denise. She must have stood at least five foot-eleven. I don't know how much she weighed, but it knocked the wind out of me when we connected. The first one was short, because I really needed to breathe. The second one was very nice. Tongues were becoming involved, when I heard someone clear their throat. The fact that it didn't sound like Denise or Ann, made me stop what I was doing.

Four blushing teenagers turned to see a man holding a shotgun.

"Sorry to be interruptin'", he drawled, "but I figgered if'n I'd waited another minute I'd of had to use this here shotgun to escort ye' to the weddin', young feller!"

"PA!", Bernie squealed, "I just caught this'n, don't be a'shootin' him, yet! I ain't near done with him!"

She started laughing then, and when it became obvious she wouldn't be able to talk for a while, the man extended his hand.

"Frank Duncan."

I managed to shake his hand, and said "Paul O'Halloran. You probably already know Ann, but this is our sister, Denise. I'm pleased to meet you ... I hope."

He cracked up again, and said "You'd better be, if you plan on doing any more of what you were doing with my daughter. I'm a mite curious though. She seemed to be mighty intense, there. Why is it she never mentioned you to me?"

Bernie had recovered enough to help, by that time. She did laugh once more, though. Her dad's expression was pretty unique, when she said she had just met me.

"I have got to hear this", he stated. "I hope y'all can sit a spell."

Ann called and told the folks where we were. They not only said it was fine, but invited Frank and Bernie for dinner. I was a little apprehensive about that, and more than a little afraid. When Denise whispered 'Relax, they know' in my ear on the way, I realized that Bernie and I had been set up. I didn't care, I was relieved.

Bernie's dad told us to call him Frank, and put some coffee on. He and I had a cup, while the girls had a glass of iced tea. When we were seated, he shook his head and smiled.

"I know a little about you already, Paul. You're new around these parts, but you sure do cut a wide swath. I was particularly impressed with your shootin' ability. That story was all over town. Then you go and play football, and become the first freshman to start at quarterback since Dan O'Halloran."

He saw the look of shock on my face, and smiled. "He didn't tell you, did he? It figures. I played on the same team he did. I was the halfback, and pretty decent, too. We went to the state semi-finals our senior year. Best damn team ever to play for that school, we were. Look at that trophy case some time. Ain't much in there but ours. All that is water under the bridge, though. Back to you, now. I said I was impressed before, but now I find out you have excellent taste in females, too."

He cut my smile off with "Don't blow it, son. I think mighty highly of you now, but if you hurt my little girl, that will all be water under the bridge, too. She's been hurt enough already for five lifetimes, she don't need no more. Are we clear on that?"

"Yes sir", I replied seriously. "You have my word on it. I may have just met Bernie today, but I wouldn't hurt her for the world."

We shook hands again, as the girls looked on. Frank was smiling, as he said "I think we're gonna get along fine."

He started talking about hunting and fishing then, and found out how little I knew. He promised to make sure he an Dan would rectify that shortcoming. Before we knew it, it was time to head home.

Dinner was great, as usual, and I was treated to Frank's accounts of dad's football prowess, much to dad's obvious embarrassment. I was still in shock about the way mom and dad seemed to accept Bernie. What surprised me the most, is that they seemed happy about it. I just hoped no one got the idea to find guys for Denise and Ann! I was pondering that, when Bernie turned to her father.

"Pa, I need a dress. Paul has asked me to go to the homecoming dance, and I don't have anything to wear. Heck, I don't even have a dress, much less one nice enough to wear there."

Frank looked shocked, but happy. "You're going to wear a dress? In public? I can believe you don't have one. I don't think you've worn a dress since you were about knee-high! I'd be happy to pay for it, but I sure won't be much help in the shoppin'."

Mom came to the rescue. "I'd love to take Bernie shopping", she gushed. "The girls need dresses, too. We'll will make a day of it. We'll leave you boys to fend for yourselves this Saturday. Maybe you can do something useful and catch us some fish for dinner."

Frank and dad liked the idea. I wasn't so sure. I'd never even held a fishing pole. I had a question, though.

"What about Ann and Denise? Can they go to the dance with us?"

"You bet your bippy, we're going!" Ann blurted, "but we're going stag. That doesn't get you out of dancing with us, though."

"Dancing?", I quavered, "I think that might be a problem, girls. I have absolutely no idea how to dance. I've never done it before."

I wasn't alone. Bernie and Denise had never danced, and Ann had only tried once. Mom and dad had, though. We were drafted for dancing instruction before we knew what hit us.

Ann wanted to show Bernie around, so we used that excuse to make our escape. She didn't waste any time, and soon, we were in our bedroom. Bernie was impressed, to say the least.

"Whoa, what a bed!", she said excitedly, "That damn thing looks big enough for an army!"

She was blushing when she turned my way, but a little apprehensive. "Maybe one day, I'll find out how it sleeps. It might be a while, though. There's something you should know, right now. I'm a virgin. My dream is to save myself until I find the man I'm going to marry. I don't want to ever be with any man but him. My mom left us when I was ten years old. I know what that made me feel like, but what it did to pa was a lot worse. I think if he hadn't had me to worry about, he might have done something stupid. I don't ever want to feel like that again. You'd best think about that, Paul. If we ever make love, it will be for keeps. You better be real sure that you feel the same way about me, got it?"

"Thank you for telling us this", I said sincerely. "You should know that we all feel the same way. I may not know you very well yet, but I already have some pretty strong feelings about you. I've only met two other girls that I was as attracted to as I am to you. There's something you should know about us, too. It's not just me that you need to worry about. There are three of us. If it ever becomes four, it will be because we all love one another."

Denise broke the solemn mood, with "Yeah, and you haven't even kissed us, yet!"

That took a few minutes, and they all laughed at the discomfort it caused me. I noticed Bernie's gaze lingered on my midsection longer than the other two, and so did Ann. Bernie could have passed for a Cherokee, when Ann mentioned it.

"Hey!", Bernie said defensively, "I can't help it. I've never seen one before!"

After the teasing, there was barely time for us to show her the bathroom before it was time for her to go. I got another toe-curler, as she left.

The girls wore me out pretty well, that evening. I think Bernie's kisses had a lot to do with it. I even dreamed of her that night. There wasn't anything sexual about it, though. Heck, I couldn't even imagine what she would look like without clothes on. Bernie stayed so completely covered in those loose fitting clothes, that I had no idea what was under them.

I got up earlier in the morning, so I could spend some time with Diablo before I started on the chores. He gave me the cold shoulder, until I promised to ride him after school. He left no doubt in my mind that it was a promise that I'd better keep!

I had fun at school. No fewer than ten girls tried to warn me away from Bernie. They weren't too subtle with the hints, either. I told each of them that I already had a date for homecoming, but wouldn't tell them who she was. I would've been happy to, but Bernie had asked me to hold off. She wanted it to be a surprise, and I could see the fun in that. What wasn't fun, is that she also asked if we could pretend to be 'just friends', until the dance. That meant I would have to put up with being bothered until then. At least the girls and I got to sit with her during lunch. The kiss when we dropped her off wasn't up to her usual 'four alarm' standards, but I think it was because Frank was there. Ann and Denise had to do without.

Practice had been interesting. The coach added three more plays, and we worked on them. I had some help on the defensive side, too. A guy who used to play for the school came around. He played end, and had a lot of good tips for me. I found out afterward that he had also played in college. He didn't make the pros, But the coach seemed to think it was only because he had played for a small school and hadn't been scouted.

I managed to make good on my promise to Diablo, but not without getting scolded by dad first. I had almost left without my rifle and pistol. That was a big no-no, but I still hadn't gotten used to it. He asked me to practice from horseback while I was out, so I did. Something was strange about Diablo, besides the way we 'talked' to each other. When I prepared to fire, it was as if he changed to a gait so smooth that it felt like I was standing still. The gunfire didn't bother him at all. He seemed pretty smug about the whole thing.

After taking care of Diablo, and cleaning my weapons, I had homework to do. It was pretty easy, so I got done in less than an hour. It wouldn't have taken that long, if the girls hadn't been talking to me the entire time. They couldn't wait to tell me about the rumors, and other bits of news. Speculation was running wild about who I was taking to the dance. I still couldn't believe the things people wasted their time worrying about. The little sneaks were even planning to make it more interesting.

Some of their friends were going to start sitting with us during lunch. Each day, they would switch who would sit next to me. They also told me not to be surprised if the same girls talked to me between classes. I didn't see the point in it, but if it amused them, I was all for it. They also told me that when Bernie got her license, she was taking over the driving to and from school. I asked if she minded waiting around for us to finish practice, and Denise laughed.

"Not at all. She thinks you look hot in those tight pants!"

"We do, too", Added Ann, "but we have to practice at the same time. At least we get to check you out during the games."

They did quite a bit of 'checking out' that night, but so did I. That had to wait until after the dance lessons. Mom had been serious. I had been dreading it, but it turned out to be fun. I wasn't too uncoordinated, and didn't step on any feet after a while. We were supposed to do this every night until the dance. Bernie was supposed to be there for most of them.

I had to admit, the girl's plan worked like a charm. It was kind of distracting having more cute girls flirt with me. The vultures had been annoying, but these were really nice. Game day was nicer. It was an away game, and the team had to leave right after school. Trail City was two hours away. The folks and grandpa picked the girls up. They would all drive to the game together.

The new plays worked like they were supposed to. I actually got to drop back and pass before the game ended. The opposing defense was confused, and didn't see it coming. I thought I did alright on defense, but only had two sacks. Their quarterback was pretty fast, so I spent most of my time chasing him. Everybody on our team seemed to think that was just as good, since the guy couldn't get set to throw the ball. We won again, 41-21. A lot of the guys were acting like we just won the championship or something. This team was supposed to be the second best we would play. The best was our fiercest rival. They were our homecoming opponent.

The girls left early on Saturday, and we departed at the same time. Frank had brought Bernie over, and everyone left from our place. I figured I'd make a fool out of myself fishing, but it was easy enough. After grandpa taught me how to cast anyway. We were fishing for catfish, and I doubt if it could get easier than that. They must be pretty stupid. The damn things pretty much caught themselves! By noon, we had more than enough, and headed back.

Cleaning them was no fun, but I finally got used to it. After the fillets were soaking in brine, dad worked with me some more on my passing. I was getting better at throwing on the run, but it was still hard to do. I was afraid of making the mistake the quarterback made yesterday. We had intercepted him three times. I could tell I hadn't made the trip to the cave. I was sore all over. It was a good thing the weather was cool. Most of the bruises were hidden.

I couldn't hide the pain, at least not completely. Finally, dad asked about it. I confessed that I was bruised pretty much all over, and he looked confused.

"That's strange" he pondered "I always got bruised on the arms, and sometimes a few other stray ones. That was pretty rare, though. Are you sure your pads aren't worn out?"

"Pads? You mean shoulder pads? I guess they're alright, my shoulders are fine", I answered.

That's how I found out that I had been playing with a few items missing. To dad's credit, he didn't see anything funny about it. He just shook his head.

"Son, you get hit on every play. A lot of those hits are at waist level or below. You should have hip, thigh, knee, and tail pads. Some of those shots you took were fairly vicious. I'm a little surprised that you can walk at all. Didn't they give you a list of things to buy?

"I think so, but I couldn't find some of them in the store", I replied

Dad just shook his head, and said he'd take me himself.

The ladies showed up at around four, but wouldn't show us what they had bought. They insisted on surprising us with the outfits the night of the dance. Frank and Bernie stayed for dinner. It was the first time Denise and I had ever eaten catfish. We both liked it a lot. Mom did something with buttermilk when she fixed it. I didn't care much for buttermilk, and was surprised when the result tasted that good.