Chapter 13: Mending Fences

Saturday November 2, 2013 – Freshman Year

Becky and Jill were waiting on me in the training room. Wolf Tams, our brand-new tight end was sitting in the ice bath. He looked like he was on his last leg. I looked at the evil twins and arched my eyebrows.

"Wolf that is enough. You can get out now," Jill said blushing.

When Wolf stood up, I saw he had a few bruises. My first thought was to call him a pussy, but he never had Kevin lay him out so he didn't know what getting hit really felt like. I took pity on him.

"This part sucks. They will have my scrawny ass in there in a few minutes. It's the results that matter. When you are done today, I guarantee you will feel a hundred percent better. You'll also be ready to practice on Monday," I gave him my sage advice.

"I hope so. I was so stiff this morning that my sister had to help me get out of bed."

"I'm glad your sister was there for you." I think the smirk gave it away. Smack. "Fuck!"

Jill just grinned at me.

"Be nice to Wolf. You know what happens if he forgets to block for you," Becky said.

Yes, someone puts me on my ass. I looked back trying to figure out who hit me.

"I sure do. I get tortured by you two."

Wolf looked confused. He didn't get my sister joke either. Becky sent him to the massage table, and Jill gave me her best evil grin. I was feeling cantankerous so I just stripped, looking her in the eye. She couldn't help herself, and she peeked. When she looked back up, I gave her a knowing look. Wolf saw me get bare assed as I climbed into the ice water.

"Come on Dawson, we see you parading around in the locker room. No need to do it in front of these nice ladies."

"First of all, I'm not the one with freezing wet shorts on." He realized I was right. "And secondly, these two are evil. They will abuse you and try to tell you it is to make you better."

As I was literally freezing my balls off, I heard Wolf start to moan. I knew exactly what the two of them were doing to him. When my ten minutes were up, I dried off and strolled over to get on the other table. Jill made no secret of checking me out this time. She got a big grin. Yes, freezing water does cause shrinkage but I didn't care. Soon Wolf was done and he left.

"I guess I need to tell you something. I had blood in my urine this morning."

I knew the drill. If I still had blood in my urine come Monday, it was probably an issue. More than likely, it was from being hit on my kidney and it would heal itself, but they got really upset when I didn't tell them things like that. Jill pulled my folder out and made notes. My body was a mass of new and older bruises. They had a drawing of a body and 'X' marks identifying all my injuries.

When they were done, I changed into street clothes and went to the coaches' offices. Coach Engels and Bo were waiting for me. Bo had a couple of boxes packed so we helped take them to his car. We went to Grannies for lunch. I loved that place. It was in a small town a few miles away, and they served the best comfort food I had ever had. We all had their lunch special of corn bread and beans. You could see Granny working in the kitchen, and, when the waitress put in our order, she said something to her. She looked at me and winked. When the food came out, my serving was twice the normal size. Granny always took care of me.

I'm going to miss Bo. He helped me tremendously in just a few weeks. Bo had gotten me to start thinking like a quarterback.

"I want to thank you. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you."

"I have some ideas. We will be in touch." He shook his head. "I watched the news this morning. It seems both Coach Engels here, and Coach Lambert are geniuses due to some cocky quarterback's comments. I lost it when their coach was interviewed, and he gave them credit for the game plan."

He gave a dismissive wave to Coach Engels.

"Don't get me wrong, Coach, but you guys would have lost big time without a certain player, who will remain nameless, because he obviously has an ego." They turned on me and said, "What was that crap about winning by a couple of scores?"

"Easy, Kevin and I were not going to lose."

"Really?"

"Really! Our dreams for the season were not going to die on that field last night."

They both saw that I was serious.

Bo pointed his chin at me, "My point exactly, coach that."

"I hear you," Coach Engels said.

On our way out, I went into the kitchen and hugged Granny. I never left hungry. She had a loyal customer for life. Bo dropped me off at my house, and we said our final goodbyes.

I went in the main house, stole Kyle from his Dad, and took him to my apartment. I was getting more comfortable being with a newborn. Today he was cranky and Greg was happy to see me take him. I spent an hour rocking him and telling him about my day. Finally, Kyle fell asleep, and I took him back to his bassinet.

As I was putting him down, Angie cornered me.

"Thank you for taking him. We love him to death but having some alone time helps. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"I want to ask my parents and sister to come to lunch tomorrow. Do you think anyone would mind?"

"Angie, you keep forgetting something."

"What's that?"

"You are part of this family now. We switch off cooking on Sundays and it is Greg and Dad's turn. Just tell one of them, and they will make sure there is enough food."

"If I am part of the family, shouldn't I be in the rotation?"

"Good point. Talk to Mom. She has final say on these things."

That evening, Jim and Suzanne picked me up. At the restaurant, I saw Gina and Alan come in. When they were seated, Gina motioned for me to come over. I excused myself and joined them.

"I hear you're a real crier," Gina said with a smirk.

I felt an icy dagger pierce my heart. I kept a happy face on as I looked at Alan daring him to say anything. He was embarrassed that Gina had said it.

"I guess I'm a little surprised she told you that."

"Don't worry about it. We tell each other everything. She plans on breaking up with Tony tonight. I knew you two would hit it off."

"Breakup with Tony?"

This was news. I had a strict rule about dating girls that are going out with someone else. I guess this was partly my fault for not asking.

"He is a real jerk. We all wanted her to dump him forever. We are happy you are in the picture now."

"Could you give me her number? I need to put it in my phone."

"Sure its 555-3256."

Alan gave me a pained look because he knew why I wanted the number. I figured I might as well do it now. I dialed her number.

"Kara?"

"Yes."

"It's David. I am with Gina, and she gave me your number."

"It's really not a good time. Mind if I call you tomorrow?" She sounded stressed.

"Well actually, I do. Gina shared some things with me."

"Shit! Look, it's not what it seems. Let's talk about this tomorrow."

"No need. Oh, before I forget. My brother's girlfriend's family is coming to lunch tomorrow, and we will be packed, so I'll have to withdraw the invitation. Sorry for the short notice, but I wanted to give you full disclosure. I would hate to hide something from you."

"Okay, I understand." I could tell she didn't understand, but right now, I didn't care.

I disconnected. Gina looked concerned.

"What just happened?"

"I talked to your sister."

No need to share details. While Gina had only heard one side of the conversation, she had figured out the rest.

"I know that. Did you just break up with her?"

"No. We were never together."

"I'm confused."

"Gina, he will never go out with Kara now," Alan said softly.

"Why? They are made for each other."

She looked at me as if I was mentally challenged.

"Two things, he is a very private person, and he would never date someone that was with someone else. Why do you think we never get jealous when he flirts with our dates?"

I got up and went back to my table. I would leave it to Alan to explain things to Gina. Suzanne and Jim wanted to know what was going on. They could tell that my mood was shot. I made the best of it, and, by the time the lasagna came, I was having a good time. Jim and Suzanne told embarrassing stories about each other. I laughed about Suzanne cutting the heads off of all of Jim's GI Joes when I felt a hand touch my shoulder.

Gina looked like she had been crying. I didn't mean for her to get caught in the middle.

"I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am that I said anything."

"Oh, honey, don't worry about it. I want to thank you for letting me know. I was nervous things were going too fast. At least now, I'll be able to resist her charms. Now quit moping and go have some fun."

Alan gave me a weak smile as they left. He had his hands full tonight.

Suzanne picked a great movie and all three of us enjoyed it. After the movie, none of us wanted to go home so we went to a college bar that had live music on Saturday nights. We spent the night talking and just being friends. We finally called it a night at 2:00 a.m. when they kicked us out.

I think the best thing was the relationship between Jim and Suzanne changed. They finally saw that they could be friends and not just brother and sister. There were a few awkward moments when Suzanne showed me affection, but Jim realized that he was fine with his sister spending time with me. Someday she would find someone she loved, and he might as well get used to her being with someone now. At least I was not her forever guy.

Jim took it in stride when Suzanne dragged me into the back seat for the ride home. We had a hot make-out session in full view of her brother. If he was ever going to have a problem with our relationship, it was then. When we got to my place, he was smiling when he drove away. Of course, now I was horny as hell. When I got into my apartment, I took matters into hand and was asleep shortly thereafter.

Sunday November 3, 2013 – Freshman Year

After church, I was helping Greg and Dad get lunch ready when the doorbell rang. I heard Mom talking to a female voice, and when they made it to the kitchen, I saw Kara. Greg whispered to me, "Are you and she... ?"

"Nope, she and I are not."

She stepped into the kitchen, and Greg turned on the Dawson charm. He took her hand into both of his and caressed it.

"Hi, I'm Greg. I'm sorry I don't know your name."

"Kara."

My respect for my brother dropped to almost nothing in those twenty seconds. My Mom walked up to him and slapped him so hard Angie heard the crack all the way on the third floor. Thank God, she was not in the room. I honestly can't remember the last time Mom hit either of us in anger. My Mom gave me a look that said, 'Get her the fuck out of my house'. I washed my hands and grabbed Kara.

"Come on, I am taking you to lunch."

We made it to the living room when Angie came down the stairs with Kyle. I could hear Mom ripping my brother so I stopped Angie to keep her out of the kitchen.

"Kara, I promised I would introduce you to my nephew Kyle. This is Greg's girlfriend Angie. Kyle and Angie this is Kara."

"I swear, each time I see you with a girl she is more beautiful than the one before. I'm not sure you can top this one," Angie said.

"Thank you." Kara was trying not to act confused. "So you're dating Greg?"

"Boy, I hope so, between this little guy and living in his parents' house, it would be a little awkward if we weren't. So how long have you and David been going out?"

"Actually, we're not. I did a few things to mess that up, and I'm going to try and fix those things so we can."

Angie got a sad look.

"Well, go easy on him. He has had a rough patch. He is a special guy and you will be a lucky gal if you can work it out."

"Hey, I thought your parents and sister were coming?" I asked. "I would like to meet them."

Angie put on a good front.

"They can't today, maybe next week."

I felt bad for her. I don't understand parents that don't support their children when things get rough.

The voices in the kitchen returned to a normal volume, so we said our goodbyes to Angie. When we got on the porch Kara asked, "Where do you want to go?"

"Let's go to the diner on Main."

I walked out to find she was driving one of my dream cars, a Dodge SRT Viper. She must not be worried about gas millage because this thing had a V10 and 640 horse power under the hood. When she pulled onto our street, she punched it and my head snapped back into the seat. I would forgive her anything if she let me drive.

The breakfast crowd had cleared out so we were able to get a booth by the window. We ordered and Kara finally decided it was time to talk.

"You mind if I straighten a few things out? I think Gina spoke for me getting almost none of the information correct."

"Please. She did not paint a pretty picture."

"First of all, I broke up with my boyfriend six weeks ago. He called me yesterday afternoon to see me so he could return some of my things. We have been trying the friends thing, so I agreed to go to dinner with him. When you called, he was pushing to get back together. We hadn't seen each other since the breakup, and I felt like I owed him enough to at least listen."

Hadn't I just done the same thing with Cindy and Suzanne? This was not what Gina told me.

"The way Gina told the story; you were still going out with the guy."

"I normally don't share things like this with Gina. I made a mistake talking to her about what we did. She caught me when I got home, and I was excited about spending time with you. I made a bad decision, and I'm sorry."

"Kara, your timing couldn't be any worse. I told you. I'm an emotional wreck right now. My position coach walked out on me yesterday, and football is taking up the lion's share of my time. I honestly don't see adding a relationship into the mix."

"Maybe I can put your mind at ease. There is a reason I had to crash your lunch today. Monday, I leave for four weeks of photo shoots. I will be back the week after Thanksgiving. Then my schedule will be mostly quick two and three day trips."

I took a minute and worked through the dates in my head. The timing would be almost perfect and I felt a weight lift from my shoulders.

"I was going to suggest that we go back to your place and try that friend with benefits thing. It has been over eight weeks since I have been with anyone and I am a little horny. I think an afternoon with you might hold me for another month," she added.

I signaled the waitress over.

"Can we get our meals to go?"

Kara just giggled. The waitress brought us a bag with our meals, and I settled up. We were out the door in a flash. I appreciated the Viper's speed getting us back to my apartment. I gave Kara the keys and the food.

"I have to tell my Mom that I'm back, or she might give everyone a tour of the apartment."

I skipped into the kitchen and saw Mrs. Anderson. I swept Mrs. A into my arms and gave her a big kiss. When I let her go, her knees almost buckled. Mom laughed and steadied her. I set my sights on Angie and gave her the same treatment. Greg just shook his head.

"Damn," Angie moaned.

Beth didn't wait. She pulled me off of Angie to get her turn. I heard Mr. Anderson clear his throat so Beth and I broke apart. I looked at Mom and her eyes got big.

"Don't you dare, mister."

"What got into you?" Dad asked.

"I think it's what he is going to get into," Greg retorted.

Angie whacked his arm. Poor Greg was getting beat on by all the women in this house.

I smiled at everyone.

"If you hear strange noises coming from my apartment, everything is okay."

"You owe me a date." Beth said.

"You name the time and place and I'll be there," I replied, grinning.

"If you want anything from him, ask it now. He may never be in a better mood," Dad announced

"I need you to babysit on Tuesday," Angie laughed.

"You got it. I think I better leave."

I grabbed a couple of Gatorade bottles and headed out to my apartment.

Finding a naked girl in your bed was every guy's wet dream. Finding Kara Tasman naked in your bed was unfair to wet dreams. Her Dad was from India and Mom from Great Britain. The combination gave Kara an exotic look. She had light brown skin that made her look deeply tanned. She had metallic blue-grey eyes that were unique, putting her in high demand. She almost had the perfect body for a model. She was 5'10" with long legs and an athletic looking butt. The only flaw was her breasts, which were too large. She was a D cup and most models were either an A or B.

For a potential girlfriend, a D cup was perfectly fine. Her nipples were large and dark. My mouth watered when I thought about wrapping my lips around those babies. Her long hair was straight and silky black. I could feel the lust radiating from her perfect body. I instinctively knew that I needed to establish dominance or I would spend the rest of our relationship wrapped around her little finger.

I also needed to slow things down, or she would have me begging to be her fuck toy.

"Where did you put the food?"

She blinked twice as if to say 'What the fuck did he just say?'

"I left it in the living room."

"Good, I haven't eaten all day."

I grabbed the bag, crawled up on the bed, and sat Indian style. I decided to make some small talk as we ate.

"So are you a screamer? Will I need to stuff your panties in your mouth?"

"You stuff panties in my mouth, and you will be a screamer."

"Do you have a safe word?"

Her eyes got big.