Chapter 18

The next three weeks were pretty much a duplication of the first week of school. On Monday nights, he shared his bed with Emma, knowing full well that Jill was most probably listening to the sounds of ecstasy beyond the bedroom door. Those sounds were more than sufficient to motivate Jill to open her door to him the following evening. As he had promised, on Wednesdays after practice, he demonstrated the fold down seat capabilities of the SUV to Marcie, and the three main women in his life were happy and content. In each of the Friday evening games, his contribution was limited to a few short pass receptions, kick offs and extra points. The opponents in each game were more challenging than the opener, but in each game, Kyle's team played with confidence and poise and Kyle's kicking abilities were never really required.

Jefferson High School traditionally held their homecoming events during the third home game of the season. In recent years, the opposing school had ended their season as the conference champion, and this year their team appeared to be equally strong. Coach Saunders, in his pre game speech to the team, reminded them of the strengths of the opposition, and cautioned them about letting down if they fell behind. To give them some encouragement, however, he added that Kyle would be seeing more action in tonight's game, both as a receiver and a kicker. "It is," he said, "time to pull out all the stops."

On the very first play from scrimmage, Kyle was on the line and with the snap of the ball, took off for the end zone. Jason threw the ball as hard as he could down the center of the field and watched as Kyle flew past the defender and the slowed to await the arrival of the pass. Ten yards later and Kyle had made the first score of the game. The noise of the crowd was louder than he had heard at any previous game and the high fives that he received from his teammates nearly drew a flag from the referee for excessive celebration.

The score moved back and forth throughout the game, and Kyle played most downs at the wide receiver position, but was not the primary receiver. On one play he held on the line for a few seconds and then took off running for the goal line again. The defender recognized the situation and immediately ran to the spot where Kyle had made that spectacular catch. But after ten steps, Kyle slowed, as he had for most pass plays and so the defender began to run toward him, just to cover. As soon as he did that, Kyle ran on an angle to the opposite corner and found himself all alone, once again waiting for the ball to arrive. The deception worked perfectly, and the opposing player was at least ten yards from Kyle when he caught the ball.

Jefferson High won the game on a last minute dive over the goal line by Jason, the quarterback, and once again, the stands erupted in tremendous cheers of approval. The fans, the parents, the alumni, and the entire team celebrated the victory. After showers and a congratulatory speech from Coach Saunders, several of his teammates suggested heading over to the popular pizza shack, and Kyle agreed to join them. He offered a ride to anyone who needed one, and Jason accepted. On the way, since it was just the two of them, he asked Jason about Sarah.

"You know Sarah James, one of the girls at that party just before school started?"

"Yeah, I know her. What about her?"

"How much do you know about her?"

"I thought you didn't talk about your girls this way."

"No, I mean about her and about her family and such."

"Oh, I don't know much. I know she lives in a giant house and her dad is a zillionaire. I heard he invented some really special heart thing that they use in hospitals, and know he has all the money in the world. He owns that big new factory on the south side of town. Why are you asking about her?"

"Oh, it's nothing really. She called me once, after the party. By the way, did you know that the school has video cameras that cover the field and the track, and that they run all the time?"

"You gotta be kidding me. Why?"

"For security, I guess. They even have people who volunteer to go in and review the tapes so that they won't have to pay somebody to do it."

Jason wasn't impressed about the cameras. "Makes sense to me, I guess. Doesn't hurt anything, and it keeps the bad guys out. What did she want when she called you?"

Kyle thought that he had successfully moved beyond the Sarah questions, but Jason seemed to want to know more. "She invited me to a party that her father was having for a bunch of big shots. I guess she needed someone to accompany her, and so she called me." It wasn't quite the truth, but it sounded plausible.

"A party at their house? Did you go? What's it like?"

"Yeah, I went. The place is really big; it just goes on and on, and the patio is about half the size of a football field. It's quite a place."