“I don’t need any more revenge; I’ve moved on. You’ve got this,” I said and then continued. “Ignore the Wesleyan players if they get on you about our loss today. We’re Lincoln High, and when you beat us, you’ve beaten the best. They can only dream of being you, so act like the champions you are. If they get out of hand, find Johan or me. Under no circumstances are you to find Yuri,” I said, which made them laugh.
Our crazy Russian had a tendency to shoot his mouth off. Johan, on the other hand, was a Mennonite and nonviolent. If he were both sober and calm, he would talk his way out of whatever the problem was.
“There will also be college men at the party, many of them football players. Don’t embarrass me and make me have to save your butts if you mouth off to them. Yes, we could beat State if we played them, and you can tell any of them I said so.”
“For shit’s sake, Dawson,” Jim said, shaking his head.
We both knew that a high school team, even ours, would never beat a Division I college football team from a Power 5 conference, even if they sucked. We only had a handful of D1 talent, and they had a whole team of players who were at or close to that level. The reason I said it was for my guys. They all seemed to stand a little taller when I showed some swagger.
I wasn’t really worried that bragging about our team would cause any significant trouble. If it went south, Kevin would have my back, and if I knew him, so would State’s whole defense. I wanted to remind the guys that they didn’t just represent themselves, they also represented our team and our school. Hopefully, the guys would think before they did something stupid.
“Finally, there will be college girls here,” I said.
That got their attention, and I heard them bragging about how well they would do tonight in that regard. I let them talk among themselves before continuing.
“You all brought condoms?” I asked.
Apparently, several didn’t, and they were now kicking themselves that they hadn’t brought any.
“If you need one, go with Paul to the car, and he’ll get you what you need,” I said, and turned to Paul. “There are boxes of them in the medical bag in the back.”
Fritz had made the suggestion as a joke. I thought it was a great idea and made him buy a couple of boxes as punishment. He’d gone along with the charade, permitting me my delusion that I was really in charge.
It was surprising when Johan and Milo chose to get condoms as well. I didn’t want to be around if their parents found out about it. But it was disappointing to see Yuri go get one. I thought he and Jan were more committed than that.
“So, what are my rules?” Melinda asked once we were alone.
She was teasing me, but being a leader meant you needed to look out for your charges. While I wasn’t their parent, I was their friend. If nothing else, they could learn from my mistakes to this point.
“There are only two. I brought you, so I plan to take you home,” I said with a mock glare, and then smiled. “Have fun; I plan to.”
“Can I drink, or will that be a problem?”
“Just avoid the Jell-O shots. They’re made with Everclear, and our hosts call them ‘panty droppers’ because they sneak up on you and lower your inhibitions.”
“Would that be so bad?” she asked and rubbed up against me.
“I would think you’d want to be sober enough to enjoy it,” I said, pulling her to me.
She grabbed the back of my neck, kissed me, and gave out a little giggle when she felt my desire press up against her stomach.
“Come on, before I drag you off to the car and have my way with you,” I said.
◊◊◊
When everyone was ready, we walked to the apartments. We’d had to park a few buildings away to find two spots. A small crowd was standing out front, with two bouncers preventing them from going in.
“You have to be on the list,” one of them challenged me when I walked up.
“David, plus 15,” I said with a straight face.
“I don’t think so.”
“Go get Kevin or Magic,” I suggested.
“He’s good,” Kevin said as he stuck his head out the front door.
“What about me?” a cute girl asked as she waved at Kevin.
That had the effect of causing several girls to try the same tactic. Kevin looked them over and pointed to four, including the cute one who had started it. I liked his thinking.
I followed Kevin into his apartment. The first thing that struck me was that this was not at all what I expected. He gave us a quick tour. It was a four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath unit, with each bedroom having its own bathroom with shower. The half bath was off the large living room.
Kevin’s room had a California King, a desk to study at, and a small seating area with a love seat and a big, comfortable-looking chair. There was a TV on the wall with a game console attached to it. His room was bigger than my bedroom in my garage apartment. If this was one of the perks for football players, I would have to be sure to ask about that when I was on recruiting trips. I’d just assumed I would either buy a condo or house. Something like this might change my mind.
