Chapter 17 – … Stays on the Recruiting Trip Sunday October 2
I woke to Tim and Wolf coming back from the party. It was apparent they weren’t alone. My stomach turned when I next heard the sounds of sex. I think they were deliberately loud because of the stunt Brook and I’d pulled. What was I going to do?
◊◊◊
When she woke up, Brook found me sitting in a side chair, staring off into space. She knew I was contemplating what I should do about the activities next door last night.
“I’d want to know,” Brook said as she got up and stepped into the bathroom to take her shower.
She was right; I would want to know, too. I was faced with an impossible decision. On the one hand, if I called Sarah and Tami, my best friends would never talk to me again. On the other, we’d made a pact to not tell on each other. My mind was spinning when Brook came out of the bathroom.
“What are you going to do?”
“I can’t tell on them.”
“Why not?” she asked and then gave me a dark look. “You know it’s the right thing to do.”
I let out a long sigh. Yes, it was the right thing to do.
“I could tell my mom,” I suggested.
“Didn’t you tell me that that was one of the things that drove you nuts when you dated Tami? I seem to remember you telling me that I should just tell you something if I thought it bothered you. That you would rather hear it from me than from someone else.”
Brook didn’t appreciate the look I gave her for getting on her soapbox and lecturing me with my own words. That just wasn’t playing fair.
“Sorry, I just can’t. I made a promise that has come back and bitten me in the butt. I should’ve known better than to agree to the blanket premise that no matter what happened, we couldn’t talk about it. This is one of those instances where I have to be a man of my word, no matter how much it might hurt Tami and Sarah,” I said. My heart was heavy.
“Go take your shower,” Brook said.
As I came out, my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID, and it was Tami. Brook had disappeared, so I wasn’t able to tell if she instigated this or not.
“Hey,” I said as I answered it.
“Do you know where Tim and Wolf are? Sarah and I have been trying to get hold of them all morning,” Tami said.
“I heard them next door. They’re in room 261. Why don’t you call the hotel and have them connect you? I bet they’re charging their phones,” I said, dodging a bullet.
I was proud of myself that I hadn’t either lied or revealed anything.
“How come you sound funny? What’s going on?” Tami asked.
F-Me!
“We’ve had a great trip. You should call Tim and get all the details,” I suggested and hung up on my friend.
I was packing my stuff when I heard the phone next door ring.
“Don’t answer it,” a muffled voice I assumed was Wolf said.
“Hello,” a female voice answered.
I hurried and finished packing and rushed downstairs to check out.
◊◊◊
The plan was to check our bags at the hotel and then go to Coach Swank’s house for breakfast. After that, we would go back to the football facilities and talk to their strength-and-conditioning team, followed by one-on-one talks with the coaching staff.
I was waiting in the lobby when I saw my mom and dad get off the elevator. Dad went to check out while my mom came straight for me. I could tell she was irritated. I had a bad feeling that Tami had called her.
“Why didn’t you tell her?” Mom snapped.
“Slow your roll,” I said, then realized that was precisely the wrong thing to say to my mom. “Sorry. Just hear me out, and then you can take my head off.”
“That’s something new. Let’s see if I need to take it off or not.”
“Fair enough. Last night, I heard Tim and Wolf come back from the party with two guests. It sounded like they might have done more than sleep. I debated whether I should call Tami and Sarah and tell them, but I had made a promise to Wolf and Tim that what happens on recruiting trips is private. Uncle John said that there would be times when being a man of your word would be hard. I never realized that I might end up losing my friends because of it,” I said and waited for my fate.
Tim, Wolf, the two sisters, and Brook walked over.
“I think you need to see something,” Tim said and handed me his phone.
He had a video cued up and hit ‘play.’ It showed Tim, Wolf, and the two coeds, giggling.
“Thanks for helping us with this. He deserves it,” Wolf said, and then he looked at the camera. “And David … Tami and Sarah know.”
I watched as the fully clothed foursome simulated sex sounds and rocked the two beds. My eyes snapped up, and everyone had now gathered around and was smiling at me.
Oh. My. God. I had been punked, but good.
I wanted to be mad. But, no matter that I really, really wanted to be angry, I just couldn’t be, given the artful way I’d just been had. It was a thing of beauty, in its way.
“You all suck,” I huffed and then began to laugh.
Brook crawled into my lap and kissed me.
“I’m sorry, but we couldn’t resist. I felt bad when I saw that you worried so much.”
“The phone calls this morning were pure evil,” I complained.
