“I am, and it’s because of my life goals. Once I saw that a good education was important, I was able to focus on doing the work to get my grades. I decided that playing video games and going to the local Dairy Queen had to wait until I’d done my schoolwork.”
“That doesn’t sound like much fun,” she observed.
“Probably not, but I look at it this way. What will be more important in twenty years? My score in a video game, or the knowledge I gain? It gave me a chance to realize short-term gratification did nothing for my long-term goals.”
“What are your other goals?”
“I’ll just run through them: Being Physically Fit; a Solid Moral Foundation; Healthy Sex Life; No Regrets; Make a Difference; and my newest one is Be a Good Dad,” I said.
“Healthy sex life?”
I blushed.
“At the time I made these, I was a freshman in high school and a virgin. I expect you can figure it out from there.”
“Is it still a goal?”
“Of course. Like anything else, you can always get better,” I said to tease her.
It was her turn to blush.
That ended the show. Rayna invited me back, even if I wasn’t pitching a movie. Brook was waiting in the wings with my five dollars.
◊◊◊
On our drive to the hotel, I was mentally exhausted and sort of zoned out. Brook nudged me in my ribs to get my attention.
“What?” I mock complained.
“You didn’t hold back much tonight.”
“Yeah. I’m sure that Frank isn’t going to be happy. I did get on my soapbox a little. She’s good at making you feel like it’s just the two of you having a conversation. I felt comfortable talking to her,” I admitted.
“That’s how she gets people to cry on TV. She’s brilliant,” Brook observed.
I gave her a sideways look. My girlfriend might have a girl-crush on Rayna. I thought about how Rayna had eased me into the conversation. Then it struck me: she reminded me of the Alabama head coach’s wife, Ms. Ruby. When we’d gone to her house, she’d made everyone feel like she was the grandma we never had, and we wanted to please her. That was something I wanted to learn to do better. Maybe I could use it on my mom and get a motorcycle.
Well … something told me that I could never use something like that for my evil plans. Creating that level of trust with someone meant you had to be empathetic to their needs. People saw through hidden agendas. With both Rayna and Ms. Ruby, I’d felt I could trust them and that they had my best interests at heart. I had a lot to learn.
We pulled up to the Ritz-Carlton, and I recognized that Caryn had come through for me. I’d loved every one that I’d stayed at. When we traveled to Georgia for our recruiting trip last year, we’d stayed at this one the first night.
Lexi took charge of check-in.
“Reservation for Dawson.”
The lady waiting on us looked us up.
“That’s three rooms for one night’s stay.”
We’d forgotten to get an extra room for Brook. Lexi looked back at Brook, and she just nodded. I guess that was settled. I was the last one to argue about the sleeping arrangements.
Everyone was given their key, and Fritz was handed an extra one for each room.
“Do we have time to eat in the restaurant?” I asked.
“Yes. Should I make reservations for four?” the receptionist asked.
“Thirty minutes?” I asked everyone, and they all nodded.
That would give me a chance to grab a quick shower.
We decided to forego the bellhop since we only had carry-ons.
As we entered our room, I shrugged off my jacket and began to unbutton my shirt.
Brook was not a patient girl. She immediately reached for my zipper and pulled down my pants and boxers. Before I knew what had happened, she had me in her mouth and gave me one of the finest blowjobs known to man! I climaxed in record time because it was so unexpected.
“Go take your shower while I unpack,” she ordered.
“Yes, ma’am.”
◊◊◊
Somehow, we made it downstairs in time. The Ritz-Carlton’s main restaurant was a steakhouse. The last time I’d been here, we had come too late and had to eat in the bar. When we looked at the menu, Brook raised her gaze.
“A little pricey,” she commented.
She’d been spoiled by the prices in our area. I’d been in Malibu for a couple of weeks, and the $110 they wanted for a ribeye didn’t even faze me.
“I’m a big movie star. Tonight’s on me,” I announced.
“I was just going to pass it through as an expense anyway,” Fritz said.
“Good to know,” I said.
Lexi wrinkled her nose.
“What are fried green tomatoes?”
“I’ll order some so you can try them. They’re really quite good. A couple of other dishes we’ll have to track down are boiled peanuts and fried pickles,” I said.
Brook had eaten fried green tomatoes, so she reassured Lexi. She wasn’t too sure of the boiled peanuts, though. I doubted we would have time to find them, but I put it on my to-do list for while we were here.
The meal was good. It wasn’t as good as what I’d had in Houston, but that was only to be expected. That was cow country, and they knew how to age and prepare a steak.
◊◊◊
