“Puleeease. Between Uncle John and my dad, I’m sure you’ve heard worse,” I said to defend myself.
She looked at me a thoughtfully.
“Thankfully, they grew out of it,” she said.
I wondered what fantasy world she lived in, but decided to keep that thought to myself.
◊◊◊
When I got home, Cassidy dropped me off. She wasn’t done driving the Demon. I knew exactly how she felt and just let her have her fun. I’d sent a message to Tim and Wolf to let them know when I would be home. They were both waiting for me.
Duke bounded in to tell everyone hello. I saw that our cook/housekeeper was here.
“Hey, Melanie.”
“Welcome home. I made sugar cookies,” she said, pointing at the table.
Tim and Wolf had glasses of milk and were in the process of demolishing the platter of cookies she’d put out.
Duke found the pet crate and was rewarded with a yowl of displeasure from Satan’s Spawn, which caused everyone to flinch. He sounded so much like Precious, it wasn’t funny.
“Take the cookies and that … that cat and go to your apartment,” Melanie suggested.
“Come on, boys, we’re being kicked out,” I said.
Duke led the way. When we got upstairs, I opened the crate, and Satan’s Spawn jumped into my arms for protection from Duke’s intended puppy scan. I didn’t know any cat that enjoyed being sniffed all over.
“What’s up with you guys?” I asked.
“We’re looking forward to our trip to LA,” Wolf said.
“I could use some alone time with Tami,” Tim admitted.
Wolf’s face lit up like he’d just discovered electricity or something. I think he caught my momentary twinge. Tim certainly picked up on it.
“Sorry, Dude, but she’s my girlfriend.”
He didn’t sound sorry, and dang it, he was right.
“Eat your cookie like a good boy and leave me alone.” I grinned to let him know I was okay.
Tim laughed.
“There’s not a good bone in this body,” Tim said, trying to act like he was bad to the bone.
“That sucks for you,” Wolf countered with a sly smile.
“Good bones are all I have lately,” Tim shot back.
I choked, spewing cookie everywhere.
“You both need to find girlfriends who’re local if you’re having a problem,” I teased.
“I’m just fine with the one I have,” Tim assured me.
Wolf didn’t look like he was sure. Then he seemed to realize we were both staring at him.
“Bite me. I’m good. Mine is a model, after all,” he said to try to reassure us.
Frankly, I thought he might have been reassuring himself. Even though Sarah was smoking hot and only an hour’s drive away, it had to be hard to carry on a relationship long-distance.
I decided to change the topic.
“We might have a problem. I received cash in the mail, and I think it was from Southwest Central State,” I said.
I could tell from the sideways looks Tim and Wolf gave each other that they’d also received money. The truth was, I really had no business telling them what to do about it, but red warning flags had gone up all over. I suddenly felt like I stood right in the middle of a potential minefield. One wrong step and everything would explode in the worst way possible, and it would be a bloody, frickin’ disaster.
All I could do was give them the information they needed and let them make their own decisions as to what was best for them. I knew Wolf wasn’t rolling in cash, and anything he received from them would probably help. Tim was another story. His parents made enough that he’d never felt the worry of not having anything.
“What do you intend to do?” Tim asked.
“I’m going to report it to both the FBI and NCAA,” I said.
In my gut, I knew I would.
“Are you sure?” Wolf asked.
I’d shared with them what I’d been going through with both the NCAA and FBI so far.
“Of course he is,” Tim said with more confidence than I felt.
“What makes you say that?” Wolf asked.
“David never shies away from something, even if it is the hard choice. If he thinks it’s the right thing to do, he’ll do it,” Tim said.
Wolf nodded in agreement with his comment. I’d never realized they thought that about me. In a way, I was flattered.
“I’m worried this might come back on you guys if they sent you money,” I explained.
“Are you asking if we received money or not?” Wolf asked.
For me, that question just confirmed they had received money, too. Why else would Wolf ask that? Still, best to stick to the plan and not let on that I knew.
“I’m afraid there will be blowback. I fully expect that the NCAA will pull my eligibility while they ‘investigate’ everything. The guy they sent out to see me all but told me that I had to continue to help them, or they would cause me problems. I told him to forget it. I wasn’t going to keep pretending to go along with Southwest Central State. Not just to see if we could get them to make a mistake and admit what was going on solely for the investigator’s and the NCAA’s continued glory. I pretty much dared the NCAA guy to make an issue of it,” I admitted.
“What do you think will happen?” Tim asked.
“At some point, they’re going to look at the two of you to see if you took any money.”
They both looked at each other again.
“Well … to be truthful …” Wolf started.
