“How do I get someone like Brook to like me as more than just a friend?” Dare asked.
I chuckled.
“What?” he asked, mortified.
“I just remembered what I was like when I was a freshman. I basically asked my brother the same question. He’s a few years older than my friends and me, and I always looked up to him because of his success with the ladies. Without his help, I would never have been lucky enough to date someone like Brook,” I admitted.
“Do you think he would help me?” Dare asked.
I wasn’t sure if I should be offended that he would bypass asking me and want to talk to my brother for dating advice. Then I had a revelation. It would be easier for him to speak to an ‘expert’ who wasn’t his friend. I pulled out my phone and called Greg.
“I need your help teaching someone about women,” I said when he answered.
“Phil’s a lost cause. He thinks he knows everything,” Greg said, assuming I was talking about our half brother.
“Not Phil, Darius.”
“Oh, my.”
Greg had met Dare and understood what he would be up against.
“Here, talk to him,” I said as I thrust the phone to Dare.
Dare gave Greg a couple of one-word answers and handed the phone back to me.
“You’re going to owe me big-time,” Greg said.
“Just name it.”
“Let me get started, and I’ll figure out how much you actually owe me, depending on how this goes.”
If it had been anyone other than my brother, I would have been worried. This was a big ask, but I trusted Greg to help Dare and not send him into a mental breakdown.
“How goes the drone project?” I asked Dare to get onto safer ground.
Dare was immediately off and running, describing the new drones. I debated telling him about the possible business interest in what he was doing, but decided to wait until I heard something from my people. I didn’t want to get his hopes up.
◊◊◊
After school, I took some live batting practice with Justin pitching. He was our best pitcher, and I was hitting him with authority. After facing all the great pitchers last summer, I didn’t feel challenged by him.
“You sure you’re not really left-handed?” I quipped as I ripped his latest offering.
We’d drawn a crowd of onlookers because Justin had been mowing down everyone else today. That was until I stepped up to the plate and made him look human.
He mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like ‘asshole.’ I could tell he was about to lose his cool and throw at me. When he started into his motion, I opened my stance and leaned back. The ball flew where my head had been.
“Quit being a baby and throw me something unhittable,” I challenged.
Justin was all but shaking with anger that he couldn’t get me out. I anticipated his best fastball. As he released it, I recognized he’d overthrown it as it rose in the zone. I stood straighter to allow my natural swing to come into play and hit a crushing shot that would have been a home run anywhere.
“Justin, I’m sorry,” I said, shaking my head in mock concern. “I thought you’d embarrassed yourself enough for one day already. But God apparently disagreed.”
Moose suddenly appeared before Justin could get a chance to throw at me again.
“I expect we can all agree that David might have picked up some skills over the summer and that you won’t face anyone that hits like he does this year. It’s a good thing he’s your teammate.”
Justin took a second to remember that even though we were competing right at that moment, in the end, we played together.
“Can’t I plunk him just once?” Justin asked.
“Sure, why not,” Moose said with good humor.
I made a show of pointing deep to indicate where his next offering was going. Justin tossed up a soft one, and I let it hit me in the center of my back. I’ll admit that flopping and rolling around on the ground might have been a little too much. When I acted like I would get up and charge the mound, Tim tackled me, followed by half the team jumping on the pile.
Moose waded in and ‘saved’ me.
“It’s lucky for you I like you,” he said, shaking his head. “Let someone else rough-up Justin.”
Justin wasn’t amused when everyone wanted to take their shot. If they weren’t careful, he would really drill them.
I pulled Tim and Wolf to the side.
“Are we all set for tomorrow?” I asked.
“All the seniors and juniors will be at the field house. Your dad’s meeting with us and with Coach and a few others beforehand,” Wolf said.
“My dad says our working to leave our mark is a good thing. Is it okay if he comes to the pre-meeting?” Tim asked.
“I don’t see why not.”
“Sounds good. Anything else you need, Boss?” Tim quipped.
Joey Marshall, my most recent infatuation and current torturer, walked towards the office and passed by us in the process. She gazed into my eyes and slowly entered the office, using the best ‘look at my ass’ strut I’d ever seen.
“David,” Wolf warned.
I looked back at my two friends, and they had their arms crossed over their chests with concerned looks on their faces.
“That would be a terrible idea,” Tim said.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said to play it off.
They didn’t believe me but let it drop.
