“I’ve never had a problem with that kind of thing, and I never will.” The man was seriously starting to piss me off.
“Says you. And I believe you believe that. Now, we didn’t say anything about that little crack across the jaw you dealt Kirby last year—what, you think I didn’t hear about that? Son, everything, and I mean everything that happens with our athletes makes its way to this office eventually, if Doc knows what’s good for him. But that was nothing, really. And you’re right, you’ve managed to keep yourself sober and drug free, and had a decent social life. I am glad you didn’t let that Vanessa Fisher girl sink her hooks into you too deeply.”
“And why is that?” I asked, as if it was any of his fucking business anyway.
“Oh, please. Don’t be so thick, son. That girl will be pregnant by the end of this year if she isn’t already. I’ve already had a similar talk with Kevin Pearson. I just hope to hell it wasn’t too late.”
Kevin was the captain of the basketball team, and Vanessa’s current target. Of course I had my own suspicions about Vanessa’s motivation, but it still pissed me off that he thought I would have let her get pregnant.
“No,” he continued, “She’s not a real prize, once you get past the blonde from a bottle, and all that makeup. Her grades are decent, but she’s got no class. Not like Tracy Abbott, anyway. Speaking of…”
Everything stopped at that moment—all movement, all sound. Even my breath for an instant. It was like I was standing in a tunnel with no exit, and even before I saw the blinding light of the train, I knew what was heading my way.
“…now I know this little thing you’ve had going with the Wells girl has been real convenient for you, what with getting a tutor and sexual partner all in one. It’s very sweet, actually, except that while it may seem harmless to you, you’re actually causing just as much damage to your reputation as if you were still dating the Fisher girl.”
“Don’t see how that can be.” The train was coming faster now, but I owed it to myself and especially to Keira to head it off as long as I could. “Keira is smart, and beautiful. She couldn’t possibly ruin my reputation—“
“Keira Wells is unremarkable, Buckingham. And if you are to remain remarkable in the eyes of the talent scouts on every level, you cannot continue to see her.”
I barely heard the next words out of his mouth. Something about his confidence that I’d be able to let Keira down gently, that she’d understand, because surely, she wasn’t thinking I’d wait for her to graduate so she could become my wife. I knew that he was right in part, but I fucking hated it that he was preying on the fact that Keira and I would probably break up. I hated that everything I was avoiding for the past three weeks, hell, all summer really, was now rearing its ugly head and forcing me to deal with it.
“There’s a special pep rally before Homecoming. The press will be there, along with scouts from certain pro teams—those that would be the most favorable for you to be signed with, in the eyes of the school. The marching band will of course be there, along with the cheerleading squad. School spirit and all that. Tracy of course, being a senior and the captain, will be part of the photo op at the end of the rally. She’ll stand next to you and leave the building with you. From that moment on, you are officially a couple. She’s just as smart as your Keira, and even more beautiful in my opinion. She’s majoring in biology, so she will still have a respectable job when she graduates, but nothing that would take the spotlight away from her pro football player husband.”
“And Keira would? She’s probably going to teach high school math, for Christ’s sake.”
“Or she could end up working for NASA. She does not fit the mold, Buckingham.”
“Who’s to say we would have stayed together anyway. Regardless, isn’t it my choice?”
“It is, ultimately. Look, once you graduate, it’s out of my hands entirely. But until the draft in April, you’re mine. Do we have an understanding, Buckingham?” He glared at me, and I knew I had no choice but to agree with him.
“Yes.”
As I left McDaniel’s office, my head spun. Homecoming was less than a week away. I had to find a way to make Keira understand that this was all just politics. But even if I did, there was no way she’d put up with pretending that we’d broken up or allowing me to go through the motions of dating someone else—especially someone like Tracy Abbott. Nor could I ignore the power that Corky McDaniel had to potentially destroy my chances with the pro scouts. I was truly and royally fucked.
Chapter 10
Keira
I tried to ignore the nagging feeling that regularly kept my stomach in knots. The start of my sophomore year was moderately harder for me, but it was also the start of Nate’s senior year. I knew he’d have a lot on his shoulders—finishing out his business degree with good academic standing and playing better than he ever had. Even though the NFL draft wouldn’t be until spring, the talent scouts would be watching Nate for the whole season. Hell, they’d probably visited the Spartan training camp in August.
I didn’t want to admit that my relationship with Nate probably wouldn’t survive once he graduated, and that it might not even last until then. But I was determined to be the best girlfriend—the best friend—to him that I possibly could. I guess in my own way I was trying to prevent the inevitable. Little did I know that it wouldn’t be long at all before my fear became a reality.
We were really doing pretty well, I thought, considering that our class schedules were hardly compatible this term, which meant that we didn’t have much time together when you threw in Nate’s practices. And even if we were both worried, we put of a good front for each other and everyone else. I was at least able to attend a few more games, and that made Nate really happy. He still had no problem being publicly open about our relationship, so I held out hope that it was not in any jeopardy. Boy was I wrong.
The week before Homecoming, Nate’s whole demeanor changed. I couldn’t figure out why, and he wasn’t interested in talking about it. Whenever I tried to ask him what was going on, he gave me some lame-ass excuse like he was worried about an upcoming test, or the defensive line was letting him get sacked too many times. Not that those weren’t legitimate concerns for him, but something else was going on. I just couldn’t figure out what it was.
The night before the big pep rally for the Homecoming game, Nate was in a particularly grumpy mood. I tried everything to cheer him up. My mom had sent me some cookies, so I brought them with me to the Crow’s Nest. I’d asked him if he wanted to blow off the books for the rest of the night and catch a late movie. Not that I did that often, but sometimes your brain just needs a break. I’d even promised to stay up late with him after the movie to get more work done. No dice. Finally, I hit him with the tried and true, I stood up, and made quick work of pulling my pants down, which revealed the red silk thong I’d worn that day. I wore them from time to time in honor of the first night Nate had come to my room to study—the first time I’d worn a skirt and a thong. He loved re-living that night and so did I, minus the skirt these days. And he went for it this time, but it was anything like old times. Nate was like a different person.