When I got to the dining hall for breakfast, my two cheerleaders were already there with an empty chair between them for me. A few minutes later, Sarah and Adrian entered deep in conversation. Sarah came over and gave me a kiss on the cheek, gave a quick hug to the two girls then sat next to Cherry. The still sleepy group took up all eight tables with more and more folks sitting at tables adjacent to us, participating in the conversations. The usual loud ruckus was considerably quieter at this Monday breakfast. A new addition, Susie, was sitting and laughing together with Kenny.
After breakfast Adrian walked with me toward our first classes. "Want to come over to Mandy's after supper to study?" he asked.
I smiled at Adrian and said, "that would be neat but there is a pretty good sized group that go to the library together. It's kind of nice to be able to get help in almost any subject with this group. You saw it yesterday. Bring Mandy and come study with us. You can still leave early enough to enjoy Mandy for a little while afterwards."
"Might do that. Kind of thought you and Sarah would like some private time," he said.
"Not yet, she wants to wait till she gets her tests, then there is her period. Hope she gets it," I said contemplating the alternative.
"No shit!" Adrian exclaimed then walked off to another building.
Practice was intense. The coach had me working every practice play. We would walk through what he wanted to do then run through it. Then he would have us walk through with defenders, then we would do it at game speed. We were working on getting the ball inside as our next game tomorrow was with a good defensive team.
We also worked boards. You know, recognizing and anticipating how the ball was going come off the board or rim. The coaches would have two people together to go up for a rebound. Best two out of three got to sit. That doesn't seem so difficult but you wouldn't believe the abuse you take from elbows, shoulders and hips. It took me three guys before I could sit. I'm just not aggressive enough on the boards but I was still trying. Kenny had a cool move. With his height he didn't need much but he would hold his hands out from his body to keep guys from bumping into him. When he would jump, he would almost always use one hand on the other guy holding him down. He was so sneaky you had to see it and feel it to believe it.
Supper and library were normal. We all walked back to the dorms en masse, bypassing the student union. I wanted to get to bed early, as tomorrow was a travel and game day.
We had a blast at breakfast. Kenny started telling jokes. That meant that as soon as we stopped laughing at one of his jokes someone else was telling one. By the time I finished eating, my sides hurt. I gave my two cheerleaders a kiss and Sarah a hug and said I would see them tomorrow morning. Adrian and I took off for the class buildings. I gathered up all my anticipated work then headed to the dorm for my bag. Kenny met me coming down stairs so we walked to the gym together.
This time it was only a two and a half-hour drive to the game site. I did my reading and finished writing a report that once again was going to have to be typed. I went to the front of the bus and asked one of the coaches to help me find a typewriter when we got there, as we should have a ton of time before warm-ups.
There was a typewriter in the sports offices I could use. I typed my paper, then two more for other players. Both of the other players' papers were tough as their writing and grammar sucked. I actually had to go get both of them so they could interpret what was written.
We had a real nice meal in the dinning hall with the other team. Kenny started his clown routine that turned the entire hall into another joke feast.
We lay around the locker room then went out on the court for some early shot practice. The coaches cautioned us from overdoing it so we wouldn't be worn out for the game.
Finally it was game time. The other team was not only good defensively but were runners. Their fast break was whenever they touched the ball. The only way to slow them down was to hustle and clog up the middle with players so they had to slow down and work the ball in. Kind of like a half or three quarter court press.
Our practice on working the ball inside was helpful as we were able to constantly post Kenny and either drive to the ball or pick someone else's defender on a pitchout. They let me hit four consecutive shots from the corner before a defender was pushing me out of bounds every time I headed for the corner. Twice I caught a pitchout while on the line, tuning the ball over. At a time out, a coach was joking that he was going to put a dunce cap and stool in the corner for me. Kenny told me to look like I was heading for the corner, fake toward it and turn in for a push out from him at about ten feet. He said do that a couple of times then go back to my corner. Mix up my approach.
On the next offensive procession the team was working the ball to other side so I started for the corner, faked the step inside at the perfect moment. Kenny had just been pitched the ball and just redirected it to my hands. Easy jumper with the defenders hand slapping my arm. I got the free throw making it a three-point play. A couple of times when Frank pushed the ball out to me I was able to just hand the ball to someone driving the open lane to the basket. To me, assists were as good as baskets. I was able to fake inside and go to the corner a couple of more times making it a nice night for me. I had 21 points, five defensive boards, three offensive rebounds and only two fouls. Kenny ended up high scorer with 26 points and fifteen total rebounds. We won but by the skin of our teeth, 88 to 86.
We were on the road by ten so we made it to the campus by twelve-thirty and in bed by one. Everyone was boisterous at breakfast because of the win. I took a lot of ribbing when Kenny told everyone what the coach said about me being pushed out of bounds. They all thought the dunce hat comment was funny.
Because of the previous early night we had a light practice working on a couple of plays for the coming Saturday game. When we went out on the court one of the cheerleader megaphones had been wrapped with black construction paper and was sitting at one of the right corners of the court. White cut out letters spelling "Dunce" were pasted on the side. My face was red but one tall cheerleader came over to me and wrapped her arms around me and gave me a big smooch causing all the guys to hoot and holler.
Misty said when unwrapping around me, "but you're a sweet dunce."
The coaches had a good laugh then proceeded to tell me I needed the weight room so I could shove defenders and cheerleaders away from me.
Supper was fun but Sarah and Adrian were not there. We all did the library, then the student union for cokes and then off to bed. I was bushed.
Thursday was pretty much a repeat. Sarah was at breakfast but I didn't get to talk to her. She wasn't at super again and didn't show at the library. Friday came and went pretty much the same as the day before except no Sarah at breakfast Friday or Saturday.
Saturday's game was home right after lunch so our meal was real light. The JV played at ten in the morning and the varsity game was at one. The regular senior guard was feeling okay so he started. Before the first quarter was over, he was dragging and I was sent in. The forward and Kenny kept calling plays to my side so it looked like I was being a ball hog. Kenny kept directing traffic my way until at half time I asked him to stop.
"Why, rookie? You're playing shooting guard," Kenny said. "Those guys think you're just a flash in the pan and think you will start making mistakes in your little corner and on your side. If they try to stop you like the one guy did, you just pitch it back to me for an easy lay-up. Don't worry about it. The coaches are signaling me to go to you so you are it when you're in there."
The senior started the second half but only lasted about three minutes. Our guys were fast breaking on every one of the opponent's offensive blunders. That wears out everyone. As soon as I went in, the forward motioned me to the corner then pitched around till Frank was open who forwarded the ball to me for an open look at the basket. I played most of the remaining third and fourth quarter. Because I was being fed the ball all day, I had twenty-eight points making fourteen of eighteen attempts. I wasn't fouled once but did have two fouls but collected six defensive rebounds. No offensive rebounds as I was always shooting. We won handily 90 to 74. Since I was high scorer, everyone was slapping me on the back and yelling praise. I was embarrassed.
The head coach came over to me and put his arm around me. "You know, if you would just shoot the damn ball instead of passing it all around to everyone else, you might be a basketball player one of these days." He laughed and added. "I'm serious Johnson, you passed up at least a dozen good looks. When you're open, shoot. No one is going to think ill of you if you win the game single handedly. Especially if the other team thinks you have b.o. So from now on, no more deodorant for you and take the damn shot."
Son of a gun, the coach actually talked to me and wasn't yelling.
We showered and dressed then walked out to a mob of people clapping and yelling. Nice, this was very nice. We all walked back to the dining hall to fill up on what we had missed for lunch. Again, Sarah wasn't there. My two cheerleaders bracketed me and kept me embarrassed with all the praise they were heaping. I finally stood up, hollering for quiet.
"Kenny, stand up," I asked. "Today, every time I looked up that giraffe was throwing me the ball. Hey, you other first five stand up too. All of them, every one of them were passing me the ball yelling for me to shoot. I shot a bunch and they are all bitching at me because I didn't shoot enough. These guys are the team; I'm just a guard. So it's Kenny's fault. Congratulate Kenny and the other guys because it was the team that won the game."
I sat down to a barrage of applause. Clown Kenny took a couple of bows then threw a roll at me saying, "shoot it Rookie, shoot it."
No one felt like studying so the library was out and dancing was in. The girls wanted to dress up so I went for some dressier clothes too. I wore slacks, open shirt with a sleeveless sweater and corduroy sport coat. It was warm enough so I didn't have to wear a heavy coat over the sport coat.
We danced and drank free punch all evening. Cherry was dancing with another cheerleader most of the night. Misty said Cherry was hot for that little girl. I raised an eyebrow at Misty but she just said, "don't worry about it, you're mine for tonight."
When we tired, Misty and I said goodnight to everyone and headed back to the dorm. She sat me in the parlor on our favorite loveseat then left for a few minutes. When she came back she took me into her room and locked the door. "Susie has her 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door so she'll be busy for a while. It's only eleven and they don't lock the doors till two on Saturday nights so we have lots of time."
We played and made love for two solid hours. Then finally instead of making love, we fucked. Bone grinding, body banging, fucked. When we came that last time we just collapsed. I pulled the blanket over us as we were sweating pretty heavily.
Bad move.
I woke up groggily with Misty wrapped around me. I looked at her electric clock and went into shock. It read four ten. Oh shit. I tried to wake up Misty but all she said was to go out the window or wait and go out the door in the morning. I looked at Cherry's bed to see it was empty. I went back to sleep until Cherry came bouncing into the room at seven.
"Holy shit, Chuck. Did you stay all night?" Cherry asked.
"He sure did and darn near screwed me bow legged," Misty said while sitting up rubbing her eyes.
"If you want to leave, do it now, the parlor is empty and Susie still has her sign up," Cherry told us.
"Guess I better," I said getting into my clothes quickly.
"Then on the other hand, may be you should stay and take care of me now," Cherry said in a May West accent.
"I gotta pee and I don't think the other girls here would appreciate the seat up," I said putting on my jacket. "See you girls for breakfast in about twenty to thirty minutes. Dress for church. Check out the hall and parlor for me Cherry."
I kissed Misty who was still groggy and left kissing Cherry on the way by her in the alcove.
I did the triple S then walked back to the girl's dorm. The two of them walked out right about the time Misty's brother Kenny came stumbling out the door.
"So how was your night Kenny?" Misty asked.
Kenny looked up at her with blurred vision. All he said was, "awesome," then left through the front door heading toward the men's' dorm.
Breakfast; church then the student union for donuts, coffee and newspapers. A great way to enjoy a Sunday morning. Everyone wanted to watch a football game on television later so we left early for lunch. You had to be back at the student union early for the football game as the huge black and white screen on the TV was still only nineteen inches and you wanted to be close. This was the final professional football game of the season, what would have been the super bowl for that time so we were all up for it.
We watched the game, then headed to the library. All of us there actually studied hard for about three hours. We all walked to Burger Chef for their broiled hamburgers. Some said the fries at Mickey D's were better. I didn't care as long as I could have three burgers and a shake for sixty cents.
Back at the girls' dorm, Misty and I decided we should let things cool for the evening as we had overdone it a bit the night before. I went back to my dorm and went looking for Adrian. His roomy said he had not seen him the whole weekend.
Monday morning breakfast was the typical groggy Monday bunch until someone started telling jokes then everyone woke up to participate and laugh. Adrian was there and nodded to me. After breakfast Adrian and I started for our first class. He handed me an envelope, "This is from Sarah, she's dropped out of school for the semester and won't be back till probably fall. When you read it, if you have any questions, ask me. I'll see you later."
I had to get to class and didn't have time to read the darn thing. With such a short time between classes I wouldn't have time to read it till lunch or later.
Lunch was busy with people and my class after lunch was with Cherry so we walked together. After that class she walked with me to the gym as she and Misty had cheerleading practice while we were practicing basketball.
After practice there was supper, still accompanied by my dynamic duo then the library for study. Finally, at nine-thirty I sat in my dorm room at my study table and opened the letter.
Dear Chuck, I wish I could tell you everything again in person. I'm so sorry I didn't wait for us. I'm so sorry I chose the wrong thing to do at that time.
For some reason the anti-biotic did not work and I still have an infection. The problem could be that I still didn't have my period. That scares me too.
My Dad thinks it will be better if I just come home and as he says, "learn how to be a lady again."
Chuck, please don't hate me. I'm very fond of you and want to see you again when it is possible. I will write to you through Adrian and keep you informed.
Love, Sarah
That didn't help me sleep. I did finally fall asleep and slept fitfully till the alarm got me to my feet.
After breakfast I cornered Adrian and asked him how his blood tests had turned out. He said that his and Mandy's turned out fine. They even had gone back to take it over again when they found out that Sarah's didn't work. I told him I would write her a note later in the week so he could send it.
The days went on. Practice and games were cool. I never did score twenty-eight points again. A couple of games I did over twenty but just a little over. The regular senior guard was back and the season was closing.
Oh boy, baseball.
Spring break was upon us. Dad sent me some money and told me to buy a round trip bus ticket home or at least go somewhere I could relax. I was pretty homesick so I planned on going home for a couple of weeks. When I talked to Misty and Cherry, my plans got screwed up.
"Chuck, you gotta come with us," Misty said excitedly.
"Where you going?" I asked.
"Ft. Lauderdale for spring break," she said.
"Sounds like fun, how are you going to get there?"
"Dad is bringing his station wagon to trade with Kenny so we can use it. Kenny is going to drive us," Misty was really excited.
"That would be neat. I have a place we can stop at for a free meal and bed on the way down and on the way back. How about it." I said.
"Where at?" she asked.
"At my home, in Florida. It's on the way to and from there," I said.
"Would I meet your parents?" she asked smiling.
"You sure would. They will be happy to meet you. My brothers will go nuts over you and Cherry though," I said.
"Then they are going to be crazy over the Delta and Trish," she grinned.
"Those two are going with you?" I asked.
"Darn right, both of those girls have money. They'll pick up the hotel room for all of us plus Delta and Trish are old enough to buy beer," she lectured.
"When do we leave?" I asked thinking of the two sexiest looking cheerleaders in school. Those two caused a commotion wherever they went. I wouldn't mind seeing them in swimsuits.
"We're all leaving Friday. When is your last test?" she said.
"I only have one and it's Thursday. I've been excused from all the rest," I said proudly.
Misty hugged me saying, "I just love a nerd athlete."
Kenny and I talked about the trip. He said that it would be perfect for us to stop over night at my place. He and I, with help from Susie and the other girls, would drive straight through to my home, stay over night, then go on to the beach. We would repeat the process on the way back and perhaps even an extra day at home to rest up and visit.
I called home. At a buck a minute, I didn't call very often. I was smart and called on Sunday evening so it would only be thirty-five cents a minute. Dad was happy to hear from me. I thanked him profusely for the money and described the adventure we had planned. He said he looked forward to seeing me. Mom thought it was great that I was bringing a bunch of friends along. I told them we would get there probably Saturday afternoon or early evening. I told her to tell my brothers to be on their best behavior because there were some nice looking girls coming.
Would Friday ever get here?
I had a duffel bag with my clothes packed on Thursday night. Misty and Cherry didn't have any finals Friday either, so we wandered around together till Cherry took off with a girl friend of hers.
Misty and I ended up back in her room discussing what we were going to be doing over the summer. When I told her I was opting to take two classes at that time she was very excited that she would have a friend over the summer break. She had stayed over the previous summer and was bored to tears, as the other students that had stayed seemed to have an aversion to cheerleaders. If you don't know cheerleaders, you would think they are stuck up but what really is the deal is that most cheerleaders are bashful unless they are among friends or they are in their uniform in front of a crowd. Hard to believe but most of them are a little bashful and self-conscious.
The morning's discussion disintegrated into some hormone appeasement. In other words we did our bunny impressions till lunch then we showered and were ready and waiting with Cherry, Delta and Trish at Kenny's station wagon for everyone else to show up.
Kenny and Susie showed up at twelve-fifteen looking worn out and disheveled. Misty had to razz her brother, "S'matter Kenny couldn't wait till we got to Ft. Lauderdale?"
Susie instantly came to his defense. "My fault. I had an itch and he is the man to scratch it. Besides, how much privacy is there going to be with seven of us sleeping in a room."
"Two rooms," interjected Delta. "Two rooms with a connecting door. One of the rooms even has a kitchenette so we can cook something if we want to."
We piled in and quickly left the campus heading south. Keep in mind this is before Interstates were barely begun so most of the highways were two lane until you got to U.S. 19 then it was four lane in most areas.
As soon as we were under way with Kenny and Susie in the front seat, Delta and Trish in the middle and Cherry, Misty and I in the back, I knew I had a problem. The wagon was big enough but the problem was my knees. My legs were just too long to sit comfortably in the back seat. I thought I would stick it out for as long as I could before requesting some relocation.
"So how many beds are there?" Asked Susie turning in the front seat.
"Three total. The room with the kitchenette only has one bed so that place is reserved for our 'sweetheart' couple, you guys, Kenny and Susie. The other room has two giant beds and is for our resident freshman stud and his harem," Delta laughed elbowing Trish who was blushing.
Cherry squinted at the comment but Misty just snuggled into my arm and asked, "think you're up to handling four hot cheerleaders?"
It was my turn for a pink face.
Delta turned around and patted Cherry on the knee. "Don't worry Cherry when Chuck is busy with someone else, Trish and I know what makes you smile."
Cherry gasped then looked at me quickly to see what my reaction was. I grabbed her hand and kissed her on the cheek. I whispered in her ear, "This vacation is for us all to relax and enjoy ourselves. Just be yourself, let yourself go, enjoy all of us."
Cherry looked at me with wet eyes. She turned and put a lip lock on me that made my chinos tight while grabbing hold of Delta's and Trish's hands that were still on her knee. When she came up for air she only said, "I'm looking forward to it."
Two hours down the road Kenny asked for a driver swap. Susie had been napping and was still groggy. I volunteered and said for Kenny to get into the middle seat as the back seat was way too small for his long legs. After filling up with gas, Misty sat in the middle with Cherry riding shotgun. Kenny and Susie went right to sleep while the two girls in front chatted about everything that girls talk about. It was perfect to keep me awake and alert.
The next gas stop Cherry and Trish swapped seats and I kept driving, as I seemed to be rested. Trish and Misty went right back to discussing everything that Cherry and Misty had been talking about.
We stopped at almost midnight to get something light to eat and fill our thermos with coffee. Kenny said he and Susie would drive so the rest of us could crash. He suggested putting down the seats and lying on some blankets and a comforter in the back. It was kind of crowded but we all snuggled up and were really pretty comfortable. When I went to sleep I was hugging Misty's back with my hand over her waist between Misty and Cherry. Trish was behind me with Delta behind her. Misty put my hand up on her breast and wiggled into me. Trish put her hand over my waist holding my stomach and scooted into me pressing her into my back. A very nice, snug sleeping arrangement.
I woke up about five and had turned over during the night. Now I was hugging Trish with my hand on her breast and her hand holding me there. Misty was snuggled into my back with her hand on my morning attention getter.
I quietly asked the front if they needed me to spell them but Susie leaned over and told me to go back to sleep, as they were fine for a while.