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===================
Orange County Babylon
PART SIX
by
Michael Dalton
IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION
If you have received this work in your e-mail box and do not know
why, it is because your Internet service provider is forwarding posts
from Usenet newsgroups to your account. It has *NOT* been e-mailed to
you by the author. You must contact your ISP for help.
This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real persons
is unintentional and strictly coincidental. Although this story refers
to many real places and organizations, such mention should not be taken
to imply either a relationship or approval of any sort. This work
contains explicit descriptions of sexual activity, and anyone offended
by such things should read no further. If reception of this work is
illegal due to your age or other repressive local regulations,
liability for downloading it is your problem, not mine. This work is
intended solely for the quiet and private enjoyment of adults, and any
other use is a violation of the copyright.
This work is Copyright 1998 by Michael...@aol.com and is
protected by United States and other international copyright law.
Reposting and archiving is permitted, except where a fee of any sort is
required or earned for access, provided this disclaimer and note remain
attached to the story. All other rights, specifically rights of
commercial use, are reserved. Commercial use here is defined to
include membership web sites, banner-funded web sites, and those
protected by fee-based age validation methods (such as Adultcheck and
Adultsights). However, exception is specifically made for web sites
(such as DejaNews) that provide archiving and access to all Usenet
posts in a particular group without editing or selection for content.
No modifications may be made to this story without express permission
from the author. Any questions regarding use of this work can be
directed to the address above. Failure to contact the author prior to
use is presumptive evidence of bad faith and may expose you to
significant criminal and civil liability.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
This novel was first published in August, and has remained one of
the most popular and most requested works I have written. From the
vast amount of feedback I have gotten over it, I have been able to make
some revisions and corrections that warranted a repost. This is still
the same story, mind you--what I have changed were a number of factual
and grammatical errors pointed out to me by my readers. In particular,
I want to thank Neverless and Lee Vine for assistance in that regard.
With eight or nine months of hindsight (I wrote the first draft
of OCB in March), I have to say that I am not entirely happy with this
thing. Among other problems, I think it starts too quickly and the
behavior and personality of some of the characters in Part One are
inconsistent with what occurs later. None of this appears to have
dimmed the enthusiasm that has greeted the story, but it bears pointing
out.
If you haven't read this before, a few words of warning. This
novel (and it *is* a novel--it runs to over 98,000 words) should not be
taken too seriously. It is best described as a silly, sappy, high
school soap opera. The protagonist has more good fortune and more wild
experiences in one year than most people have in their entire lives. I
don't just mean the sex, either. Although there is plenty of sex in
this story, there are also long stretches of action where nothing
remotely sexual occurs. This is because the story is supposed to be a
full depiction of the protagonist's life, not simply a catalog of his
sexual behavior. As in the real world, sexual activity has certain
consequences, and that is what I have tried to accurately describe.
The reader will note fairly quickly that this story appears to
fall into one of the worst stereotypes of low-grade erotica: the
football player and the cheerleaders. To this appearance, I freely
confess--but there is a great deal else going on in here.
Nevertheless, should you have a congenital allergy to football, you may
want to skip this, as there is plenty of explicit sports to go with the
explicit sex.
Those of you familiar with Orange County, California, will note
that I have taken certain liberties in my descriptions, particularly
with the locations and athletic programs of area high schools. I did
this solely out of laziness--I wasn't interested in researching the
actual composition of the local high school football conferences.
This work is, in many ways, a satire. The views expressed herein
should not be taken as serious commentary on either the County of
Orange, the Roman Catholic Church, or the United States Marine Corps.
I make one exception to that disclaimer, however. My descriptions of
the Orange County foster care system do not in any way resemble
reality. The actual system is currently in very dire straits, and few,
if any, children who go through it have experiences as easy and
pleasant as the protagonist's. Sexual abuse of foster children is
unfortunately not uncommon, and in real life, the consequences are far
different from what I have described here.
One last note: Please do NOT e-mail me for missing pieces. This
is a very large file and mailing it is a pain. All the pieces of this
story should be available in the ASSM archive, the address for which
can be found in the header above.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
XXX.
Karen missed school on Monday and Tuesday but showed enough improvement to
return Wednesday morning.
"So you know now not to go swimming naked in the ocean in December?" Summer
asked her at lunch.
"Nope. I'd do it again. If you guys had come with me, I probably wouldn't
have gotten sick."
"I'm not sure I follow the logic in that," Jack said.
"Don't even try," Becky said.
"We should all go skinny dipping some time," Karen said. "Maybe in
someone's pool if not the ocean."
"I like that idea," Jack said.
"Oh, I bet you would."
"We could use Summer's pool," Becky said.
"Yeah, and I'm sure my folks wouldn't care."
"Do they ever go out of town?"
"And leave me behind? Well, they go on the Marriage Encounter Weekends
every year. But that's not until March. And there's still my brother. He'd
suspect something if I tried to get him out of the house that weekend."
"Damn."
"Hey, I have an idea that might work. Although it wouldn't be entirely
legal."
"Ooo," Karen said. "What?"
"There's a house on the cul-de-sac at the end of my street that's up for
sale. The family has already moved out. They have a pool, and it backs up
to a slope, so I don't think anyone would see us."
"You mean sneak in there?"
"Why not? Who would know? As long as we kept the lights off and didn't make
noise."
"Is the power on?" Jack asked. "Because otherwise the pool equipment will
be off. Particularly the heater."
Summer thought for a second.
"I don't know. But I could check."
"If it is on, you'd have to go over there the afternoon before we snuck in
and turn on the heater. It will take a while to heat up. Because if they've
moved out, there's no way the heater is still on."
"Yeah. But that might work."
"Sounds like an idea to me," Karen said.
"After the game on Friday?" Becky asked.
"I could sneak over that morning."
"Everybody in on this?" Karen asked. The four of them glanced around at
each other. "Going once? Going twice?"
She grinned.
"I guess it's on."
Friday's game was the last game of the season. Sacred Heart had already
qualified for the CIF Southern Section Division IX Playoffs by virtue of
winning their conference, but this game could still affect their seeding in
the bracket. It was also against their traditional rivals, Calvary Chapel,
so no one suggested taking the weekend off. In any case, being 11-0, no one
wanted to blow a shot at the school's first perfect season in about twenty
years. That team had also finished the regular season 12-0, eventually
losing in the semifinals.
The game was being played at Calvary Chapel, so Jack rode the bus over with
the team. The cheerleaders followed in another bus with the spirit squad
and the band. The coach gave them a rousing pep talk about their shot at
perfection and their potential playoff seeding before sending them out.
Calvary Chapel was 6-5, and though on the face of it the game didn't look
to be too close, like most long rivalries, nothing could be taken for
granted.
Cavalry Chapel got the opening kickoff, and drove to about midfield before
having to punt. Jack had a couple of tackles and helped kill the drive with
a sack. Sacred Heart took over on their twenty-five yard line, and Billy
directed a crisp, quick drive down to the goal line. On second-and-goal, he
dropped back to pass and flipped the ball out the sideline, where the
receiver was waiting just over the goal line. Billy's vision was partially
blocked, and he didn't see Calvary Chapel's cornerback racing over to the
corner. The back stepped in front of the ball, picked it off, and raced
untouched a hundred and one yards into the opposite end zone. Cavalry
Chapel's stand went berserk, and a noticeable gloom settled over Sacred
Heart.
Billy's rhythm had been thrown off, and their next drive stalled on Cavalry
Chapel's forty-yard line. The momentum remained with their opponents, and
Calvary Chapel took the punt back down the field, eventually settling for a
twenty-yard field goal. The first quarter ended with Sacred Heart down
10-0, and everyone smelling a potential upset.
The coach screamed at them between quarters, and Billy seemed to get the
message. Sacred Heart's next drive showed some of their usual precision,
but Billy was unable to get them into the end zone. They kicked a field
goal to cut the lead to seven.
Hoping to turn things around, Jack and Randy managed to rouse the defense
from its doldrums, and Calvary Chapel was unable to achieve a first down
the rest of the half. With two minutes left in the first half, Jack lined
up for a blitz on third-and-eight. Randy, as he usually did, broke open a
hole in the line, and Jack darted through. The quarterback spun around,
trying to evade him, but Jack got his arm around him, getting one hand on
the ball. He pulled the quarterback down as the ball popped loose. Screams
of "fumble!" erupted in the backfield, and players from both teams swarmed
in, creating a large pile of bodies. Jack high-fived Randy, hoping they had
created the game breaker. Then the referee pointed his arm down toward the
wrong end zone. Calvary Chapel's running back had recovered the ball.
Calvary Chapel punted, and on the next play, Billy completed a forty-two
yard pass down to the three-yard line. But again, he was unable to get into
the end zone, twice firing passes far over the heads of his receivers.
Sacred Heart kicked another field goal, and the first half ended 10-6.
Jack would have given a lot not to have had to sit through their coach's
halftime tirade, but most of the criticism was justified. The opening
interception and touchdown had thrown the whole team out of synch.
Jack was determined not to blow their chance at a perfect season. Whatever
he had to do, he was going to help win this game.
Sacred Heart kicked off to open the second half. Jack raced down the field,
watching the opposing players instead of the ball. He darted around several
blockers, and found a clear lane right to the return man.
When he was ten yards away, he saw the ball dropping down, into-- and
through--the receiver's arms. The frantic player stopped his incipient
charge up the field, bending down to grab the ball. Just as he got it, Jack
slammed into him hard.
The receiver, and the ball, went flying backwards. Jack watched it bouncing
toward the end zone as Joe Dickson raced past him with two Cavalry Chapel
players on his heels. Joe scooped up the ball as the two players crashed
into him, and the three of them rolled into the end zone. The end judge put
up his arms to signal the touchdown as Sacred Heart's fans finally had
something to cheer about. Jack ran into the end zone to pile onto Joe with
the other players.
Sensing their upset slipping away from them, Cavalry Chapel was unable to
do anything on the ensuing drive. Two plays after the punt, Billy hit their
best receiver thirty yards over the middle, and he slipped and darted
through Cavalry Chapel's backfield into the end zone, completing a
seventy-one yard touchdown pass.
After that, the rout seemed to be on. Calvary Chapel managed a brief drive,
but Sacred Heart responded with another touchdown. With the score now
27-10, and with Cavalry Chapel beginning to look defeated, the coach began
rotating in the substitutes.
Jack remained in though, and on the next drive, he snatched the ball away
from one of Cavalry Chapel's receivers and returned it to their twenty-five
yard line. Two minutes later, Billy made it 34-10 on a two-yard run.
Jack knew he already had the conference record for defensive
touchdowns--now up to six--but he wanted to close the season with just one
more. He mentioned to the coach, who agreed to keep him in for the rest of
the game.
His chance came late in the fourth quarter, with the score now 41-10. One
third-and-nine, Jack broke past one of their offensive lineman to come up
behind the quarterback, who had pulled back to pass. The quarterback cocked
his arm into throwing position just as Jack reached him, but he didn't see
Jack coming.
Rather than simply tackle him, as he would normally have done, Jack did the
selfish thing--he grabbed the ball right out of the quarterback's hand and
took off for the end zone. No one came close to tackling him, and he scored
his seventh and last touchdown of the regular season. He felt a little
guilty about it, especially after seeing the dejected expressions on the
other players' faces, and resolved to confess about it to Father Roberts.
The game ended a few minutes later with the score 48-10.
Summer found him on the sidelines.
"Everything is ready to go. Just meet me after you change. We're all going
to go over there together. My folks think we're just going to another
party."
"Okay."
He found them waiting for him outside the locker room, and they rode the
bus back to Sacred Heart. From there, they took Summer's car back to their
neighborhood. They parked at Becky's and walked over to Summer's street.
As they passed Summer's house, she shooed them along faster lest her
parents see them. The end of the street was dark, and no one seemed to
notice as they slipped into the backyard of the deserted house. It was on
the top of a bluff overlooking the air base at El Toro, and between that
and the landscaping, it didn't look like anyone could see them. Jack could
hear the pool equipment going, and see steam rising off the spa, but all
the lights were off.
"I came over this morning," Summer said. "The stuff works just like ours.
But you guys have to be quiet, okay? If someone hears us, or God forbid
sees us, they'll probably call the cops."
Glancing around nervously, they disrobed. Karen and Becky were the first
ones in, giggling and splashing in the water. Jack watched Summer,
wondering how anyone could be blessed with such a body, and followed her
in.
The air was cool, down in the fifties, but the water was warm enough. Jack
swam around, watching three sets of breasts floating in the water.
"This is so weird," Becky said. "I feel more naked than naked."
"It turns me on," Karen said.
"Well, so does practically everything."
Jack leaned against the wall at the shallow end, and watched them swimming
around for a few minutes. Karen floated over to him and leaned back,
rubbing her butt against his crotch. He reached down, taking her buttocks
in his hands. Becky swam over to them, followed by Summer. The two of them
came up on either side, pressing themselves against him and kissing his
neck. He groped at the bodies around him, fondling random breasts and
buttocks.
Karen turned around and reached down to grasp his stiffening penis.
"We should get in the Jacuzzi."
Becky and Summer scrambled over the wall into the spa, followed by Jack and
Summer. He floated in the center, and the three girls surrounded him. Hands
moved all over his body, and he turned around, kissing one of them after
another.
"Ooo," Summer said, "these bubbles really tickle."
"I think I could come just sitting in here," Becky said.
"Try humping a water jet," Karen said.
Becky repositioned herself, leaning against the edge of the spa, and
shivered.
"Oh, wow."
Giggling, Karen took the jet beside her. Summer continued to fondle him,
but he stopped her.
"You, too. See who can get off first."
Karen and Becky both laughed, and Summer took the jet on Becky's other
side. Jack got behind them, watching them working their hips around in the
water. Moans and whimpers soon filled the air. Becky was soon whining
through her nose, and then began to shake. She rode the jet for a few more
seconds before leaning back against Jack.
"Mmm . . ."
She giggled contentedly, and Jack played with her breasts from behind. She
reached between her legs, finding his stiff cock, and guided it into her.
As she floated in the bubbly water, he rode her from behind, keeping his
hands on her breasts.
Karen and Summer reached orgasm about a minute later, almost within a
second or two of each other. They turned around to see Becky rising up and
down on Jack's erection.
"Greedy cow," Karen muttered.
"Get up on the edge of the spa," Becky said. "I'll make it up to you."
Karen scooted up, and Becky floated forward. She spread Karen's thighs and
leaned down to lick at her. Summer floated around behind Jack, pressing her
breasts against his back, reaching under and between him and Becky to
fondle them.
Becky quickly brought Karen to another orgasm, and Karen slipped back into
the water, complaining that she was cold. Becky slid off Jack's penis, and
Summer moved to take her place. Karen and Becky floated on either side,
tweaking and caressing all over them. Summer floated over Jack, legs around
his waist, arms around his neck. He found that he could thrust in and out
of her with almost no effort. The hot water and bubbling spa, not to
mention Karen and Becky's assistance, brought them both off in a minute or
two. Summer backed away, and Karen climbed on.
Jack was only partially erect, but the whole body stimulation soon
rearoused him. Karen rode him for a few minutes as Becky and Summer tweaked
her nipples and kissed her in turn. She eventually reached a thrashing,
clawing climax under their busy fingers. When Karen was finished, he pushed
her off and grabbed Becky again. Giggling, she straddled him as Summer
guided his cock into her.
He stood up more now, relying less on the floatation and more on his own
strength to thrust at her. She held on tightly and let him work. Karen
floated behind her, holding both of Becky's breasts in her hands. Summer
moved behind Jack, caressing him from behind. He turned around and kissed
her deeply for a few seconds. He looked back to see Karen and Becky doing
the same thing. A few more deep thrusts put an end to it, as he drained
himself in her.
They floated around for another twenty minutes, resting and relaxing,
before finally climbing out and going home.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
XXXI.
Finals, the football playoffs, and Christmas all seemed to arrive at once.
Somehow, Jack found the time to devote enough attention to each. Sacred
Heart played Estancia High in the quarterfinals, and after a tough game
that was mainly a defensive battle, Sacred Heart prevailed 14-10. He
completed his finals the next week, and felt good enough about them not to
worry any more than he had to (since this was the last semester grades the
Academy would see). Friday, he went Christmas shopping, getting a 14k gold
heart-shaped locket for Summer, a charm bracelet for Becky, and a similar
pair of earrings for Karen. He wanted to get them more, but anything more
serious would raise questions. He just hoped they understood.
That weekend, Sacred Heart went up against Irvine Woodbridge in the
semifinals, and fell behind 14-7 at the half. The coach gave them another
mid-game rant during halftime, and Jack helped lead the comeback with two
second-half interceptions. The game ended 21-14, setting up a match in the
finals with the defending Division IX champions, Santa Margarita.
That Saturday was the Christmas Formal. They had decided amongst themselves
that another three-way date like the Homecoming Dance would raise too many
eyebrows, so Becky and Karen had accepted date requests from a couple of
guys in their class, boys they were friendly enough with, but not so
friendly that the dates would signify anything relationship-wise. They had
all agreed to meet together before the dance to go out to dinner.
Jack rented a tuxedo and arrived at Summer's house with a corsage and the
locket.
Her father let him in.
"Jack, come in. Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, sir."
"You look very spiffy. Summer will be impressed."
"Thank you, sir."
"So you boys are playing in the State Championship, huh?"
"Yes, sir. I'm really looking forward to it. It's going to be a tough
game."
"Well, we'll all be out rooting for you. I'm sure you will boys will win."
"I hope so, sir."
Summer's mother came down the stairs.
"Oh, don't you look just darling." She kissed him on the cheek. "Summer
will be down in a moment. Let me go get the camera."
She went off into the kitchen, and her father waved him into the living
room.
"Jack, have a seat. Any word from the Academy yet?"
"No, sir. I probably won't hear for a couple of months."
"I can't tell you how excited I am for you. That's such a great
opportunity."
"I'm just hoping Summer gets admitted to Georgetown too."
"Well, so am I, but what's meant to be, will be. God knows what's best for
us even we don't always know ourselves."
"Yes, sir."
Summer's mother came out with the camera, then called upstairs.
"All right, honey, we're ready."
Jack stood and looked up the stairs. Summer emerged from her room. She wore
a long black velvet dress that hugged her from top to bottom. Though the
fabric was thick enough not to expose too much, it was a more revealing
dress than he would have expected her mother to tolerate. Her hair was
straight, falling around her face. Watching her descend the stairs made him
dizzy. She couldn't possibly be that beautiful.
"Hi."
She kissed him on the cheek.
"Hi. You look great."
"Thanks. So do you."
He took out the corsage and pinned it to her chest.
"Oh, you two look just wonderful," her mother said.
He took a breath and handed her the box with the locket in it.
"Merry Christmas."
She looked at him and her parents nervously.
"Should I open it now?"
"Oh, go ahead and open it, honey," her mother said.
"Yeah. Open it now."
"Okay."
She tore off the wrapping paper and took the top off the cardboard box
under it. When she saw the velvet box inside, she gasped slightly. She took
it out carefully, glancing at him, and opened it.
"Oh, honey, that's beautiful."
Her eyes began to water up, and she hugged him tightly.
"Thank you," she squeaked.
She let go of him and looked back the box, realizing then that it was a
locket and not just a charm. She opened it with her thumbnail, seeing the
two little pictures he had put inside. She gasped again and hugged him.
"I love you," she whispered in his ear.
"Why don't you put it on," her father said.
"Oh, yes, let's see how it looks."
She took it out and gave it to Jack. She lifted her hair and let him put it
around her neck.
"Oh, that is just gorgeous," her mother said.
Summer laughed in embarrassment and wiped her eyes.
"Let me get you a tissue," her mother said. "We don't want to ruin your
makeup."
She came back a moment later and fixed the damage. Then she had them pose
around the room and shot off a roll of film. Only then did she let them go.
Once out in the car, Summer hugged him again.
"This is so beautiful. I hope it wasn't expensive."
"You're worth it."
"Oh, God. I got you something but nothing as nice as this."
"It's all right. You're all the present I need."
She pulled down the passenger side mirror and admired it again.
"What did you get Karen and Becky?"
"A bracelet for Becky and earrings for Karen. They look sort of the same. A
necklace would have been too much like a boyfriend present."
"Yeah. You're not going to give them to them tonight, though?"
"No. I told them how I was going to do it. I'd give you that tonight, and
then theirs later this weekend. I can't give them anything tonight."
"Yeah. Their dates probably wouldn't like that."
In truth, he was more worried about how Karen and Becky would react to
Summer's gift. Karen could probably deal with it, but it was just the sort
of thing that would trigger Becky's feelings of inferiority. He had called
her the night before and spent an hour talking it over with her, assuring
her that this date arrangement was a painful necessity, but that it didn't
mean anything about how he felt about her. She professed to understand, but
he wasn't convinced.
They met the other two couples at a restaurant in Newport Beach. He
noticed, though they tried to be discreet, jealous glances at Summer's
necklace. There was nothing he could do at that point, so he tried to make
sure he didn't ignore Karen and Becky during dinner.
At the dance, he of necessity spent most of his time with Summer, although
he danced with Karen and Becky several times.
"Are you okay?" he asked Becky in between songs.
"Yeah. This is hard, though."
"I know. I'm sorry. You know I love you as much as her."
"Yeah. I just wish everyone else could know it too. That's the problem."
Karen was handling it better.
"I'll live," she told him. "But you owe me big time when we get home
tonight."
He discreetly laid a hand on her butt. Per usual, she had no panties on.
Summer came up to him a few minutes later.
"I saw you grabbing Karen's butt."
"It was a muscle spasm."
"So you had to massage it out of her butt?"
He stifled a laugh.
"They're doing all right. Karen better than Becky, though."
"This is going to happen again, at the Prom if not some other time."
"I know."
"Maybe we could break up, and you could be Becky's boyfriend for a while."
He glanced at her, startled.
"Are you serious?"
"Well, it would be hard for me, but I could deal with it. I mean, it would
only be for appearance's sake."
He thought about that for a second.
"Your folks won't like it."
"Well, the hell with them. And we could get back together later. I guess we
could draw straws to see who gets to go to the Prom with you."
He stared into her eyes, not believing what he was hearing.
"Are you really serious about this? You would do that for her?"
"I love her. I hate what this is doing to her."
He sighed.
"You have to be the most selfless person I have ever known. If you thought
I loved you before, it's nothing compared to now."
Her eyes began to water, and he hugged her.
"Should we do it now? We could take advantage of those tears."
She laughed softly.
"Okay. Let me work myself up a second." She took a deep breath. "Get ready.
We're about to break up."
She held him for a few seconds. Then she pushed herself sharply away from
him.
"What?" she cried out loud. "How can you say that to me?"
Heads all around them shot around to stare. Her face was contorted by
feigned grief, and tears were running down her face.
"Summer--"
"Oh, God!"
She turned and ran away from him, sobbing. He watched her running out of
the room and tried to look upset. It wasn't hard.
Karen came running up to him a second later, grabbing his arm tightly.
"What the hell?"
He leaned over to whisper in her ear.
"It's a ploy. Just play along with it. She's fine. Go after her."
She glanced over to the door, then back to him. Then she ran out the door
after Summer. He saw Becky looking at him in utter confusion, and then she
went after Karen.
He stood there for a few seconds looking conflicted, and then walked over
to the refreshment table. Randy came up to him a few seconds later.
"Dude, what happened?"
"I think we may be breaking up."
His eyebrows went up.
"You and Summer? No way!"
"Way. I don't want to get into it."
"Oh, shit, man, that sucks."
"Tell me about it."
He milled around, not talking to anyone, waiting to see what would happen.
He wasn't surprised when Becky came back into the room about ten minutes
later. The torn look on her face didn't seem faked. She stopped to whisper
something to her date, then walked over to Jack. He tried to appear upset
and walked with her out another door of the ballroom. When they had the
hall to themselves, he looked down at her and smiled.
"Merry Christmas."
"Oh, my God."
She threw herself at him, hugging him tightly for close to a minute, crying
against his shoulder.
"I was as stunned as you are when Summer suggested this."
"She's so wonderful. Oh, God, I can't believe this is happening. I thought
you guys were really having a fight. I feel so bad about it now, but I
actually hoped you were."
"We didn't plan it. This evening just kind of precipitated it."
He untangled himself from her arms.
"We can't move quite this fast, though."
"I know. I know. I'm going to being comforting you this week, then by next
weekend, we'll go out somewhere. Summer and I aren't going to be friends
for the next month or so, but then we'll make up. Let everyone gossip. I
don't care."
Summer went home by herself, and Jack rode home with Karen and her date.
"So when do I get to be your girlfriend?" she asked him when they were
inside.
"One day. Don't get greedy."
"I'm kidding. We should have thought of this before."
"Can you call Summer? I can't do it now, and I just want to touch base with
her."
"Sure."
She dialed Summer's number and talked to her for a few minutes, then gave
him the phone.
"Hi," she said.
"I love you."
"I know. I love you, too. I wasn't faking all my tears tonight. This is
going to be hard for me. But Becky had to do it, so I can survive, too."
"How did your folks take it?"
"My mom cried, can you believe that? She wants me to try to make up with
you. I'm going to have to be careful not to make you look too bad so they
don't end up hating you for hurting me."
"This is going to be quite a charade."
"I know. But it will be fun. Becky and I can be witchy to each other for a
month and then laugh about it when no one is around. But it's going to mean
you and I can't see each other unless we're really, really careful."
"The Three Mouseketeers are broken up for the time being."
"Right. But we worked it out so Karen will be the peacemaker. She'll play
the middle, and publicly convince us all to be friends again."
"What are you going to do if someone asks you out?"
"Oh, you'd like to know, wouldn't you?"
She giggled.
"I'm just going to tell them I'm too heartbroken for now. Then when we're
friends again, it will be back to normal."
"Okay. I know I said this, but I'll say it again. You're most wonderful
person I know for doing this."
"Thanks. I wish you were here to hug me. It does hurt. Now I understand
what Becky was going through."
"I'm sorry."
"I'll be okay. I know you love me."
"I do."
"Okay. Goodnight. Don't let Karen keep you up too late."
Marcia came into his room a few minutes later.
"Jack?"
"Yes, ma'am?"
"I'm so sorry. Karen told me what happened."
"I'll be okay."
She came up and hugged him.
"This is probably just a little lover's spat. Everyone goes through it."
"I don't know. We said some pretty nasty things to each other tonight."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm just thinking, and I told her this, that it might be time for a
break."
She leaned back to look up at him.
"Well, that's not necessarily bad. You're pretty young to have gotten this
deep with her. Maybe a little time apart will make you appreciate each
other more."
"Maybe. I'm tired, though."
"I'll let you get to bed."
"Goodnight."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
XXXII.
That week was Christmas, and as the girls had decided, Becky moved in to
comfort Jack in his grief. When school started up again after New Years,
and the arrangement became more obvious, Summer and Becky began hissing and
spitting at each other like a pair of alley cats, generating a storm of
gossip around the school. It was painful enough for Jack to watch that he
spent several nights on the phone with Summer talking about it. But Becky
was now quite obviously his girlfriend, and walking above the clouds about
it.
Wednesday night, he and Summer met in the park after dark. They held each
other for a few minutes, before lying down on a blanket back amongst some
trees.
"I missed you."
"Me too. This is harder than I thought. I can't wait for all of us to make
up."
"It will be over before you know it."
"The three of us were talking about having some big emotional
reconciliation in the middle of lunch one day."
"That would be funny."
"I know. But the gossip is just killing me. People are trashing Becky like
you wouldn't believe. Pretty soon I'm going to be telling them to shut up
about it, you know, that it's just too painful for me to listen to. Which
it is."
"I guess after the Homecoming Dance thing, it makes her look bad to swoop
in as soon as you're gone."
"That and more. Everyone knows we were best friends, and now they think she
returned the favor by stealing my boyfriend. I wish we had thought this out
a little better."
"Yeah. But it's done now."
"I know. Enough talking. Just hold me."
He did. A little later, they made love, roughly the first time, then slower
the second.
"I have so much respect for Becky now," she said afterward. "I don't know
how she managed four months of this."
"It was hard."
"I know."
He and Becky were sitting together in the quad after lunch the next day. He
leaned against a tree, and she lay back with her head in his lap, eyes
closed, a contented smile on her face.
"Are you happy?"
"Yes. Though I'll be happier when this is over and we can be friends again.
And I didn't think about the gossip."
"Me neither. But it won't last."
"God, I hate high school. This will be so much easier in college. No one
will care."
"Give it time."
"But you don't know how wonderful it is to be able to kiss you, to hug you,
without worrying about who sees us. To know everyone knows you're mine. No
matter what they say about it. I wake up every morning having to remind
myself of it."
"Summer was saying she understands now what you were going through. She
doesn't know how you did it."
"I know. She said the same thing to me. I love her for it."
"This gossip has got to hurt, though. I know it hurts me to hear people
talking such trash about you."
"It does. But it won't last forever. I'm willing to put up with it since it
means I can have you."
Friday night was the CIF Southern Section Division IX Championship game at
Edison Field in Anaheim. Most of the school rode over in a convoy of buses,
accompanied by carloads of families and alumni. The team moved into the
locker rooms, and Jack tried not to think about all the professional
players who had suited up in that room. The coach gave them a rousing pep
talk and sent them out.
Jack had been to a few big pro stadiums before, but things looked a lot
bigger from down on the field. The stands weren't even a quarter full--he
estimated the crowd at five or ten thousand, tops--but he was impressed
just the same. Most of the other players seemed similarly intimidated
despite the coach's attempts to prepare them. He wondered how the Santa
Margarita players, who had won here the year before, were dealing with it.
He got his answer on the opening drive. Sacred Heart kicked off, and Santa
Margarita promptly drove down to the five-yard line. Jack, and the rest of
the defense, had not yet found their equilibrium. On third-and-goal, Jack
picked up the tight end on a slant pattern, but got faked out by a simple
move he should have anticipated. The tight end broke past him and pulled
down a pass for the touchdown. Jack swore to himself, hoping things weren't
going to get any worse.
Billy seemed to be handling the pressure better, but his receivers weren't.
Sacred Heart's drive stalled at midfield after a series of dropped passes.
Santa Margarita took the punt and a few minutes later connected on a
thirty-five yard touchdown pass to go up 14-0. The first quarter ended with
Sacred Heart having gained a total of twenty-four yards of offense and
given up a hundred and thirty.
But the first-quarter break seemed to give the team time to settle down.
They had been behind more than once before, and had yet to lose. On Santa
Margarita's next drive, Jack broke into the backfield and caught their
halfback for a five-yard loss. Second down brought an incomplete pass,
setting up third and fifteen. The coach called a blitz play known as 7-42,
one on which Jack had accumulated most of his sacks.
But Jack immediately noticed the quarterback reacting when Sacred Heart
lined up on defense. The two of them locked eyes, and Jack realized he had
recognized the play and expected Jack to come flying at him. He had called
an audible and no doubt adjusted the play. Jack saw the tight end
reposition himself, and thought he knew what was going to happen.
When the ball was snapped, Sacred Heart's line charged in. Jack feinted,
watching for the tight end to slip past them for the short bucket pass over
the line that he expected to come. It did. When the other team had
committed to the play, he suddenly dropped back in front of the tight end.
The ball came flying at them, and Jack leaped up, catching the nose of the
ball with the tips of his fingers, sending it spinning up in the air. He
fell back against the tight end, and the ball came down close enough for
him to snatch it away from the frantic player.
Sacred Heart took over at the Santa Margarita forty-yard line as Jack
accepted the back slapping and congratulations that greeted him on the
sidelines. He looked over at the cheerleaders, and thought that the obvious
tension didn't seem entirely forced.
Billy completed two quick passes down to the ten-yard line, then their
running back got them to the two. On third and goal, the back ran around
the right side, pulling up the Santa Margarita defenders. But he stopped
short and tossed the ball back the other direction to where Billy was
waiting alone just over the goal line. He pulled down the pass and spiked
it hard.
Jack could finally feel their rhythm beginning to click. On the next
defensive series, Sacred Heart stopped Santa Margarita after one first
down. Billy took the punt and drove them slowly down the field, finally
scoring on a three yard run around the left end to tie the score. Neither
team could manage much more on offense after that, and the half ended
14-14.
When the second half opened, Sacred Heart drove to about midfield before
having to punt. On the first play, the Santa Margarita quarterback dropped
back and heaved a long pass down the middle. As Jack watched, the receiver
somehow pulled it down on the thirty-yard line. Three plays later, their
running back broke a twenty-one yard run into the end zone to put them up
21-14.
Sacred Heart's next drive moved quickly downfield, but then stalled at the
Santa Margarita forty-yard line. Then the coach pulled Jack aside.
"We're going with that play. Get in there."
Two weeks before, the coach had come up with a trick play designed to take
advantage of Jack's notoriety. Jack was big and able to run, so he could
conceivably pass as a fullback. The hope was that putting him in would
generate enough attention to affect the defense, and fool them long enough
for what was really going to happen.
When Jack went running in, he could see the other team reacting
immediately. The Santa Margarita coach began yelling, and sent someone else
in with another play. Billy called the play, and Jack lined up behind him
as fullback. All the other players were lined up for a short yardage run,
except for two token receivers out to the side. Billy snapped the ball, and
handed it to Jack as he charged past. When he got to the line, Jack stopped
short, spun around, and tossed the ball back to Billy. Billy set himself
and fired downfield. The receiver had cut across in front of the
cornerback, and pulled the ball down on the twenty-yard line. He
high-stepped, untouched, into the end zone. As the other players
celebrated, Jack glanced over at the sideline, seeing the Santa Margarita
coach throwing his clipboard at the ground.
Santa Margarita tried another long pass on the next drive, but this one
fell short. They punted after three plays, and Sacred Heart took over on
their forty-yard line. The drive started out well, but a couple of key
passes got dropped, and they had to settle for a field goal. The third
quarter ended with Sacred Heart up 24-21.
But Santa Margarita wasn't about to give up. They were 12-0 as well, and
hadn't lost a game in over two years, having gone undefeated in their
championship run the year before. They took the next kickoff and drove
steadily downfield to the five-yard line. Jack had had a couple of tackles,
but they were clearly trying to avoid him. On third-and-goal, he broke into
the backfield and chased the quarterback out of the pocket. He rolled out,
and tossed the ball toward the end zone before Jack got close to him. Jack
leaped, but the ball was too far over his head. He came down watch the ball
drop into the hands of a Santa Margarita receiver.
Jack was getting worried. Twenty-eight points were the most they had given
up all season. They had closed out the last four games of the regular
season without giving up that much combined. He was worried, but not
surprised. This was the toughest and best-coordinated offense they had ever
faced. Santa Margarita wasn't riding a thirty- game winning streak by
accident.
On the next drive, Billy drove downfield but again couldn't get into the
end zone. Sacred Heart kicked another field goal to close the gap to one
point. Jack managed to catch the Santa Margarita quarterback twice on their
next drive, and they punted back to Sacred Heart. With five minutes left in
their season, Billy set out to win the game.
Two quick passes over the middle and couple of long runs put Sacred Heart
on the Santa Margarita ten-yard line. On first down, Billy's pass went over
the head of his receiver in the back of the end zone. On the next play, he
handed off to their running back, who broke through the line and charged
toward the goal. On the three-yard line, Santa Margarita's outside
linebacker hit him hard from the side, and the ball popped loose. It
bounced once amongst the frantic players before a pile descended onto it at
the one-yard line.
Everyone in the stadium went to their feet. Jack and the other players on
the sideline crowded together to see who came up with it. A minute later, a
cheer went up from the wrong side of the field. Santa Margarita had
recovered with a minute to go in the game. Wanting to scream in
frustration, Jack jogged out to the field with the other defenders.
The coach yelled for them to come back. He circled them around him.
"Listen to me. It's not over yet, all right? Two points are as good as six
right now. They're on their one-yard line. I know you guys can do it. Just
do what you've been doing all season. Now get out there and win this
goddamned game!"
The officials placed the ball just inside the one-yard line. There was no
room to down the ball, so Santa Margarita had to run a conventional play to
run out the clock. Sacred Heart's only chance was to catch them behind the
goal line.
The first play was a dive over the line. Randy read the run perfectly, and
caught the fullback squarely in the air, dropping him back where he had
started. Sacred Heart called timeout. The ball was now halfway between the
one-yard hash mark and the goal line.
Second down brought another dive and another timeout. The ball hadn't moved
appreciably. Sacred Heart had only one timeout left, and Santa Margarita
could just run another dive and then kick a short punt out of the end zone.
That would put them twenty or thirty yards out with no timeouts and less
than thirty seconds to go.
The third down snap came, and Jack charged up to the line. When he got
there, he found a slim hole and squirted through just in time to slam into
the running back.
For one infinite second, he and Jack struggled with every ounce of their
strength. They forced each other up, groaning with the effort, standing
together like a pyramid. Jack was reminded of many wrestling matches that
had begun like this, and realized what he had to do.
Holding tight on the running back, he twisted himself around. The back
thought Jack had given in, and tried to launch himself forward. But Jack
kept twisting, and swung the back off his feet and over him. The two of
them landed together in a heap as half the players on the field piled onto
them.
He heard cheering all around them, but he kept his grip on the running
back, though he struggled and tried to twist away from him. One by one, the
officials pulled the players off them. Jack finally looked up to see one of
them with his hands in a steeple over his head. He closed his eyes and let
go of the running back. A second later, every Sacred Heart player on the
field piled onto him.
The safety had stopped the clock with thirty-five seconds left, but Santa
Margarita now had to punt from their twenty-yard line. They tried a wobbly
squib kick designed to precipitate a fumble, but Sacred Heart got the ball
and sat on it. Two plays later, it was all over.
Jack leapt around the field with the other ecstatic players and fans,
hugging everyone he saw. He hugged Becky tightly, then Karen. And, not
caring who saw, he hugged Summer, though she at first seemed to think she
should hold back. But he let her go quickly lest they blow the charade.
The celebration went on for a good half-hour, during which the CIF
officials came down to present the Division IX trophy. Jack and Billy were
voted the Most Valuable Players. Jack talked to a reporter from the
Register for a few minutes, but was so excited he forgot afterward what he
had said. They all drove back home and continued the party there. Jack
didn't get to bed until after dawn.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
XXXIII.
Two weeks later, Jack's elation over the championship was progressively
dimmed by the ongoing "feud" between Becky and Summer. As much as he talked
to them about it in private, it was difficult to watch. Summer told him one
night that she had begun yelling at people who criticized Becky in her
presence, complaining to them that she was sick of the whole routine. That
much, at least, was true. The "reconciliation" was due any day now. Jack
thought it couldn't come too soon for him.
Jack was lying in bed with Karen that Thursday night.
"I think I'm going to do it tomorrow at lunch. I'm just going to cause a
big scene and yell at them both."
"What do you need me to do?"
"Nothing. You might offer to help, but I'll yell at you, too. It will help
Becky if I can publicly spread the blame around more."
She rolled over and laid her chin on his chest.
"I can sort of understand what they're going through. If I couldn't have
you like this here at home, I don't think I would be dealing with nearly as
well."
"Do you think Kelly knows what's going on?"
"I told her, if for no other reason than to be sure she understands to stay
out of it."
"Okay. She's seemed okay about this lately."
"She's doing better than I would have thought. I think it's because you
helped get her a boyfriend. Now that she has Tommy Ryan to hang around
with, she doesn't need to fixate on you so much."
"On me?"
"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you couldn't tell."
He pondered for a minute about what to say. He knew what she meant, but he
wasn't sure what the right reaction should be.
"Tell what?"
"That she had the world's biggest crush on you. It wasn't Mom's idea for
you to tutor her in Math. Kelly suggested it when her teacher called Mom
about her grades. It was going on most of this fall; you were just so
wrapped up in me and Summer and Becky that you were oblivious to it. But
now that she has a boyfriend, I think it's over."
"Good. All I need is another girlfriend to worry about."
Jack arrived at the cafeteria the next day wondering what was going to
happen. The three of them had long eaten lunch together, until this
episode. Now, Summer ate nearby with some of her other friends and Jack ate
with Becky. Karen had been moving back and forth.
He approached their spot to see Karen standing between the tables with an
exasperated look on her face. Summer was saying something to Becky, but he
was too far away to hear her.
Karen turned and slammed her tray down on the table next to her.
"That's it! I have had it with you two!"
The din in the lunchroom immediately ebbed as people turned around to
stare.
"I am not going to go on listening to my two best friends behave like a
couple of cats! This is not worth it! You two were best friends for four
years and all of a sudden you're ready to scratch each other's eyes out? I
don't care who this is about, no guy is worth this! The two of you have
been trying to pull me in half, and I'm not going to put up with it
anymore."
Jack approached them, thinking this was a good time to intervene.
"Karen--"
She whirled around on him, pointing her finger straight out.
"Stay out of this! This is your goddamned fault!"
Hoots and applause greeted that remark, and Karen continued, looking back
and forth between Summer and Becky.
"Come on. Don't you remember all the nights we slept over at each other's
houses? All the times we swore nothing was going to come between us? You
can't ditch four years of friendship over something like this."
"She stole Summer's boyfriend," Cordelia White said.
"I did not!" Becky yelled.
"Cordelia, shut up," Summer said.
More cheers and clapping followed.
"You guys can work this out somehow," Karen said. "I know you can. I can't
go on watching you tear each other apart. I can't go on listening to all
this awful gossip. Can you really tell me you're willing to forget all the
good times we had because of who is dating who? Give me a break. I live
with him and I know he's not worth this."
Scattered laughter came in response to that, and Jack grinned in
embarrassment. Someone thumped him on the back.
"Can you two just make up? Please? For all our sakes? Don't make me choose
who I have to be friends with. I can't do it. And I won't."
She glanced back and forth at the two of them, regarding the sad looks on
their faces. She reached down and took Summer's wrist and pulled her to her
feet, then did the same to Becky. For a few awkward seconds, the three of
them stood together. Then Becky and Summer looked up at each other, then
came together in an embrace. Karen hugged them both. Someone started
clapping, and slowly the students around them all began cheering and
applauding. Jack stood there wondering what to do.
Then Karen let go of them, and turned around. She reached out, pulling him
to them. He put his arms around all three of them, and hugged them one by
one. When he let them go, he saw Becky and Summer wiping tears out of their
eyes. Summer had held onto his hand, and he hugged her again. No one seemed
to care.
"I love you," she whispered to him.
"You, too."
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