Chapter 87

Friday, July 20

I slept 10 hours straight and still woke up feeling like I needed a nap. I could only hope Staci Patterson didn’t try to keep pace with Bethany Metzger. There was no way I had another three rounds in me. I’d be lucky to have one.

The kitchen was its usual scene of barely contained chaos as I dodged family members in pursuit of a bowl of cereal. Kacie was full of plans for her Sweet 16, which would be the following weekend. For some reason, she still held out hope of getting a new car. Dad just shook his head as she dropped some not-so-subtle hints. At least Mom was letting her drive the X5 — with Mom riding shotgun, of course — back and forth between home and the club.

I downed my pineapple juice and headed for the driving range to get in one last workout for the week. Coach Tucker was already halfway through a bucket of range balls when I arrived. He made sure I was aware of my July 30 date for a physical, then finished hitting while we ran gassers. He did take time to observe me taking snaps for Fabrice and Jeremy, but offered no advice beyond “keep up the good work” before departing for his tee time.

The shower at the Activity Center was especially refreshing. It was already in the mid 90s by the time we finished our workout. You could tell this was going to be a bitch of a day. Guys were already guzzling bottles of water even before we hit the stockroom.

The delivery to be sorted was only slightly less than had been brought in for the Fourth of July weekend. Mr. Alvarez said there were two parties booked for today and the cheerleaders were going to be stretched thin. Any guys wanting to pick up a few extra hours would gladly be put to work for the evening. Several guys quickly volunteered, even though it would mean a 12- or 14-hour day for some of them.

There were a couple more requests for condoms on the legal pads in the cabanas, both in feminine handwriting. I was starting to think some of the cheerleaders were taking advantage of the situation much like the football players. I had a healthy supply at the apartment thanks to Bethany’s input on our shopping excursion last night and still had most of a box in my glovebox. I decided to leave it where it was. There was no telling when I might find myself in need of one.

I relayed the requests to Mr. Alvarez, who dispatched one of the other guys to the nearest drug store, and went about filling the rest of the orders. I could tell we were going to go through a lot of drinks today and checked to make sure all the fridges in the cabanas as well as the drinks coolers in the stockroom were filled to capacity. I also checked with Mr. Alvarez to make sure the icemaker was going full blast because I was sure we were going to be delivering warm drinks by the middle of the afternoon.

Staci came on with the first wave of cheerleaders, who were handling another princess birthday party that would wrap up around 5 p.m. The other cheerleaders and Miss Wilkes would come on at 4 p.m. to handle a corporate party that would last well into the evening.

Staci greeted me with a kiss that indicated she was ready to start our date right now. She told me she would pick me up in her new pickup at my house as soon as I could get home, shower and dress after I clocked out. She’d brought a bag with her and would get ready in the women’s changing room. This evening was on her. All I needed to bring was the key to the apartment and a hard dick.

The crowd was on us as soon as the gates opened. It appeared folks were going to wring every last bit of enjoyment out of the summer while they still had the chance. I was willing to bet the number of adults playing hooky from the real world at the pool rivaled that at the 19th Hole, only without the golf.

Arlene arrived at No. 16 in time for lunch and was joined by Bethany, Callie and Erin Aguilar. Both Kacie and Staci swung by to add their input. It seemed the Gang of Eight was planning a massive homecoming party for Morgan, who was due to fly in from Wisconsin sometime Saturday afternoon. It was my understanding they would be convening at Keri and Erin Bennett’s room at Arlene’s. It was probably a good thing I would be busy Saturday and Sunday.

I made sure to take care of Molly Harris, greasing her up and giving her an airplane ride. I also explained that I would be gone the next two days, drawing a scowl.

“You’re never here anymore,” she pouted. “I’ve had to teach three more boys and they still don’t do it right.”

“Well, look at this as an opportunity to teach them again,” I said. “Ya know, us boys can take a little time before things finally click. You may have to draw us a picture before we finally get it.”

The 5-year-old immediately went in search of crayons and paper to do just that. I wish all the women in my life could be dealt with so easily.

The heat was such that just about every member of the cabana crew showered and changed shirts at least once, prolonging the time it took to rotate through the lineup so everyone could have a break. I spent as much time delivering water and sunscreen to the guys as I did running orders for patrons. It was so hot that I was tempted to step into Charlie’s kitchen to cool off.

The mass of bodies on hand just seemed to make things worse, like there wasn’t enough open space for air to circulate. I noticed guys moving considerably slower as the day wore on, but none complained of getting overheated. I hoped that meant they’d be ready to handle the conditions when practice started. The way our school calendar fell, classes and practice would begin the same day.

There would be an hour-long workout before school, the athletic period in the middle of the day and the two-hour practice after school in the worst of the heat. One good thing was teams were limited to shorts and helmets the first four days. We wouldn’t hit full pads and contact until the second week. Of course, I wasn’t planning on getting hit at all in my position.

Molly Harris required one more airplane ride before I was allowed to leave around 4:30. Staci let me know she would be by as soon as she got cleaned up. I figured I would have plenty of time even if she was driving.

I stuck my head in at the 19th Hole and confirmed Dad’s presence. Kevin Kisner was still tied for the lead, but blew a chance to finish the round all alone atop the leaderboard when he double-bogeyed 18 after he hit into the creek guarding the green. Zach Johnson then drained a 30-footer on 18 to pull into a tie at 6-under. With eight other guys within two strokes of the lead, it was still anybody’s tournament.

Once home, I showered and got ready for my date. While I was waiting for Staci, I packed a change of clothes in my gym bag and put it in the trunk of my Beemer. I would spend tonight at home, but Saturday night at the apartment just in case I had an early call on Sunday.

I heard Staci toot her horn from out front about 5:30. I couldn’t help but think about how her father — or mine, for that matter — would react if I did that. I could just hear Dad. “You just tell her to get out and come in here to meet me first. You’re not going anywhere until I have a little talk with her.” It was that attitude that kept my sister behind her peers on the dating scale, which I’m sure didn’t hurt Dad’s feelings one bit.

Staci took me to Familia Benavidez, where Prima Antonia gave me a questioning look like she wanted to ask just how many girls was I going to bring here. I resolved to bring Kacie and Morgan as soon as possible, maybe Arlene or Jan, too. That ought to pique her curiosity.

I had to try the fajita chimichanga smothered in queso. It just reaffirmed my belief that the Benavidez family could do no wrong in a kitchen. Staci went with the chicken enchiladas with a green chili-sour cream sauce. I made a mental note to try that on my next visit.

Our dinner conversation revolved around what was happening at the pool. The cheerleaders’ fundraising had been a smashing success and Miss Wilkes was already discussing next summer with Mr. Alvarez. It sounded like the cheerleaders would go to cheer camp the earliest week possible in June in order to get as many weekends at the pool as they could. They would also take a more active role in the booking and planning of private parties so they would have a better idea of what patrons wanted out of the events.

Staci said her dad was especially pleased that he wouldn’t be expected to make up any fundraising shortfall, strangely making him more willing to make a contribution to cover something above and beyond what Miss Wilkes had planned for this year. It’s not like he was going to miss a few thousand dollars, but as he’d said more than once, it was the principle of the thing. The girls putting in the work to earn the money themselves was a new experience for many of them.

After our meal, Staci made no pretense of what she expected next, driving straight to the apartment. Her Colorado was too long to fit into my little parking spot, so she pulled around back to the Jed’s space next to the French windows. I knew he wouldn’t be using it tonight because Keri and Erin were both playing in tournaments with their club teams.

Despite the fact Staci was wearing dressy shorts, I wasn’t going to be given a night off. She started unbuttoning her sleeveless blouse as soon as we were through the door and only gave me enough time to crank up the window unit before trying to pull my polo over my head.