[Sunday, September 4]

Tami awoke to the feel of the bed shifting as Eric crawled back in. He was only in his boxers now.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"5 AM. I had to pee. And brush the vomit taste out of my mouth. Go back to sleep."

She snuggled in against him and closed her eyes, but she didn't drift off. "How's your head?" she asked.

"It hurts. But I took some aspirin. Tami, listen…" He put a hand on her hair and stroked it gently. "You could never be a hole in my mattress."

So he remembered last night.

"I've never had casual sex," he told her. "You know that. And I care about you more than anyone."

"I know." She felt overwhelmed, and she wasn't quite sure why. "I'm sorry."

He did a sort of crunch to lift himself and peer down at her. "Are you crying?"

Was she? Maybe just a little. "I think I'm scared," she admitted.

"Of what?"

"You becoming someone else. Especially if you make it to the NFL. You becoming someone other than the guy I love." She thought of what Sarah had said when they went off to college, that they were all saying goodbye to the people they used to be. That was supposed to mean a brighter future, but what if it meant other changes as well?

"Oh." He lay back down and wrapped his arms around her. "I think people become who they are because of the people who influence them. My father has always tried to make me into a gentleman. I don't know how well he's succeeded – "

"- Pretty well, I think."

Eric laughed. " - But he's tried. Joey was a great friend in high school. He grounded me any time my head got too big. And Stumpy, I know you don't like him, but he's kept me out of more trouble than you know. And you….well you bring out the very best in me, Tami. I think, if you stick with me, you could help me become the kind of guy you can admire."

She kissed his cheek. "I already admire you. I'm proud of you. You did great in that game. You deserve a serious victory screw."

He smiled. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. So tell me what you want."

What he wanted was fairly ordinary. He was too tired, and too hung over, for much more.

They made love slowly, their bodies pressed close together, moving unhurriedly, sighing softly.

When both were satisfied, they cuddled together. Beneath the sheet, he stroked her bare back. "Just so you know, I was not thinking of those cheerleaders from last night."

She laughed and caressed his shoulder. "Admit it, though, you thought the idea of a threesome was hot." She'd seen his expression when that cheerleader suggested it, the grin he could not quite suppress.

"In theory maybe. In a fantasy sort of way. But, in real life? Nah. It would be weird. Awkward. I'm a one girl sort of guy, Tami. I think it's just…my nature."

"The male human is not monogamous by nature."

"You learn that in your psychology course?"

"I read it somewhere. Observational evidence seems to corroborate it."

"So you expect I'll cheat on you eventually?" he asked.

"No. I said the male human is not monogamous by nature. I didn't say he couldn't choose to be." Mrs. Hernandez had once told her that a woman could make a man's choice to stay faithful either harder or easier by the way she treated him. "Eric, I'm sorry I deserted you at the party, just stormed out instead of…handling that better. That was immature of me."

"I'm sorry I got so drunk. I thought I could handle it better. I really did. It didn't seem like that much at the time. And I'm sorry it took me so long to shake those girls off. I let them get too close too long."

"You did shake them off."

He nuzzled her neck. "I'm not saying I don't get excited like a normal guy when a girl throws herself at me, but there's also something in it that's a turn off. When you don't have to put any effort into it at all…I don't know. It's like a rich kid who gets handed tons of toys by his parents. He starts to get no joy out of them. I don't know what it is, but I kind of…I like the chase."

She chuckled. "So I better keep making you work for it, huh?"

"Well….but…" he protested, "not too hard…"

[Saturday, October 1]

Tami wasn't able to make it to Eric's next two away games. They were too far, and it would cost too much to get there. By the time the Bears were back at the stadium in Waco, playing Houston, Eric was starting. He had a bad first half, though, and was benched. Baylor ended up losing 24-27.

Later, Eric came back to Tami's apartment. They cuddled quietly in bed, but for once, he didn't seem much in the mood to fool around.

"I screwed up," he said.

"You'll do better next time."

"Coach won't start me next time," he said.

"You'll prove yourself again."

"How am I supposed to make it to the NFL," he asked, "if I screw up the first time he starts me?"

"You did really well in that first game," she assured him. "And against Iowa. Y'all defeated them 35-0."

"Because they suck. We lost against Texas Tech too. You notice a theme? The more play time I get, the more likely we are to lose."

"Eric, the coach wouldn't put you in if he didn't think you were good."

"Well, he pulled me out today didn't he?"

She sighed. She scooted down and kissed his ear. "Would a blowjob help?" she whispered. She wasn't going to make him work for it tonight.

He sighed. "No thanks."

"Wow. You really are upset about this."

He rolled onto his back. "Yeah. This is my life, Tami. It's not like…it's not some hobby!"

"Okay. Calm down. I know it's important to you. It's just not the end of the world."

"My dad was so disappointed in me."

"Why, what did he say?" Tami asked.

"He didn't say anything! Which said everything."

"I'm sorry, sugar," she rolled to her side and kissed his cheek. "I really wish there was something I could do to make you feel better. I love you and I believe in you. I think your coach believes in you, too, and you're going to have another chance to prove yourself."

He swallowed and turned to her. "Sorry I'm being such a grump. I appreciate your support."

She kissed him. "Eric, I believe in you no matter what happens. What I mean is…I believe you'll do great things with your life, because you're smart, and you're determined. And I don't care if those great things are in or out of the NFL. I want you to understand that."

He smiled lightly. "I love you, Tami."

She leaned in and kissed him softly.

He smiled against her lips. "Maybe uh…maybe I'll take you up on that blowjob offer after all."

"I thought you might."

[*]

When Tami came out in the morning, Gretchen and Eric were sitting side by side at the kitchen bar eating grits. "Your boyfriend makes decent grits," she said. "But he's not much of a conversationalist."

"He talks more than you know." Tami trailed her fingertips teasingly along his neck and then went around the bar to the kitchen. She scooped herself a bowl of grits from the pot on the stove.

Gretchen slid off her stool and said, "Well, I have to get to church." She grabbed her purse and headed out the door.

Tami and Eric, dumbfounded, stared at one another.

"She goes to church?" Eric asked.

"I did not know that," Tami said. "First time she's mentioned it. I guess that's where she's been Sunday mornings."

He looked at the closed front door. "Dressed like that?" She'd been wearing a tight short sleeve shirt, such that her tattoos were still visible.

"Should we be going to church?" Tami asked. "I mean, I always went at home. My mom thinks I still am. I know sermons can be boring, but I kind of like the whole…tradition. I like getting dressed up for something. Talking to people when they're being polite. I like the hymns."

"I like the donuts."

"You want to go with me?"

"Tami, I don't have a lot of days to sleep in. And I'm gone half of the Sundays. But if you want, I'll go with you when I'm in town."

She shrugged. "Maybe spring semester."

[Thursday, October 13]

Tami called Eric's room from the Applebee's phone when her car wouldn't start after work. Stumpy answered and told her Eric was at the athletic office, watching game tape. She asked for the number over there, and he said, "Why don't I just come out there? Eric doesn't know jack shit about cars and he probably won't answer the phone over there."

Stumpy was there in twenty minutes. He jump started her car for her. He let the hood of her car slam shut, with the engine now running. "Don't drive this to A&M on Saturday," he told her as she slid back out of the driver's seat. "It might fail on you. Borrow Eric's pick up instead. I'll go get you a new battery tomorrow, and some other parts you need to replace before they go out on you. Sunday, after we get back from the game, I'll fix it up for you. Free of charge. You just reimburse me for the parts."

"Eric was right. You are helpful," she told him.

He wiped his hands on a rag. "I'll take that as a thank you."

"He said you've kept him out of more trouble than I know."

"Eric's a bit of a virgin."

"I don't think so," Tami said with a smile.

"I mean he's out of his league with some of these guys. Some have rap sheets that got waved away in high school because they could play. Some of them have been drinking since they were twelve. Some of them have parents who have been in the KKK, and some have parents who have been in the Black Panthers. Eric needed someone to bring him into the fold without letting him get folded up. That's where I came in."

"I see."

"How's Gretchen? She say anything about our date?"

"No. Didn't mention it. Why? Did you have another one?"

"Yeah. That's why your refrigerator is running again."

"How does your girlfriend feel about you dating Gretchen and having threesomes with cheerleaders at frat parties?"

"I told you I was joking about those cheerleaders. I don't like cheerleaders."

"You sure have a lot of posters of cheerleaders on your wall for someone who doesn't like them." Six cheerleaders were plastered on Stumpy's side of the room, all with skirts and pom-poms, but only two with shirts on.

"I like to look at them. But all that cheerfulness. It grates on my nerves. I need a girl with bite. And I don't do threesomes. If I wanted to disappoint two people at once, I'd go to dinner with my parents."

Tami laughed.

"And I told Vicky about Gretchen. She's not really my girlfriend in the way you mean girlfriend. We're old friends who have sex when we happen to see each other. But when we're not together, we're not together. And that's how Vicky wants it."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Sometimes a person just needs an itch scratched. Better to get it scratched by a friend than a stranger who might have crabs."

"If you're friends," Tami said, "you must like spending time together."

"Sure."

"And if you like spending time together and you like having sex with each other, why wouldn't you want a real relationship? I don't understand that at all."

"Well guess what, sweetheart? You don't have to understand it. I'm not your boyfriend." Stumpy opened the door of her car. "Tell Gretchen I said hi."