Boys and Girls, Part III: Can't Stay Away

Chapter 2 – The New Kid

School was going to begin in a few days, and the football team’s two-a-days were still going on, so the guys were extra pissed with the promise of extra school work in addition to recovering from numerous aches and pains of double practice loads. The players collected on the field before the second practice of the day, while Coach Watson usually took the time to motivate them somehow. Today, however, he was huddled with a few of the other coaches. There was another unidentified individual standing with the crew, but Ryan couldn’t see his face very clearly.

Finally, the coach turned around and addressed his players. “I’d like to introduce a new addition to the North Mission family,” Coach Watson bellowed over the late-summer practice field.

As the new kid was exposed, Ryan grew completely shocked. He knew that he, himself, was a fairly attractive guy, but he had nothing on this new guy. This kid was probably better looking than Jason – too good-looking to be playing football, that was for sure.

He had slightly shaggy dark blonde hair and the clearest blue eyes Ryan had ever seen. He was about the same height as Ryan, give-or-take an inch. He was also leaner than Ryan – give or take five pounds. But he still had that lethal lean-muscular physique that comprised the very best wide receivers in college football. Yeah, Ryan didn’t even have to guess what position this guy played…this motherfucker was honing in on Ryan’s territory. As Ryan scrutinized his new teammate, he wondered if New Kid had modeled in his pre-college days. Someone who looked like this kid was more suited to sailing yachts or playing lacrosse – not tossing pigskin on the gridiron.

“This is Tristan Carter. He’s transferred from Granite University. You all may have heard about their football team, I’m sure. So, let’s show Carter some respect. He may teach you a few things this year.”

Collective whispers could be heard among the NMU teammates. New Kid looked extremely proud at their response to his name. Granite University? Tristan Carter? Holy shit, Ryan thought to himself. Granite University boasted one of the top football programs in the country. The school was better than Grayson, whom the Hawks had lost to earlier this year in the Tide Bowl. Nevertheless, Granite U had recently fallen prey to some mass tropical storms that had hit the Gulf Coast. Grayson was located near the Alabama-Tennessee border, so it hadn’t even sniffed the damage that Granite had endured. While the university was attempting to rebuild, many of its athletes decided to transfer out, including Pretty Boy, it seemed. Way to stay loyal, Ryan thought. He observed his new teammate with curiosity. He sure looks prettier up close than on television. Then again, Ryan had only seen the junior wide receiver from Granite with his full gear on, helmet included.

Ryan knew he should feel somewhat threatened by the mere presence of one of the nation’s other top college receivers, but he wasn’t. Ryan was too certain of his own talent. Tristan Carter may have come from a better school, but Ryan knew who the better receiver was. He had an entire year’s experience of playing college ball over Carter, and it sure as hell wasn’t Tristan Carter who had been recently voted to the NCAA Football All-American First String Team; that honor belonged strictly to Ryan.

As practice began, Ryan was instructed by the receivers’ coach to help Carter become familiar with the new plays. Ryan groaned inwardly. He didn’t want to be the new kid’s baby-sitter.

Jason hurled the ball in Ryan’s direction. Ryan ran a quick slant route and caught the ball effortlessly. Carter didn’t look so impressed, but Ryan didn’t really give a flying shit what Mr. Model Man thought. He walked over to Tristan.

“Coach wanted me to key you in on some of our West Coast basics.”

“Well,” Carter answered in a thick Texas twang, “you tell Coach that he can shove his West Coast tactics up his rear end. I’ll be bringin’ my own bag of southern spells here so that this school might actually win something.”

What the fuck? Ryan was two seconds awat from pounding Pretty Boy’s face in when Jason lobbed another quick ball into the air. Tristan ran the exact same pattern as Ryan, but he made it look a lot more graceful. Shit, Ryan thought, who cares? This is football, not fucking ballet.

Carter landed back to the ground like a stealthy cat. He looked so smug, but Ryan willed himself to ignore it. Besides being too good-looking for his own safety, Tristan Carter had nothing on him.

****

“I cannot fucking believe this asshole,” Ryan complained as he took another bite of his double cheeseburger.

Jason regarded Delaney apologetically. “He’s had a hard day.”

Delaney didn’t looked bothered by it, particularly because Jason had a tendency toward the foul language as well whenever he was in one of his moods.

Ryan angrily took a swig of his Coke. “That son-of-a-bitch thinks that he’s gonna bring a BCS Championship to NMU. Fuck that, he’ll probably be caught off-guard looking at his reflection all the time.”

Delaney looked confused.

“He’s kind of…good-looking...” Jason explained before quickly adding “...not that I’m into that kind of stuff.”

Jason had offered to buy dinner for Ryan at their favorite burger joint, Toby’s, in an effort to cheer him up. Practice had not gone so well in light of their recent new addition. Tristan Carter had been…phenomenal during practice, and he had done everything in his power to fluster and upstage Ryan. Ryan had been mortified to be so abused in front of his teammates of nearly four years.

“He’s not taking over, Ry,” Jason reassured his best friend. “He had one good practice. That means nothing. You’ve given us dozens of excellent games, Ry. That’s what matters.”

It didn’t matter how Jason put it. The mere presence of someone like Tristan Carter on the Hawks’ football team was becoming a bigger and bitterer pill for Ryan to swallow.

But Ryan’s day was about to grow ten times worse.

Lani and Hunter had just entered Toby’s. As soon as Lani caught sight of Ryan, she seemed to want out of the place, but Hunter made her stay put. He located the group and waved.

“Hey!”

Delaney turned around. “Hey Hunter! C’mon guys. Sit down.”

Ryan’s chewing grew more labored as the hulking navy man took a seat next to him. Lani nervously sat next to Delaney – across from Hunter and kitty-corner from Ryan.

“That looks good,” Hunter commented, referring to Ryan’s burger.

Get your own, Ryan thought grumpily to himself.

Ryan didn’t want to be too obvious, so he forced himself to stay and hear about Lani’s so-so day, as well as Hunter’s newly purchased house back in Honolulu.

As Ryan stuffed the remaining piece of cheeseburger into his mouth, he began to rise. “Well, I gotta go now,” he said, his mouth still pretty stuffed. “I’ll see you guys around.” Without another word, he left.

****

Lani couldn’t believe that Hunter got along with her friends so well. This was the first time he had ever visited California with her, and consequently, the first time he had ever met Delaney and the others. Lani was extremely proud of Hunter and his accomplishments, but she was even prouder of the fact that he never boasted about everything he had achieved. He wasn’t a cocky guy, and he never bragged.

Unlike some people.

Lani could tell that Ryan could barely keep his burger down as she arrived with Hunter. Despite what Ryan had threatened her with earlier, Lani still wanted to be his friend. She knew that Ryan had a tendency toward immaturity, so maybe if she just reasoned with him – and that might take a while – he’d eventually come around and realize how much potential they had as friends.

Lani stared at Hunter shoveling down an entire five-course meal without any struggle, and it reminded her of Joe. She wondered who would win an eating contest between those two.

“So how’s the new apartment, Ailani?” Jason asked.

Lani shook herself out of her thoughts. “It’s great.”

“I bet Jacy’s always coming by to harass you,” he continued.

Lani laughed. “That sounds about right. She’s pretty impressed by the big guy right here,” Lani answered, touching Hunter on his shoulder. Hunter smiled through mouthfuls of steak.

“So what was up with Ryan?” Hunter asked as he swallowed his food.

He’s pissed off at me, that’s why, Lani thought.

“He got upstaged by some junior prick from Texas during football practice,” Jason answered.

I didn’t know that.

“Ry’s one of the best in the country, right?” Hunter inquired. “What’s he got to worry about?”

“This new kid is pretty damn good too,” Jason replied. “He’s kind of on the rise, as well, while Ryan’s like the seasoned veteran. Not only that. According to Ryan, this son-of-a-bitch is a cocky-as-hell asshole.”

Takes one to know one, Lani thought. Although now she understood why Ryan seemed especially irate this evening.

“Well, NMU gave Ryan a full ride,” Delaney chimed. “The team’s gotta be behind him a hundred percent, right?”

Jason nodded, but Lani noticed that he looked a tad unsure. She sipped at her iced tea and pretended to ignore the uncertainty in Jason’s eyes.

****

Ryan wanted to sleep early. He had two more days of practice before the football season officially began, and he wanted to be properly rested.

And he wanted to forget about the Lani plus Hunter factor.

Ryan knew that his refusal to be friends with Lani made him a bona fide prick, but he was someone who knew exactly what he wanted. And he knew that he did not want Ailani Bennett as a friend.

Ryan knew that Lani was a kinesiology major, and he often wondered if she might go into sports medicine. He could be the athlete, and she could take care of his injuries; that way, she was always in his sight, right where he wanted her. It was a majorly simplified vision, but it was worth thinking about here and there.

Stop it, Ryan willed.

Unfortunately, the only other topic that could take his mind away from Lani were thoughts of that asshole Carter. It had only been one practice, like Jason had said, but Ryan had the uneasy feeling that he may have to fight for his position on the team for the first time in his college career. Ryan would have been happy to share duties with the new kid, as long as everyone knew who was their number one guy. But Ryan sensed that Carter was not aiming to be second-in-command.

After losing in the Tide Bowl the previous year, Jason had to convince Ryan to stay on for another year before going on with the draft. It was strategically stupid for a guy like Ryan to do that. Jason was smart and wealthy. Ryan wasn’t especially rich, nor was he especially academically gifted. The one thing he had going for him was some skill on the gridiron.

But Jason had convinced Ryan that a win in the BCS Championship Game could only work to improve Ryan’s stock in the draft. Experts had already predicted Ryan to be one of the first ten picks in the first round by the end of his senior year, and that was too much for Ryan to resist. He could use the bigger paycheck, as well as the fame. He also figured it wasn’t a bad idea to earn a degree in something before entering the draft.

And then Ryan had met Lani, and he knew that he would have to stick around for another year anyway.

Ryan heaved a long sigh. So far, none of his plans were going as scheduled. His football success was being challenged by a newcomer, and the girl of his dreams was clearly taken. These complications weren’t supposed to arrive. Jason had promised that only good things would result from forgoing the draft.

Ryan wasn’t mad at Jason. How could the son-of-a-bitch have known that Granite’s up-and-coming receiver would transfer over to NMU? No, Ryan always felt that people created good luck, and got stuck with bad luck. And that’s all this was – bad luck. He would just have to persist and make his own good luck in the end.

As he made this new vow, he heard giggling from the room across the hallway. The newlyweds were planning to shack up tonight. Ryan didn’t care, but Stephanie’s laughter could be especially distracting when one just wanted silence. He was too lazy to walk over there and knock on their door, so Ryan just took his pillow and covered his ears.

Tomorrow would be a better day.

****

A/N: I realize that the description of Tristan makes him a dead ringer for Jack Whittaker from Part II (Joe and Stephanie’s story), but I promise they’re two different characters. Jack is a stock good-looking guy, but Tristan is…something else entirely. Let’s just leave it at that. Read on if you’re curious.