Hot Rod Ford Ch. 9

Hot Rod Ford Chapter 9

The Ecstasy and the Agony

Next to last chapter. Expect the change of voice in this chapter too.

And, yes I know some of you will say that this is more fantasy than reality. Okay, I'll give you that, as if the Longhorns beating the Georgia Bulldogs doesn't give it away. (Last UT win was in the 2019 Sugar Bowl). Hope you enjoy it anyway.

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'Summer school is fun,' Rod reflected as the first semester came to an end. 'I enjoyed my two classes and feel I learned a lot, with which my profs agree - two more As to pad the football team's GPA!

Coach Beck was determined to get us in shape for fall camp or kill us, and he didn't seem to care which. But we weren't fooled: he was strengthening our cores and increasing strength and flexibility to protect us from injury, and when we handled the workouts more easily, he upped the ante. I'm pushing 244 and much stronger, but also faster, and more agile!

I can see it in Bart, Colt, and Quinton as well, and it seems true of other teammates I'm not around as much. It's hard to tell with KP, because he's such a freak of nature anyway. But probably none of us have responded like Wes, who gained twenty pounds of muscle; he looks huge and powerful, but is practically without fat! He's gotten more agile too, and he and KP run sprints with the tight ends and linebackers, because Wes dominated a very strong, quick, and agile group of offensive linemen, and the defensive linemen were no match for KP.

'Coach Beck and his assistant tried to make us believe we were ordinary and had to improve or we'd perish in the schedule ahead, but we knew better, and so did the coaches. The yelling and screaming during workouts turned to grins and smirks in their office, and we could see them through the glass. We know we are special, but we also know we can be better than we are, so we push ourselves and each other as much as the coaches do!'

As promised, they gave the team a five day break between summer sessions, and Rod caught Delta out of Austin, KLM in Montreal, and was in Monaco the next morning. Hailey met him at the airport, where he picked up his rental car. Having been in Monaco since June 23, she had explored the city and was thrilled to give him a guided tour of the principality. She even showed him the roadway where Princess Grace (Kelly), the movie star, perished.

The Canadian team would be named following the final competition on July 5. Those chosen would gather on the seventh to begin team practices, and engage in competitions as a team and as individuals. Under the new Olympics rules, only three competitors and a traveling alternate could be nominated for each equestrian event, and Hailey, along with the other five hopefuls for Team Canada's show jumping team, was nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Rod helped her lose some of the anxiety that afternoon, and more that night after they ate supper at a nearby café. She had pent up anxiety that only exercise and orgasms seemed to cure, and Rod did his best to cure her anxiety. They didn't talk much, but they fucked, made love, and napped a lot.

She felt great and it showed when she arrived for her practice run at 10:00 am on July 3! Her trainer and coach both laughed when she bounced into the show barn, and her coach asked when her boyfriend showed up.

She asked how they knew he was here, and they just laughed again. She grinned, knowing her joy must show. She was physically, mentally, and emotionally relaxed, yet tightly focused, and she let Jupiter devastate the course with tight turns, quick jumps, and speed between barriers. She sat astride him as if she were a part of him, rising and settling at the right moments, calm and serene at others, while he scorched the difficult practice course.

Rod knew her teammates and from time to time during her run, he watched the two that were sitting together. They were the weaker two and their envy and anger showed - but what could they do? Someone who had worked decades for a spot on the Canadian Olympics team was going to lose it to the overendowed upstart with the horses without champion bloodlines, and they were not pleased! This was not the way the game was played! Hailey was turning the staid world of equestrian competition on its head, and there was both resentment and excitement at the changes.

Though less obvious, the common girl and her common horses, trained by her aunt on the family ranch, was as upsetting to the aristocrats of show jumping as Venus and Serena Williams were to tennis.

After accepting congratulations from her coach, trainer, and two fellow team members, she ran and jumped into Rod's arms. They kissed while he twirled her around like a 1950s movie, as he had done on their first date, and the Comets who had come to watch the practice run cheered that move as loudly as they had cheered her performance atop the uniquely marked Jupiter, a Varnish Roan with Leopard complex.

Rod was hungry, but Hailey was horny, so they skipped supper, and barely made it down to the lounge at eight thirty for sandwiches. He offered her wine or a mixed drink in celebration, but she told him she was only drinking water now.

"I need to maintain my weight for the finely tuned horses, so I've sworn off alcohol and junk food! I can't remember a single good thing that has happened while I'm using alcohol or any other drug, which is added incentive."

Rod pushed her a little on her claim of clean living, and about her more scientific approach to feeding and exercising her horses. She ascribed the latter to her new trainer, who had convinced her that high performance athletes, be they human or equine, need a customized diet and exercise regimen to perform at their best. They also need to find their perfect weight, strength, and conditioning, and the equine athletes do best when their rider is equally fine-tuned and predictable.

"I feel that I'm lighter, stronger, better conditioned, and more in tune with my horses now, and I want to stay that way!"

He simply nodded, knowing many on the rodeo tour used similar approaches with their bodies and/or horses, and then inquired about the former.

She smiled widely. "That's about you! You live cleanly, and your body is just... I don't know - unbelievable? I look around this world of horsemen, and see no one like you! I look around the followers of our sport, including the rich and famous, and I see no one like you! Even among the bodyguards, or the boytoys of the millionairesses, I see no one like you! You always compliment my body, but I know my body can be better; it can be as trim and sculpted as yours!"

He leaned toward her and, in his most seductive voice, said, "Sweetie, I'm not sure you can improve on the body God and genetics gave you, but if you want to go back to our room, I'll be glad to more closely examine the improvements you say you've made. I'll admit I was less perceptive earlier, what with your needs being such a priority!"

She had always had a 'swimsuit model' body, as her famous swimsuit ads had proven to the world, but lying on the crisp white sheets, her long, lustrous chestnut hair surrounding her beautiful face, with her incomparable body artfully displayed for him, he could see the tighter abs, the slightly smaller waist, and the exceptional firmness of her arm and leg muscles. Even that perfectly shaped ass was a smidge tighter; an improvement he could barely believe was possible!

"I have a personal trainer who works with me on diet and exercise for fitness. It may not show as much as it does on you, but the tape measure doesn't lie, and neither do my weekly fitness tests!"

"I didn't believe that you could improve on perfection, but you're a goddess!"

She grinned a grin that encompassed pride and challenge. "Well, since we got the built up lust out of the way earlier, would you like to more thoroughly examine the body and abilities of a goddess?"

He did, from every angle and position he knew, often close enough to breathe on, blow on, lash with his tongue, or affix his lips to parts, and she was writhing and thrashing around like a mermaid out of water in response to his thorough assessment, and her burgeoning needs! When he finally affixed his mouth to her bald cunny, she grabbed his head and held it in place, locked her powerful thighs around his head, and cried out her pleasure... and, for the first time, her love.

Powerful thighs were crushing his ears and he was running out of breath, but he heard her words and redoubled his efforts. Time after time she relaxed after a climax, only to be yanked back into a state of rigor, until finally, she spread her knees, put her feet on the mattress, and heaved him off. She quickly rolled over and away from him, and then demanded he lay on his back. He did, with protests that he wasn't through with her yet, but when she lowered her mouth to his rampant cock he surrendered.

Hailey was a natural born cocksucker, but now her efforts were polished, and she quickly emptied his balls, swallowing every bit and licking her lips after.

"Damn! You're really getting good at that. Been practicing a lot?" he asked suspiciously.

She giggled, "In fact, I have been! My trainer is an expert in many things, including keeping a lonely girl in a state of satisfaction adequate until her boyfriend provides the blissful fulfilment she so craves!"

"And how is this done?" I asked suspiciously, since her trainer is a female.

She giggled again, reached under her bed, and retrieved a basket of toys of all sizes, for all purposes. They were all plugged in to a USB charger, and each had a light burning brightly.

"Hmm," he said with a lecherous grin. "That's VERY interesting! Now I'd like an exhibition of how each works!"

Hailey blushed. She showed him the toys because she wanted him to know that, in his absence, the 'being pounded into relaxation before a meet' function wasn't being provided by another male; it was provided by her Jackrabbit vibe, Bugsy, and one or a few of Bugsy's friends!

But to show him what she did to relax? That was another matter entirely!

He cajoled, sweet talked, offered pleasure never before experienced, if only she would give him an exhibition of how she uses her toys - especially Bugsy. The winning offer was that Rod would join her in mutual masturbation. She had long wondered how, given his high libido, he took care of himself when alone - not that it seemed he was alone that much! Still, that he was willing to show her made his offer tempting enough to overcome her trepidation!

"Okay, I will if you will! But we're doing it in a dark room with nothing on but a night light! I was taught in foster care that masturbation is a sinful act, and, in spite of the slut I turn into with you, using toys is embarrassing."

"Then you're not going to see much, unless you let me lie beside you. How about turning on the lamp on the nightstand?"

"I don't know, Rod; I'm just so embarrassed!"

"Then let me get your warmed up, and we can go from there."

He used advanced techniques reserved for time crunches to get her juices flowing and her nipples hard, and then she didn't want toys; she wanted the real thing! But Rod disconnected Bugs and picked him up, found the power button, turned it on, and experimented with the stack of six buttons to understand the combination of vibrating ears, whirling shaft, and the sounds that accompanied the movements of the ears and the shaft. He volunteered to use it on her, but she found that even more embarrassing.

Ultimately, she took the toy in hand, closed her eyes, and began the ritual she knew so well, with someone watching for the first time! Hailey was already hot and wet from the foreplay, and then Bugsy's humming ears were tickling her clit and his shaft began burrowing inside her. She wriggled her hips in excitement, pinched and pulled a nipple cruelly, and began to tense up. She quivered, shook, arched her back, cried out, and then climaxed.

It wasn't a big one, but it was a good, quick start, and opening her eyes to find Rod watching intently while lazily stroking his cock brought her right back to the precipice of a second orgasm.

She was letting Bugsy work her over again when Rod picked up a short round toy with a short bar atop and an on-off button above. "And what is this?"

She was just high and horny enough to mumble "butt plug," and then shiver at the thought of him inserting it in her behind while the rabbit did its thing up front.

"Keep your bunny going and turn on your side," he ordered. She did as told, and he got the plug wet with her juices. She felt the shivers spread as she waited for him to insert it. He turned it on, pulled her cheeks apart, and then inserted the smaller part slowly, until the horizontal top was between her cheeks and the vibrating plug was fully buried. He then rolled her on her back.

Instead of him masturbating, however, he wrapped her hand around his cock, and used her hand to stimulate himself.

Hailey's dark, liquid eyes began to glaze over, the result of the foreplay, engaging in forbidden pleasure with him watching, and him using her hand to jack off. Rod was behind her in the race to orgasm, but watching her begin to flex her hips, butt, and groin in ecstasy caught him up in a hurry. He reached over and tweaked her nipples one by one, and then squeezed and milked her breasts. That was the final piece for Hailey, and her magnificent body writhed in pleasure as she came and came and came!

Her efforts on his cock became spasmodic, so he took over and raced to his own climax. When his hot, viscous fluid hit landed on her belly and boobs, she gave a little yelp, shivered, looked at it, and began rubbing it in as if it were life-saving balm.

When she came down from the hormonal oxytocin, dopamine, and norepinephrine high, instead of being her usual cuddly self she was embarrassed. He considered teasing her, but it wasn't that kind of embarrassed, so he took her in his arms and told her what a wonderful companion she is. Although she remained a little stiff at first, as if fearing he would tease her, or find her a shameless hussy for indulging herself when they were apart! And there was the factor of not only letting him watch, but also participating in his masturbation! How could she?!

Ten short minutes later though, her body was on fire and the arsonist was telling her how much he enjoyed spreading the embers. The jackrabbit was laying quietly on the bed, but the plug was still buzzing in her butt. With Hailey sitting across his hips, cock buried deep within her, Rod was sliding the plug in and out like a finger or a small dick, in rhythm with her sliding and humping, and he nursed her breasts when she swung them low enough that his mouth could capture one.

This was the kind of uninhibited, absorbed -in- the- sex -experience she loved him for, disregarding the buzzing butt plug that still embarrassed her, even while providing pleasure in a forbidden place!

When they again rested, he asked her about the earlier embarrassment, and then they had a talk about nothing being off limits in sexual experiences between people in love. When teased mildly about the immensity of the experience, she admitted, or claimed, that it was the most intense masturbation had ever been, and she attributed that to him being with her. He wondered if that would be true in the future, or if she could channel and use this experience like he knew he would.

Watching this gorgeous creature pleasuring herself, and then writhing on the bed in climax, was one of the hottest things he'd ever experienced.

She had mentioned using toys to survive their first separation and a few times since, but he had never experienced playtime with her, until now. It was hot, because she was so hot! But, for him at least, it was still a poor substitute for what they experienced earlier with her riding him cowgirl, him taking her puppy, plain old missionary, spoon, X, or any other position. Except reverse cowgirl maybe, which provided a visual feast but little else.

Their sex-a-thon ended when the hunger got too strong, so they ordered in, and Hailey downloaded the film of her full-speed practice run.

Unexpectedly, Rod asked her to identify the major things she and Jupiter did well, then the little things they did well that stood out to her. Looking for things done well rather than poorly forced her into a different frame of mind, and she began to see the run in another way.

Rod taped her critique, and then they replayed the run again and again, refining her critique each time, until finally he started asking why something Jupiter or his rider did wasn't considered up to standard.

"So how do you improve your/the horse's technique?" was the question she had to answer for each 'didn't meet standard' mark she gave herself. At first, the 'improvements needed plan' was boggling her mind, but then she began to see connections and similarities. In several instances, as Rod had pointed out with her anticipating barriers, water pits, or turns, she was signaling her highly attuned horse prior to or after the optimum point in the approach. So what appeared to be mistakes by the horse and rider were really one mistake, by the rider.

Rod urged her to work on posture and balance during the run on the B course early tomorrow morning, and let Jupiter be Jupiter. "Fix yourself, and then tomorrow after the run we can see what you need to fix on Jupiter, if anything," he encouraged her.

They slept well in each other's arms, used Rod's rod to provide the needed anxiety relief, and then she and Jupiter prepared for the run. Course B was far more challenging and required strategies they hadn't devised in a while, but she was confident they had a good plan by the time her name and Jupiter's were called.

Her coach and trainer were both worried and excited. "This is an Olympics difficulty course that will challenge Jupiter and Hailey. We're happy that we've encountering that as the final course before the team is chosen, because we feel she will handle it, and some of her competitors will struggle. On the other hand, we've not encountered anything like this all season, so how well they do is hard to predict!"

Rod read Jupiter correctly after they checked the setup; this was a big boy course, and he was a big boy who felt challenged. He pranced, his ears came forward, and Hailey began their run. The Canadian selection team members were all present, hoping to get an idea of how their team prospects would do on a course as difficult as those they would encounter in the Olympics in Paris.

Hailey and Jupiter were next to last, and there had been some surprises already. Three prospective team members performed well, one did not. No one thought Hailey and her remarkably marked horse would do well on this course, but anything better than mediocre put her above the expected number three team and the most likely reserve.

They didn't get mediocre, though; they got extraordinary! Jupiter took the challenges personally, and Hailey remained poised atop the big gaudy jet, guiding him only as needed. They roared through the course well within the allotted time, without a negative mark!

And suddenly, the Canadian selection committee was in a quandary. It was impossible to dismiss the performance of the five teams relative to one another, and if they had planned to use the Olympics course to disqualify Hailey and Jupiter, what did they do now that they had dominated the difficult course and their competition? Now that they had made the toughest course of the season look simple!

The committee already had dozens of non-competitive reasons to include their showgirl and model, and now they had a powerful competitive reason to include her! But this was practice - how would they do in the competition?

There were tears in the eyes of five of the other six competitors as Hailey and Jupiter continued the brilliant run that began in May, and culminated with the best scores of the summer on the hardest course! Hailey's Comets, though, were out in force, and they were rowdier and louder than a show jumping competition was used to - or perhaps had ever seen and heard!

With the only competition for the week behind her, Hailey had two days of rest coming, and she told her coach, trainer, and employers she would be out of pocket and out of contact for two days, before returning - to hopefully prepare with the team, which would be named in three days.

If she made the team, and they were both certain she would - or at least should - team practices outside Ottawa would commence. They would return to Paris for the Olympics, which begin on July 26, a few days early. The equestrian finals ended August 6, and the next time she could be with Rod was after that. Hopefully. Of course, if she wasn't selected, she could take her horses home in four days and rethink her life!

With 58 hours available, Hailey took her lover on a whirlwind tour of Brussels and Frankfort, Germany, via train. They did enjoy the countryside from their private room on the train, but sometimes from the concubine or puppy position, so each could see and enjoy the beauty of the countryside, and also enjoy the other sexually. The Old Town and Castles of Frankfort were their favorite discoveries, even though their pedestrian purchases ran to handcrafted beer steins and Steinbach Nutcracker carvings.

Their time evaporated, and the train ride back was one of urgent lovemaking and consideration of the future. She spelled out expectations if she did well in the Olympics, and if she didn't make the team, and he showed her the football schedule and explained how the playoffs work. They talked about their love and the many things conspiring against it, and then Rod made a light-hearted proposal, completely out of left field, that blew her mind! They both laughed and dismissed it, but day's later and 2000 miles away, she still couldn't get it out of her mind.

Rod could, because he knew there was little to no chance of it happening. She loved show jumping, she was near the pinnacle of the sport, and she would potentially win an Olympics medal! If that happened, the world was her oyster, and she could make retired American president money from speaking tours and books about her unique life story. Still, it was fun to imagine, and from time to time, he did.

The heat and misery of summer in Texas greeted him when he touched down in Austin, and he spent his last day off getting reacclimated to working out in the heat, and sometimes humidity that was raised by afternoon showers. The morning workout hurt, the afternoon not so much, and then Coach Beck began his effort to destroy those who used the five days for vacation, like Rod.

But he had done his work too well before the break, including the winter, spring, and summer, and no one but a few late enrollee freshmen and an Ohio State transfer broke under the regimen. Beck seemed to take their easy handling of his workout as a personal challenge, and though they survived his best efforts, they were happy campers when the other coaches joined them to begin football drills.

The 'after practice cooldown' at Rod's lakehouse grew in size each day, until the area in front of his dock looked like a water park, or the crowd floating the Guadalupe River below Canyon Dam. Curious girls flocked to the lake as well. Some were invited by America or other girlfriends of players, and some invited themselves.

Rod's rule of "Use it, don't abuse it!" got a few impostors expelled, but for the most part, the dock, lawn, and house were as clean and tidy after they left as he, his housekeeper, and yard man otherwise kept them.

With Drew at Miami, the quarterback battle took a new form, with Bart and Rod alternating at 1-2, and sophomore Donnie Allen and freshman Matt Schmidt manning the 3-4 spots.

Ten days before the first game, the coaches addressed their conundrum. "So, what do you see that we might not?" Sark asked. "We need to pick a first game starter, and the race is dead even."

"Does it matter?" the running backs coach asked. "Neither will be hurt if he's not the starter, as long as he gets equal playing time. Given our opponent, play one the first quarter, one the second, and you can play Allen and Schmidt the second half, unless you want a three-digit score.

"But coach, minus the little 'vacay' he took that got us airtime all over the world, jumped the sale of women's wear, brought in a lot more money for our NIL pool, and got you kudos from the AD and President, are they really neck and neck?"

Sark bristled, but Milwee laughed. "Either or both are going to blow the minds of our fans, assuming we cut them loose. The temptation is to run the ball and save the unveiling for Michigan, but I believe coach Ramos' point of view has prevailed, so we're prepared to run through the entire playbook to give the Wolverines and our SEC opponents heartburn."

The HFC held up his hand and the chuckling stopped. "We laugh about it now, but I'm still pissed that our fancy attorneys and our AD didn't catch the language in his NIL agreement, and in his sponsor's agreement with the athletic department. Him disappearing during the heart of our conditioning work could have ripped the team apart! As it is, I worry about the day when another one has to go watch his girlfriend do something and we say no."

"Well, coach, honestly, if his girlfriend is performing in an Olympics final, and we get hours of airtime debating whether we're too soft or we're a great staff for allowing him to go, it will probably be worth it."

"Yeah, just limit the misses to guys whose 'girlfriend is performing in an Olympics final, and he just completely dominated the combine two days before he wants to go.' Can't be too many who will qualify under those conditions!"

Sark sighed. As predicted, Rod was a blessing with a few drawbacks, and it went against everything he had learned to allow the one who missed four days of practice to go unpunished. Even though his absence had been a financial boon for the athletic department and every single player. And he had more than made up the conditioning missed.

In fact, Rod had done everything in his power to make up for the time away, including extra conditioning work with coach Beck, and as far as he or anyone else could see, there was no resentment from his teammates. In fact, he had given a replay to the crowd at the lake house of his three days in Paris, minus the sex, at their request. They had watched the meet because he was there, and they were highly impressed by Jupiter and Hailey.

And, yes, he had caught hell from the coaches, but truth be told, all he missed was a Friday mini scrimmage, loosening up drills and film work from the scrimmage on Saturday, and a swimming party at Sark's Sunday. He was back in time for Monday's workout, and had voluntarily done the extra conditioning Tuesday through Thursday. After seeing him with Hailey on TV, every player could understand why he went, and so could the coaches. But Sark was still pissed, on general principles.

As August faded and the first game of the season with Louisiana drew near, the coaches were working longer hours to ensure there would not be a gigantic upset, like Appalachian States' upset of A&M, or Notre Dame's loss to Marshall. After all, Louisiana won it's conference last year and were favorites this year, so they were not to be slighted.

Just before the coaches broke up their morning meeting, coach Sarkisian's PA interrupted the meeting. "I have someone here who wants to say thank you." Without acknowledgement or permission, she held the door open and a young woman entered. Every man in the room was married to a beautiful woman, many of whom were college cheerleaders, but jaws dropped and eyes grew wide when this vision appeared before them.

Hailey had dressed and prepared herself for this, so from her high heeled sandals to her short summer dress, light makeup, and lustrous wavy hair, her looks were impeccable and alluring.

She addressed the room with the perfect degree of confidence mixed with vulnerability. "I'm Hailey Hart-King, and I'm sorry to interrupt your meeting, but I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting Rod come watch the finals! You are as responsible for my silver medal as my own coach and trainer are, because Rod was the factor that got me past my irrational fears and steadied me for the pressure of an Olympics final.

"I know he shouldn't have missed practice, but without his influence, I promise you I wouldn't have medaled! Between his steadiness and my unconcerned horse, I accepted that it was just another course to run, and we ran it as we had so many others. Of course, Jupiter excelled again, and we would have won Gold without the tiny mistake I made, but to win a silver medal in my first Olympics, before the age of 21, exceeded every hope I had going in!

"And that medal is thanks to you! If you, like most other coaches would, had made him stay for the practices, I wouldn't have medaled! So thank you, from the bottom of my heart!"

The others were deferring to Coach Sark, but he couldn't decide how to answer her, so there only silence. She turned to leave, and then coquettishly spun back around. "Oh, and I'm so looking forward to watching your team play this season! I just finished enrolling for the fall semester, and I'm going to be helping the University recruit for its Texas Equestrian Team. I haven't been on a school campus since my freshman year in high school, so you can imagine how excited I am to be a Texas Longhorn coed!"

With that, she flounced out of the room and Rod stuck his head in. "Pretty cute, isn't she? I expect she will get more screen time at our games than the cheerleaders will, and a lot of great publicity with all the reminders about her Olympics medal. And thanks again for giving me the opportunity to help her out."

"Get the hell out of here, Ford!" Sark exclaimed with a smile. "And you're welcome."

The wide receivers coach yelled, "Great catch, Rod! You should move to receiver!" and he left to the sound of genuine laugher.

When he was gone, Coach Flood said, "Hell, if I'd known, I'd have gone with him! I love my wife, but damn! That girl is gorgeous!"

"And sweeter than ice cream!" another added.

Ever the pessimist, Sark said, "And with her in school here, our prize quarterback will be so fucked down he'll be useless!"

"Have you ever seen his fuckbuddy, America? You know, the one he dances with on the commercials? If that sexpot didn't fuck him down, I don't think this one will either!"

They arrived at the 'cooldown' with Hailey in the same clothes. Rod got the attention of those who hadn't seen her walk up with him, the crowd quieted down. Hailey stood on the porch to address them, again giving thanks for letting Rod go support her Olympics bid, and announcing she was super-excited to be a UT coed this semester!

A cheer went up, with only a few who thought they had a shot at Rod after America took up with Wes, looking unhappy.

Hailey went inside with Rod, and came back out wearing a bikini he selected as appropriate for the Lake Austin Cooldown and Barbeque he had organized to welcome her to Austin and UT. It wasn't like the bikini at Cannes, or those from their photo shoots, but she still stopped the party when she walked out and joined her boyfriend on the porch. She took his hand in a possessive way, but stood a small distance from him. She wanted everyone to know who she belonged with and who belonged with her, but didn't want to spring PDA on them yet.

Her 'clean living' regimen had refined and chiseled her body until there was no discernable fat, and any she had was perfectly positioned in her boobs. Standing in front of the crowd of players, dates, and other women, she looked poised, confident, and gorgeous.

"Hey! Hot Stuff! Bring your cute butt down here, get wet, and tell me all about your medal run!"

Hailey looked around in confusion; Rod pointed off the end of the dock near a ladder, and said, "America."

Hailey spotted her waving arm, squealed, and ran gracefully down the sidewalk and across the dock to see her friend. America held her hand up as if offering to shake, and naïve Hailey reached down and took it, only to be yanked head over heels into the water. She came up splashing, gasping for air, and then began trying to drown America. Had it been anyone else, she would have succeeded, but America was her equal in strength, and she was holding onto the ladder.

After the splash and giggle fest ended, they embraced each other and began speaking so rapidly it sounded like an alien language. Girls filled in around them in the water and on the dock, and got a firsthand report from the Olympics runner-up.

Rod wasn't sure why they kept turning en masse and looking at him, but having that many hot women staring at him and licking their lips was exciting but disconcerting.

A crowd of players slowly developed around Rod as well, and KP asked, "So that's the little showboat you ran off to France to watch?"

"It is, KP. She won the silver medal in individual, and her team finished third. Not bad for her first Olympics!"

"Tell ya tha truth, Bruther, I thought you lost your damn mind when you faced the coaches down and the AD produced the contracts saying they couldn't keep you from going. And I was sure our head coach was going to stroke out when you left, but you did it anyway, came back all humble and ready to work, and somehow you rode it out."

"Nah, man," Quinton said, "they saw how many times the camera spotlighted our boy and the announcers told the story of him supporting Hailey, and how great it was that UT's 'enlightened coaches' supported his missing practice to support his girlfriend's Olympic efforts. And the picture of him reaching over the rails and picking her up off her horse wearing a burnt orange pullover? That is still viral, three weeks later! Mothers all over the country are telling their 5 star sons they need to go play for UT's 'enlightened, family first coaches'. They got more recruiting sauce off that trip than they could have by buying a super bowl ad!"

"Yeah, but when all is said and done, I'm going to be the game 1 starter, as a piece of your penance, HR!" Bart boasted.

"And you deserve it, JR. It's been a helluva fall camp, though, and the coaches have to know the high quality depth we have. Regardless of who starts where, a lot of guys should get PT in the first game, hopefully in the second, and in the ten games after that. This is my first season, but if there are teams with more excellent players than we have, I can hardly wait to see them!"

Two senior looked at each other and one said, "We've played Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, and last year's playoff teams, and I can tell you there are other very highly talented teams out there. But you know what? I'll take this bunch over anybody we've played! We've got as many, maybe more, difference makers, compared to any team we've played, and I don't care which of you turds is on the field, we've got the best quarterbacks we'll face!"

Rod embraced him a second after Bart did, they hugged each other, and then the yard became the group hug with the biggest humans ever, according to Guiness.

The women watched in wonder, and one asked, "What could have prompted that?"

"Don't know," another answered, "but my money is on HR and JR."

"Um hum" seemed to be the most common response, until America told Hailey, "If you shit on Rod, you best call Carlos first and have a plane waiting, 'cause you're going to need to spend the rest of your life in Europe. They got his back, one and all! And the same for you, Miranda, you little tramp; if you shit on Bart again, try to coordinate your escape with Hailey, because neither of you will be safe in the US!"

Miranda's eyes grew wide, and she wondered again how she got hung up with Bart Favre, the famous quarterback. She was just walking into her next class and his big guy was blocking the door, talking to another big guy. She just said, 'excuse me' and tried to push her way past. He turned, looked into her eyes in a way that made her breath catch, apologized, and then asked her name in a curious way.

"Miranda Evans" she replied, almost hypnotized by the Greek god looking at her with so much interest. He followed her to her seat, took the seat beside her, and they talked until class started. They ended up in the same study group, and he asked to be her lab partner. She didn't follow football, so she didn't know his name, but others seemed in awe of him.

They ate lunch together a few times, but he hadn't even asked for a date, so when another big shot, the President of the Student Government, asked her to go with him to his fraternity's party, she accepted. They had a great time, although he apparently thought she should put out on the first date, and wasn't pleased that she didn't. But he called for another date and she accepted.

Suddenly Bart was sitting nowhere near her in class, and was cool as a cucumber toward her in lab. She asked the other big guy, the one he was talking to the first day, and he told her Bart thought they had something going, and then he learned she was dating someone else.

She hurried to the back and ambushed him before he could leave, and asked why he was mad at her. He said he wasn't, so she asked why he wasn't sitting by her anymore. He sighed. "Look, Miranda, I thought we had something going, and then I found out you're dating Roy Wayne Harrison, the student body president. I don't know the guy, but I don't poach."

She quickly corrected the misunderstanding, cancelled her date, and went out with Bart instead. But in the interim, she had become the little tramp who shit on Bart Favre, and even after they knew better, no one would let her live it down. Particularly America, who was the one who finally clued her in on Bart's status, and suggested things she should do to win him over, including going to the football games and sitting in one of his seats. With his parents!

Miranda's tale of meeting and dating Bart made Hailey consider how, against all odds, she got here, on this dock, a student at the University of Texas, a few weeks after medaling in the Olympics!

No one but Rod knew Hailey was walking away from the celebrity and money to become a student at Texas, which was the crazy choice he had offered her after Monaco. At the time it seemed insane to give up show jumping at the pinnacle of the career she had worked so hard to build, but after more time with Rod, discussions with mom and Aunt Angie, and a lot of reflection...

Fame and fortune were fleeting, and she had always wanted to go to school, to be a student, to learn, to challenge herself intellectually, and to experience life as other young people did. To that dream add Hot Rod Ford, and suddenly a future of endless show jumping practices and competitions, scattered around the world, appearances on behalf of sponsor and the federations, and selling her beauty and celebrity to rich assholes for money and notoriety just didn't stack up!

She was the orphan no one wanted, and she had lived through things most others had not. When her athletic abilities aboard a horse were discovered, she tried several different forms of competition and did well in all. It was Smoke who turned her into a show jumper, but in her teens their success was her riding a horse that was superior to other's horses. In fact, it was only recently that her skills matched those of her horses, and she hated to just turn them out to pasture.

But that would have happened with Smoke sooner rather than later, as his age caught up with him, and Jupiter had been a ranch horse before he showed the Hart family how inadequate the pen fences were. If he readapted quickly, he could enjoy life with the Harts, or maybe on the Ford ranch, where Rod's horses were prospering. In any case, this was about her; about her effort to become a 'normal kid,' even if her celebrity tagged along.

Maybe 'normal kid' wasn't the right tag - after all, she would still be modeling for FLI on a parttime basis, like Rod and America did, and Equestrian Canada was paying for her to fly up for major events in the winter and spring, and FEI was begging her to make commercials enticing young people to the equestrian world, as competitors and as fans. But compared to her life the past two years, that qualified as something close to 'normal.'

After a few more minutes of talking with his boys, Rod walked down onto the dock, made his way through the cluster of beauties, dove up and over Hailey and America, and did a flip ending in a watermelon, creating a splash that drenched half the girls on the dock, and both his primary targets. They came after him when he surfaced, but he knew their weaknesses too well, and soon both were struggling, shrieking, and trying to get away from his tickling hands.

He let America go, but grabbed Hailey around the waist, pulled her to him, and kept them afloat with a scissor kick while he kissed her. She pushed away after a moment, acting as if she was embarrassed, but her bikini bottoms were now as wet from the inside and as outside.

She did try to stay away from his hands and body after that, for fear she would drag him onto a flat surface and ravish him, forever after being branded a hot blooded little slut by his teammates and all those present! After that, she'd have plenty of date offers, and be expected to put out on all!

They climbed up the ladder onto the dock, and he insisted she give him one more kiss before he went to check on the brisket and beef ribs he had slow cooked all day in the pit. On stage now, she took her time with this kiss, and almost let it go too far before slipping out of his arms like an eel and telling him to go take care of the cooking duties so they could eat.

When he was gone, one of the girls looked at Hailey and asked, "How do you do that? If that gorgeous hunk of man kissed me like that, I'd be a bowl of melted Jello now."

America laughed and answered for her. "Oh, she is! But she's thinking about what she's going to do to him a few hours from now, after we're gone! Or maybe, what he's going to do to you, huh Hailey?"

She recognized this as a critical moment, and decided to play it cool. "Oh, I don't know. Do you really think he's that hot?"

They roared their laughter, and one who knew who she was and had seen her on TV shows and the internet said, "Maybe not, if you've been dating European Royals and millionaire sheiks, but to the rest of us, he's pretty hot!"

Hailey thought she had blown it, but replied, "Okay, I'll admit he's actually much hotter than the so-called royals and rich guys! Even the models and movie stars I dated! But I can't let him know that, can I? So please don't tell on me! He's hard enough to control as it is!"

America was mentally gagging but she understood what Hailey was trying to accomplish today, her first day on campus. No one here but America knew her, so she was trying for 'independent young woman of means and celebrity dating hot football star.' America knew she was living in a dorm, even though she could afford to live as affluently as Rod.

What her friend was trying for was a normal college experience! Admirable, but her celebrity was already too great, and when she ran off to model, her story would rewrite itself. She could hide that she was madly in love with Rod, and he with her, for a while - but not for long. It was too obvious, if you knew where to look, as America did, and as Americans would after she became "Quarterback Rod Ford's girlfriend, and Olympics silver medal winner, Hailey Hart King."

Still, America would keep her secret and help her adapt as best she could. Her love for Rod was probably deeper than Hailey's, born in childhood, refined as teens, and sharpened as lovers, but theirs was a weird mix of platonic love and fuckbuddy lust! They fucked well, gave each other hell, had fun, but beyond that, they lacked romantic attachment.

She couldn't decide whether Hailey was sorority material, or whether that would turn into the sorority exploiting her fame and relationship with Rod, which she did not need! Perhaps it would be better to simply be a student, something she hadn't been since she was thirteen years old.

She was probably going to need some help with coursework too. Her ACT scores weren't stellar, but no University was going to turn down someone of her celebrity, so she got in. The trick now would be to succeed. Perhaps she needed study buddies and tutors, and America could help her with that. Rod and his friends would also help, and among all of them, they could catch her up and help her get ahead.

They might have been competitors for Rod's hand (or cock) at one time, but now, in this world, Hailey was that cute, bubbly girl who showed up at Cowtown High, made friends, became a cheerleader, and charmed everyone with her innocence and excitement. America helped her then, and she would help her now, assuming she wanted her help and would accept it.

After the crowd around her died down and began to drift away in preparation for supper and in search of a big hunk to seduce, Hailey resolved that question. "America, the truth is I'm scared to death, and so far out of my depth I can't see the surface. You helped me at Cowtown - please help me now!"

America's smile said yes, but she answered, "Hailey, you have bowed and curtsied to royalty, dated some of the richest men on earth, gone to balls and worn jewelry the likes of which none of us, even the most privileged, will never see in person! You've visited European and Middle Eastern capitols, historical sites, and renowned resorts around the world. You've modeled with the most beautiful men Europe has to offer, dated movie stars, and have flaunted your body in swimsuits, lingerie, sportswear, and custom formal wear. Your name is a household word in as many homes as any other celebrity of your age. You have enough ammunition to fight off anyone prying, or someone trying to undercut you.

"No, you've never been 'normal' or 'lived a normal life,' but extraordinary is greater than normal, so don't try for normal here! Your renown is too great, you are dating someone of renown, and your celebrity is only going to grow when you are sitting with Rod's family at football games and the cameras cut to his pretty momma and sisters, and then to you, and the mantra 'girlfriend, medal winner' is repeated on TV to an audience of millions. I'll bet there will even be Hailey's Comets watching and cheering, not to mention the dirty old men who will be playing with their peckers while rewinding to watch you over and over!

"So, fuck normal! Be Hailey! You are one messed up girl anyway, as many times as you shit on Rod in favor of rich assholes! But remember my warning - that was before you came here and met his compadres and teammates. If you shit on him now, you may or may not live to wish you hadn't! They love him that much!"

****

Louisiana was a four touchdown underdog, but they intended to shock the world, and Rod told his teammates that. Bart was higher than a kite and didn't really listen, nor did the less experienced starters and reserves. The coaches had warned them over and over, but they were so confident in their talent and the hard work they had done, only those who had experienced the effort of an undermanned team understood.

And, after the former players and coaches had dismissed Louisiana's chances on TV with superstar-to-be Bart Favre at the controls, and the game actually started, Bart experienced the frustration of totally adrenalized football players playing above their talent levels and accomplishing incredible things. After one quarter, Bart's stat line was 4-8 passing with two interceptions, minus 8 yards rushing after two sacks, and zero touchdowns.

Louisiana kicked a field goal after recovering a fumble on an exchange between the QB and running back, and when Rod trotted out, it was UT 0, LA 3. It was as hot as hades on the field, and the Ragin' Cajuns had expended a lot of energy in the first quarter. Seeing an entirely fresh unit take the field didn't make them feel fresher, but they were still fired up and ready to tangle, and they had UT pinned inside their own five after an outstanding punt.

Rod had been here before, in high school, and he used their eagerness against them. Delays and draws slowed down the pass rush, misdirection tired the D line and linebackers, and outstanding fakes and cuts befuddled the secondary. Eight plays into the drive the 'Horns were at mid-field, facing third and three.

The defense crowded the line, expecting the option with Rod keeping that had been so successful, and for two steps it looked like they had guessed right. But Q was manned up on the left sideline, and his apparent effort to break inside to help block resulted in the cornerback and safety both leaving him uncovered for just a moment. As soon as it happened, he broke down the sideline and turned on the jets.

When Rod stopped the option action and dropped three steps, Q had just cleared the twenty yard line and was all alone. Rod lofted a pass that settled gently into his arms at the goal line, and the Longhorns took the lead for the first time!

After another good punt, the Horns started on their own 14, and they came out of the huddle with four wide receivers and no running back. The defense adjusted, leaving five to rush. Rod dropped back, faked to one sideline and then the other, tucked the ball, exploded up the middle, avoided a linebacker, and got into a footrace with the safeties, who had moved outside to cover the slot backs. They had the angles, but Rod had the speed, and he was tossing the ball to the ref in the endzone when they caught up.

At the half it was 28-3, and Hailey and the Fords had become football media darlings in one quarter. Hailey had also gained an understanding of what 102,000 college football fans sound like when they get excited, what the halftime show looks and sounds like, and how the sights and sounds of a light show combined with a drone show above make you have goosebumps. She was in awe of all that, and of the flag carrying military parachutists who delivered the game ball out of the sky just after the national anthem ended, but the Fords were equally awed. Attending a game back before the 'stadium renovations and improvements' was very different than now.

Due to their first quarter ineptitude, Bart brought the starters out for the third quarter, and added 21 points before the reserves played the fourth quarter and scored once more. He was angry with himself for not staying humble, for assuming the Cajuns would roll over for him, and for being a piss-poor leader! He kind of wanted to be pissed at Rod too, for stealing the second quarter so beautifully and making him look bad, but Rod was just being Rod. He would probably start next week against Michigan, and he would deserve to, but it made Bart question the two years he sat behind Dean.

He started two games while Dean was hurt, and played parts of a couple of games, but otherwise he had been a college reserve. He played in a private league in high school, and once he got to Texas, he understood how Texas high school football is different, and had worked hard to catch up. But as Rod said when he made his case for playing time to the coaches, standing on the sidelines is not the same as dodging blitzing linebackers and throwing into tight windows with fast defensive backs. He needed PT and wished he had gone to a D2 or non-power five school to get it before transferring to Texas.

He had a big problem: one that stood 6'4", 244 pounds, ran under 4.4, and commanded the attention and respect of his teammates. When the coaches came around, and they would, Rod would be the starter and he would again be a reserve. He just hoped Rod's demands would result in him getting significant playing time each game. The pros said he had a future with them, but maybe not if he sat for four years.

The Fords and Hailey waited for Rod in the designated area, drawing lots of looks from the players walking by. Many knew and spoke to Hailey, and some knew the Fords from the dance in Cowtown and came over to have a reunion, of sorts. As the numbers dwindled, Rodney asked KP where Rod was.

"He and Bart were talking in a corner when I left, and no one was interrupting them, including coaches. I didn't listen in, but I'd say Rod is trying to pump him up. That first quarter was embarrassing, especially after Rod came in and did what he did. The way we see it, it's great to have two quarterbacks like those guys, but we know it's hard on them."

Rod came out a few minutes later. His level of happiness was not as great as theirs, or as great as it should be after a 56-3 win. He got better over a late supper because the excitement of his sisters and girlfriend made it impossible not to. They replayed the game as if he hadn't been there, but also recounted events he didn't know about. They weren't too happy with him for taking too long, because they wanted to eat something quickly and go watch the Hip Hop star performing at Longhorn City Limits, on the lawn in front of the LBJ Presidential Library and Conference Center.

Dad was already shaking his head before they asked, and Rod gave Hailey a discouraging look. She thought it might be fun for a few minutes, but she also wanted her football star in his bed with her as soon as possible, so there was no time for music tonight!

Dad let them off near Rod's pickup, and they went to the nearby Marriott. Rod and Hailey went to the lake and enjoyed a midnight skinny dip with sex on the dock, took a shower together, and then tried a new position Hailey's trainer told her about. Both liked it a lot, and agreed it belonged in the 'proven winner' bag.

They slept nestled together in the chilly room; Hailey for the warmth as much as the contact with her lover, and Rod because he loved holding her at night. That his preference for 68 degree or less sleeping conditions was freezing to her wasn't a concern, because she could pull up the sheet and snuggle him.

Snuggling turned into spooning sometime during the night, and they awoke all hooked up. They didn't know which initiated it, or when, but spoon sex for breakfast was fabulous! Mandy's call to invite them to Hula Hut for lunch was their first clue it was already late morning.

The dockside tables were ideal today, with a light breeze blowing across the water. They ordered two Pu Pu Platters, a large order of nachos, and a bowl of salad for their family style meal. A wide ranging conversation was underway when a very large father and his two young sons approached them and stopped behind Rod. His dad signaled him, and he turned his chair around.

"I played football a few centuries ago, so I know what it feels like to be interrupted by fans, but my sons are huge fans, as you can tell by the #4 jerseys with Ford on the back. Would you be willing to sign their footballs?"

Rod pulled a felt tip pen out of his pocket, knelt in front of the 5 and 7 year-olds, asked their names, and what they thought of the game Saturday. You knew Dad was raising them to be players or coaches, as they began an analysis that many high school players couldn't have produced. Rod listened to one and then the other, before thanking them for their help, and signing the footballs.

To the older, her wrote, "To Danny, a future Longhorn All-Star! Thanks for your help, Rod Ford #4" To the younger he wrote, "To Randy, a future Longhorn Legend! I appreciate your help! Rod Ford #4"

The boys bumped fists with him, he stood and thanked Dad for bringing them over, and they exchanged hugs. "I'm thinking that analysis was pretty in depth for a couple of guys their age. Are you a coach, or have you just stayed in touch with the game so well?"

"I'm a coach out at Liberty Hill. I played at Tech a decade ago, but I've always been a Longhorn fan, and I'm in heaven being close enough to come to games. If you don't mind, I'd like to tell you what I saw last night."

Rod said of course, and he smiled. "You handled your debut as well as anyone I've seen, including some Tech quarterbacks doing pretty well in the pros. It all seems natural to you, and your command of the huddle and team was a treat to watch. Bart got caught with his pants down, but he came back and did well in the third quarter. He's a great quarterback with the potential to be a great pro, and it was fun to see him tie it on and come back.

"That said, you're better. I can't wait to see you play at Ann Arbor next week, and I'll predict a Longhorn upset right now! That is one helluva team, and I just can't believe the depth! Win 'em all, and bring that trophy home!"

They hugged again before he retuned to his family and Rod to his. "That was cool, Bro! Does it happen all the time?" Andi asked.

"No, in fact those are my first football autographs."

His mother chuckled. "I can't believe you carry a black felt tip in your pocket! I was reaching in my purse for a pen!"

"The coaches are adamant that we carry one, and that we interact with our fans. Of course, I actually learned to carry a permanent marker when I was rodeoing because you never know what you are going to be asked to sign."

"Yeah, like over boobs and the back of shorts, right Bro?" Mandy teased.

"And bellies, legs, arms, chests, backs, and some place I won't name," he added.

After the meal, HR looked at his watch, scooted his chair back, looked over the boats docked along the walkway, and observed, "There are some fine boats docked here. Are the owners eating here or at the other place down the walkway, shopping, or what?"

"All of the above, although not many shops are open on Sunday. There are usually more on Saturday, and they have boat parties at this place up the lake. They tie on to each other and move from boat to boat. Most are pontoons or dock boats, but there are some nice bowriders and fish and ski boats also."

"That sounds like fun, but I'll bet it's mostly youngsters like you," his grandfather teased.

"I haven't been to one, but a friend who lives across the lake near the Austin Country Club gave me a ride back in July, and I it looked like mostly 20 to 40 somethings, but some elderly people like you. Loud music, loud laughter, and lot of drinking, from what I could tell. They all spend the night, so the lake cops can't get them for DWI."

"Where do they moor them, or do they pull them out of the water after each use?"

"From what I saw, most people keep them docked or in a boathouse, usually with a lift. The people I bought the house from put in posts for a boathouse with a lift, but didn't finish."

"Dang! Will you look at that!" HR exclaimed. "A boat dealer is delivering a big bowrider! Let's go down and watch him launch it!"

Rod was a little surprised at his grandfather's enthusiasm about a boat, which he had called 'a hole in the water you pour money into' when Rod wanted to buy one for the family a few years ago. But the whole family made their way down to the walkway and over to the boat. When they got close, Rod's enthusiasm kicked in and he loudly proclaimed, "This sucker has everything for the tow sports: skiing, wakeboarding, and surfing, and the equipment is already stowed! Love the suncover so you can get in the shade, but there is plenty of room for sunbathing too. Great design too, right girls?"

Mandy, Andi, and Hailey agreed, and then grandmother Susan took the hand of the man in the boat and stepped in, followed by HR, Rodney, and Susan. They were getting information from the man wearing a shirt with the boat company logo, while Andi, Mandy, Hailey, and Rod were standing on the dock staring.

When HR was handed the keys and the man climbed out, it hit Rod. "Nuhuh! You wouldn't do that! I remember you saying, 'Boating is like standing in a cold shower and tearing up hundred dollar bills!'"

"That's true, Grandson, but then a friend told me all these stories, and he says that 'A bad day on the water is still better than a good day at the office'. We thought maybe we could leave it at your house and use it when we come visit. You could use it whenever you have a bad day in class or on the field."

Rod jumped in and caught the three girls when they jumped in, and then HR asked, "So, does anyone know how to drive one of these?" They were all looking at him, and he reminded them he spent weeks each year with a family of boaters on freshwater lakes like Choke Canyon and Lake Corpus Christi, and on saltwater bays like Corpus Christi Bay and Laguna Madre.

They laughed, knowing full well he was an expert driver who had pulled skiers, tubers, surfers, and wakeboarders. The boat was titled in the names of HR Sr, and HR III, and there was already a contract let on a very nice boat house. Rodney asking, "What's the point of him living on a lake without a boat?" had triggered all this, and the grandparents insisted on paying for the boat and boathouse. They had more money than they needed, and were happy to spend it on a family toy that their prized grandson would use the most.

They untied, and Rod eased it out of the slip without error. Once clear of the docks, he asked if everyone was settled in and had a lifejacket, then cruised across the lake in front of Tom Miller Dam, eased the throttle back, and headed up Lake Austin. It was 20.3 miles to Mansfield Dam, but they were joyriding and in no hurry. Several times they stopped to look at different sights, or plants, or animals, and there were slowdowns to look at some of the more extravagant, or useful, lakehouses.

Two hours later they docked in a north-facing slip at Rod's house and tied the boat off so it wouldn't bump against the wood. A rep of the builder was supposed to stop by Monday to measure and verify the structure for the boathouse, and they would reach out to Rod Tuesday.

They had two vehicles parked at Hula Hut, so Rod pulled his SUV out of the garage and took his Dad and Hailey to pick them up. They had just returned when a black Lincoln pulled up. Bart and Miranda were the first out, followed quickly by Bart's dad, Bret, and his mom, Deanna.

The Fords were friends with rodeo royalty, but Bret Favre was football royalty of the highest order. Hailey and the girls weren't that impressed because they didn't know much about him, but to the Ford men he was one of the greats. The men settled on the wooden chairs by the pit, and a conversation of mostly stories began. The women went inside and fixed iced tea, and Miranda joined Hailey, Mandy, and Andi in Rod's room.

"So you met Bart's parents. Did you sit with them at the game? How did that go?" Hailey asked.

"As you know, I'm an idiot about football, so I was happy to meet them but intimidated and nervous. Bart gave me no warning, but it turns out that his dad is a much bigger deal than Bart! People came up and talked to him almost reverently, but I was clueless. Having grown up in a house where neither parent watched football, I was confused. I snuck my phone out and hid it while I did a search on his dad, and almost crapped myself. His mom grinned at me when I turned around with a look of awe on my face, and when things calmed down around us just before the game started, I explained that I didn't know much about football so I didn't know Mr. Favre was in the Hall of Fame.

"Both of them, but especially his mother, seemed to find that refreshing, and they helped me understand the game. Mr. Favre was unhappy with his son at the beginning, but he said Rod was a good quarterback and 'Bart was going to have hell beating him out.' I'm not even sure what that means, but they wanted to come over and meet Rod and his family after we ate lunch."

An hour later, the women knew everything about the other family, going back a generation or two. The girls knew the stories of how Hailey met Rod and how Miranda met Bart, and about some of the other girls in the dorm they both lived in. The two high school girls listened and asked questions, especially about the boys at UT, the fraternities, and how hard the classes are.

The men had heard numerous stories about the senior Favre's glory days, before he turned to Rod. "I was very impressed with your play, young man. You not only exhibited tremendous skills and abilities, but you were also a great leader. You steadied the team and wrested control of the game away from your very excited and quite talented opponent. When you took the field, they had all the momentum; how did you overcome that?"

"They were a talented team, and they were crazy excited and totally determined to pull a big upset. I've run up against teams like that before, in high school so I had an idea they might play over their heads, like they did in the first quarter. But when you take the chances they were, going all out on every play and hoping we wouldn't pick it up and respond correctly, you open opportunities that we were able to exploit. Plus, they were tired after going all out for a quarter.

"And, frankly, sir, my team is better than the team around Bart. Well, maybe 'better' is the wrong word; the second team is more talented than the first team, and was able to fight the Ragin' Cajuns off better."

Bart interjected, "And you warned me they would be excited and hard to handle, and I blew it off! The coaches warned us too, and we didn't believe a team like Louisiana could play with us! Lord knows what would have happened if Rod hadn't forced the coaches into the substituting we did, because we were rocked!"

"I heard about that," the elder Favre said with a smile. 'Either agree to play everyone with equal ability equally, or I'm not coming here!' That's pretty ballsy for a guy like you, who sat out his freshman year."

"It wasn't really like that. I watched Bart play when Dean was injured, and it was easy to see that he's the more mobile and agile quarterback, and a real run threat. Then I'm watching the bowl game and Dean's immobility is costing them sacks, interceptions, and turnovers, but Bart never enters the game!

"Based on that, and knowing I'm quarterback three or four when we start practice, I had to expect to sit for three years, even if I proved to be the better quarterback. Heck, there was a good chance that Bart would sit all year again, unless Dean got hurt. And if he got hurt in the playoffs, Bart would probably look bad because he hadn't played all year! I just couldn't see getting myself in that kind of position, so I forced their hands. I figured they'd tell me to go to hell, and I'd find another school to play for, but they said the right things, and here we are.

"My teammates and I consider Bart and I to be co-starters. We believe that every position should be treated the same, in the sense that the better player for the situation, or the better player today, should play more time, but the backup should play almost as much. We want to win the championship, and when you play sixteen games players are going to get hurt. We just want to be in a position that an injured player is replaced by a talented player with experience, so a weakness doesn't doom the team."

Favre laughed. "I had the opposite philosophy - I wanted to play every second of every game! But you guys have the talent to win two or three championships, and I see where you're coming from. Guys like me won't be happy about splitting time, but if you can help them see why they need to, maybe it will work."

"Well, as good as our roster is, I'm not sure I've seen anyone who will play Pro ball for twenty years, win every award possible, and enter the Hall of Fame, so I doubt that's a problem!" Rod responded with a laugh.

Bret Favre studied him intently for a moment, grinned, and said, "I guess we'll see! As long as you two are on board and leading, it might work."

The women and girls came sauntering outside and ordered the men to join them on the dock for lemonade and cookies. They followed them down to the lake's edge, everyone got seated in a small semicircle, and Deanna Favre said, "So the men know each other, the women know each other, and these pretty young things know each other, so now we're going to all get to know each other!"

The conversational topics after that included the whole group, and resulted questions intended to draw people out, in stories, recollections, admissions, retelling of embarrassing moments. It sounded corny to the young people, but they engaged and enjoyed it as much as anyone. After all, how often do you listen to stories about world championships in rodeo, NFL championships, Olympics runner up in show jumping, and two families who have modeled clothing, much less Miranda's championship project at the International Science Fair?

It was an elite group, and yet they were all down to earth, unlike the elites in Hailey's previous life. She felt so much more at home here, even if she was making pennies on the dollars available if she cashed in on her fame and beauty. Everyone was comfortable, but there were no PDAs, so she restricted herself to watching her big hunk charm others, and thinking about later tonight!

Supper time snuck up on them, and Bret Favre insisted on buying their supper. No one wanted to get dressed up, so they went back to Hula Hut, where the conversations continued around a very big table. Hailey wanted to snuggle up, but it seemed everyone wanted to know more about her and the world of equestrian. Feeling loved and part of a large family, she launched into the car wreck in which her parents died, the aunt and uncle who refused to keep her after her inheritance played out, the various foster families to whom she was nothing more than a meal ticket, the man who accosted her in bed, resulting in her running away and ending up with the Hart family.

Rod kept his cool, but there were subdued gasps and sympathetic expressions throughout the crowd. Those changed to smiles as she described how Hartland changed her life, and introduced her to show jumping. She spoke of her horses with love, and told them how Rod introduced her to Addy and Carlos, who made a part-time model of her, providing enough money that she no longer needed the unscrupulous men who preyed on the young women of the tour.

She admitted nothing, but her phrasing brought sympathetic looks again, before she described how Rod and her new and old coaches and trainers got her, Smoke, and Jupiter ready for the final push that resulted in the silver medal. Then she looked at Rod, back at the group, and said, "Like I told the coaches when I enrolled, without Rod's support I wouldn't have won a medal in my first Olympics. We met when we were 19, and ours has been a rocky, winding road to here, but I treasure his friendship and consider him the most important person in my life. Me being a freshman at the University of Texas is his doing, and I'm learning things every day that will make me a better person in the future. I can't thank him enough."

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence, before Rod leaned across the chairs and gave her a tender kiss. He looked back at the others, smiled, and said, "She's amazing, isn't she?" Which drew nods of agreement, and applause.

****

Ann Arbor was a beautiful town by any measure, and The Big House was imposing.

Like the Longhorns, on paper the Wolverines were down this year, due to the loss of players critical to their national championship win last year, but neither team believed that about themselves. The ESPN Game Day crew set up on the campus that morning, surrounded by a crowd of tens of thousands of students and fans. ABC was betting on it being a knock-down, drag-out battle, so it was their game of the week. Coach drew boos when the commentators were picking the winners, most of whom chose Michigan, because he pulled out and put on a Longhorn mascot head.

Rod started, and his team mounted two long drives for touchdowns, while the Wolverines scored on a long pass after the Texas cornerback fell down. Rod had been steady, hitting 6-8 passing for over 100 yards and a TD, rushing for 47 yards, including four first down runs, and, perhaps most importantly, calmed his team when the opponents made great defensive plays, or had defensive calls that stymied the Longhorn offense.

When they went to the sideline at the end of the first quarter, Rod's only statement to the team Bart would lead onto the field, was, "This is big boy football, so pull your socks up and get ready!"

Bart played well. He threw the ball well, he ran the option well, and he led the team well. But he didn't get many breaks. A fumble killed one drive and gave the Wolverines a second TD. A deflected pass ended another drive, and a 15 yard holding call on a TD pass was devastating, but he broke a 42 yard TD run on a scramble. Michigan connect on a long field goal just before time expired to make the score at the half Texas 21, Michigan 17.

Rod started the second half, after a blistering halftime exhortation to the offense and defense, in which he challenged their manhood, questioned whether all the bravado before the game was bullshit, and claimed they would finish fifth in the conference if they played like this in the SEC!

The coaches stood back and let him rant, betting that this was what the team needed, and that it wouldn't ruin them! Michigan got the ball to start the second half, and started on their twenty yard line. KP had been contained in the first half, as they committed a tackle and someone else - a running back, tight end, or receiver to help with him. That didn't work on the first possession. He blasted through the double-team and hit the running back four yards deep in the backfield on the first play, and nearly broke the quarterback in half on the second, resulting in a fumble recovered by a freshman defensive lineman.

With the ball at the 14 yard line, Rod rolled right on a run-pass option, turned the corner, and barreled into the end zone, running over two Wolverines at the goal line to score.

The revitalized Longhorn defense stopped Michigan on third and three, and they punted from their 27. Q was returning punts, and it was a good one - high and long. He caught it in traffic, shucked an arm tackle, got a clearing block from Colt, and returned the ball to midfield.

Going for the knockout, Sark called for a fake screen to the right, and a screen to the running back going left. Neither were open, and Rod was under pressure. He spotted an uncovered man just before getting hit, and lofted the ball down the field to the Alabama wide receiver transfer, whose job had been to run down the field to draw the safety. The safety didn't bite; he attacked the screen, leaving Bond wide open. A 40 yard touchdown pass, and the Big House was silent, save for about 15,000 Texas fans who had made the long trip and paid outrageous prices to ticket scalpers.

On his last possession of the quarter, Rod's team drove the ball down the field to the 19 yard line before the quarter ended and Bart's group took the field. Bart hit his tight end on a pass to the eight, and ran it in on a QB draw. The extra point was good, and Michigan was down 42-17 early in the fourth quarter.

Getting embarrassed on their home field, they made a furious comeback that resulted in two touchdown, but Texas got another with Trey at quarterback, and the final was Texas 49, Michigan 31!

After the game, Rod got several nice surprises. Bret Favre and Deanna brought Miranda and Hailey, and the Hartland bunch got tickets from a client of Hartland Beef, so they were there. The Longhorns' charter wasn't leaving for two hours, so Rod and Bart got permission to meet with all of them. It was the kind of reunion you'd expect from that bunch, and everyone parted friends. The boys did sneak off for a few kisses and hugs, and promises of what tomorrow afternoon would bring after they got some sleep tonight and in the morning.

Sunday afternoon was the first chance for Rod and Hailey to get together since last Sunday, and they didn't waste it in the boat. They rehashed their schedules over breakfast, and found only one block of time when they could meet during the day, and one night that was available. For Rod, the days were strength and conditioning at 5:30, mandatory team breakfast, classes, study hall, practice, and mandatory team meal. With limited time for intercourse, social or sexual, in the week ahead, they utilized the rest of the day for both, and slept very well that night.

At Rod's insistence, Hailey was engaging in campus life, with her roommate, and with America. Campus life included fraternity-sorority mixers, at which she was the guest of her roommate or America, organization events and dances, concerts, Sixth Street, and myriad other opportunities to meet people and learn about slices of life she didn't know existed.

Was she in the company of young men, and women, who wanted to seduce her? Yes. Was she sometimes paired with a male of some importance on the campus? Yes. Did she get asked for dates every night? Yes, but she accepted only a few, and she remained true to the one man, never letting any of it get beyond social interaction. To the disappointment of the many who wanted more.

The football season continued, with a mixture of conference and non-conference games that the Horns won handily. And then they faced Georgia, Alabama, and A&M back to back to back. It was a challenging stretch, and not many believed they would remain undefeated three weeks from now. In fact, the odds were strongly against it, according to Vegas.

Practically every Longhorn player had some physical issues and injuries, but none were incapacitating, and their opponents were in no better condition, or worse. Bart was scheduled to start against the defending conference champions and two time national champions, but a tweaked hammy put a hitch in his get along, so Rod got the start. They were facing the team that had a three-game win streak against them, but at least it was at home.

This time they had the Big Noon Kickoff on Fox, meaning a national game that started at noon, but also meant a veritable carnival beginning at 8:00 am, and interviews of coaches and players that were taped the afternoon before.

Rod could have done without the hype and the endless questions about what he thinks their chances are against the mighty Bulldogs. But he wasn't the only one irritated by the Longhorns being underdogs at home, and disrespected by sports commentators who constantly enumerated the reasons the Bulldogs were the better team.

Irritated or not, it seemed the commentators were right when, on their first possession, the ball was punched out of the running backs' arms by a tackler, and returned for a touchdown.

By Sark's methodology, they had a set of plays to run during the first two drives to gauge the defense. Rod called the play Sark called and took the team to the line of scrimmage (LOS), where he found the defense shifted and perfectly aligned to stop that play. He audibled, the ball was snapped, he faked the pitch to the running back going right, and followed his guard and tackle left on a quarterback sweep. They got blocks on the critical defenders, the WR got a block on the cornerback, and Rod embarrassed the linebacker chasing him for the first forty yards of the eighty yard touchdown.

The defense was chafing at the bit to take the field after the touchdowns by each team, and the highly touted GA quarterback found all this receivers covered before getting hammered on three straight plays. The punt was angled out of bounds to avoid Q's return, and the offense took over on their own 26 yard line. Rod's audible into a QB draw messed the defensive call up again, and the ball was at the fifty. Three quick passes to avoid the rush took it inside the 20, and the running backs and line did the damage in the red zone. 14-7 Horns.

Sark talked to the offense before sending them out on their next possession, and the Bulldogs found themselves chasing the ball from sideline to sideline, with reverses and counters slowing pursuit. A perfectly executed option pitch, and J-Dog sped thirty yards before being forced out of bounds at the Bulldog forty three. An out, a quick post, another out, a hook, and then another out, and the ball was on the opponents 4 yard line. A 2-hole dive went nowhere, but a quarterback sneak scored, and Texas Memorial - Darrel K. Royal Stadium was shaking with exultation.

To make the crowd noise deafening, Q scored on a sixty yard punt return just before the half, and Texas took a 28-7 lead into the locker room!

Hailey, Mandy, Andi, and Susan had more airtime than the coaches by then, and got still more at halftime. Hailey's story was chronicled first; the human interest/inspiring stuff, without the embarrassing stuff. That was followed by the rodeo success of Susan, and the cheerleading, rodeo, and sports successes of Mandy and Andi. All were dressed and made up just right, Susan in a burnt-orange pullover with white Longhorn logo, and tan pants. The girls wore white FLI dresses with orange logo, and Hailey wore a white pullover with a burnt orange skirt; all four wore cowboy boots with a Longhorn head.

Addy was watching them on TV with glee, and realized she needed to up the appearance fee for the Ford daughters, mom, and Hailey! The publicity her brand was getting was priceless, hitting three different age group markets in a TV audience announced at over 12 million! She high-fived herself, and called her husband, who was hunting white wing doves with her father, to gloat.

The Georgia Bulldogs took the field in a highly emotional state; the Longhorns appeared out of the smoke looking businesslike. 'Withstand the surge!' was the mantra the coaches used, but Rod urged the defense to 'Hit 'em in the mouth! Make um bleed! Don't give an inch!'

The kickoff team used his words, with the sound of loud impacts echoing as they came down full speed, hitting the blockers and escaping to cover their assigned lanes. Gunner #1 hit the returner hard and knocked him sideways, right into gunner #2, who viciously drove him to the ground; first and ten Georgia, from their own seventeen. Three plays later it was fourth and 12 from the fifteen and Q was back to return the punt. Knowing pressure was coming, and that Q could return it for a TD if he didn't get it out of bounds, the punter hurried the punt and shanked it out of bounds on the Bulldog 33.

Rod went under center for the first time today, and they had two backs in the backfield for only the second time all year. He took the snap, stepped to his right, established the mesh with the running back, and rode him into the line while reading the unblocked defensive end. The DE had no choice but to take the dive back, just as the safety had no choice but to take Rod, who pitched the ball to the trailing back, and blocked the safety.

The speedy TB cut up field and got a shield block from the wide receiver, freeing him from all but the pursuit coming across the field. He turned on the jets and headed for the nearest pylon. There wasn't enough time for the pursuers to catch up, and he held the ball above his head with one hand and displayed the Horns hand sign with the other, before tossing the ball to the referee.

As he turned before trotting off the field, Rod saw the Georgia bench deflate, and he knew Trey, Allen, and some freshmen and sophomores would gain experience in the fourth quarter.

The defense gave up a first down, then forced a punt, and the Longhorns took over on their own seven yard line. The ninety-three yard drive was a thing of beauty: a mix of runs, short passes, and misdirection plays that gave two receivers and the tight end opportunities to carry the ball in the opposite direction of the flow of the defense. The sideline wasn't celebrating victory this early in the game, but they were celebrating the offense gouging the Bulldog defense and keeping their offense off the field.

The Fords were interviewed by a reporter in the stands after the game, with Hailey going last. Her Canadian ranch girl take on the game and Rod's play would go viral after a feature spot on Sports Center, and she couldn't understand why. Rod and his family petted her and told her it was simply so adorable that sports fans across the country had to share it with friends. She was still confused, but Rod took her mind off of it that night, and it wasn't raised again until the gang gathered at noon Sunday for the float fest.

It was getting cooler as October advanced, and even the unusually warm weather couldn't keep the water comfortably warm, so this was the last float fest, and Hailey was sporting a FLI bikini she modeled in Mallorca, which was more daring than usual. America showed up similarly decked out, with a bikini from Belize, and the first thing she did is hug Hailey and tell her she was just too adorable on TV yesterday! But unlike the Fords, she shared the reasons why, embarrassing Hailey, who now understood it was her naivete about the sports that everyone found enchanting.

A Sports Illustrated reporter and cameraman had requested an interview with Rod and a couple of others though the athletic department and they had acceded. That they showed up here at this time was unexpected, but Rod, Q, Wes, Bart, and KP couldn't see any problems, so Rod invited them in. They took pictures and interviewed the five players, then asked if they could interview others, if they agreed.

Rod went back to the grill to cook the burgers, sausage, and dogs, and the SI crew wandered around taking pictures and talking to players and guests. Hailey, America, and Miranda went up to prepare the condiments after Rod signaled, and the magazine crew followed them. They were offered their choice of hamburger, sausage wrapped with flour tortilla, or hot dog, and they took seats nearby, listening to the teasing, joking, flirting, and general camaraderie.

When the line had diminished, several cars rolled up, the gate opened, and coaches and their wives sauntered in carrying tubes and loungers, demanding to be fed like they feed the team at Sark's house. Much hell was raised about gate crashers and their good looking women, but they were told to get in line and find seats as if it were no big deal. Everything was entirely relaxed for a half hour, until Sark's wife asked the two outsiders who they were, and then the coaches grew wide-eyed.

The potential for calamity was high, what with well over one hundred unchaperoned football players and girls and two reporters, but the kids were relaxed, the reporters smiling and enjoying themselves, so they tried to relax and make the best of it.

Rod's Voice - After lunch, as the remnants of Texas summer heated up, more opted for the lake, including coaches and their wives, leaving those of us cleaning up, and the reporters.

When we got through, I went in to put on a swimsuit instead of cutoffs, and the SI team got Hailey to sit and talk with them. When I came back out, I heard her telling them about Addy, Carlos, modeling for FLI, our most recent stint in Mallorca, and then mentioned that America, who was also a model for FLI, was from Cowtown and we were lifelong friends.

Hailey signaled her, she came up alone, with her normal fearless attitude, and they began asking questions of the two of them. I slipped down to the lake, got a tube, and joined my friends.

As always, I flirted with Coach Sark's lovely wife, and she flirted back. He not only didn't care, he would have been disappointed if we didn't. She was much younger than him, but older than me, so it was a fun triangle.

America and Hailey were up there so long I started to send someone up to get her, but I got caught up in a game of tippycanoe and forgot all about them. I was winning until Bart and two others ganged up on me, but I came up under Miranda, so I got a nicer prize. She really is as curvaceous as she looks, and firm beneath the curves.

I got back into my tube and spun to ensure there were no more gangsters, and noticed everyone looking at the dock. America and Hailey were standing there with the reporter and camera man, who was shooting pictures of the tubers. "Rod, they would like to talk to you again." I slipped out of the tube and lifted myself onto the dock.

"If you have a moment, we'd like to talk to you." I looked at Sark, who shrugged and turned back to his bride. They had a tough summer, but things seemed to be back on track, if not better than ever.

I gestured toward the yard, and they followed me. "First, thank you for inviting us in and letting us be a part of the last float fest of the year. It's easy to see that the camaraderie developed here translates to the field, and helps explain why the coaches can substitute so freely without hard feelings. We hear you started having these parties during the summer and have continued through the fall. We also hear you were, let's say, a strong advocate for the substitution pattern in use.

"What do you think these parties do for the team?"

"I would think that would be obvious. We have a place to come together, celebrate, or commiserate, or just talk, laugh, and get to know each other. It's hard to find time to be together with our class schedules, practice, strength and conditioning workouts, study hall, and other demands on our time. Sunday afternoon we can be together, and this is a good place to get together and relax."

"We didn't see any alcoholic drinks. Do you have a rule against having drinks on the property?"

"No. The only rules are no one under 17 unless their parents are here, and 'use it, don't abuse it.'"

"So, there aren't any drinkers on this team?"

"I'm sure there are, but we're in the middle of a campaign to win a national championship. We have Alabama next, and then A&M. We could be locked into the playoff, or on the outside looking in, depending on how those games go. Why would we want to ruin our season and fall short of our team goals by suddenly turning into boozers? I saw enough of that while I was on the rodeo tour to know elite competition requires honed bodies and minds, not sloppy bodies and fuzzy minds."

"Why do you support the mass substitutions? With you being QB 1, don't you want to play every down?"

"First, we have a ton of talent that deserves to play. Second, by playing more people we get less hurt, because we aren't playing when exhausted, which is when most injuries occur. And to answer your second question, I was QB 1A this week; next week I may be QB 1B. Bart's a great quarterback and a good friend. He deserves to play as much as I do, and vice versa. If you look around, a lot of contenders are playing reserves because starters got hurt. We've only had one player hurt badly enough to miss a game, and he sprained an ankle in practice."

"You're an unusual young man. America and Hailey told us a lot of stories about you. Do you want a chance to rebut any of them?" He asked with a wide grin.

"No. America is a lifelong buddy, and Hailey is my girlfriend. If I have to worry about them lying about me in a bad way, they aren't who I think they are. If anything, they tend to exaggerate my good qualities."

Turning to the camera man, and then back to me, the reporter said, "I think I speak for both of us when I say we've never had a better assignment. Your friends are great, your women are fantastic, and even your coaches are enjoyable to be around. You have something special here, and I'm not just talking about your lakehouse. We wish you the best, and hope to cover you at ATT Stadium in late January!"

Rod walked down to the dock and dove in. When he came up, Sark asked, "What did he have to say?"

"He said we have a lot of nice guys and hot women, especially your wife, and wanted to know if they could come watch them sunbathe next spring."

"You jackass!" Sark replied while slapping water at him. "If you get us crucified Thursday...!"

"Hey, you guys gave him a pass to come interview several of us and take pictures! We just made them feel welcome. And I'm not worried about Thursday. He's so in love with Loreal he wouldn't do anything to hurt her."

Sark chuckled and paddled back to his beaming wife, who loudly proclaimed, "Thank you, Rod, but I think he's in love with America and Hailey."

"Either way, we shouldn't get trashed, right?"

They didn't. The first article was coverage of the game; the second, in their human interest section, was titled, "Want to know why Texas is getting so many elite recruits? Surprise! It's not their War Chest." Below the title and above the article were pictures of the mass of floaters taken from well up in the yard, a closeup of Sark and Loreal floating together in the mass, and another of America and Hailey in their bikinis. They looked animated and were laughing - and they were too damn cute to believe!

The other pic on that page was of Bart, Me, Q, Colt, Wes, and KP with our arms around each other's shoulders, singing along with The Red River Valley, one of the western songs I kept in the mix that played from start until dark.

The article was full of compliments and superlatives, though it was cast as a visit with me that turned into an afternoon with the players, girlfriends, unattached girls, coaches, and their wives. If Sark and his staff had scripted a recruiting ad, it wouldn't have been as good as this!

There were a few profiles, led by Hailey and me, but including America, Wes, Bart, Miranda, Q, and KP, and at least a dozen comments from other players, and a similar number from girlfriends and female guests. Sark was relaxed, so his remarks and those of his wife were candid and on point. The same with coach Flood and his wife, and coach Beck and his fiancée.

The AD was walking on air, and he couldn't help but poke Sark. "So, if you had refused to let him go support Hailey, where would we be now, Coach?" You don't often see the HFC shot the finger to his AD, but he did, and everyone laughed about it, including the AD!

By then the die was cast, and we went into Tuscaloosa with a team that was too relaxed for the coaches. Bart started, and managed two long drives; one ended in a TD, the other a field goal. Alabama also had a long drive, all but one play on the ground, and scored from the three. I started the second quarter and also managed one long drive for a touchdown, but also a long TD pass to Colt. Alabama scored another TD right before the half ended, and it was 24-14 at intermission.

Bart and company ran the clock for 7 minutes and 18 seconds before scoring another TD, which Alabama matched with a drive that ended the quarter. I took over with a ten point lead, extended it to 17 with a 56 yard TD on a scramble, and then 24 with another long pass after a three-and-out by Alabama. I bowed out at that point, leaving Trey to take over the team. They managed a field goal, Alabama a TD with 30 seconds left, and the Longhorns won by 17 in "what could only be called a team effort," as the storyline of the game proposed.

There was more about the number that played, including a breakdown by quarter. The new interest in what had been happening all season likely came from the SI articles, or maybe they finally noticed.

The flight back from Alabama had them in Austin at 2 am due to the six pm kickoff, so only those with injuries were required to come in Sunday before mandatory player supper at 6:30, and film at 7:30. The Fords traveled by private plane, picking up and dropping off Hailey, America, and Miranda along the way. Those three sat in front of Susan, Mandy, and Andi at the game, drawing TV cameras even though they were in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

The Hailey-Rod story had been told too many times, but Olympics medalist and girlfriend wasn't exactly disturbing to her or FLI. Rod never watched the TV broadcasts and didn't much care what they said, as long as Hailey or his family weren't defamed. America loved every second of her TV time, even though her parents called to say the dress was too short! Wes was proud to have such a hot girlfriend, and Miranda had learned to enjoy the limelight as Bart's girlfriend.

She wasn't modeling for FLI, but she was wearing custom clothes from FLI, like her model friends, and Addy was flying to Austin to meet with her Monday. America told her to be ready to meet with several of the FLI models that night, because Addy was trying to work out holiday, winter, and spring schedules.

Bart, Rod, and their teammates were focused on the upcoming game with old rival Texas A&M, whose players were loud and proud in their expectation to win the game and start a new Aggie win streak in the rivalry game that was so important it hadn't been played in 13 years. Most of the Texas players weren't even familiar with the storied rivalry, although A&M was mentioned in Texas Fight. The coaches resolved that problem by playing the Aggie War Hymn, pointing out how many references there are to Texas, and explaining the 'saw varsity's horns off' choruses at the end. They then played a couple of other songs and showed them cheers used by the yell leaders and fans, and showed clips from several games in the series so they could hear the crowd roaring and stomping.

There was as much laughter as anything about the songs, but the point was made - you may not feel strongly, but your parents and grandparents do, whichever side they're on! And all true Aggies hate 'Texas University' with a passion.

Rod didn't need to be taught; he was old enough to remember the 2011 game when Chase McCoy and a depleted Longhorn team took it down to the wire. Chase made a run to set up a field goal by Justin Tucker, and Texas ended the series with a 27-25 win! He had sung 'Poooor Aggies, Poooor Aggies' then, and he was intent on hearing Texas fans singing it Saturday night.

The game was in prime time on ABC, starting at 7:30 p. m. and tickets were going for more than Superbowl tickets did the prior year. The bus ride to College Station was a revelation for a lot of the out-of-state and city boys on the team, with most of the 60 mile ride being ranchland interspersed with farmland, white churches on hills of grass, and a few small towns.

The coaches had changed their procedures due to the close distance and late start - and perhaps after warnings of loud noises played all nights and bad food being served on previous trips. Instead of coming in on Friday and spending the night, the team stayed in an Austin hotel, ate breakfast together, and arrived at Kyle Field at 3 p. m. They walked around inside the stadium, and then went to the visitors dressing rooms to begin their game preparation.

When the quarterbacks, receivers, and specialists (kickers/ receivers and punters/ snappers/ receivers) came out two and a half hours later, the stadium was two-thirds full and they were roundly booed. When warmups were finished, they went back in and put on their uniforms, but not before telling their teammates about the personal nature of their greetings when close enough to the bleachers to hear the cursing, cussing, and defaming!

Team warmup, drills, a few team offense/defense plays, and they went back to the locker room. A senior lineman, Bud Campbell, led them out of the tunnel and across the field carrying the American flag, and the booing they heard far exceeded that they got in other stadiums, almost drowning out the band playing Texas Fight. The cheer the A&M Aggies got exceeded the boos they got, and any doubts they had about this being a rivalry game were destroyed. They were in for a battle royal, with the SEC championship game on the line.

The Horns were undefeated; the Aggies' only loss was to Alabama, which had two losses, so the winner was west division champions and moved on to the conference championship game. It started tough for the Longhorns, with a fumbled kickoff being returned for a TD. The offense drove down the field on the next possession, but had to overcome three straight penalties - one for offsides, two for holding on their way to TDs. Rod went 5 of 5 for 43 yards passing and rushed for 27 yards, including the 12 yard scamper on third down for the TD.

The Aggies killed most of the rest of the quarter with a long drive that yielded a field goal, but Rod seized the final two minutes of the quarter to complete five more passes, the fifth of which was an eighteen yard TD to a junior transfer from Houston. Texas led fourteen to ten at the quarter, and Bart's squad added another touchdown and a field goal to go up by fourteen, before the Aggies had a nice drive for a touchdown to end the half. Texas 24 - 17 A&M

The Aggies scored on the first possession of the third quarter to tie the game, and Rod's squad took the field facing a fired up defense and psychotic crowd. "Let's calm these fuckers down, and shut the fuckers in the bleachers the hell up!" he exhorted his teammates as they huddled, waiting for the commercial time out to end. "We need to drive the ball down their throats, hit them with misdirection, and lure them up so we can throw over them. Receivers, be ready regardless of the pattern! You may be third option when we go to the line, and first option after the ball is snapped because of their blitz packages.

"And linemen - no more fucking holding! I'd rather you let someone loose than have a touchdown called back! That said, block your asses off and give our backs a chance."

The long drive down their throats lasted exactly one play! The wide receiver screen called drew double coverage, and they brought blitzes from a safety and a linebacker. Rod saw it coming and faked to the WR screen, dropped two steps, and got a pass off to Q on the opposite sideline. He had a step on the cornerback, whose dive to knock the ball away fell short. He grabbed Quinton, but he caught the ball, broke the tackle, and outraced the other safety to the corner pylon.

That did nothing to tire the defense or burn clock, but it did quiet the crowd and make the defensive coordinator wary about blitzing Rod. He did try it once more, after the Horns made three consecutive first downs on their next possession, and it was third and 12 from the forty. Rod saw it, audibled to a QB draw, beat an arm tackle in the backfield, and blew up the middle like 'a Hot Rod on nitro,' claimed the announcer. He broke the ankles of the linebacker with a fake and spin, and burned the safety after he came up at a bad angle. Horns 38 Aggies 17 with a quarter to play, and it ended 38-24. Kyle field was silent as they moved in procession down the ramps, and the Horns stood in front of the band to sing The Eyes of Texas under the glare of sword-bearing corpsmen.

America drove Hailey, Miranda, and two other girlfriends of players to the game, and they sat with the families of their boyfriends. Plenty of airtime for America due to Wes' outstanding game at left tackle, and both Miranda and Hailey got recognition because of the quality quarterback play by Bart and Rod. Of course, the players didn't see any of it, but if Rod had, he would have wondered why Hailey was unusually subdued.

Because the team bus was leaving as soon as the players finished showering, the girls left immediately after the game. On the way back, one of the other girls, Heather, asked Hailey about the guy she was with at the Lamda Chi party last night. There was a moment of silence before Hailey laughed it off. "Nobody, or at least no one of importance. He started following me around, so we talked a little bit about someone we both know, and danced a couple of times. I danced with several guys, like usual, and I don't remember any of their names."

The ensuing silence was awkward, as Heather and Aileen were both at the party and what they saw seemed more familiar than that, not to mention that Hailey and the big, handsome guy left together. Their silence triggered America, whose questioning quickly became relentless due to Hailey's repeated refusal to even give his name. "Listen, Girl: you know me, and you know that I can make two phone calls and know everything that happened last night, so you better quit lying and fess up, or it will be far worse for you!"

When Hailey tried once more to blow it off, America punched a button and told her phone to call David. David wasn't in, so she tried Samantha. She also wasn't in, so America left her a message to call. Then she looked over her shoulder, speared Heather and Aileen with her eyes, and said, "You two bitches better start talking, or I'll look into your conduct at the party too! Hailey is saying nothing happened with her nobody, but you two seem disbelieving. So what did happen?"

Heather was a freshman so she didn't know America that well, but Aileen was a junior and knew having her for an enemy was a very, very bad problem. So she started talking. "I'll say up front that nothing I witnessed was that bad, but some of it wouldn't pass the boyfriend test. They danced awfully close for not knowing each other, he stood with his arm around her while they talked and drank, and she left with him. I don't know him, but I'm almost positive he's a Lambda Chi Alpha officer or rush leader, or something like that."

America looked at Hailey and said, "You want to come clean, or do I call the chapter president and find out who you were with, and what you did? Because I'm sure whoever he is, he bragged about fucking Hot Rod Ford's girlfriend!"

"He did not!" Hailey declared emphatically. "It wasn't like that at all! Yes, we danced, and yes, he kept his arm around me and we stood close while we talked. It was so loud there, and we were talking about a show jumper we both know from Frisco, Texas, so I didn't think anything of it. He went to school with him before he moved to Florida, which is where I met him and dated him. Our friend's name is Frank, and the guy I was talking to is Robert O'Brien.

"I was tired and wanted to go back to the dorm, but the girls I came with didn't want to leave, so he insisted on taking me because he said it's too far and too dangerous to walk back. He said there have been assaults in the west campus area between their fraternity house and the dorm.

"He did pull me to him and put his hand on my ass while we were dancing, but I stopped him and warned him not to do it again. After that, we slow danced at a distance where we could talk, and we always kept it clean on fast dances.

"Nothing really happened, but I've been worried ever since he dropped me off at the dorm that a story would get around and Rod would be pissed at me. But he's the one who insists I go to parties, plays, concerts, and whatever else is going on when he can't go with me! He says he wants me to have the full college experience, and I can't if I'm waiting for him to be free to go. As you all know, football players don't have much spare time, and he knows I was deprived of a normal social life in high school, so he wants me to go and do things without him, as long as I remember our rules for each other.

"Rod has seen men dance too close with me before, he's seen them put their hands on my 'magnet ass' as it calls it, and he knows I can take care of myself. We've spent most of our on and off relationship between a thousand and two thousand miles apart, so our relationship is a little different than most.

"Like America's relationship with Wes is different, because she's so well known on campus and has been involved in so much, and he's a first semester freshman, like me. Maybe if you took a few snapshots you would have caught me and Robert in a few positions that might not pass the boyfriend test, but I promise his hand on my ass before I removed it, and his arm around me while we talked, are the only two, including when he dropped me off at the dorm... without a kiss!"

"Ever heard of 'trust but verify,' girlfriend?" America asked. "I'll accept your story for now, but I'm going to check with a few friends at LXA and see how well your story and his match. If they don't, I'm going to put both of you in a room and see who is lying!

"As I told you, I consider you a friend, but Rod is my best friend since childhood, and you aren't fucking him over, exclamation point!"

"That's fine, because if he's lying about me, I want to get him in a closed room and kick his ass anyway!"

They left it at that, but Hailey learned a lesson about a campus of 50,000 plus being a small community, and two days later, she was in a room at Chi Omega, America's sorority, with America, the LXA president, John Williams, and Robert O'Brien. "Okay, Robert, tell us your story about being with Hailey at the party last Friday," America commanded in a no-nonsense voice.

Robert looked at her, at Hailey and at the chapter president before answering with bravado. "Nothing much. We discovered we were both close friends with a guy I went to high school with, and we talked about him for a while, drank a few beers, and danced a little. You know, just getting to know each other."

John Williams asked, "And what happened after you left together?"

"Look, I'm a gentleman, and gentlemen don't tell tales about ladies," he said, insinuated with a smirk that something happened, while entirely avoiding Hailey's glare.

Hailey got up and stood over him, both fists clenched. "Oh, I don't mind you telling them that you took me directly back to the dorm, and absolutely nothing else happened, so go ahead and tell your tale!"

Looking uncomfortable now, he looked at John and made his decision. He was in trouble either way he went, so he tried to salvage his pride. Smirk disfiguring his mouth, he said, "Sure, Hailey, whatever you say, Baby."

The heel of her closed fist hit him on his left ear; his head flew to his right, and he looked stunned. "No you don't, mother fucker. You're trying to make it sound like we did something more than say goodnight, and I'm not going to have that shit! Do you understand me? You tell the truth right now, or I'll tell Rod that you're spreading lies about me, and you can't even imagine what a closed heel strike from him feels like!"

He was obviously discombobulated, but he got his shit together well enough to admit nothing happened between them, and apologized to her and to the chapter president about lying to his fraternity brothers. Robert and John left with John telling him he was going to assemble the fraternity tonight and Robert would admit he's a liar in front of his brothers. America came around the table to hug and kiss Hailey before apologizing about not trusting her.

Surprisingly, Hailey said it was the best thing that could have happened because it would stop the rumors Robert started, and also retaught her a lesson about perceptions. "I knew not to trust anyone in the social circles in which I traveled overseas, but I've felt safe around campus. Everyone here seems so nice that I guess I got careless at the party."

"I believe you, but you need to understand a few things. One, you are an exceptionally beautiful and sexy woman; two, you go with Rod Ford, campus football hero, and three, you're an Olympics medal winner and model, so, four, fucking you makes a regular guy a hero of sorts. Even if he had to drug you to do it, all he has to do is take some pictures and video, and he's a stud and you're a slut! You really can't be careful enough!

"And the last thing I'd say is, don't go out with girls who don't understand. If you had been with me, a cheerleader, or a female athlete, we'd have taken you back and returned to the party. A random group of girls from the dorm want you to go with them, sure, because you're a celebrity, but they don't understand the peril that puts you in. If they had Friday night, they wouldn't have said no to your request for a ride back."

On Tuesday, two of Rod's teammates told him a dude at Lamda Chi Alpha was bragging he fucked Hailey after a party last Friday. He laughed and asked the dude's name. That night he called Hailey and asked her if she fucked Robert O'Brien last Friday after a frat party. She sighed and told him the story, from the start Friday in the fraternity house to the finish Monday in the sorority house. He laughed and asked how he could have talked after she hit him with a palm heel strike, and she admitted she missed his temple and hit his ear. He told her they were going to have to practice, or she was going to start taking martial arts again, and then asked if she could get off Wednesday night for a little 'us time'. She only asked when.

"Before we have a little fun time, is there anything we need to talk about, sweetness?"

"Probably, but I won't be able to concentrate while thinking about fun time, so let's have that first and then talk!"

She could have talked about any subject after he rose up from between her shapely thighs, but he couldn't, so they proceeded to all out intercourse that challenged her flexibility, strength, and conditioning. During the final stretch, he was standing up, gripping her by the hamstrings with only her shoulders and head on the bed, and yet she was exhausted and he was going full strength! She realized that, if they were to stay together, she had to return to her fitness routine, or he would inadvertently hurt her!

The conversation after was useless because she only wanted to snuggle and be held, so he postponed it until early morning, before workout, over coffee. That plan didn't work either, because she was too sleepy to get up at 4:30, so he made coffee and took a cup with him to the strength and conditioning center. She texted him at noon and asked if they could get together for lunch.

He grabbed a couple of steaks and a friend brought her to the house. They did talk this time, mainly about Hailey the coed, but also about other matters. He tried to clarify their earlier conversations about her engaging in campus life, and the impossibility of keeping liars from lying. "I trust you, Hailey. I trust you to do the right thing, whatever that is, in the circumstances in which you find yourself. You did nothing wrong Friday night, or at Addy's party. You were having fun, you enjoyed what you were doing and did, and everything else is in the eye of the beholder.

"Neither dancing on a table or talking to a guy is wrong. I think we can agree that stripping and fucking half the men there would been a bad choice, as would leaving the party and fucking your new acquaintance, who is a braggart and liar. But I'm not holding you to my standards; I'm trusting yours. You are a good person! Good people can make mistakes in navigating a new world, and this is about as large and diverse a world as you've ever been a part of.

"Yes, most would say the world of equestrian is larger, but it was men and women of a certain high strata swarming around those breeding, training, and riding horses in various events. Here you will find rich, middle class, and poor young men and women from every race and ethnicity. They, and the profs that teach them, have curiosity and intelligence as their common denominator. For many, this is their first time away from the restrictions of home, and they are testing their wings.

"To me, it's fun and exciting to be a part of this community, and I can see you enjoy it too. Spread your wings, challenge yourself intellectually, have fun! The fun isn't all fraternity keggers, dancing, and the art of seduction. Look around, read the calendar of events each month, and find things you'd like to do or learn. I'll gladly do it with you next semester, if you'll have me, because I want my college experience to be more than football and classroom learning.

"So don't let one jackass make you start hiding in your room to avoid controversy. Get out and about, wear your cute clothes, explore, and have fun! And remember that you can tell me anything.

"I do have one request: get a car. Look online if you don't have one in mind, and I'll help you if you want me to. You have the money, and frankly, I trust you to stay sober enough to drive more than I do some random group of dorm mates, or some random frat rat. If you're driving, the time to leave is up to you, and if they want to stay, they can order a car when they want to leave. Worst case scenario, you order a car and come get yours in the morning."

"I want a Jeep! I rode in this cool Wrangler a few weeks ago, and I learned you can build one online just like you want it, and pick it up in a few weeks at a dealership in Austin!"

"That sounds great, but have you checked any dealerships online? Maybe someone around her or in San Antonio already has it on the lot, and you can just go get it."

She excitedly said she would, and then we headed to labs in the science building. Because most of her secondary work was homeschool, and she hadn't decided on a major, she was taking a lot of entry-level courses. It would take her longer, but she was getting a well-rounded education, which should be why we're all in college instead of a trade school. If you're only hear to get a degree to pursue a profession, you're missing out on learning to learn, pursuing and satisfying your curiosity, and becoming a proficient analyzer, organizer, and problem solver. That definition of a good student fit Hailey to a T, and I decided to engage in the processes with her enthusiasm. Sure, I had lots of hours and a 4.0, but I had barely tapped the surface of all I could learn here. I vowed to change that, and be more like my kid-in-a-toyshop girlfriend.

With no help from me, a few days later she showed up in a Willys Jeep Wrangler Backcountry hardtop. It was white with custom burnt orange trim and a black interior. I was wondering how much it cost when she enthusiastically told me how much, or little, she paid. I asked who she fucked to get that deal; she giggled and said she was making two commercials for them to make up the difference. She was probably worth more as a spokesmodel than the discount, but it was still one hell of a deal.

I would give Addy a call and set Hailey up with an adviser when it came to contracts for services. This was probably okay, but her enthusiasm could get her in trouble.

Amazingly, the championship game was against Florida, in Atlanta. Georgia had two losses with the harder schedule, but Florida had the good draw with only a loss to LSU, so they were in and Georgia was out. With a twelve-team playoff and a lot of teams with one or more losses, the Bulldogs could join both of the SEC championship contenders in the playoffs, unless really strange things happened in conference championship games around the country.

We knew we were in, but wanted a 1 seed and undefeated record. Florida didn't want a second loss for seeding purposes, and they came in ready to prove they should be a 1 seed. Our fans and their fans packed the Georgia Dome, with a lot of seats belonging to true football fanatics long before they knew who would be playing here. It was packed, and it was loud!

After defeating three top teams in a row, Florida seemed the easier game, but someone forgot to tell them, and we were in a battle from the opening whistle. Bart got the start and the first group fought their way to a touchdown, tying the game after Florida had an inspired first drive. The defenses steadied and the offenses stagnated due to the excellence of the defenses.

The quarter ended in a tie, with Florida having the ball at our thirty. They seemed pleased that an entirely new defense took the field, until KP disrupted three straight plays and they had to try a long field goal that fell short. We took over, but their defense seemed wary of the second unit. That proved prescient when we ran an option that turned into a reverse when Q took the pitch seeming intended for the running back, and followed the downfield blocking of the right guard and tackle and the tight end. He scored rather easily after the dozers cleared his pathway. 14-7.

The Gators stormed back, and we got another dose of the gator chomp when they kicked a short field goal on fourth down. They got another dose of Texas Fight when I completed 8 straight passes against a defense stacked to stop the option and zone runs and traps, and scored on a jump pass to the tight end after faking a QB sneak from the two. 21-7

The third quarter was a draw, with both teams scoring once. 28-14. But the fourth began with an out-of-sequence Gator TD after a muffed punt, and we took the field up 28-21, facing an inspired defense. "They're gonna throw the big right, hoping for the knockout punch. Face it, accept it, and let's take their pride."

The trap went nowhere, the shovel pass to the TE gained five, and we needed five for the first down from our 25. They had been creeping up or timing runs at the LOS at the last second, so I called a safe pass, but told Wes to turn his man loose and pick up the blitz. He didn't ask, he did, and I saw the lane amongst the six rushing bodies. I got the first down with no trouble, then started looking for a route to the endzone 70 yards away. We had Colt and Q across the field, but lots of Gators were between us.

I knew I would be forced out of bounds if I continued on this course, so I cut back. Any football player will tell you cutting back against the grain is a high risk, high reward decision, and I got lucky when a linebacker misjudged and tried to take me down with a dive and swipe at my feet. I high stepped over him, and burst into an open area on the opposite sideline. Colt maintained leverage and controlled his man without holding, and RJ pushed his man enough to throw him off stride just long enough for me to put enough grass between us to score. 36-21 with 9:34 on the clock.

They scored once more, but on a long, time-wasting drive. We recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock. 36-28, 13-0, and The Eyes of Texas never sounded sweeter!

The flight back seemed short, probably because we celebrated and predicted the CFP seedings the whole way. Not that we had any control on the outcome, but there were a lot of possibilities for the playoffs, and the tops seeds that determined the byes. We didn't really want one, preferring to play, but we had one, so now to stay sharp and continue to improve!

America, Hailey, and Miranda all missed the game due to the timing of their finals, but they hosted a watch party at the sorority house that turned into a victory party at the Chi Omega house and the Delta Tau Delta house next door. America sent a video of the three of them dancing on the Delta bar, wearing shorts and tied-over-the-belly tops.

Bart and Wes were nearby, so I passed my phone along with a chuckle. "Don't let 'em tell you they don't have fun when we aren't around!"

"Pretty tame, for America," Wes replied with a chuckle of his own, and Bart laughed. "Miranda is so clueless, if America laid down and told her they were gangbanging the fraternity, she'd probably go along. I love her to death, and she's an amazing lover, but I worry about her gullibility."

I got him to move into the seat by me, and Wes looked over the seat at us. I gave him a synopsis of my agreement with Hailey, and of our discussion earlier in the week. Bart was going to try that Sunday, but Wes laughed. "I'm thinking America might want to have that talk with me. I sure as hell ain't telling her what or what not to do, because I want to be healthy for the playoffs!"

We laughed with him - America is a cat of a different color - maybe striped, like a tiger!

The plane came to rest at the charter area at ABIA just after 3:35, and we got a great surprise - the tarmac where we disembark and walk to through the terminal to the buses was covered with fans holding signs, cheering, singing Texas Fight, and when we were all out and could join them, The Eyes. We were accompanied by part of the band on Texas Fight and The Eyes; I hope it was the part that went to the game, because they were in uniform.

There were cops around, and the Ranger assigned to Coach Sark, but we wadded off into the crowd, shaking hands and kissing cheeks like politicians. These were our people, the ones that bought the shirts and caps and gear that made our athletic department lead the country in sales each year. We weren't afraid of them any more than they were afraid of us.

Given their go-go show at the frat house, I didn't expect Hailey and friends, but they were there, and if not cold sober, they were at least mostly sober, and free of fraternity escorts. I got a real kiss from all three of them, starting with America, then Miranda, and Hailey. Of course, so did Bart, Wes, and a few others, I think. They were happy, excited girls, and kisses were an expression of that.

Three of my bedrooms were filled that night, and I'm surprised the neighbors across the lake didn't call us in under the noise ordinance. My property abuts a creek and wetlands to the north, and my closest neighbor to the south is a boat shop, so they weren't reporting us at 4:40 in the morning. Noise carries across water, though, so the rich folk across the lake were my concern.

We were tired and lazy when we finally got moving after one, so we took the boat down to Hula Hut for lunch. No team meetings today or tomorrow because we have two, probably three weeks off before the playoffs begin for us. That meant we could focus more on finals and our girlfriends, which they were fine with. It was December 1, but the temperature was in the sixties, so we bundled up and took a ride up the lake to the City Park, where we docked and took a look around.

There weren't many people there, but someone recognized us and we had an autograph party. The girls were surprised to be identified as celebrities too, which some attributed to airtime at our games, while others credited to knowing Hailey and America from their commercials for FLI. One even wanted America and I to dance a cumbia, but we declined due to wearing flip flops.

I hit cruising speed on the way back, took a seat, and pulled Hailey into my lap. There weren't any other boats out, and the lake was glassy, so I drove with one hand and fondled her with the other. She giggled and snuggled tightly, claiming she was chilly. Maybe she was, but she was well aware of my hard cock poking her, my hand down the back of her shorts, and my lips on her neck and shoulders. She wriggled, moaned, and moved her butt and hand so she could rub my cock.

"Rod?" "Mm?" "I want to fuck you. Get us home."

I pushed the throttle forward and we were docked and home in mere minutes. No one spoke after we docked, because all of us had the same problem and needed to get into the house. Two hours later, I heated brisket from Franklins and some Terry Black sausage, set the table with paper plates, condiments, homemade bread and Mi Tierra tortillas you could heat on the griddle. I loudly announced, "When you get hungry, I heated stuff up for sandwiches, but you have to..." That was all I got out before they were all around me, including the sleepy bunny who only mumbled when I told her where I was going.

There was a nice selection of female napping attire: panties somewhat visible under FLI tee shirts worn without bras. While we were eating, I proposed that we take a group picture with the minx siting on our laps, and post it on social media. The guys quickly agreed. America and Hailey just wanted assurance that their bed head wasn't too bad, but Miranda's eyes got big.

America teased her about being shy, and Hailey told her, "Hon, this is probably the most clothes you will ever have on when your modeling starts during spring break! Better take advantage." It was a great picture, and got almost as many shares as likes. FLI shared it all over the country, maybe world, since Hailey was in it. "Nice panties!" was a common comment, with appropriate emoji, but the guys got some love/lust also. One of the comments was from Mia, who hearted it, and commented "That's the way collegians should be celebrating. Great win, and best wishes in the playoffs."

I don't know why I was even skimming the comments two days later, but that gave me a moment of pause. I love Hailey, but I'll never forget my time with Mia. I hearted her back and told her Thanks!

The six of us completed our exams Friday, and went up to Wes' hometown in the Panhandle, near Amarillo. His family had a big house, but Wes insisted we stay in the bunkhouse, which had oversized king beds our feet didn't hang off of. There were partitions but not walls, and Miranda was worried about the lack of privacy.

"Not saying you are going to be having sex in front of others while modeling - or at least I haven't - but there is no privacy on a set. These guys have seen pretty much everything you have anyway, and they've certainly seen everything I have or Hailey has, so quit sweating the small stuff.

"Wes," Miranda asked, "does it stay warm in here even in a snowstorm, like the one going on outside right now? Because freezing is not small stuff!"

He laughed. "My friends and I have stayed out here when school was closed due to a blizzard, and everything stayed frozen for nine days. We might want to gather more wood from the pile though, in case the electricity goes out."

People who live in the frozen tundra of the Texas Panhandle have the equipment needed to ride out anything the weather brings, including six inches of snow and an electrical outage. Mr. Compton fired up the generators for the house and bunkhouse, and Ms. Compton and her two daughters prepared a feast of roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and apple pies. We tromped through the snow to their house and ate like American royalty, and got to know each other better in the bunkhouse. In my estimation, after seeing Miranda naked a couple of times, she's going to be a very successful model.

Hailey had fun too, because neither Bart nor Wes is modest. She claimed I'm better, but they are yummy, and promptly attacked me. Looks like seeing naked guys has an effect on her similar to the effect of naked girls on me.

We flew up, so Wes' big brother, who played offensive tackle for Texas Tech, drove us to the airport in a four wheel drive pickup with the bed loaded with hay, for traction. Will would have gotten a show from Hailey, who sat on my lap in the passenger seat, but she was wearing insulated tights under her tartan skirt, so he had to settle for ogling her shapely legs in tights.

Will was almost a big a clown as Wes, and between the two of them and their parents, we had been well entertained for four days. His girlfriend was a Tech cheerleader, so she was a smoke show herself, and completely immodest. We're invited to their wedding next summer - in Greece! I can't wait to see her wedding dress, because she wore as little as possible, even in the snow!

Practice was in-season strength and conditioning with film study, until we knew our opponent, which wouldn't be until the first round was completed. That allowed us a couple of short trips during the holidays, so everyone came to my parent's house the next weekend, including the Favre family, who flew in from Mississippi, and the Longoria's from Monterey. We celebrated Carlos' graduation from Texas State, and their escalating sales in Europe, the Caribbean, South and Central America, North America, and from the online store, which led the increased sales. Their clothes were well made, comfortable, and competitively priced for their market, and polls showed their ads were drawing sales in critical age groups.

Perhaps their largesse powered their gifts, but wow! They were sensational! Their models were going to knock people for a loop when they wore their many, varied sets this winter, and my sisters were over he moon with their fashionable ensembles. Mandy was dangerously near graduation and a spot on the hottest high school girls in Texas list, which worried me no end, and made Hailey, my mom and grandmother, and America give me hell each time she modeled a set and I looked aghast.

Andi was almost there, but two years younger, so at least she wasn't pinup material like her sister! The look on Addy's face told me what she was thinking, and I warned her off in no uncertain terms. She, and the other women, just laughed at me, and I could see the handwriting on the wall! I might make her go to Texas and room in my house so I could watch over and protect her! And the boys whose hearts she would break...

Brett's parents and sisters were delightful, and enjoyed the ranch and our 'Christmas' traditions as much as we did. The weather was moderate, so Hailey and I spent the second night in the back of a pickup on Howling Hill. It used to have a different name, but after Mia and Hailey they renamed it.

We started in a double sleeping bag over the mattresses, but that quickly got hot, so I get to enjoy her perfect body in the light of a full moon, from the perfect spot - between her legs, while she is in the rigors of climax. Her heaving breasts, her arched back, the rapture on her face, and the taste and smell of my lover made it a night never to be forgotten. That was enriched by the rigors of climax and her heaving breasts while she was riding my cock in the moonlight, and by her glistening hair, round butt, and curvy back when on her hands and knees being done doggy! Damn, months later I could see her that night in perfect retro-vision, and hear her howls!

She flew to Calgary from Cowtown on a charter the next morning. It also dropped Miranda off near her home, after dropping the three players in Austin. America stayed in Cowtown for Christmas and the Favres flew on to Jamaca to celebrate in the sun and surf.

By the time the charter was back in the air, we had our game faces on. Arizona State was on a roll, with three upsets among a six game winning streak, and they intended to increase the upsets and the streak by one next Saturday.

We were confident and had a good game plan going in, but as they say, "Men plan, God smiles." Untimely penalties, dropped passes, deflected passes, interceptions off balls mishandled by the receivers, fumbles, and we were down by two touchdowns at the half. Bart's crew had the third quarter, and they were the ones smitten with fumbleitis and stupid penalties with terrible timing. They cleaned it up and scored twice, but the Sun Devils also got a pick six and a triple reverse pass for a TD, so we walked onto the field still down two touchdowns.

We were relentless on the first drive, which began on our 17 and ended fourteen plays later with a QB touchdown run from the eight. They burned as much clock as possible with a drive of their own, but it stalled at the thirty, and a long field goal put them ahead by ten.

We weren't relentless on our second drive - we were deadly! Four plays, starting from our 25, and Colt was in the end zone giving the ball to the ref. Five minutes and forty-two seconds left, their ball, we're down by three.

KP destroyed their hopes of running out the clock forty seconds later with a strip of the running back, and we were in action at the Devil's thirty-three. Coach wanted to run the clock and score a TD with a few seconds left, but you know by now about plans and Godwinks. He called outside zone to the left; CJ heard inside zone the other direction, and I had the ball but no running back. I saw the linemen pulling for outside zone, so I pivoted and took off like a scalded-ass ape. A couple of blocks, a spin move, a broken tackle, and I was being mobbed in the end zone!

We were ahead, but we had given them plenty of time to score again and win!

The Sun Devils' quarterback was a better runner than passer, but there was no running into what appeared to be an eight man front, and was when he tried it on first down: no gain. They faked an option on second and he dropped a couple of steps back to throw. KP and our Polynesian pirate were on top of him, so he rushed the deep play-action throw, and we got an INT on our own 27!

So all we have to do is kill the clock, right? Well, that or turn a simple quarterback sweep into a 73 yard touchdown run! I shrugged when I got to the sidelines, and a grinning Sark slapped my helmet. "Nice job of running the clock, Ford!"

Down by 11, the Sun Devils had to throw, but their QB was small. A linebacker tipped a ball at the line of scrimmage, it was intercepted by our safety, who returned it for a touchdown, and the small chance they had became infinitesimal with just over two minutes remaining.

Trey and his crew went in when we got the ball back with a minute thirty remaining. He ran the offense, but there were no more fireworks. As the last few seconds ran down, Sark told me "That's how you run the clock down, Dummy!"

While he was messing with me, the Gatorade was lifted by two big guys and dumped on his head. I stepped away just before they poured, but he was so focused on giving me a hard time for winning the game he didn't react in time to avoid the icy bath! I laughed while he shivered and shook, and then we all ran to the middle of the field to celebrate with Trey and company. After a short celebration, we broke up to shake hands with and express admiration for our opponents, who really did leave it all on the field!

This was another of those game when you have to overcome not only your own mistakes, but also un-anticipatable, or maybe fated, events that go against you. That's the reason I like to score a lot of points and make the other guys keep up. If you play it too close to the vest and something odd happens, like a dropped snap on a punt, or a muffed kickoff, you can get beat by events beyond your control. Coaches rarely agree with that strategy in big games, but they did cut us loose in several conference games in which we were favorites, and the backups got to play a lot in the second half.

We'll see next week's game plan, but either opponent is better at stopping the run than the pass, and creative DCs who disguised stunts and blitzes well. We would need to work on audibles and watch a lot of film to discover at least some tips.

I love football and so does Bart, but being alone when you're used to classes, fifty thousand people buzzing around, and girlfriends to take your mind off football, led us to spend practically all day and into the evening after practice in the film room. Ours was a national game; it was scheduled for an 11 a. m. kickoff, so coach started practices at that time. We were through by 2; we ate, went to the film room, and didn't leave until supper called.

We were back at eight to get ready for practice, had a chalk talk (wonder why they still call it that - there's no chalk involved), and started getting taped before putting on pads and uniforms, and we followed the schedule already described. Until Thursday, when we left for LA and the semifinals at SoFi stadium against Notre Dame. The coaches didn't want to go until Friday, the playoff committee wanted us there all week, so we went Thursday, which is when ND arrived.

The Fighting Irish are a longtime nemesis of the Longhorns, though the Horns 21-17 win in the 1971 Cotton Bowl game secured a national championship, and the Horns won the last matchup, in 2015. Otherwise, ND 9-UT 3. Pretty pitiful.

But that was then and this is now, and the players on these team were in elementary school in 2015. Only a few knew the teams had ever played, and all knew the past meant nothing this weekend. This was the college football tournament: the winner advanced, the loser went home, and neither team wanted to go home for another nine days!

We spent Thursday walking through the stadium, working out lightly, and having 'press day' at the location the NCAA had chosen to have exhibitions and see semifinals gear.

Friday, we met in position groups, watched more film, and had team meetings until dark. Then we ate and went to our rooms. Hailey had facetimed, texted, and called at least daily, but she knew the team's restrictions on Friday, and she was flying to LA from Calgary in the morning, so there was no communication.

Around four, an older friend from the tour stopped by to visit her at Hartland. John was an American headed for a meet in Vancouver. He and his friend/driver were looking for a place to stable his horse, because they wanted to go visit Calgary. Hailey didn't know much about him, but she knew he was wealthy and quite popular with the women, but they hadn't spent much time in a social setting before.

They approached Angie about stabling the horse. She agreed, and joined their conversation around the picnic table by the lake. John offered them drinks; Hailey declined, Angie accepted, and then Hailey agreed to one drink. A half hour later, John and David had rented cabins for convenience after the trip, they were on their second rum and coke, and Angie was telling them fun places for twenty-somethings to go in Calgary.

One thing led to another, and Trey asked Angie to go with them to show them around. She thought about it for a moment, and then turned to Hailey. "What would you think about your friends and I dropping you off at the Marriott Delta hotel in the airport terminal? You would already be there for the early flight, and I wouldn't have to get up at 4 to drive you!"

Aunt Angie made sense, so she agreed. The guys moved their stuff to the cabins while Angie and Hailey cleaned up and changed clothes. Hailey wasn't going out with them, but after seeing Angie, she wore a cute navy jumpsuit with ankle boots so she wouldn't look out of place.

They took Angie's truck so the guys wouldn't have to unhook from the trailer. David got in the driver seat and John mixed another drink for the road and handed them around before climbing into the back seat with Angie. Hailey climbed in the passenger seat, and they hit the road.

The conversation transformed, with John and David telling humorous stories and jokes by the score, including quite a few that were spicy, if not sexual. When they reached Calgary everyone was hungry, so they stopped to eat at a country steakhouse. The service was good, the food was good, and they decided to walk a ways to settle their food.

Three blocks into their walk they came to a club blasting popular music, and persuaded Hailey to come with them, but only after they all three swore to take her to the airport in an hour. The drinks were good, the pop music was fun to dance to, especially since Rod wasn't a big fan so they rarely danced to it. Hailey taught them steps and movements to all kinds of dances, and the hour passed without her noticing.

Their waiter kept the drinks filled, and they were having an effect on all four, but especially the two girls. They had kept the dancing clean all night, but then a Caribbean freaking song came on. Hailey was dancing with John, and he quickly moved behind her, put a hand on her hip, and urged her to dance by moving against her.

Cold sober, she slaps the shit out of him and storms out, but she wasn't and she didn't. She danced with him pressed against her prime ass, with one hand low on her stomach and the other near her breast. She was into the music and didn't chide him at all; after all, they were grinding on each other very suggestively, so it wasn't time to raise a fuss over hand placement near something.

But when near turned into on, she moved away and shook her finger at him. He laughed and crossed his heart, as if promising not to do it again. She moved back in place, and they simulated having sex a bit longer, until the long song ended. He escorted her to the table with his arm around her waist, but Angie's frown made him drop it, and he asked Angie to dance to another song with a Caribbean beat.

Hailey sat down and took a sip of her drink before she decided she had to pee. She grabbed her purse and walked to the sign. The jumpsuit fit her perfectly and showed off her assets flawlessly, but it wasn't easy to get off, in spite of the zippered front. She struggled a bit, but got her business done, fixed her makeup and walked back to their table.

She sat down, drank the rest of her drink, and saw David dancing with Angie. John appeared with fresh drinks, set them down, and took a seat. They drank and talked, and then the band announced that their female singer was going to do a medley of songs by Dua Lipa and Selena Gomez. John insisted they dance, because they both liked those singers! She knew it was time to go, but one more dance wouldn't hurt anything.

The band changed to a slow love song after ten minutes or so, and John held her close. It wasn't indecently close, but she was plastered to his chest, and her groin was against his hard cock. It had been a while since she experienced that feeling, with Rod being eight inches taller, and it excited her. Her brain was running on an overdose of rum, and her body on an overdose of hormones. John grinded his cock against her, holding her ass to get maximum feeling for both.

Rod, Bart, Trey, and Allen were leaving the quarterback room after having gone over the game plan, the live receivers on each pattern when rushed, the best audibles against each defensive shift, and ways to identify the defense and any stunts they may run out of it.

When he got to the room, Rod called Hailey, but got her voicemail. He looked at the time, realized nine in LA was eleven in Alberta, and she had an eight o'clock plane to catch. The players' families and girlfriends could see them from 10 until noon, and then they went into game mode for the 7:30 kickoff.

He slept well, ate a good breakfast with the team, met with the quarterbacks to talk about ways they could help each other if they saw something, and then went to the ballroom. Bart's family and Miranda were waiting, as were Wes' family and America. Rod's family, including grandparents, was waiting, and thrilled to see him. Mom saw him look around after their excited greeting, and asked if Hailey was coming.

"She was supposed to arrive at nine this morning and Uber over here," he said before checking his phone. No missed calls, no messages since his "Sleep tight" with a heart from last night. He couldn't decide whether he was mad or worried, so he called her: no answer. He left another voicemail, and rejoined his parents. If she wasn't coming, he'd enjoy them.

His sisters loved his attention, and his teasing warning to look good but not overly sexy for the cameras tonight. They told him they were wearing bikinis, but not the tiny ones from Addy, and he threatened to pull their passes to the game.

The players only had four game passes for the semifinals, so the family had purchased five nearby from the secondary market, so Hailey could sit with his mom and sisters, which meant the four good looking women/girls would be on TV a lot. If Hailey showed up.

The allotted period ended without Hailey, or a phone call from Hailey. Rod removed it from his mind and refocused on the game. His crew was opening the show, and he had to be at his best. He flooded his mind with information about the opponent, and reviewed the 'tell' he thought he had found. He needed to check that first chance he got, as it might make a difference at some point.

Rod did not look at his seats. If she was here, great! If not, he still had a game to play. Texas lost the toss and would defend with their block of fans in that corner of the stadium. It had begun to rain and high wind was blowing mist and drops through the breezeway through the stadium, getting fans and the field wet. They had to laugh - fly to sunny southern California to play in a covered stadium, in rain!

No biggie; they had played in heavier rain twice this year and won both, but they needed to keep the balls dry, on which they hadn't planned.

It was one of those games for Rod - he could do no wrong! He completed 10 or 10 passes for two touchdowns, ran 68 yards for another, and had the Fighting Irish defense on their heals when Bart's crew came out. Bart wasn't that hot, but his backs were impressive and he hit two-thirds of his passes, four for first downs, and ran one into the end zone from five yards out. At the half, UT 35-7 Notre Dame.

Even Rod expected to cool off in the second half, but he was reading the third down tell and ripping ND's defense for massive first downs, and another TD by CJ, his running back. Rod left early, and Bart left early in the fourth quarter to give Trey some real playing time against a quality team. The Irish mounted a fourth quarter comeback against the Longhorns, scoring twice, though those were against third teamers.

They soaked the coach, followed him to the stage erected in the middle of the field, and cheered and chanted when he was given the trophy. He called Rod up and gave it to him, and the network insisted he speak about the game. He did, praising the coaches for their excellent preparation, his teammates for their dedication, relentless effort, and support of one another. He praised Bart and Trey, all the receivers that caught tough passes, and, when confronted about his contribution, he told them that he was just unconscious the whole game, and his guys made him look good.

The woman with the mic had to ask one personal question. "Where is Hailey tonight?" Without a blink, Rod replied, "Otherwise involved. Thanks for asking, thanks for letting me speak, and now you need to give Mr. Kevin Partridge a little airtime! He's the heart of the best defense in the country!"

KP did the team and university proud, the interview and presentations ended, and they congregated in front of the small traveling band to sing The Eyes. After showering and gathering his personal gear, Rod turned on his phone. Noting from Hailey, but two calls from Angie.

"Rod, Hailey is in the Peter Lougheed Medical Center in Calgary. We found her passed out and took her to the emergency room there. She's still unconscious. Please call me." The second was similar, but shorter and begged him to call.

He found Sark, let him listen, and said, "I'll be there tomorrow night for team meetings." Sark said to go, to be careful, and to call.

Rod found a highly rated charter service online, called, and headed for their hanger. While waiting, he checked the internet for reports of assaults, overdoses, and sexual assaults in Calgary, but found nothing. He'd try again in route, but he was too angry to call Angie. There was no fucking reason for Hailey to be out drinking when she should have been sleeping so she could catch the flight to LA!

****