Chapter 12

"Hey Chad!" Owen greeted when he entered the house.

"What's up bro?" Chad smiled when he looked up from the papers he was looking at.

"Are you actually doing homework?" He teased and put his backpack down on the chair.

"Now why would I want to do that?" They laughed. "Dad sent us these reports." He held them up to show his brother.

Owen sat down across from Chad. "Do I really want to see what's on them?" He rolled his eyes, reluctant to look at them.

"They are reports from various draft consultants as to where you and I will be chosen in the NFL draft if we decide to skip our senior year." He handed them to his brother.

Owen took them and looked over the reports. He looked up smiling. "It looks like they have projected us as the number one and two picks."

"Yeah, I have a problem with that."

"Huh?" Owen was baffled by the statement.

"I should be number one, not you. It's time for receivers to be shown some respect by being chosen number one instead of you quarterbacks." He teased and both laughed.

Owen looked back down at the reports and glanced over at his brother with a mischievous look on his face.

"What are you up to? I'm not sure I like the look on your face. Usually when I see it, I end up getting in trouble." Chad shifted nervously in his seat.

"Bro, what if we decide to stay in school for our senior year?"

"Are you serious?"

"Absolutely, I think it would cool if we stayed another year. That way we could shatter all the Southeastern conference records for quarterbacks and receivers. Maybe we could get nominated for the Heisman trophy again next year too." His smile widened at the thought and his voice reflected his excitement.

"Man that would be freaking awesome!" Chad was equally excited and stood up. He began pacing back and forth next to the table, thinking of all the possibilities. He smoothed out his thin, closely cut, dark goatee with his hand and turned to his brother. He put his hands on the table for support and leaned towards his brother, looking over his shoulder. "What does it say our draft numbers would be if we waited until after our senior year?"

Owen flipped the pages and found the one he was looking for. He looked up with a huge smile on his face. "We would go in the same spots."

Chad stood up and pumped his fist in front of him. "YES!" He turned in a circle and looked down at his brother with a wide smile. "Let's do it!"

"Yes!" He laughed and held his hand out to his brother who clasped it. They gripped hands tightly and Owen stood up, pulling Chad towards him. Their chests touched and they patted each other on the shoulders.

They turned when they saw the door open and quickly released the partial hug.

"What the hell is going on here?" Dakota stood in the doorway stunned as she looked at her brothers.

"Just a little brotherly love." Owen chuckled and glanced at his brother then back to his sister.

"Wait until I tell Rex about this." Dakota laughed and walked over to the table. She tossed her keys down and looked at them.

"No please don't."

"What do you have to offer me in exchange for keeping this information secret?" Dakota smirked and looked between her brothers.

"He'll do your laundry for a week." Owen offered and pointed at Chad.

"Hey, you are in this too!"

"Nah, I would rather not have my laundry done by either of you considering how you both jam the washer with whites and colors at one time! Chad you get to do the dishes for my week and Owen, you get to do my share of cleaning the house for a week."

"Oh, man you are freaking ruthless!" Chad whined in protest.

Dakota crossed her arms over her chest smiling triumphantly and looked at one then the other. "Take it or leave it. Either way I have the upper hand." She smirked pompously and chuckled.

Chad looked at Owen who nodded his head yes and they looked at Dakota saying in unison, "Deal."

"Cool. So what trouble were you twin wonder powers getting into before I came in?" She knew they were up to something by the devious looks on their faces.

"Well, we received draft reports and they say that we will go number one and two in the NFL draft after this year or after our senior year." Chad's voice could hardly contain his excitement.

"That is awesome! I'm so proud of you two!" She smiled enthusiastically and pulled them both to her for a hug.

"Thanks, that means a lot to us Kody." Owen smiled happily after breaking the hug with his sister.

"Contrary to popular belief, I love you both." Dakota laughed as did her brothers.

"Aah and we love you." Chad grinned and winked at his brother as both made a sandwich of her with a hug.

"Oh, this love fest is sickening." Dakota teased and squirmed out of the hug.

They all laughed and moved away from her. "Well, I'm going to bed. Goodnight." She smiled and walked towards the hall.

"Hey, let's have a party this weekend. We have a bye week so it will be the best time of the season to have one." Owen suggested excitedly.

"Great idea, what do you say Kody?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me." She turned to look at them. She was uneasy with the looks on their faces. She was sure they were up to something and had a feeling it wasn't good. "Oh, don't tell anyone that you are declaring yourselves eligible for the draft now. You don't want to become ineligible for the remainder of the season."

Chad and Owen looked at one another, and then looked at Dakota. "We aren't planning on declaring for the draft this year. We are staying for our senior year." Chad smiled.

Dakota's mouth dropped to the floor. "WHAT?" She instantly moved closer to them.

"Yeah, we decided we want to stay in school for another year. It doesn't matter with our draft position whether it's this year or not so what's to stop us."

"Our father, you idiots, or did you forget about him? He'll never let you do this; you know he wants you to declare after this season."

"Fuck him, we are men and we have a say so in our own lives." Owen said angrily.

"He can't do anything to us." Chad stood next to his brother with a defiant expression.

"Oh, I'm sure I can come up with something he'll do to you or me because he'll think I've put you both up to it." She rolled her eyes at their naiveté.

"I'm not worried about him." Owen smirked arrogantly.

Dakota laughed mockingly. "When you both tell him I want to be there for the show and make sure you tell him as arrogantly as you are being right now." She shook her head to side to side, knowing they would not stand up to their over bearing father.

Chad looked at his brother who looked at him. "She's right, there is no way he's going to let us stay another year." He sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"That freaking tyrant. Maybe we should all gang up on him and make him see it our way." Owen suggested with a nervous chuckle and looked between his siblings.

Dakota laughed and walked towards the hallway. "He only sees things with us one way, his way. He's had all of our lives planned out before we were even born. No matter what either of you do he will find a way to undermine you both to get his way. "

"Then we'll go talk to mom and see what she can do." Chad suggested with a hopeful smile.

"Leave mom out of it. She was finally able to make a break from that ass with the divorce; she doesn't need to put up with his grief anymore."

"I'm sick of his crap." Owen gripped and gathered up the paperwork from the table.

"Join the club. I've been sick of it for a long time." Dakota shrugged her shoulders and walked to her room.

"Well, what should we do? Tell him we are staying or going?" Chad asked, turning to his brother.

"Do what you think is right for you. You don't always have to do what I do Chad. I want to stay so that's what I'm going to tell him. Make your decision and let him know." Owen walked to his room and closed the door behind him.

Chad looked down at the ground and sighed deeply. 'I need to be strong and stick to what I want with him. Question is do I really want the hassle I'm going to get from him?' He shook his head in disgust over the situation and walked to his room.

***

The week had passed fairly quickly and the Colby residence was busy preparing for their party later that evening. Dakota entered the house with four bags of ice in her hands.

"Let me help you with that." Owen reached for two of the bags.

"Thanks, I thought my fingers were going to fall off." Dakota chuckled, relieved by the help.

"Do you have anything else in the car?"

"Yeah, more ice!" She laughed when she looked up at him.

"I'll get them." He chuckled and headed out the door to the car.

She poured the ice into the cooler and tossed the empty ice bags in the trash. She wiped her wet hands on the towel and turned when she heard Owen enter the house.

"I think we are good on the ice." He laughed as he looked at the large cooler that was full of ice.

"I hope so; you know what happened the last time we threw a party. I think we had the entire university here." Dakota laughed and grabbed a soda from the refrigerator.

"We invited the guys from the team and told them to try to keep it quiet. How many did you invite?"

"Just my teammates." She turned her head towards the hall when she heard her phone ring. She ran to her room and picked it up. "Hello?" She flopped in her recliner. "Rex! Hey, bro how are you?" She was excited to hear from her older brother.

"Hey baby sis. It's great to hear your voice. I miss you." He smiled joyfully and walked to the window of his condo.

She smiled and blushed, ecstatic to hear from him. "I miss you too. Great game last Sunday by the way."

"You caught it?" His tone reflected his excitement.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss your game. I wish I could have been there in person. Then I could have reminded you to use your tight ends more!" She chuckled and laid her head back against the chair.

He laughed heartily. "I had a feeling you would give me some pointers."

"Well, its true man, sometimes you have to be reminded of these things. Dump that ball off to your tight end when they are blitzing if you have no one else open. You can't afford to take the sack."

"The funny thing is that's what my coaches said too." They laughed harder and he walked to the couch. He sat down and leaned back. "I wish you could play in the NFL, you would make a fantastic quarterback."

"Yeah, well I'm missing a certain chromosome so I'll have to wait until another lifetime to get my chance." She chuckled timidly. She leaned forward in the chair and stared at the floor. Her dream had always been to play in the NFL. Her closest shot at being in the NFL was vicariously living through her brothers or playing professional football with the women's league once softball season was completed.

"If it were up to me you would be playing right now!"

"Thanks, I appreciate that." Dakota smiled proudly.

"So, what else is going on?"

"Not much, the usual, school, softball, working out, having fun. Oh, we are having a party tonight. You'll miss out on the keg stands." She chuckled as did he.

"Oh man, I can't believe I'm not there! I miss being with all of you so much. I hate coming home to my condo, it's so freaking lonely and quiet here without you three." He ran his hand through his shortly cropped dark hair and scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, come on how lonely can it be? I'm sure you have to beat the chicks off of you with a stick every night." She laughed knowingly.

"Well, that's true, but I never realized how much I would miss living with you three, but I do."

"I know it's not the same here without you. We'll definitely catch up over the summer on our annual trip to Europe."

"I look forward to it! Everyone is coming for my game in Jacksonville right?"

"Bro, nothing could stop me from going to that game!"

"I can't wait to see you!" He smiled happily and stood up. He walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. "I hear some things have been going on with you that are out of the ordinary. What's up?" He filled a glass with ice.

"Have those two numbskulls been talking shit to you about me?" She was annoyed.

"They told me you haven't been yourself lately and I was worried about my baby sister." He poured Dr. Pepper into the glass.

"Thanks for the concern Rex, but I'm fine, really." She stood up and began to pace back and forth.

"I heard you had a major fight with Leila and some new chick is toying with your heart." He lifted his glass for a drink.

"Those two are worse than a couple of meddling women!" She fumed and exhaled her anger.

"By the tone of your voice and by the way you're being evasive, there is truth to what they said." He walked back to the couch and sat down.

"I can't fool you can I?" She laughed.

"No, so tell me what's going on."

"The new girl, her name is Cass well we got close, really close, at softball camp when we were sixteen, but she acts like she doesn't know me now." She stopped in front of the window and looked out longingly.

"Have you asked her why?"

"Yeah, but she was really upset at the time and yelled at me. So, I dropped it and decided to let her talk to me about it in her own time."

"Wow, you allowed someone to yell at you and have just backed down, without finding out why she won't talk about it? You are into this chick big time." He chuckled and shook his head in disbelief.

"Yeah, so what if I am into her? Everyone acts like it's such a big deal." She became defensive.

"It is Dakota, this is not like you. What does she look like?" He could tell by the tone of her voice she was getting annoyed and change the subject

"She's gorgeous. She's 5'7", has a slender, athletic body, reddish-brown hair, nice firm butt, beautiful green eyes, a killer smile. Did I mention she's extremely sexy? She has this incredible sweetness and innocence to her that excites me to no end. She makes me feel so good when I'm with her, even though it's frustrating that she won't talk about us at camp." She smiled as she thought about her and sat down in the chair.

"She sounds like she's delectable and someone worth pursuing heavily." He chuckled, envisioning what she looked like and smiled when he heard the excitement in his sister's voice from this woman. He never thought he would see the day that his sister actually fell for someone for longer than a night. He could tell by the tone of her voice how smitten and serious she was with Cass.

"Back off, she's mine!" Dakota laughed as did he.

"I hope you two hook up soon. What happened with Leila?"

"I was tired of her being so possessive with me. I should have cut her loose a long time ago."

"It's probably better she's out of your life. She had a smoking body, but I always had this feeling that she had some other agenda with you, like trying to use you or tie you down to her somehow."

"I shudder to think that bro!"

"Oh, I almost forgot. I was approached by the people with the milk moustache campaign to do a print ad."

"That is very cool!"

"Well, they want you three, Wyatt and me to do it together. It seems they like the idea of having a popular athletic family in their ad. Are you interested?"

"Sure, sounds like fun the only problem would be the compensation for doing it. We don't want any trouble with the NCAA."

"I thought about that and pointed it out to them. They informed me that I would be the only one paid directly and the rest of you can have your compensation donated to charity, then that way there won't be a problem. I'll donate my share to whatever charity you do."

"That is a great idea! As long as our coaches or the university don't have a problem with it, I'm there. When and where would this take place?"

"I was thinking we could do it at the university the day after my game in Jacksonville. Wyatt is planning on coming to the game too so he can join us in Gainesville for the photo shoot."

"Sounds perfect. I'll talk to Chad and Owen, to fill them in. I know they will be excited about it."

"Excellent. Well, babe I've got to head out to meetings. I 'm very happy we got to talk."

"Me too." She smiled happily, wishing she could give him a hug.

"Good luck with Cass and let me know what happens. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you."

"Thanks and good luck tomorrow in the game. Don't forget about your tight ends!" She laughed.

"How can I forget?" He laughed. "Take care hun, I love you." He smiled widely and felt a weight lifted from his heart.

"You too. I love you! Bye!" She smiled.

"Bye." He clicked the phone off.

She clicked hers off and put the phone against her mouth. 'I miss him so much. He sounds homesick.' She sighed worried and turned when the door opened.

***

"Hey, I'm running out to pick up the kegs. Do you need anything?" Owen asked when he popped his head inside her room.

"No, I think we're good. Hey that was Rex." She smiled happily.

"Awesome, how is he?" He was excited and walked in the room. He sat on the bed and looked at her.

"He sounds homesick." She frowned and sighed disappointed that he wasn't there with them.

"We need to go see him more often."

"Definitely, more road trips his way are a must. He is so excited about us being in Jacksonville when he plays there."

"I can't wait. It's going to be great!" He smiled excitedly.

"Where's Chad? I need to propose something to the both of you."

"I'll get him." He jumped up from the bed and walked to the door. "Chad, come here!" He called out and walked back to the bed to sit down.

"What's up?" Chad asked when he entered the room and stood next to Owen.

"That was Rex on the phone."

"Very cool, how is he?"

Dakota looked at Owen and they laughed. "He's fine. Listen, he was approached by the milk moustache campaign people to do a print ad.

"That's awesome!" Owen said cheerfully and slapped hands with his brother, smiling.

"The best part is they want all of us to be in it with him." Dakota grinned broadly, excited about the opportunity.

"No freaking way, that is so cool!" Chad smiled happily.

"Will Wyatt be in it too?" Owen asked eagerly.

"Bro, all of us!" Dakota laughed as did her brothers.

"Yes! When will this happen?" Chad paced back and forth, too excited to sit down.

"He's going to try and set it up for the Monday after his game in Jacksonville. We will all be together including Wyatt who is coming up. So, he was going to try and get the photo shoot done on campus."

"Very cool." Owen grinned happily.

"He is going to set it up that our compensation for the shoot will be donated to charity so we don't get in trouble with the NCAA." Dakota explained as she untied her shoes.

"This is so awesome! I can't wait!" Chad smiled and looked down at his watch. "Shit, I need to finish removing the fragile items from the living room before the party." He walked to the door.

"Good idea." Owen grinned and stood up. He turned to Dakota. "So, is Cass going to be at our party tonight?"

She pulled her shoe off and looked back at him with a broad smile. "I sure hope so." She tossed the shoe to the floor and reached for her other one.

"Me too, for your sake." He grinned mischievously. "I'm going to give Wyatt a call on my way to pick up the kegs and tell him the good news."

"Tell him I said hello and to call me some time." Dakota grinned and chuckled.

"I will." He smiled and closed the door behind him.

She leaned back in the recliner and closed her eyes, enjoying how good it felt to relax.

***

"Hey Cass!" Brooke greeted when she entered their room.

"Hey stranger!" Cass teased with a grin when she looked around the divider wall.

"I should say the same about you. You've been spending all your free time with Mary."

"I know." She smiled and giggled.

"It seems like things are getting pretty hot and heavy between you two." Brooke grinned mischievously and walked closer to her.

"We've been enjoying spending time with one another if that's what you mean?" Cass blushed and walked to her desk, then sat down in the chair.

"Well, have you slept together?"

"Brooke, you are worse than a gossip columnist." Cass grinned, embarrassed by the question.

"Don't avoid the question. Have you?" Brooke teased and stood behind Cass. She ran her fingers through Cass' hair and playfully put it in a small pony tail.

"We've only been going out for a week."

"Oh, so who is the old fashioned girl now?" Brooke laughed as did Cass.

Cass glanced up over her shoulder at her friend, confessing, "I guess I am old fashioned." She turned to look at Brooke who let go of her hair. "I want to make sure it's what I really want when I sleep with her. I don't want to regret it. You must think I'm silly."

"Not at all, I think it's sweet." Brooke smiled and rubbed Cass' arm. "You'll know when the time is right."

"Maybe." Cass said softly.

"Are you two going to Dakota's party tonight?"

"We were thinking about it."

"You've got to go. Michelle and I are going. We'll have fun." Brooke smiled excitedly.

"I wasn't sure if I should show up there with Mary. I haven't told Dakota about her yet."

"So, why should it matter if you are there with Mary? Is there something else going on between you and Dakota that you haven't filled me in on?"

"No, there is nothing going on between us." Cass looked away from her.

"It's obvious that she is interested in you Cass. Are you worried that might change if you bring Mary there?"

"No, no I'm not interested in Dakota I'm with Mary remember?" Cass stammered nervously.

"Then it's a mute point. We'll all go and have a great time." Brooke chuckled and walked back to her side of the room to get dressed for the party. She furrowed her brows. 'I wonder if she's telling the truth about Dakota.' She shrugged her shoulders unsure and walked to her closet to choose her clothes.

'Of course I'm interested in Dakota and I don't want to hurt her. Mary is the safe one to be with though. Maybe Dakota needs to see us together. Then she'll move on to someone else and stop tempting me.' Cass grabbed the phone and called Mary. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Sitting here hoping that you would call and you did." Mary said flirtatiously. "What are you up to?"

"I was wondering if you want to go to the party at Dakota's house tonight."

"I would love to go as long as I'm with you." Mary laughed along with Cass.

"Okay, Brooke, Michelle and I will stop by your dorm at ten. You've got an hour to get ready."

"Oh, I'll be ready especially since I get to see and kiss you." Mary giggled.

Cass blushed and smiled. "I'll see you soon. Bye."

"Bye."

'She is so sweet and kind, she's so right for me.' Cass smiled and stood up. She wished her heart would listen to her head. "Mary and I will be joining you tonight." She walked over and grabbed some clothes from her closet.

"Excellent, I'm sure we will have a blast!" Brooke replied excitedly.

***

The party had been in full swing for two hours with the house full of people. Dakota stood by the keg and poured a drink. She looked over her shoulder when she felt someone against her. "What's up dude?"

"I thought you were getting ready to do a keg stand." Owen chuckled, leaning his chin against Dakota's shoulder and reached his cup around the front of her.

She chuckled and filled his cup. "I leave that to you and Chad."

He stood up when she finished filling his cup. "I do believe I'm drunk." He smiled and tapped his cup against his sister's, then took a drink of his beer.

"I'm pretty close! I think we have the entire university here again. We will definitely have to hire a cleaning service to fix this place up because we will be in no shape to do it!" She chuckled along with Chad as they looked at the people who filled their home as well as their yard, front and back.

"It will be money well spent." He laughed and finished off his drink, then poured more. "So, where is Cass?" He looked over the crowd.

"I haven't seen her yet." She smiled and felt a nervous tickle in her stomach at the thought of Cass.

"Ooh, I love this song! Why can't I be you?" Chad attempted to sing and dance to the song.

"I didn't know you liked The Cure." Dakota laughed at her brother.

"This is an awesome song. Come dance with me." He laughed and pulled her by the arm into the house, towards the living room.

"You are drunk if you think I'm going to dance with you." She laughed and grabbed the hand of a girl standing in the opening to the living room. She put their hands together and pushed them towards the makeshift dance floor. "You dance with him." She chuckled as she watched the pair begin to dance. 'Where are you Cass? Why aren't you here?' She tipped her cup and sipped her drink as she watched her brother dance. She smiled when the song changed to 'Mysterious Ways' By U2.

Dakota waited anxiously for Cass to arrive at the small bar on campus. She looked around nervously, hoping none of the counselors where there as they had snuck out of the dorm separately after curfew to have some fun. 'I hope we don't get caught or my father will pummel me.' She nervously looked around and moved into the darker portion of the bar. She scanned the crowd for her as 'Mysterious Ways' By U2 played on the jukebox. She caught sight of her and smiled happily when Cass looked at her, then waved. She inhaled deeply, excited to be able to spend time alone with her and watched as she made her way through the crowd. She grew more excited the closer she came. She was lost in the moment. She stared adoringly and furrowed her brows when it seemed as if the song slowed down, along with Cass' confident stride when she approached. She watched intently and smiled when Cass stopped in front of her.

"Well, hello sexy." She smiled flirtatiously.

"I was getting nervous that you were busted on your way out of the dorm."

"Nah, I'm a pro at sneaking out of places." She smiled with a wink and sat down as did Dakota.

"You are a naughty girl aren't you?" Dakota smiled intrigued by the intriguing woman before her.

"You have no idea." Cass grinned mischievously, staring deeply into her eyes.

Dakota chuckled and looked down, then back up at her. 'Hmmm, I wonder just how naughty you are Cass.' Her heart raced when Cass put her hand on top of hers.

Dakota turned angry when someone bumped into her. "Hey, watch where you're going man!" Her thoughts from long ago were gone.

"Sorry." The guy called out and walked outside.

Dakota chugged the rest of her drink and walked outside for another.

***

"Damn, look at how packed this place is. I hope there is still some alcohol!" Brooke commented when the foursome walked up.

"Well, you're the one that said it was fashionable to be late Brooke." Cass quipped condescending as they made their way through the crowd towards the front door.

"Okay, I was wrong about this one!" She replied defensively and rolled her eyes exasperated with the three women who had nagged her all the way there about being late.

"You got that right honey! You should have listened to me. I told you it would be this way!" Michelle chuckled and poked Brooke in the ribs playfully. She opened the front door. "Whoa!" She tried to figure out a path through the crowded living room. She grabbed Brooke's hand and weaved through the crowd. "I'm so excited about you meeting my best friend Chad." She smiled when she looked back at Brooke.

"I look forward to meeting him." Brooke smiled and followed her through the crowded room.

Cass and Mary were blocked from getting through. "I think we might be stuck here." Cass smiled when she looked at Mary.

"I don't think I've ever seen so many people in one house before."

Cass saw Brooke across the room and motioned to her for a drink. She saw Brooke flash the okay sign and waited for their return.

Brooke found the bar and made Cass a screwdriver, then followed Michelle outside to the keg. "Hey, Dakota! Great party."

"Hey, Michelle, Brooke. Glad to see you could make it." Dakota held the spout of the keg and Michelle put a cup under it. Dakota filled up their cups.

Brooke took one of the cups and stepped away from the keg waiting for Michelle.

"Thanks. Where is Chad?" Michelle smiled and looked around for him.

Dakota looked around and didn't see him. "I'm not sure. He's probably doing the social butterfly thing, but if I see him I'll send him your way." Dakota smiled and filled up Michelle's glass with beer. 'If Brooke is here then so is Cass.' She grinned happily and felt a nervous sensation in her stomach that she would soon see Cass.

"Thanks." She smiled and joined Brooke for their arduous trip back through the crowd.

Brooke and Michelle finally made it back to where Cass was standing. "Here." Brooke held out her drink. "Where did Mary go?"

Cass moved closer to Brooke so she could hear her over the loud music. "She had to use the bathroom."

Continued…

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January 2005