Tommy Grayson was 23, 6'2" tall, weighed 210, had dark blonde hair clipped close in a USMC style and he was undoubtedly the best quarterback the college had seen in 15 years. Everyone said he had it made in the shade with his full-ride scholarship and having rich parents didn't hurt either. Tommy was one of the few students that didn't need a part-time job because he got his spending money from his mother. Not a fortune, but certainly enough to drink a little on the weekends and to eat well the rest of the week.
Right now, the muscular young man was in trouble, deep trouble and he well knew it as he stood in front of Coach Higg's plain metal desk. The coach was scanning the papers strewn across his desk, completely ignoring the young man but every time Tommy tried to speak, the older man would just raise a finger and Tommy would fall silent.
Coach Higg had turned this school around in the five years since he'd signed on as head coach of the football team. The first year, they missed the state playoffs by only one game but the school had taken that championship every year after that. By the third year they were winning regional championships as well and this year it looked like they might get into a Bowl game. Of course this meant big money to the university, which gave the coach almost unlimited power.
The ex-Drill Sergeant turned football coach also demanded complete obedience from his players and ran the team like a precise military unit. He never demanded respect; he earned it the old-fashioned way. Being a man of his word, courteous, always polite yet firm, he accepted nothing less from his players.
Finally he looked up and sighed. "What the fuck is going on in that head of yours, Knothead? You want to get benched right before the biggest game in this schools history?"
"Of course not, Coach," Tommy answered. "It was just..."
"I don't want to hear any fucking excuses! You know what the maximum effective range of an excuse is, doncha?"
"Zero meters."
"So, you were actually listening enough to remember that much! Trouble is, you forgot it when it mattered. Now, let's try it again and this time, tell me what the fuck happened, not what you was hoping to happen or why."
"Coach, I'm not that good in Algebra and I've been getting help with my homework since I've been here. This quarter, I got a new professor in Algebra 3 and he doesn't give as many points for homework as the last one. Now it's almost all exams and I have to do them by myself, so I did pretty badly at mid-terms."
"So you've been cheating for 2 years and now you got caught, is what you're telling me?"
"It's not like that, Coach! I did the work myself, but I had someone there talk me thru the steps is all. I accepted the grades I got which really fucked up my GPA, but it all averaged out okay and I could maintain the minimum to stay on the team."
The older man looked at Tommy for several seconds before he replied. "I'll help you all I can, but don't get your hopes up too high. For now, you're riding the bench and before you say anything, be glad you get to still be carried on the team roster. You will attend every practice and all the games either home or away, but you won't be taking the field. I had to talk my ass off to get you that much and besides which, we only have 60 days until finals. Now get out of here and let me think."
After the young man had left, Coach Higg lit a cigar and sneaked a shot of Jack from his bottom desk drawer before he picked up the phone and called home.
"Hello, Pegs," he growled when his sister, Peggy, answered on the third ring.
"Hey, Carl. I'm glad you called. I wanted to ask you what you wanted for dinner tonight and forgot to phone you this morning."
"Anything is fine and I'll be home around 6, or I can pick something up in town and bring it with me. You shouldn't have to cook for your brother."
"Carl, stop it. We've been over this before. You know I like fussing over you and I get so depressed sitting around my own place since, you know, that night, and I'd rather stay here with you."
"I know," the older man sighed. "Now for the reason I called. How much of your college algebra do you remember?"
"I remember enough to help one of your players," Peggy laughed. "Carl, you're so transparent it's almost comical. You know I'm always willing to help any way I can."
"Great, then I'll explain everything over dinner, okay?"
"That'd be great, and if you want salad with your meal, stop by the store and grab some lettuce, carrots, dressing, and..."
It was the coach's turn to laugh. "Peg, you're just like our mother. Fer Christ's sake, I'm almost 55 and I damn sure know what all goes in a salad." He also knew that asking if he wanted a salad, which was one thing he never ate, was code for "I want a salad but I'm not going to come right out and ask for a salad so you'd better read my mind if you know what's good for you!"
They both laughed and he grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair as he dropped the handset into the cradle. Checking to make sure everything was locked up nice and tight, he hurried to the locker room to see if any of the players were still around.
He was in luck; the place was deserted except for Tommy and Eric so it wasn't too difficult to motion for Tommy to join him for a quick, private conversation.
"This is just between you and me, Knothead. You want to stay on the team, right?"
"You know it, Coach," the young man quickly replied.
"Then be at my place for dinner tonight at 6 sharp. Not no fucking 6:15 either. I eat at 6 and I expect you to be there on time. I've got you a tutor and you will improve your grades. On your own and by yourself, you'll learn your math because my sister will be teaching you."
"Coach, I don't know what to say."
"Say 'Thank you, Coach' and that'll do it for me, Knothead."
"Thank you, Coach," said the young man with a grateful smile. "I'll see you at 6 sharp and thank you for keeping this between us, I don't want the other guys to know I need a tutor."
Coach Hibb didn't say anything, but he grunted and thought that the young man was in for a big surprise later tonight. As far as he knew, none of the players had ever met his sister. They weren't exactly in the same age group and Peggy was married. Or had been married until 8 months ago when she caught her husband fucking around on her, she'd filed the papers that Monday and the divorce had been quick and as painless as possible under the circumstances. Peggy had gotten the house, the car, and all the furniture, for all the good it did her because she probably slept over at his place half the time. It was probably best they'd never had children, so that was one less worry, thankfully. He loved his sister, but that didn't mean he wanted his 37 year-old sister practically living with him either.
He liked being a bachelor and he liked different women in his bed when ever he felt like he needed a change and he damn sure liked smoking a fucking cigar in his own fucking house! That's why he had decided to try his hand at matchmaking and that had given birth to this master plan to get his sister laid so she'd quit moping around and get back to her own house and her own life. Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. Get his star player back and get his own house back too boot.
When he answered the door at 5:55, Coach Higg knew he'd made the right call with using Tommy's algebra problem as an excuse. The tall young man was actually dressed in a dark suit and you could tell he'd even gotten a fresh haircut that afternoon.
Tommy had debated on wearing jeans and a t-shirt, which was his usual attire, but he knew Coach was big on manners and besides, he liked Coach Higg and he wanted to make a good impression on his sister. Expecting some old, frumpy-looking woman, kind of a twin to Coach type of woman, Tommy was really glad he'd dressed nice when he first saw Coach Higg's sister.
Peggy hadn't really dressed-up, this was the way she always looked, like she just stepped from the pages of a fashion magazine. She was just as tall as her brother, but where he was dark haired with a huge, hooked nose, she had reddish-blonde curls cut to her shoulders, the prettiest blue eyes you've ever seen, and although she was a bigger woman, she certainly had all the right curves in all the right places. Her blouse and skirt were cut to accent those same curves to the best advantage but Peggy didn't need help to be beautiful, she was a natural.
