Steve Taylor was an all-star. All-star in high school in Richmond where he was the starting quarterback his junior and senior years. He led the Falcons to two consecutive undefeated seasons those years. With his charm, talent, and good looks, his parents knew that he would go far in life.
When he graduated, Steve had scholarship offers all over the country. He decided on the University of Virginia. Going to college in Charlottesville, he was away from home, but close enough to go back there on weekends during winter and spring when there was no football to hold him on campus. Plus, Steve loved the beach. Mom and Dad owned a condo near Virginia Beach that they spent a lot of time there together over the years.
Now a senior at UVA, Steve was "the man" on campus. He could have just about any girl he wanted, but Steve was true blue and in love with Cheryl, his girlfriend of the last few years. They met as freshmen and have been inseparable ever since. They had plans for marriage soon after graduation, but no definite date for the wedding. Steve was too intent on playing his best this season and on his NFL draft chances soon after.
The biggest problem that Steve faced was getting to know his new coach, Derek Anderson. Ray Davis, the coach at UVA for the last 30 years, decided to retire after last season. That decision really disappointed Steve, because he and Coach Davis were great friends. Steve had so much respect for Coach Davis that he was almost like a father to him. Coach Anderson came to UVA after 6 years at Miami of Ohio University. Coach Anderson was the first black coach that Steve ever played for in his whole high school and college career. Not that that was a problem, it's just that...as a white quarterback surrounded by mostly black athletes, Steve felt somewhat better having a white coach to mentor him. Even though he was a senior, there were some very talented quarterbacks on the team, all of them black.
It was the middle of July and the team had their first week of drills with their new coach. It was a terribly hot and humid week in Charlottesville and the players were put through some exhaustingly tiring workouts. Thursday morning Steve had his first real chance to talk with Coach Anderson. Steve stopped by Coach's office early to see if he was in. Luckily, he was there doing some planning for the day.
"Hey, coach, good morning" Steve yelled as he walked down the hall.
"Hey, quarterback! Nice work yesterday. Seems like you and Carter have a good thing going" Derek called back after looking out of his office. Darrell Carter is Steve's favorite receiver, fast, great moves, great hands, and runs well with the ball.
"Coach, I need to ask you something...I know you're gonna want us to hang around here this weekend, but..." Steve said as he stuck his head in.
"I never said that you had to be here this weekend. I said that we had practice to 5 tomorrow. What you do between 5 tomorrow and 8 on Monday morning is up to you."
"Great. My girlfriend is in France with her parents and I'm heading for the beach. My mom and dad have a condo at Virginia Beach and I'll be out of here Friday nite."
"Only if you take me with you" laughed Coach Anderson.
"Really? Would you like to come? That would be great, my parents love to have company at the beach". Steve immediately thought this would be a great way to get to know Coach Anderson right away.
"Well, I really don't have anything going, so if you're inviting, I'm accepting" answered Coach Anderson. "The only thing is...for the weekend at least, call me Derek, not Coach Anderson. Deal?"
"Deal". Steve knew that if he wanted any shot at a pro career, he couldn't let any of the young guns get a shot at quarterback ahead of him. Not now. If he could get in the new coach's good graces, it couldn't hurt.
Coach Anderson and his star quarterback left soon after they showered and picked up dinner on the road. The 4 hour trip to the beach in Steve's car gave them plenty of time to talk. Steve told Derek all about his relationship with Coach Davis, about how close they were. He told him about Cheryl and their plans after college. Steve told him about his family. His overworked father who is a pharmacist in Richmond, his mother the social butterfly who spends most of her time at the country club, and his little sister, the Community College underachiever. Derek got the idea that Steve was the one in the family who got most of the attention.
Derek shared a lot of himself with Steve, too. His track and football career at Alabama State. His 2 years as assistant coach at University of Kentucky. His 6 years as head coach at Miami of Ohio. His recently failed marriage...
At 33, Derek had already been married and divorced twice, both black women. He told Steve all about his past marriage problems, showing a side of himself that not many students saw. What he didn't tell Steve was his love of white women. During his marrage to Tonya, Derek had relationships with many white girls...and had sexual adventures with all of them.
Six months ago the recent divorce was final. What caused the divorce was that his wife found out that Derek was having an affair with a secretary at Miami...a young, white, single secretary in the administrative office named Beth. He had a great thing going with her...until Tonya found out. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Tonya took their two kids and moved to Chicago to live with her parents. Derek took the job offer at UVA, moved to Charlottesville, and didn't have a date since the divorce.
They arrived at the condo about 10:30 and the only one still up was Stephanie, Steve's mom. She was expecting Steve but didn't know that he was bringing a guest.