“Oh, no, you can’t blame yourself,” said Lexi, putting a hand on mine. Her touch was fucking electrifying. “You’re a good son. You got her into rehab and you risked your career to take care of her.”
“Yeah, but she was worried about me. That worry drove her back to the bottle.”
“Parents worry about their children, Kyle. There’s nothing you can do about that. You’ll worry about your kids some day.”
“Yeah, I will. You’re right,” I smiled. “You’re always right, Lexi.”
We goofed around a little, but I was in total agreement.
“I want kids one day,” I said. “What about you? You think you’ll have kids?”
“Yeah, I’d like to have kids, I think,” she said. “Can’t imagine it now though. I feel like I am still a kid, ya know? Even taking care my dad— I mean, that forced me to grow up, but— I’d like some wild times too, ya know?”
“You keep following the team, you’ll see some wild shit,” I told her. “I guarantee it.”
“Like the stories from last night?”
“Yeah, when the team goes out to party it can get out of hand.”
“Where do you guys go?”
“Dance clubs, strip clubs sometimes.”
“Ah, ha!” she said, pretending to have nailed me in a scandal.
“I’m not a big strip club guy, honest. I swear!” I laughed. “That’s like, going to a buffet where you can’t eat the food.”
“I know, right? My girlfriends dragged me to a male strip club for a bachelorette party? It was so dumb.”
“Ah, ha!” I countered.
“No, no. The guys who strip are good looking, but it’s just not my kind of thing,” she said, wrinkling her nose in disdain.
“I feel the same way about the female strippers,” I agreed.
“I just can’t even imagine dating a stripper. Does he come home all oily?” she laughed. “Like the shower drain would be choked with glitter!”
“This one time, we were on the road and I was rooming with Shenk, a linebacker,” I said, starting to tell the story. “He brings this girl back and they’re both drunk. I’m pretty sure she was a stripper, but I wasn’t positive.”
“Was she wearing tassels on her breasts?” laughed Lexi.
“She was well endowed, let’s put it that way!” I said. “So I have a big day the next morning. I can’t miss or be late for a practice, so there’s no way I’m getting out of bed. I just pretend to be asleep.”
“Oh, my God!”
“Yeah, I had to! Coach would cut me if I missed a practice.”
“And he just let you lie there?”
“Oh, he tried to wake me up to get me out of there,” I explained. “He kind of drunk punched me a little and said to get out, but I just pretended to keep snoring.”
Lexi laughed. She had a great laugh.
“Now they start getting undressed,” I said. “I could hear clothes coming open and landing on the floor and her bra lands right across my face. As soon as that happens, I know she’s a stripper because they’re always bathed in body oil that smells like some kind of fruit so they smell good for the customers on a lap dance, after getting all sweaty dancing on stage.”
“Oh, God, what did you do?”
“Well, at first I just lied there, but they start having sex and it’s loud. Like way too loud for people in the next room, much less me who is supposed to be asleep!”
Lexi snorted, she was laughing so hard.
“So I pretend to roll over to get the bra off me and it works and falls to the floor,” I explained. “But now I’m facing his bed and I can see in the dark them moving up and down. They are in the middle of a serious 69.”
She laughed and began to blush.
“After a few minutes, finally they finish each other. She’s done moaning and he’s done moaning,” I explain. “She turns the light on and he lifts his head up and coughs. Glitter shoots out of his mouth and all over the room. And I’m like, holy crap, this girl’s pussy is full of glitter! She has to be a stripper.”
“Oh, my God! I can’t breathe,” laughed Lexi.
“She turns, sees that I’m awake and asks me if I want a ride,” I said, wrapping up the story. “I’m just like, lady, I got practice tomorrow. And that is just some fucked up shit. So I shut off the light and went back to sleep.”
You know that feeling you get when you banter back and forth with someone and it just works? That’s what I was getting from Lexi. It was effortless. We were like best friends in two sentences.
We spent the next half hour making jokes about strippers and dating other people with weird jobs. I wanted to stay longer, but I had to get to a players meeting. No way I could miss it being on probation with the coach for my prior incident in which I exhibited very bad decision making. I paid the check and walked her to her car.
“Lexi, I gotta say, I just had the best time with you.”
“Yeah, it was great,” she smiled. “I really enjoyed hanging out with you too, Kyle.
“This might sound weird, but I haven’t dated a lot.”
“I know. Me neither. I’m actually— Well, nevermind.”
“What?”
“No, it’s kind of embarrassing.”
“It’s okay, but if you don’t want to—"
“I’m a virgin.”
“Oh.”
“Is that weird?”
I honestly didn’t know how to respond to that. I guess I paused a little too long.
“Sorry, I’m sorry,” she said, embarrassed.
“No-no-no, it’s not weird. I just didn’t know what to say,” I admitted. “It’s not weird. It’s just…rare. I think it makes you special.”
I had had to watch what I said because I was so fucking excited. My cock was getting so hard, thinking of being the first one to ever fuck her. I really wanted to see her again. But I didn’t want to look so fucking eager.
“Oh, you’re so sweet.”
She leaned in and I leaned in and we kissed. This kiss was better than a hundred touchdowns. It was like a shock. Like being tackled out of nowhere. We lost track of time. It felt like we were standing on the street for just hours kissing. It may have been a moment or a thousand years, I wouldn’t have known. Finally, we pulled back.
“Wow,” she said.
“Yeah, wow,” I said back.
He phone rang. I could see on her phone screen it was Carey.
“I’ll get it later,” she dismissed.
“No, it’s okay. I need a second to calm down.”
She glanced down. I was at full mast. I mean, I was rock hard. She tried not to laugh. I turned away and hid my junk behind her car. A few people walked by and I tried to think of baseball. I liked to think of things I didn’t like when trying to get rid of a boner. And I had never liked baseball. What a boring sport, compared to football. Definitely an excitement killer.
“Hey Carey,” greeted Lexi. “Oh, you want to have dinner with me?”
I gestured to her. If I was going to win her, I wanted to win her fair and square.
“I’m not jealous, go ahead,” I told her.
“But, why?”
“Because I’m going to win your heart and I want there to be no question you’re with the right man. You go ahead. Have dinner with crazy Carey.”
“Uh, yeah, I am free for dinner tonight, Carey,” she said continuing her conversation. “Seven works. I’ll see you then.”
I kissed her again just to be sure. Yep. Fireworks again.
“I know my teammates are interested in you. But I’m gonna win you,” I vowed to her. “I want there to be no question in your mind.”
“You’re a very surprising man, Kyle Fowler.”
“And you’re a very beautiful and sweet woman, Lexi Aaron. Call me after you dinner?”
“I will.”
“Talk to you then.”
Chapter 6 – Lexi
I couldn’t believe Kyle told me to go to dinner with Carey. I figure
d they must’ve been really fighting over me. It sounded like friendly enough competition, right? Right? I was never in a love triangle— or love square, or whatever this was.
Sitting in my car, just after Kyle left, I was contemplating what to wear when Jackson called. I almost was afraid to answer. He had to be asking me out like the others. The question was, would I have to pick one over the other? I mean, if he asked me out to dinner, what was I going to say?
“Hey Jackson,” I greeted.
“Lexi, how are you this fine day?”
“Good, what’s up?”
“You wanna go to the zoo?”
That was an unexpected invitation.
“The zoo? When?”
“Today. Right now. I’m sponsoring a Save the Tigers exhibit there and I can get us backstage to see the cats before anyone else.”
“Oh, my God! I love tigers. I belong to a group that raises money to save— Wait a minute, did you read my network profile on the Sports Ring website?”
“Yes, but I still love animals. Why do you think I’m a vegetarian?”
“Is this a date?”
“Yes.”
“I have to tell you, I really want to come, but I just left a lunch date with Kyle.”
“That’s fine.”
“You’re cool with that?”
“Kyle’s one of my best friends. Of course I’m cool with that. You cool with a date? I mean, you didn’t marry him, did you?”
“You know what? I am cool with it. Why not? And also, I’m going on a date with Carey too.”
“Terrific. Meet me at the tiger cages at the zoo and bring your pith helmet.”
I drove to the outskirts of Philadelphia where the zoo was located. The entire ride I was psyching myself up. I mean, I was riding pretty high already, but I wanted to make sure all three first dates went well.
“Listen to you, three first dates. No man to speak of, now you’re juggling so many you’re going to need Google scheduler to keep them straight,” I said to myself in the car. “This must be what the guys feel like on the road with their football groupies. It’s weird, but it’s also pretty exhilarating to be in such demand!”
I parked my car and went inside. Jackson had arranged for me to be let in on a special pass. One of the zookeepers brought up to the tiger exhibit where Jackson was waiting for me.
“Thanks, Dave,” he said to the zookeeper. “Lexi, thanks so much for coming. You look amazing. Did you get your hair done?”
“No, but thank you,” I said. “I’m getting a lot of compliments today.”
“I’ll bet you get a lot of compliments every day,” replied Jackson.
“What got you into animal conservation?”
“Growing up on a farm, I was around animals all the time,” he explained. “You get to know them. They have real emotions and personality up close. People that don’t see animals every day forget that.”
“I know, right? It’s like they see them as props in a movie or in their lives.”
“My dad always raised me to protect the weak. Animals can’t protect themselves in the modern world. It’s up to people like us to do it.”
God, he was like a modern day Tarzan. Built like one too!
We went into the tiger enclosure. The big cats were lounging around. A mother tiger was playing with her cubs.
“These cubs were born here not too long ago. It cost a zoo a fortune for the breeding program,” explained Jackson. “And as nice as this enclosure is, it’s not nearly big enough. In the wild, tigers roam 30 miles a day. Philadelphia has a great program, but the zoo is old and it needs more space.”
“You gonna buy up half of Philadelphia and knock it down?” I joked.
“It’s not such a crazy idea,” said Jackson. “There are something like 40,000 abandoned properties in Philadelphia alone.”
“Are you saying that with the right kind of city planning, they can build a tiger preserve here?”
“Why not? All it takes is money and the will,” said Jackson. “Maybe it’s not feasible, but if no one suggests it, we’ll never know.”
“You’re optimism is contagious, Jackson,” I said, smiling.
“Well, I’ve come a long way,” he explained. “My folks sacrificed everything so I can be here.”
“Family means a lot to you, huh?”
“Family is everything. You know what I’m saying. You sacrificed to help your dad.”
“Yeah. I almost feel guilty having my own place now.”
“How’s he getting on?”
“He’s good. After a few years, practice in the wheelchair, adding the ramp—
he gets around pretty good in his neighborhood. My cousins check in on him regularly now that I’m working full time.”
“You miss him?”
“Yeah, but we talk every week. You talk to your parents?”
“Oh, jeez, if I didn’t call my mom on Sundays, I’d never hear the end of it!” laughed Jackson.
“She a church goer?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“My dad too. I never thought about those traditional values when I was growing up, but a lot of people these days don’t have them.”
“I don’t know about that. I think there are a lot of ways of looking at the world. Each person looks at it a little differently.”
“I guess as long as you’re living your life and not hurting anyone.”
“Or the tigers,” he added. “Take a look at this tiger over here. He’s a Southern China tiger. It’s one of the rarest in the world.”
“Wow, I’ve heard about them. No more in the wild, right?”
“Hasn’t been one seen in the wild in 25 years. The only ones that exist are being bred, mostly in Chinese zoos, but we’ve got this one. That’s where a lot of the fundraising money is going.”
“It’s so great you’re using your money to do this. Did you get other members of the team to kick in?”
“I tried. Carey and Kyle made a donation. Not Ringo, of course,” Jackson explained. “Unfortunately, most of the rest of the guys on the team are too caught up in their careers or their lives to care. It’s only when they come to a place like this or hear something on TV that they become even remotely aware.”
We walked around the tiger exhibit. The Philadelphia Zoo had a giant habitrail-type enclosure that allowed some of the tigers to roam the park in giant gated tubes. (Just like gerbils, if gerbils could eat you.)
Jackson showed off another tiger. This one was an Amur tiger otherwise known as a Siberian Tiger.
“He’s seven years old and three hundred pounds,” said Jackson proudly. “They’re just amazing animals. Fit. In their prime, there’s nothing that can stop them.”
“You admire them.”
“I do. I mean, as an athlete, I spent my life toning and pushing my body to the limit. But the tiger? He’s just born that way. Fast. Strong. His natural gifts are everything I had to work for my entire life.”
“Only you don’t rip out the throat of an antelope. You don’t right?”
“Vegetarian,” said Jackson, pointing to himself and reminding. “If anything, I’d make the tastiest meal to that tiger. Vegetarians are the healthiest and tastiest food.”
“How the heck do you manage that?” I had to ask. “I mean, you have to work out, right?”
“I eat a ton of burritos,” said Jackson. “You stuff enough black beans in anything, you hardly miss the meat. Plus I’ve never been healthier.”
“And yet, you admire the tigers who eat nothing but meat,” I pointed out.
“Eating a fresh kill. Kind of a different experience, I’m imagining,” said Jackson. “I mean, back in the day I had some beef tartar. It’s not like eating the cooked stuff.”
“I could never give up Five Guys or Jim’s Steaks,” I admitted. “Sorry.”
“Nah, it’s okay,” assured Jackson. “Vegetarianism isn’t for everyone. I knew some guys back in college that tried it, but didn’t get enough protein. That’s dangerous
. It can mess you up.”
“That’s what I like about you, Jackson,” I said. “You’re always looking out for people.”
“Hey, you want to feed one of the tigers?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Isn’t it dangerous?”
“Nah, I’ve done it. C’mon!”
The zookeepers had fresh meat butchered just for the tigers. They were placed in bloody buckets and then dumped in a trough. But the tigers had a pack mentality, so they would each grab their portion and drag it off somewhere to eat it. With the tigers sectioned off in a different part of the enclosure. I dumped the bloody meat for them in the trough with the other zookeepers. It was kinda of gross, but Jackson cheered me on.
“This is enough to make me consider becoming a vegetarian,” I admitted. “Was that your goal?”
But Jackson was looking frantic now. “Hurry up, Lexi! They let one of the tigers in already.”
I squealed and started running for the exit, but the zookeeper assured me Jackson was just kidding. I got outside and got cleaned up and met Jackson. We talked as the tigers devoured the meat.
“Very funny,” I told him, and he laughed.
“Sorry, couldn’t stop myself.”
“I can’t help but notice you didn’t come into the enclosure with me,” I said.
“Are you kidding? Feeding tigers is a bloody mess. Besides, I already did it once and that was enough.”
“You’re telling me,” I laughed. “This may really put me off of meat forever!”
In the enclosure the seven year-old Amur Tiger tore into a side of beef. Blood soaked the fur on his face as he tore into the flesh with his teeth. In the wild, this would’ve been a hunt lasting for hours. In the zoo, feeding time happened the same time every day; basically like prison.
Finally, it was time to open the exhibit to the waiting public. Dozens of people lined up around the edge of the enclosure to see the tigers. Children pointed, adults explained and everyone gasped as one of the tigers roared. If more people could see these magnificent beasts, maybe they wouldn’t be so endangered.
Jackson and I held hands and walked around the rest of the zoo. They had an amazing Reptile house full of snakes, lizards and other animals I wouldn’t want to find in my bed. Jackson seemed pretty knowledgeable about them too.
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