Lady in Red Ch. 09

"This is my very best friend, Charlotte, and that hunk next to her is Billy Marsh. He's the guy that pulled Steve out of the river that day. Be sure to have some really strong, handsome stud play his part in the movie," insisted Gwen.

Billy invited them to join Charlotte and him and the group gladly accepted. When the dinner was finished, Billy's father came to the table to tell them the meal was on the house, providing he could take a picture of the group and have it framed and placed on a wall in the restaurant.

"I'll put it on the wall next to the others," promised Billy's dad as everyone turned to look where Mr. Marsh was pointing. Gwen was shocked to see a large framed photo of a dripping wet Billy Marsh pulling Steve from the river as an equally wet Gwen hovered over his shoulder. Luckily, most of her chest was concealed by Billy, but there was still ample cleavage showing. Next to that picture was one of Billy bowling over a Windsor defender as Steve, his jersey soaked with blood, was releasing "The Pass". Each photo had a name plate below it. The first stated simply "The Emerson River Rescue" while the second one said "The Pass, The Drive".

"Wow!" exclaimed Nick. "That is so cool! I'm going to mention these to our producers. I bet they'd be able to incorporate it into the movie. You guys never mentioned these pictures on the wall."

"One reason is that we never knew they were there. I was in a few days ago and never saw them," admitted Gwen. 'When did you put them up, Mr. Marsh? They're awesome!"

"It took a little while to get the exact pictures we wanted and have them enlarged properly. Then the wife insisted on getting just the right frames. They were hung yesterday. We bought a bunch more frames since you kids seem to make news quite often and we have lots of wall space. This town is awfully proud of you, and people love these photographs. I'm thinking that wall will become an historical record of the great things our kids accomplish."

By week's end, Gwen and Monique were quite good friends. Steve and Nick got along famously as well. They had spent their days walking around town and talking to locals about their feelings and observations on the events the day Billy helped Gwen pull Steve from the cold waters of Emerson River. After school, the four would visit places of interest in the area and discuss in detail the thoughts and fears that drove Steve and Gwen that fateful day. They spent an evening checking out the local hospital and speaking with Laura.

In early December, Steve had received an invitation to a high school football combine of sorts being conducted at Lisa's college at the state capital. Colleges contracted with a company to measure the skills of possible scholarship candidates. Several teammates of Steve's had been invited. Billy Marsh, Jared White, and Tyler Smith were excited about the opportunity to display their talents and possibly secure a scholarship.

The four friends made plans to drive to the capital on a Friday night and rent a couple motel rooms. They'd work out for the scouts Saturday, spend another night in the motel, and drive home Sunday. They all agreed to go to bed early Friday to be at their best for the combine the following day.

The next morning Steve and his friends reported to the practice field at the school. It had what looked like a big inflated tent over it and was surprisingly comfortable inside. The friends recognized players from teams that they had faced during the season. The first order of business was weight lifting. Each athlete was asked to demonstrate how much they could bench press, dead lift, and military press, all in repetitions of twenty.

Then they were timed in the 40-yard dash. Each player was allowed three attempts. There were drills to determine flexibility and balance. All results were recorded. Then the athletes were broken into groups based on their playing position. Steve found himself with seven other guys near the center of the field. They were asked to throw a football through a tire hanging 20 yards away. They were each given ten attempts. Steve easily tossed the ball through the tire all ten times. After the last kid finished, they were backed up ten yards to try again. Once again, Steve had no misses.

Then the tires were set in motion, swinging back and forth as the hopefuls attempted to put the ball through the tire. At thirty yards, Steve missed once. He was backed up to forty yards and he managed to make six of the ten. By this time, the other players were missing far more than they were hitting.

At the end of the day, each player was weighed and measured. By the time the friends returned to the motel, they were famished. The lunch provided by the combine had burned off by their efforts to impress the scouts. After quick showers, they headed out for dinner. They found a decent chain restaurant a short distance from the campus.

After a short wait, Steve and his friends found themselves seated near players from the Windsor team they had defeated for the state title. They shared some friendly bantering while waiting to be served their dinners. The conversation would halt every time a coed or two sauntered past the table, and resume once the girls were out of earshot.

"Oh, my God!" groaned the linebacker from Windsor that Billy had blocked on the last play of the championship game. "I think I'm in love!"

The guys knew that was his way of stating that some very attractive girls were going to pass their table, so everyone went silent as they waited for the eye candy to walk by.

"Steve!" cried an excited Lisa as she forced her shapely ass into his lap and hugged him. "I heard you studs were going to be up my way, but I didn't expect to see you at a restaurant. I thought a bunch of good-looking guys like you would be out at a club or something, breaking poor college girls' hearts. How are you doing, Tyler, Jared, Billy?"

"I'd be doing a lot better if you were in my lap instead of Steve's," joked Jared. "You sure look good, Lisa!"

"Thank you, kind sir," laughed Lisa. "I don't think a girl would be safe on your lap, Jared. Even Steve seems to be doing a lot of fidgeting at the moment."

Steve blushed at Lisa's observation. He knew she had to feel his growing erection and she was teasing him. The other guys all broke into hearty laughter at Lisa's comment.

"My friends are waiting for me, guys, so I have to pry myself off this hunk and go join them. Say 'hello' to Charlotte for me Billy. Don't tell Gwen I was on your lap, Steve. That way I won't have to tell her how uncomfortable you were," grinned Lisa as she hurried to join her friends.

"Wow!" exclaimed the linebacker from Windsor. "You know that hot babe? She sure seems to know you, but there was no excuse for you making her uncomfortable, you lout!"

While the guys were eating, Steve received a text from Gwen. "Lisa wants you to be at 'Crazy Horse' on Broad Street at 9. Be ready to test drive your dance!"

Steve had no trouble convincing the guys to go clubbing as long as they were in a college town. They had to keep to the ones that catered to the under 21 crowd, but there were more than a few of them. Half the population of the university was under 21. Somehow they found themselves going into the 'Crazy Horse' a little before nine.

A few minutes later, Lisa caught Steve's eye and nodded to him. Then she went over to the man at the controls of the sound system and spoke to him for a minute. When the next song was over, he made an announcement.

"I have a special request by a lovely young lady. It seems that she has a special dance and has asked me to play her song so she and her partner can show you all just how to cut a rug. Without further ado, here's Bryan Adams singing 'Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?' with our own Lisa Anderson with some random guy."

Lisa flashed a brilliant smile as she stepped into the center of the dance floor and beckoned Steve. She was dressed in a decidedly Spanish style with a low cut top that exposed both shoulders and more than a little cleavage. As the music began, the two came together and began their dance. The first time Steve lifted Lisa up and held her with one hand as she extended her body full length, the crowd gasped and then broke into a huge cheer. Applause and cheering went on for the rest of the dance.

Steve did the last lift shortly before the end of the song and slowly lowered Lisa until his face was even with hers as Bryan Adams asked "have you ever really, really, really, ever loved a woman?" Lisa was beaming as she gave Steve a quick kiss and then waved to the crowd as Steve gently placed her feet on the floor.

"That was so damned hot!" exclaimed Jared. "I have got to learn how to do that!"

"What will Gwen say when she hears about you and her sister?" asked Tyler. "That dance must be illegal in a few states! What if Gwen finds out about it?"

"Unless I miss my guess, she watched it live," laughed Steve as he pointed to several of Lisa's friends with cameras, smart phones and i Pads in their hands. "Gwen's the one that suggested it."

The following weekend was Christmas, so school was scheduled to finish on Thursday at noon. By Tuesday afternoon, Steve had received several phone calls from college football coaches wanting to recruit him. He kept the information to himself. Rumors were circulating that Jared was headed to the Big Ten, while Billy and Tyler were being recruited by Division II schools. Signing day would be in early February and the recruits were urged to not reveal their choices until that day.

"I hear all these rumors about what schools are offering scholarships to different guys, but no one has any idea where you're going, Steve. Everyone knows you must be getting calls. Billy said that you totally blew the other quarterbacks away last week. You were even able to hold a blonde bombshell over your head with one hand. He said the scouts were shaking their heads in amazement," revealed Charlotte as Steve, Gwen, and several friends were dining at Marsh's Landing. "Can you give us a hint?"

"I've had a few calls, but, to be honest, I'm waiting to see if I can get into the Naval Academy. My father and my grandfather were in the Navy. I plan on following the family tradition. I'd love to do it as an officer if I could."

"But you could get a scholarship to a good university. There's no need to risk your life in the service, or waste four years on a boat," argued Gwen. "Maybe you could go to Stanford with me! Wouldn't that be better than the Navy?"

"I don't feel that my father wasted his life; nor did my grandfather. The Navy's in my blood and I've already decided to join. You've planned on going to Stanford and being a doctor for a long time. It's your dream and your future. I respect that decision and I would hope that you'd respect mine and be as pleased for me as I am for you," reasoned Steve.

"But I'm going to be saving lives, and I won't be putting myself in danger. You'll be in danger and possibly taking lives. Don't you think that my goals are more practical?" demanded Gwen.

"Do you think that doctors have saved more lives than the Navy? This is a strange discussion. I have the utmost respect for doctors and believe that you'll be one of the best. I would hope that you'd have respect for the service people give and the sacrifices they make for our freedom."

"I do respect people that serve in the military. It's just that it's dangerous and you don't have to do it. They have lots of people in the Navy already. They wouldn't miss you."

"And they have lots of doctors, Gwen. If you don't go to med school, someone else will and there'll still be the same number of doctors. Will you make a difference? I'm sure of it. But I think I'll make a difference, too. Can you see what I mean? I don't want to argue about this."

"Oh, Steve! You'll be the best at whatever you decide to do. If your mind is made up, I'll be your strongest supporter. I didn't mean to belittle your decision. I'm so proud of you, I can hardly stand it. I was just being selfish and thinking about what I wanted for me. And what I wanted for you that would work the best for me. I bet you'll look great in uniform, sailor!" admitted Gwen as she wrapped her arms around Steve and hugged him.

"I'm glad that's settled," sighed Charlotte. "I was worried that I had started an argument between Sparta's two best known students. Are you going to be a Navy SEAL?"

"Oh no!" began Gwen before she turned to Steve again. "You are, aren't you? Well, you'd better take good care of yourself because I expect you to be around for a long time. You'll be the best SEAL ever!"

It was three days before Christmas and Steve stopped at the Andersons' home to see Gwen. Paula and Ted were preparing to go shopping and Kate was going to visit her friend down the street.

"You kids can heat up a frozen pizza, or go out to eat. Ted and I'll pick up something for ourselves while we're shopping. We should be home a little while after the stores close," offered Paula as Ted pretended to cringe.

Shortly after her family left, Gwen led Steve to the recliner and pushed him down before dropping into his lap. "I've waited forever to get you alone. I don't know how many hints I had to drop to Mom to take Dad shopping with her."

Steve silenced Gwen with a smoldering kiss. It worked so well, he gave her another. Gwen moaned into his mouth as she took his left hand and placed it on her breast. Steve needed no further invitation and slowly began to massage her breast and swollen nipple through her clothes. Gwen then started undoing her blouse buttons.

When she finished her chore, Gwen stopped kissing Steve long enough to whisper," My bra unhooks in front. Why don't you unwrap a couple of your Christmas presents"

Once again, Steve understood what Gwen was offering. He fumbled briefly, but managed to unhook Gwen's bra and release her incredible breasts. He moved both hands up her torso and cupped her gently. Then he slowly rolled her nipples between his fingers.

"Oh, Steve! I've wanted you to do that for a long time. Please don't stop!" gasped Gwen.

"There's no danger of that," replied Steve with emotion. "You're so beautiful, so sexy, and so smart. I'm really falling for you big time. I think about you all the time we're apart. I'd do anything for you."

"Will you sit here and hold me like this and kiss me, even if I'm not ready to go any farther?" asked Gwen as she nibbled on Steve's lip.

"I'd hold you like this forever, Gwen. Your breasts are perfect. Can I kiss them a little?" asked Steve.

"Not really. I want you to kiss them a lot!" replied Gwen. "My 'girls' have been looking forward to this for a long time, so take your time and treat them right."

Steve and Gwen lost track of time as they lost themselves in each other. Steve was tugging on Gwen's nipples while kissing her when a voice shocked them both back to reality.

"You've got to check your text messages! Mom and Dad are on their way home!" warned Kate as Gwen quickly refastened her bra and buttoned her blouse. "Mom texted me after you didn't answer her messages to you. She told me to hurry home and let you know they'd be here by quarter after eight and that's only a minute from now. She must have known that you'd be embarrassed if they came home early and surprised you. I don't want to even think what Dad would have done!"

"Thanks, Kate! Why don't you go to your room and act like you've been there awhile. Steve and I'll go shoot some pool," suggested Gwen as she pulled Steve toward the pool table.

Gwen had just managed to spread the balls around the table and pick up a cue stick when her parents walked into the room.

"She's pretty good, isn't she, Steve?" greeted Ted from the doorway. "She's the best player in the family."

"Yes, sir. She's very good," agreed Steve as he knocked the cue ball into a random ball on the table while Ted turned and walked into the kitchen.

"I tried to keep him shopping longer, but he finally insisted that we come home," revealed Paula with a smile as she walked up to Gwen and began fiddling with her buttons. "Somehow, you seem to have buttoned your blouse crooked. I didn't notice it before we left. I would have saved you and Steve the embarrassment of spending the entire evening with a blouse not buttoned properly. You spent a lot of effort getting me to take your father shopping, young lady. So I talked him into going with me. I'd think that the least you would do in return is watch your text messages, regardless of how distracted you may become. It could save us all some trouble."