The Quarterback Ch. 01

The Florida State/Florida rivalry is one of the fiercest in the country. So, it felt great that we had beaten the Gators. Yet, what was really interesting was what happened after. It had been a home game, so after showering, I planned to head back to my room to study for a couple of hours before checking out some of the parties. But as I came out of the locker room, I was shocked to see Melinda waiting for me.

"Hey stranger," she called out. "Too bad you played such a great game. If you hadn't scored, we would have won."

"Yeah, right," I smiled back at her. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't you remember I go to UF?" She laughed.

"Yeah, but this is Tallahassee, not Gainesville."

Melinda laughed again. "I have a car and know how to follow road signs. In case you missed it, several thousand Gator fans were at the game. So, are you going to take me out to dinner or what?"

"Dinner sounds great," I said with a smile. "What are you in the mood for?"

"Catching up with someone I had a crush on in high school," Melinda's smile widened.

"Right," I laughed. "But while we're catching up, what kind of food would you like to eat?"

Chinese was the meal Melinda chose, and we had a fun night. We caught up on what we had been doing since high school. Melinda had become quite the beauty, and I enjoyed all the envious stares I was getting from the guys in the restaurant.

During dinner, I asked her if she was still pissed off at me for messing up her night with Jimmy? She giggled at that and confessed that she had been planning to have sex with him when I screwed up her date. Melinda admitted that back then, she had heard how big black guys were and wanted to find out for herself. I laughed and told her that the big black dick was a myth. Melinda went into hysterics when I started to tell her about all the dicks, I had seen in the locker room. I told her that a few black guys had baseball bats hanging between their legs but most had medium to large hot dogs between theirs. The same was true of the white guys. I told her it was not the size of the love stick but how well someone could use it. My scholarly analysis sent Melissa into hysterics.

After Melinda stopped laughing, she got serious for a bit and admitted that my breaking up her date with Jimmy was the best thing that could have happened that night. Apparently, he hooked up with Sarah Winters, a chubby junior who was totally swept away by Jimmy's bull shit. According to Melinda, Jimmy had sex with Sarah, and she caught a sexually transmitted disease from him.

"God, I would have died if that had been me," Melinda admitted, "and I had to explain that to my dad."

We spent the weekend together and connected, or I thought we did. The Florida game had been our last regular-season game. We had five weeks until we played Alabama in the Cotton Bowl, and I was able to get away each weekend. I spent them with Melinda in Gainesville. A couple of friends went to UF, letting me crash at their apartments. We had a lot of fun, but Melissa and I were just friends, not boyfriend and girlfriend.

We got stomped in the Cotton Bowl, but I got to play the last quarter when we were already down by twenty-eight points. I managed to put together two good drives ending in touchdowns. But Alabama also scored twice in the last quarter, so my little effort meant nothing. Yet, it impressed Melinda, which made me happy.

With football season over, I could spend more time on my studies and Melinda. I was really racking up the mileage between Tallahassee and Gainesville. Yet, the visits were too short, usually only allowing for dinner and maybe some dancing. But then the school year ended, and we were both headed back home. Even though I was long over Gina, I was taking things slow with Melinda. But, by now, I had strong feelings for her and wanted to take the next step in our relationship. We had not slept together, but I hoped that would change during the summer. That was not to be. In fact, our relationship would end very abruptly.

The summer before my senior year, I decided to take a job that would not work me to death or make me stink. Fortunately, I was offered two jobs because of my position with the Seminoles. The first was in Tallahassee, working at the Florida Department of Revenue. Since I was a business major, this would look good on my resume. I was also offered a job at a local Publix grocery store. I know it was only offered because I was a minor local celebrity. Between the two, the job in Tallahassee was the best for me, but I had decided to take the Publix job to stay near Melinda.

I was scheduled to attend an orientation class that Monday, which was supposed to last from 9 am to 5 pm. I had told Melinda that I would pick her up at seven that night for a late dinner. However, since the orientation class only had one other guy and me, we finished everything around noon. I called Melinda to see if she wanted to hang out and have an early dinner, so we could go dancing. However, my calls went to her voice mail.

Unable to get ahold of Melinda, I decided to get some lunch. I was feeling pretty good until I walked into the diner. I almost did not see them in the dark, secluded booth in the back. But when I got closer, I found Jimmy kissing Melinda. He also had his hand in Melinda's blouse with her bra pushed up. It was Gina and Tabor all over again, but this time worse, Melinda had betrayed me with Jimmy Washington.

"Oh, this is just fucking great," I said with venom dripping off each word. "You finally did it, Jimmy. You stole my girlfriend. I hope you two will be very happy together."

"NO!" Melinda yelled while Jimmy just smirked at me. "Jason, it's not what it looks like. Please let me explain."

Why do women always say it's not what it looks like when it is? It looked like my girlfriend was kissing a guy I could not stand while he was fondling one of her tits. Since our last physical encounter, I had grown. I was bigger and stronger than Jimmy, and I knew I could destroy him. But if I did that, I could kiss my scholarship goodbye, so I just left.

As I was driving away, my phone started to blow up with messages from Melinda. I refused to answer any of them. Instead, I called the Florida Department of Revenue and asked if the job offer was still open. They told me it was, but I had to be there by tomorrow, or they would give the job to someone else. My next call was to Publix, and I thanked them for the job offer but told them I had to return to Tallahassee. Since the job had been extended mainly because I was a local celebrity, the manager was not upset that I was bailing out. He even wished me well in the coming season.

At home, I told my mom and dad about my sudden change of plans, packed my bags, and hit the road back to Tallahassee. I had time to think and calm down on the drive back down to Florida. I realized that Melinda and I had never promised to be exclusive; I just assumed it. Hell, we had not even slept together. And since we hadn't promised each other anything, Melinda could do whatever she wanted. Still, it hurt like hell. Jimmy had fucked me over once again. I swore he was going to get his one day.

When I started my job with the Department of Revenue, I quickly learned three things about government. First, it is whom you know or who you are rather than what you know. I was slated to be Florida State's starting quarterback next season. Apparently, this is more important than knowing anything about the job. Then shockingly, I learned that most government employees would not last one day in a real-life job. And lastly, after about a week, I learned that no successful business could ever operate in any way, shape, or form like the government. The waste was enormous, and most people I worked with were lazy with a sense of entitlement. They were pleasant enough, but they were not very productive. And even though they did very little real work, they were forever complaining that they were not paid enough. I, of course, kept my mouth shut.

I learned a lot about how government operates. Despite most employees complaining about their pay, they made considerably more than private-sector employees doing similar work. Not only that, but the government employees had far better benefits. Yes, I was making more money working for the State in a summer job than I could have made working for Publix. Sad, isn't it?

But like I said, I kept my mouth shut and did what they requested, which was damn little. Still, I was treated quite well and taken to lunch frequently by State Senators and Representatives. I had my picture taken with each one. If I were the starting quarterback next season, and we had a winning record, they'd all use the photos in their next election campaigns.

Regardless of how I felt about my job, coming back to Tallahassee had been a good move. All summer, I could train at the Doak Campbell Stadium facilities. Mostly, I worked with weights to strengthen my legs and upper body. However, I discovered that Terry Schuster, a wide receiver from last year, was also back for summer school. So, we started working out three or four times a week. Then we were introduced to Warren Porter, a four-star recruit who had taken early enrollment. He also joined us for our afternoon workouts.

The three of us continued working out together as the summer wore on. Warren was incredibly fast and had good hands. And it was apparent to me that Terry had not had an opportunity to showcase his talents yet. He ran great routes and had great hands. He caught damn near everything I threw to him that summer.

About the second week back in Tallahassee, I realized I had left things unsettled with Melinda. It began to bother me that I had acted so badly, and I did not have the right to be upset. So, I decided to call her, apologize, and end our relationship. Melinda was beautiful, but I did not feel I could trust her.

I was quite nervous when I finally got the courage to make the call.

"Jason?" she answered more like a question.

"Ahh, yeah, it's me. Look, I'm sorry for the way I left things. I really did not have a right to get upset. We never talked about being exclusive, so I just wanted to apologize."

"Jason, there is nothing between Jimmy and me," she said quickly.

"Melinda, it doesn't matter," I did not want to get into that discussion. "I think we should just take a step back. Maybe later down the road, we can start again."

"Jason, I'm going back to UF next week to take a couple of classes," she said hopefully. "Why don't you come down, or I can come up to Tallahassee? We could talk things out."

"I don't think that would be good," I immediately shot that idea down. "I have a lot of things on my plate right now. Maybe after the football season, we can get together if we're still interested. I hate to cut this short, Melinda, but I have an appointment."

"Okay, Jason," I could hear the disappointment in her voice. "I hope you have a great season."

After the phone call, I didn't feel any better. Still, I could not help feeling that I had dodged a future full of heartache. Now I could concentrate on football and school. And after this season, I would finish off my degree and graduate. After that, I had no idea what would come next. What I did not expect was Staci Carlson.

I met Staci in the library. School had not started, but I had my schedule for the fall term, and one of my classes was "The Reality of Economics Today." The class was going to cover today's prevailing economic theories and explain the past's major failed economic policies. Two books that were going to be required reading were Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner and Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman. I figured both books might be hard to find, so I checked the library to see if they had copies. I found a copy of Friedman's book, but Freakonomics, apparently, was already out.

I decided to see when it would be returned and headed to the checkout desk. As I stood behind a young woman in front of me, I noticed that she had the book I wanted in her hand. Then I heard her ask about Milton Friedman's book. I started to laugh.

"I've got the book you want," I said through my amusement.

The girl turned around and smiled at me. It was like a burst of sunlight hit me. She was about five foot five and slender. The girl standing there reminded me of a pixie without wings. Her short blonde hair was offset by the deepest blue eyes I had ever seen. She seemed so vulnerable and made me want to protect her. I would not say she was gorgeous, but something about her made my heart skip a few beats.

"Are you returning the book?" she asked.

"No, I'm just getting ready to check it out. And I was looking for the book you have," I chuckled. "I'm guessing we're both taking the same class - the Reality of Economics Today?"

"Yes," she giggled. "My name is Staci Carlson." She stuck out her hand, and I shook it.

"I'm Jason Saunders," I replied as I stepped back and waited to see if she recognized me. Most students probably would not know me by sight. I mean, put pads, a jersey, and a football helmet on anyone, and their own mother would not recognize them. However, most students who followed football at Florida State, and that was most everyone in Tallahassee, at least knew my name. But Staci was clueless about who I was, and I especially liked that.

"So, what are we going to do about each needing the other's book?" Staci asked with a shy smile.

"I guess that depends on how long it will take you to read yours," I responded with a wide smile. "I can finish mine in a week."

"It's going to take you that long to read it?" she giggled.

"Yeah, I like to outline it as I go. But you didn't answer. Can you read your book in a week?"

"Of course, I can," Staci answered as she bit her thumb. I had never believed in love at first sight, but I was now beginning to rethink that.

"Then why don't we plan to meet here in a week and check each of our books back in, and then we can check out the one we haven't read."

"Okay," Staci smiled as she gave me her number," and if you finish it sooner, give me a call." I felt I should do the same and scribbled my number for her.

I raced through the book and finished it three days later. I had not done as good a job outlining as I wanted, but I was more interested in seeing Staci again. When I called, proud that I had finished in three days, Staci laughed. She said that she had finished hers in two days. We agreed to meet at the library the next day and swap books. I immediately invited her to lunch. That lunch led to lunches three or four times a week.

During these lunches, I learned that Staci was an only child and she had transferred from James Madison College in Michigan. Her parents were divorced, and she lived with her mom. Staci was a communications major with a business minor. And the more time I spent with her, the more I realized I was falling for her. I do not know what it was, but she seemed special.

I finally got up the courage to ask Staci out. However, she told me she had a date for Friday and Saturday and was visiting her mom in Jacksonville on Sunday. Still, Staci told me she was free the following weekend, and that I should call her during the week. While I was disappointed that she was occupied this weekend, I was encouraged that she told me to call her next week.

As things turned out, Staci got sick and withdrew for the semester. I was told that she came down with mono, but I could never catch up with her. I called several times but was told Staci was sleeping or at the doctor's office. I got the feeling that maybe she was avoiding me. I didn't know the truth, but I finally stopped calling because I had to prepare for the football season. Still, I was deeply disappointed.

Going into spring training, everyone talked about me being the starting quarterback. But very quickly, I realized I had serious competition for the job. What changed was that Florida State landed a five-star quarterback from some high school in California. He was supposed to be the next coming of Tom Brady. His name was Jackson Samuels. The coaches had also landed a very promising four-star quarterback from Louisiana, Chad Foster. He was a monster at six foot six and two hundred and fifty pounds. He was as big as most of our linebackers.

As practice began, it became obvious that the coaches were drooling over their two new recruits. As for me, it seemed like I was just chopped liver to them. As I watched Jackson in the practices, I quickly realized he was not a Tom Brady clone. To begin with, he was a scrambler. Oh, he had a cannon for an arm and was accurate if he was secure in the pocket.

But I noticed Jackson was afflicted with a severe case of "happy feet." As soon as the pocket began to collapse in the slightest, he would take off. But the coaches were not looking at that. They only saw the pinpoint passes he made with no pressure on him or the yardage; he could gain scrambling.

Chad was a different story. He also had a cannon for an arm, but he was not nearly as accurate as Jackson. Also, Chad had a funny windup kind of delivery. Obviously, he had talent, but it had never been developed. Chad also had numerous tells that made it easy to determine if it was a pass or running play. And after watching for a while, I could pick out specific plays he had called by how he stood behind the center.

At the end of the first day of practice, I tried to tell him what he was doing wrong. Then I discovered he had a bigger problem by far; he was borderline uncoachable. He rebuffed every suggestion I gave him. Still, I told the quarterback coach what I had noticed, and he told me he had seen it. Chad got in my face the next day for "ratting" him out to the coach. After that, I kept my distance from him. I would be damned if I was going to help him anymore.

By the end of spring practice, Jackson was slotted in as the number one quarterback, with Chad as the backup. I was in my usual position of being the third-string quarterback. I won't lie and say that I wasn't disappointed because I was. Still, I had never planned my life around a football, so being relegated to the third string was "old hat" for me.

As the third-string quarterback, I was left with only one job, and it was not the placeholder. I got to carry the clipboard with the plays and shadow the coach. On the upside, I got to wear the headset sometimes. But I never got to sit. And having to hang with the coach sucked; he was a screamer. And I still had to carry my helmet.

Our first game was against Louisiana Tech, and we blew them out 48 - 3 with Jackson throwing for two touchdowns and running for two more. People were already talking about him winning the Heisman Trophy. But that train ran off the track in the next game when we lost to North Carolina, and Jackson looked horrible. Then we barely squeaked by Duke. But Miami was next on our schedule, and Miami was almost as big a rival as Florida. At Florida State, a coach could have a losing season but beat Miami and Florida, and there was a good chance he would keep his job.

Miami had a great defense that year, and they came at Jackson all day. And as I expected, as soon as the pocket began to collapse even a little, he took off. It did not take the Miami defense long to figure this out and shut him down. Even though the score was not that bad, it was an ugly afternoon, and Jackson was shell-shocked. In the fourth quarter, they finally sat him down with a score of 24 -10 in favor of Miami. Chad was sent in and managed two decent drives, with one ending in a field goal.

Our record was now 2-2, and the only thing I was sure about was that I would not be the starting quarterback in the next game. I practiced with the second team that week, but I was surprised when Chad was not named as the starter. Instead, the coaches decided to go back to Jackson. I thought they would rest Jackson because of the beating he took for three quarters in the Miami game.