Team Manager 2: SPRINT!
Chapter 17
The meet Saturday was brutal, but the girls were up to it. It was the boys who suffered this time. Dennis got everyone warmed up and ready to go, then stopped to tape Tori, Leah, and Lana. He shoved a roll of tape in his pocket and went to the shot put ring where he was to be a measurer. It was a good day to be in the throwing competition. Both Corrine and Rita managed puts of over thirty feet to place in the ribbons. Jennifer and Erin both made strong showings in the discus. Their throws of 91' and 98' were good for second and third place.
When the field events were through, he hurried to the track for the running events and was stopped along the way by Laura.
“Can you tape me up, Dennis? Coach is having me take on the three-k instead of Janice.”
“Is Janice okay?” Dennis asked as he pulled the roll of tape from his pocket. They settled in a clear-spot in the infield.
“Yeah. It’s the whole number of events thing. She was registered for five events and she’s needed more in the 4x800 relay. It’s Emily who didn’t make it today.”
“I knew someone was missing. How is she?”
“Subjected to parental whims. They decided she was needed for a visit to Minneapolis for the weekend,” Laura said. “You’re really good at this. And fast.” She flexed her taped ankle to make sure she could still run as he finished up the other foot.
“Fast girls are my specialty. Go get ’em, Angeline.”
“Thanks, Dennis.” She kissed him on the cheek and reached the track just in time for the three-k call.
“Someone’s got another girlfriend,” Debbie said in his ear. “Are you sure I can’t audition?”
“You’re really nice, Debbie. I just can’t handle any more girlfriends. Honest,” he said. “Isn’t the 200-meter prelim coming up?”
“About fifteen minutes. Want to rub my legs for me? You know, get me loosened up?” she said.
“Any looser isn’t allowed on the track meet field,” Dennis whispered.
“Well, come to the party tonight, anyway. I can be a lot looser there.” She strode away to join the other sprinters waiting their turn on the track. Dennis waited until the current race ended and crossed the track to the coaches’ box. Technically, he wasn’t allowed in the infield unless he was working. The coaches all had to stay on the outside of the track, too.
“It’s a good thing you carry a roll of that in your pocket,” Coach Andy said as Dennis retrieved his kit and replenished the roll.
“It comes in handy,” Dennis laughed. “Look at Laura! She’s hanging with the leader!”
“She’s been improving steadily. I hope she has enough gas to make it around the last circuit. She could make this her race.”
The coaches and managers cheered as the runners made their turn for the last lap of the race. The runner from Edison was ranked pretty high in the state seedings, but Laura stuck right with her. They stretched it out in the last 200 meters and Laura edged into first place at the finish line. She stumbled a few steps farther and collapsed on the track.
“Go!” Andy commanded Dennis. Dennis grabbed his kit and a bottle of water and ran along the sidelines until the last of the runners had crossed the finish line. Then he sprinted to Laura’s side. He checked quickly to see if she was cramped, but she motioned to her mouth. He uncapped the water bottle and held it to her lips. She took a gulp thankfully.
“Dry mouth,” she gasped. “I couldn’t get my tongue off the roof of my mouth.” Dennis helped her stand and she leaned heavily on him as they made their way to the infield. He flashed a thumbs-up signal to the coaches.
“That was a great run, Laura. Congratulations!” he said as they walked along so she didn’t cramp up after the race. “I didn’t hold a watch, but I’m pretty sure that was an under 12:30 run. Maybe under 12:20.”
“It felt good, but I wouldn’t have been able to make another three meters. Thanks for helping, Dennis.” She took the remains of the water with her as she headed to the team circle and Dennis headed back to the coaches.
A forty-five-minute break was called and everyone headed for their team circle to eat the lunches they’d packed. It was nice to have a break between the 100 and 200-meter prelims and the finals, but everyone ate sparingly. The rest of the race day went well for the Bartley girls. Brenda got a first-place ribbon in the 100-meter dash. Judith got her first in the 200-meter dash, and again in the 4x200 relay. The relay team was really stoked as the four girls had only won one other relay against a single school. In a multi-school event, it was their first.
The jubilant girls took home the top team honors, for the first time placing above the boys. The combined team was second. The bus ride home was boisterous. Everyone started talking about what would be coming the next weekend at the Drake Relays. It was the first time they would be running against statewide competition.
On the bus, Dennis carefully cut the tape from the girls he’d helped and massaged their feet for a few minutes. That got all the girls jealous and they kept him rubbing feet all the way back to Bartley. He didn’t really mind.
Back at school, everyone split up, promising to see each other later in the evening for the party at Debbie’s house. Her house seemed to be the best for parties the size of the team. Or maybe her parents just didn’t care. The big difference with this party from any other Dennis had ever attended was that both boys and girls were invited. The only party he’d been to that had boys was the Halloween party at Natalie’s house. Only Roberta, Brenda, and Carol had brought dates and Dennis hadn’t been there past eleven. But from the chatter on the bus, many of the junior and senior girls were bringing dates to this party. Well, Dennis figured that at least he wouldn’t be the object of everyone’s curiosity. He hoped.
“I’ll come back and pick you up for the party at eight, so you should have plenty of time to read to Peg,” Natalie said. “Sorry I can’t just stay now, but I need to put an appearance in at home first.”
“You need to go show off your ribbons,” Dennis laughed. Natalie had been on the second place shuttle hurdle relay and had a third place in the 110-meter hurdles. It was a good showing and a personal best for Natalie.
“I’m going to get a blue before this season is over,” she said. “But these are nice for now.”
“I’m really proud of you, lover. You’re a great athlete.”
“It’s partly your training and Coach Andy’s drills. He was impressed with what you had us doing with the dual cable machine. He’d never thought of adding the foot movement along with the arm movement. It’s not in any of the books.”
“It just seemed to make sense. I had to try it to make sure I didn’t just fall on my face or something. I can really feel the stretch, though.”
“Me, too. I think you’re making my boobs bigger.”
“No, you’re not serious.”
“Not exactly. My chest is getting bigger, so my boobs stick out more.”
“I think they’re beautiful.”
“I hope so. Here we are. I’ll pick you up at eight,” Natalie said. She leaned across the console and kissed Dennis. “Lover,” she whispered.
“Lover,” he responded. He hopped out of the car and skipped up to the porch, turning to wave as she pulled away from the curb.
He was surprised when he went out to get in the car at eight o’clock. Natalie was driving, but Roberta was in the passenger seat. Daniella was in the back seat waiting for him.
“Um… Are we all going together?”
“I couldn’t help it, honey. They cried until I agreed to bring them along,” Natalie giggled. “We drew straws to see who had to drive and I lost. These two perverts decided the other positions.”
“Well, I never object too strenuously to having any one of my girlfriends next to me in the back seat. Love you, Daniella.”
“Really, Dennis?” She slammed her lips against his and they continued the kiss all the way into the country to Debbie’s house. In fact, when they pulled into the drive to park, they had to put their clothes back together.
“Wow! What got into you, Daniella?”
“You, I hope. I’m really, really horny and don’t think I can wait much longer. You’ll make love to me, won’t you?” she asked pleadingly. Dennis cast a quick glance toward Natalie who was grinning and nodding.
“Of course, I will, honey. I’m sorry I hesitated but it’s still so hard for me to believe you would want me,” he said.
“I’m still a virgin as far as boys are concerned. You’re the only boy who’s ever touched me down there. But… I know you said it would be individual and alone with any lover the first time and I believe you want to make it special for each of us, but I want my sisters with me. Can we do that? All three of us with you?” Roberta and Natalie were standing close and hugged both of them. Dennis just nodded. “Tonight?” That startled Dennis and he looked over at Nat, who was still grinning and nodding. He looked over to Roberta and she answered by getting her own face in front of Daniella’s and kissing him enthusiastically.
“This is going to be a new experience for all four of us,” Roberta whispered. “Let’s go party for a while. Then we can go party.”
As he always was, Dennis was a little leery of the guys at the party. He knew most of them. Several were on the track team. When he went to the kitchen to get soft drinks with Natalie, he was surprised to find a beer keg in the corner.
“Uh… Nat… We shouldn’t…”
“Ignore it, lover. Just because it’s there doesn’t mean anyone is required to imbibe. I’ll watch carefully and if things look like they’re getting out of control, we’ll get out of here,” she said.
They got an armful of soft drinks and took them to the family room where the girlfriends were waiting for them. They handed out the drinks and each had two left. Two hands reached out to get one.
“Thank you, Dennis,” Debbie and Tori chimed in together. Dennis turned and accepted the spare drink from Nat. Both girls had blue ribbons pinned to their shirts.
“Bragging a little?” he asked them. Tori slapped a hand across her ribbon.
“Do you think we shouldn’t?” she gasped.
“If you weren’t bragging about it, I would be,” he laughed. “You did great!”
“Do you know how much it means to wear a blue ribbon when none of the boys won an event today?” Debbie asked. “Last week they were all bragging about pulling us up a place in the team standings. This week, we pulled them up one and they pulled us down one.”
“That’s what being a team is all about,” Dennis said. “It goes both ways.”
“We didn’t really want to make them feel bad,” Tori said. “At least not too bad. We’re just proud to be your girls.”
“My girls?”
“Well, um… yeah,” Debbie said. “If it’s okay for us to be Angelines.”
“Of course it is. That doesn’t mean you’re my girls. I don’t own the Angelines,” Dennis stumbled.
“Maybe not, but the best of them are yours,” Tori said, looking at the other girls. They were all grinning as they listened to the two runners.
Dennis gave up his protestations. It seemed like the best strategy to not ruin a fun party. The girls got into dancing and Dennis was pressed into service to massage some feet that he’d missed on the bus. Some, he thought, were back for a second round. It seemed that every girl at the party who didn’t have a date joined in the happy group of Dennis’s girlfriends. A couple of girls with dates brought them in close. Leah brought Paul into the group. Rita was there with Phil Hagen.
It was getting near ten o’clock. Dennis’s head came up from the foot he was working on, connected to Corrine’s body.
“I said no! Get away from me. I’m Dennis’s girlfriend!” came the shout from the kitchen. Dennis was on his feet so fast Corrine struggled to keep from falling off the couch. The other girlfriends and friends trailed behind him as he rushed to the kitchen. There he saw Derek, the shot putter, with an arm around Lana trying to get her to drink beer from his cup.
“Derek! Let her go. No means no!”
“Oh, geez, moron. Girls need a little convincing. You don’t want this one.”
“I said let her go. You’re drunk.”
“And what are you going to do about it? You might be strong enough to throw a girl’s shot put farther than a girl, but you’re not strong enough to keep me from dumping you in a trash can.” Derek shoved Lana aside and reached for Dennis.
Dennis had only one choice and only a second to make it. He’d sworn he would never be bullied again. As Derek grabbed his left arm, Dennis shot up with a right uppercut that landed directly on Derek’s chin. The giant muscleman let go of Dennis’s left arm and Dennis prepared to follow up the uppercut with a quick punch to the mid-section before he ran. The punch was unnecessary. Derek’s eyes rolled back in his head and he crumpled to the floor unconscious. Lana flung herself at Dennis and dragged him out of the kitchen.
“Get rid of that fucking keg!” Dennis shouted as he left the kitchen. “And quit drinking. You’re supposed to be athletes.” He looked around quickly and spotted Natalie a foot away from him and closing in. He wrapped an arm around her and said, “Nat, can we give Lana a ride home? I think we’d better leave.”
“I think you’re right. Let’s go,” she said, then shouted. “Robbie, Dannie, we’re leaving.” They grabbed jackets from the pile by the door and headed out. Debbie caught up with them on her porch.
“I’m really sorry. Lana, are you okay? It’s all my fault. I should have told them they couldn’t bring a keg but I was afraid no one would come to the party. Next time I have the bright idea to have a party, I’m only inviting you guys. I’m really sorry,” Debbie said.
“We know, Debbie,” Roberta said. “We’ve had to deal with that kind of thing, too. Fortunately, my dad won’t tolerate it. Other than that, we had a good time.”
“Lana, I’m really sorry. Please forgive me.”
“It’s okay,” Lana sniffled. “It’s over and we don’t need to think about it any longer. It was a nice party until then. Thank you for inviting me.”
“Lana, who was going to take you home?” Dennis asked.
“We were,” Brenda said. “It was just about curfew anyway and we were ready to leave. Amy and I have Rosie and Leanne, too. We’ll follow you to Lana’s house so her parents know we didn’t abandon her.”
“We’re following you, too,” Diane said. “And we’re taking Tori home, too.”
“We’re kind of clearing out the party,” Dennis sighed.
“It’s okay, lover,” Natalie said. “I think Debbie would leave, too, if she could. Dennis, get in on the other side. Lana, slide over to the middle.” When they were all in position, Daniella was driving and Roberta rode shotgun. Lana was sandwiched tightly between Natalie and Dennis. They held the shaking girl.
“My dad will never let me go to another party,” she said. “Um… I guess I said I was your girlfriend. Do I like need to undress now?”
“Lana! Stop even thinking that way. You’re my friend. You did just what you should have. You yelled loud enough to get my attention. We promised we’d always protect you. That doesn’t come with an obligation to any of us. It’s because we all like you,” Dennis said.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I’d do it if you wanted. No pressure.”
“Let’s just stay friends for now,” Natalie whispered to her. “This isn’t a good time to be making declarations and commitments. You are our friend.”
They pulled into the Browns’ farmyard and all three cars emptied out. They got to the door and Lana called inside.
“Mom! I’m home! Can my friends come in for a few minutes?”
“Of course, dear. But not for too long. Tomorrow is church day.” Elsa and Randy stepped into the front hall to greet their daughter and her friends. “Oh, my! You have a lot of friends, don’t you? Come in. Come in. Did you come home with Brenda and Amy?”
“They’re with us. The Armors gave me a ride with Dennis. We kind of left in a hurry.”
“What happened?” Randolph asked sternly.
“One of the guests had some beer and was trying to get Lana to drink with him,” Dennis said. “We persuaded him not to and left.”
“You… persuaded him?” Randolph asked.
“Dennis flattened him,” Tori chimed in. “One punch and the biggest guy on the track team was out cold.”
“Dear! Was there no other way than to fight, Dennis?” Elsa asked.
“I think I had to do what I did,” Dennis answered.
“It wasn’t a fight. If Dennis hadn’t acted, Derek would have crushed him,” Brenda said. “Derek wasn’t being gentle with Lana and she called for help. We all promised we’d help when she quit the cheerleaders. Dennis just got there first.”
“Come in and close the door. It looks like there are more of you than there used to be. Let me get some hot chocolate for you and you can all settle down a bit before you go home,” Elsa said. Hot chocolate sounded good and the kids all headed for the living room.
“Dennis, could I see you for a minute?” Randolph whispered. Dennis looked up at him and he pointed down the hall. Dennis sighed and followed. Mr. Brown pointed into the bathroom. “There’s disinfectant soap on the sink. Scrub your hands. Are you okay other than your hand?” Dennis looked down at the swelling knuckles and tears in his skin. Suddenly, it started stinging.
“I didn’t even realize I was hurt until you mentioned it.” Dennis ran the water and washed his hands. Randolph handed him a towel and then examined his right hand.
“He must have been a big guy,” Mr. Brown said. “And you must have hit him very hard.”
“I guess so. I’m sorry, Mr. Brown. I know it’s not right to fight, but I couldn’t think of anything else I could do. He wasn’t letting go of Lana,” Dennis pled.
“Easy, son. I’m not mad at you. I just wanted to make sure you were taken care of.” He put some iodine on the cuts, making Dennis wince. Then he cut a strip of gauze and searched for the adhesive tape. He was having difficulty locating it when Dennis reached in his left pocket and pulled out the roll of athletic tape.
“This should work,” he said, handing it to Mr. Brown.
“You always have tape in your pocket?”
“Just about. I carry around a roll or two at the track in case I need to tape up an ankle or wrist.”
“That should do it,” Mr. Brown said as he smoothed the tape down and handed the roll back to Dennis. “Thank you for protecting my daughter.”
“Anytime, Mr. Brown.”
“I kind of promised your father I’d keep an eye out for you. I haven’t done a very good job of that.”
“He probably didn’t understand anyway,” Dennis huffed.
“This was back when you were born. Your dad was really stressed out over his mom’s condition. She passed away just a few months after. When we went to the woods to smoke—yes, he and I did smoke an occasional cigarette when we were young—we’d often talk about what would happen when our parents died. And that led to what would happen if we died. We promised to look after each other’s family. That’s what I haven’t done much of. I’m not going to horn in or try to take care of you now, but if you ever need to talk, I’m here. And I still have that job available for you this summer.”
“Thank you, sir. I’m thinking I might like that. I’m used to a lot of physical exercise right now. I don’t want to lose my conditioning over the summer.”
“Well, we’ll talk about it after track season is over.”
They went back into the living room where Elsa was handing out cups of cocoa.
“Thank you, Mrs. Brown,” they chorused.
“Now that’s something we need to discuss. It’s a little too formal for my daughter’s friends to be calling me Mrs. Brown all the time,” Elsa said.
“Dennis’s mom asked us to call her Ms. Dottie,” Leanne offered. “I was really surprised, but I like it.”
“Well, I could just copy her, but how about we try Fru Elsa? That sounds a little more Swedish, don’t you think?”
“Thank you, Fru Elsa,” they all chimed in.
They sat only long enough to finish their drinks and then everyone needed to go home.
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