Chapter 48

Joey
Joey was the first one up and shuffled to the kitchen to make coffee. She was still trying to wrap her mind around the condo. David had shown everyone before and after pictures, and they all agreed that his friend Cindy had transformed the place. It was a four-bedroom unit, and originally each bedroom had its own bath. Cindy had combined the baths for the two that were now called ‘the six-packs’ into one huge bathroom. The new layout had three showers, three toilet stalls, and a large sink area. With doors on the stalls and showers, it could be used coed.

The six-packs each had two bunk beds with a trundle bed underneath. Joey and Greg’s bedroom had a queen-size bed, while David’s had a California King.

David had spent a nontrivial sum remodeling the kitchen. There used to be an eat-in area, but it had been eliminated to make room for commercial-sized appliances that could accommodate a larger crowd. Where the eat-in area had been, there was now an island with a sink and two dishwashers. There was also room for six stools on the end and on the back side of the island for extra seating.

Cindy had removed the wall between the living and dining rooms to give the place a vast open-plan look. David had explained that there was no need for a formal dining area for a vacation spot.

Their was a walk-in closet by the front door where all the ski gear was stored. Along one wall was a bar with a table that could be converted into a poker table. Where the dining table had been, there was now a pool table. At the other end was a home theater.

The layout was only half the story; the finishes were what made the place. It was all done in woods and stone to give it a rustic ski-lodge look and feel. Joey understood why David was able to command top dollar when renting this condo. His friend Cindy had wanted it to blow away any suite you could book at a hotel. In Joey’s opinion, she’d succeeded.

Just like his home in Malibu and his dorm room, this was a stark reminder that David had both money and good taste. Or that he at least hired people with good taste and let them do their jobs.

She’d noticed that David was comfortable in upscale surroundings. When they all boarded the luxury chartered jet, everyone except David and Lexi had gawked at how nice it was. Drinks were served in lead crystal glasses. That sure beat the heck out of the plastic ones you received on a commercial flight.

Speaking of the differences from commercial, instead of a bag of peanuts, they’d served an honest-to-goodness meal. It included fine china with genuine silverware service. The food was as good as she’d have expected at a quality restaurant. It included terrific appetizers, a choice of chicken marsala or filet mignon, and a chocolate brownie with ice cream for dessert. Lexi told her they’d initially planned for something fancier than the brownie, but she knew that was what David would want.

Joey was glad that she’d gotten the chance to spend time with Lexi because it opened her eyes to a few things. David was still a college kid, even though, at times, Joey felt he was older than he looked. When she’d first met him, she’d been starstruck and had made a fool of herself. She’d been able to get it together and put on her professional face when she saw him again.

Joey’s fellow trainers loved that he was a goofy guy who could make them laugh. They treated him like a younger stepbrother that they could dote on. They’d also clued her in that they said ‘stepbrother’ because it would have been wrong for them to flirt with a real brother.

David was a huge flirt. That would have been fine, but he exuded a sexual magnetism that made Joey take him seriously. If she’d known that he had the skills in bed that his brother Greg had, she might have succumbed to his advances. Looking back, though, picking Greg over David had been the right choice. Greg was settled down, and they were now in a committed relationship. Lexi had shared that David wasn’t anywhere near ready for that yet.

Her thoughts were interrupted when people began to get up.

There were two mountains to ski on, Whistler and Blackcomb. The shuttle bus only took five minutes to reach either destination. The pamphlet the driver handed out showed all the stops it could make. Since it was just them on the bus, he took them directly to the gondola they planned to use for their first trip up the mountain.

They took the Whistler Village Gondola to the Olympic Mid Station. That area had both a beginners ski slope and snowboard runs. David took the guys snowboarding while the girls went to learn to ski. Lauren had skied before, so she was designated as their teacher.

Between runs, Joey caught up with Cassidy.

“David mentioned you had midterms last week. How’d you do?”

“Three A’s and two B’s.”

“That’s better than you did in high school,” Joey observed.

“I feel obligated to do my best. People helped me get into USC, and I want to make sure I honor their faith in me by doing well.”

“How did Boy Wonder do?”

“David?” Cassidy asked, and Joey nodded. “Do you even need to ask? He’s as competitive in the classroom as he is on the ball field. He would never admit it, but if David didn’t get straight A’s, I would be shocked.”

Joey chuckled.

“You know, I made it my goal to see if I could break him. I wore him out, for sure, but he never quit.”

Cassidy nodded her agreement.

“When I first met him, I put him through my sixty minutes of hell routine. I even got him to throw up, but he came back for more. That was when I knew he was someone I could count on. He’ll never quit on me,” Cassidy said.

Joey read in that remark that Cassidy wasn’t just talking about quitting athletically; she meant more than that. After getting to know Greg, Joey had to agree with her.

His brother confirmed David was a great guy. His setting up the interview with Coach Deneau was a good example. She couldn’t think of many people who would think to help her like that. Moreover, her list of people who could actually pull off something like that was even shorter. In fact, it consisted of only one person: David.

’I need to find some way to thank him,’ Joey thought.

“You know him. I want to thank him for getting me the job as one of USC’s baseball trainers. What do you get the guy who has everything?” Joey asked.

Cassidy gave her a knowing smile and then shook her head.

“Just tell him. He doesn’t expect anything from you,” Cassidy said.

Deep down, Joey knew that was true. It wasn’t like he would benefit from her working for the Trojans baseball team. David would work with Cassidy or the football trainers before he would venture over to the baseball group. She kept coming back to the notion that he was just a nice guy. There had to be something that she could do.

They grabbed lunch on the mountain at a place with grilled cheese in the name. You’d think they would actually have it on the menu, but they didn’t. In the afternoon, the guys went to the beginners slope to get used to using skis rather than snowboards. Meanwhile, the girls headed up the mountain to try an easy run.

The girl who was the biggest surprise was Tami. Greg had told Joey that she and David were best friends growing up. Tami was a tomboy who’d even played Little League baseball with him. She quickly was skiing with Lauren and holding her own.

By the end of the day, everyone was happy and worn out. The girls met the guys at the base of the hill.

When Joey spotted Greg, he smiled and gave her a quick kiss.

“How was your day?” Greg asked.

“It was a lot of fun. It was nice getting to know all the girls,” Joey said. Then she spotted Phil, who didn’t look happy. “What’s up with your little brother?”

“The other five guys in the six-pack all arranged dates for tonight. They’re going clubbing with a group of girls here for a wedding party. He’s not old enough to get in.”

“I was going to suggest the same because the girls plan to go out. I feel bad for Phil,” Joey said.

“David and Lexi were planning to go out too until he figured out Phil couldn’t get in. He suggested that the four of us take him to dinner and then hang out at the condo. It would be kind of a family night,” Greg said with a weak smile.

She could tell he would prefer to go party but wasn’t willing to abandon his youngest brother.

“That sounds like a plan,” she conceded.

Greg gave her another kiss.

“I’ll make it up to you,” he promised.

She bet he would.

While everyone got ready to go out, Phil moped around playing video games. Tim and Wolf knew him the best and didn’t hesitate to rub it in that he had to stay home. Greg noted that Phil had been pretty vocal about his exploits at USC with the jock bunnies, so he didn’t stop them from giving him a hard time. Greg was disappointed that Phil had given out details of his encounters.

When it was time to go, everyone went down and caught the shuttle bus. The driver told the revelers that the last return trip would be at one in the morning, so if they missed that ride, they were walking. He then dropped the rest of them off at the restaurant. He gave David his card and said to call him when they were done. Joey realized why the driver was being so accommodating when she saw David slip him a substantial tip.

The restaurant was packed, and they had to wait to be seated. There were benches that held four, and one opened up. Joey shook her head when Phil snaked the seat next to Lexi, leaving David to stand. When the bench across from them opened up, David sat down with his legs spread wide in a pleasingly macho way, slouching, head cocked to the side. He smiled when he caught Joey checking him out.

Their table was called, and after they had gotten their orders in, Joey saw that Phil was looking off into space. David noticed, so he started talking about football. Joey could almost feel the intensity of their discussion increasing as the two ignored the rest of the table.