Giving Dave another bone.

As Trish rose back onto her feet, Dave thought briefly. He decided that, even with his new muscles, he probably didn’t have the strength to help her complete another full routine. Rather than try to change that, he decided to simply tell her honestly.

“Trish,” he said, exhaling heavily for effect, “I don’t think I can help you.”

“Aww!” she whined. “But I need to learn all of the routines perfectly if I ever want to become head cheerleader!”

“That’s not true!” he told her. “Look at yourself! I’m sure you put all the other girls on the squad to shame! Being a cheerleader is partly about getting the crowd’s attention, and nothing would attract attention better than a body like THAT!”

“Aww!” she whined again.

“What?!” Dave asked, since he had been trying to pay her a compliment.

“I know you were trying to be nice,” Trish said, “but Coach made a comment like that to me the other day! He said if I couldn’t learn the routines quickly enough, he was sure there was something in my ‘body’ of work that could ‘raise’ my standing on the squad!”

You were immediately torn. While you were upset at the Coach for acting and speaking that way, you realized you’d been having the same thoughts.

“I can’t believe that!” Dave told her. “I’m sure he’d want you to concentrate on the routines!”

“He said that!” she replied immediately. “He even told me he had a ‘special’ routine to teach me!”

“See?!” Dave asked her, confident in the way things were heading. “Let’s practice THAT one!”

“OK,” she said, turning to face him again. “I’ll raise your spirits… But first, you lower your pants.”