A Touchy Subject

"No, shit. Debbie Ross kept on trying to rub up on me. That girl is horny for a nerd, but I'm not going there. Elijah's cool, but that whole family is way too fake," Xavier told Trent.

"Politicians," Trent stated.

"Yep, image is everything for people like the Rosses. They either won't like their little girl dating a black guy, or they'll love it too much. I'm not ending up in a campaign commercial as their token minority."

"I would kill to see that," Trent laughed.

"That shit ain't funny. I was paranoid about being around that family with her grinding her ass. I thought Kessler would get me busted with his non-stop giggling, and I didn't even ask for it," Xavier recounted.

"Brandon, is it true?" Kona called out as he saw the team's quarterback and wide receiver return.

"Is what true?" he asked, stopping as he saw that Trent had taken his seat.

"About Ashley getting more of the cheerleaders to dress up for Sharon's Christmas thing," Kona clarified.

Still depressed over being replaced as the coach's star pupil, Brandon merely shrugged his shoulders as he pulled a dining room chair over next to loveseat. Retaking his seat next to his bulky teammate, Max watched his childhood friend in concern. Despite his clutch catches over the last two seasons, Coach Thorne seemed to never call plays with him as the primary target. He knew that most of his receptions came from Brandon brushing off the play's design. And that asshole doesn't call Brandon creative. It sucks, but it's time that Bran sees how fake Thorne can be.

"Ashley's trying," Max said after Brandon didn't say anything. "Hopefully, she can at least get most of the seniors to help."

"You just want to see Ravers as a sexy little elf," Xavier commented.

"And you don't?" Trent asked.

"Damn right, I do!"

"Not every senior," Brandon mumbled.

"What?" Kona asked

"I said not every senior cheerleader is going to help," Brandon repeated in a stronger tone. "There's no way that Madison is going to do it."

Xavier and Trent rolled their eyes at each other.

"That's too bad. I love watching Madison act. She loses herself in the character she plays," Kona innocently remarked.

"Don't watch my sister!" Brandon demanded.

"Bran, calm down. It's only Kona," Max reminded him.

"Uh, right. Sorry, man," Brandon sheepishly apologized.

"What are you boys talking about?" Ivory Thorne inquired, walking into the kitchen. Still clad in her yoga outfit, she pulled a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and moved over to the small kitchen island.

Trent cursed himself for taking the worst seat possible at the moment. The four other teens leaned over to get the best view of the knockout. Tongues wagged, and bodies shuddered as they watched a few stay drops of water escape and slide down the bare skin of her neck. Finished chugging the water, Ivory sighed as she tossed the empty bottle in the recycling container.

"Well?" she questioned.

"We're talking about the Christmas decorations over on Reindeer Road and Candy Cane Lane," Trent answered, praying that she would move over into his sightline.

"How are they this year?" Ivory asked excitedly, answering Trent's prayer by walking over to the edge of the living room.

"Awesome!" Kona exclaimed with a bright smile. "The Cringles have this huge sleigh this year. It looks almost like Santa's real sleigh."

"I bet the kids loved that," Ivory remarked. "Have you all gone?"

"Yeah, the kid's I took loved everything," Max replied, momentarily feeling safe in talking to the breathtaking beauty. His choice of companions did earn him several confused looks from his teammates. "I went with some of my cousin's little kids on Thanksgiving night."

"Oh, that's the best way to experience it," Ivory stated, moving behind Brandon as she talked to Max. "The joy on their faces is what the holiday is all about."

"We went last night," Trent chimed in, hoping for some attention from the woman. Xavier and Kona nodded. "Winkie lives the next block over, so it's easy to find a spot to park."

"Ah, poor Winkie. I hope he didn't hurt himself in that accident," Ivory commented in concern.

"Nah, it sounds like he's alright. He'll just be grounded again," Xavier revealed, shaking his phone.

"What about you, Brandon?" Ivory asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Looking up and behind him, the quarterback forced his eyes to keep traveling to her face, despite the two lovely breasts that wanted them to stop.

"Yeah, a few of us made it a date night."

"That's sweet. I bet the girls appreciated it," Ivory said with a smile. "I wish Rex would've taken me. But you know him and college rivalry weekend. He's focused all day on watching as many games as he can."

"You should've gone on Thanksgiving. That's the best night, I hear," Trent responded.

"We couldn't because of the holiday. My parents came to town," she explained. While neither Coach Thorne or his wife were from Azure Rocks, Ivory's father had been. Her grandparents and two aunts still resided in the town. That connection is what led to Rex taking the head coach position five years prior. "Hopefully, he'll be free during the week."

"No! You have to go on a Saturday," Trent exclaimed.

"Definitely," Xavier agreed.

"Why a Saturday?" Ivory queried, seeing all the teens nod in agreement.

"Uh...because the Millers put on a song and dance performance," Trent finally explained. The others all looked at him warily. They didn't know if they trusted Trent to give a family-friendly review. "It's pretty awesome. They expanded their buildings this year, and both Sharon's family and friends wear these costumes that I believe are homemade."

"I did hear something about it," Ivory acknowledged. "And they only do this performance on a Saturday?"

"Yep."

"Next Saturday is out. Rex won't leave the basement with the conference championships happening," Ivory divulged, and not looking happy about it.

"They do them every Saturday night, and I think a few extra nights right before Christmas. So you have plenty of time," Max helpfully suggested.

"I'd rather not wait until I'm the last person that sees it."

"You could go with us!" Trent informed her. Four teenage heads swung over in his direction, their faces showing shock and horror at his offer.

"Oh, I'm sure you boys wouldn't want me tagging along," she brushed off the offer.

"No, we'd lov—wouldn't mind at all," Trent continued.

"Perhaps I'll see if any of the girls from the salon want to go," Ivory mentioned, referring to her coworkers. She had noticed the embarrassed looks on the other teens' faces. She mistook the looks as embarrassment over her accompanying them, not embarrassment over Trent's desperate, vain attempt to hook up with the married woman.

"If we plan another group outing, we'll let you know," Kona said, trying to pull Trent's foot out of his mouth.

"Um, okay. It looks like the game is about to start," Ivory pointed out, noticing the time.

"Coach is busy showing Dawson some game tape," Max revealed.

"I better let him know. He won't want to miss any of the Browns," Ivory remarked, heading toward the stairs. "Feel free to watch whatever game you want up here."

Nobody said a word while Kona picked up the remote to see what game options they had. Once the coast was clear, Xavier threw a cushion at Trent.

"Damn, Thornton! Have you lost your fucking mind?"

"What, ain't your balls as big as mine, Glove?" Trent responded, holding his hands up. "You can't score if you don't make an effort."

"That was...awful," Max commented, shaking his head.

"With your reputation, she had to know the reason you offered," Kona remarked. "Mrs. Thorne's a nice woman, Trent. You need to treat her respect."

"My cock shows the ultimate respect."

His teammates groaned at his terrible line. The conversation shifted to which game they should watch. Deciding if they at least started with the Browns and Steelers game, they could appease Coach Thorne until they changed to a better game.

Ten minutes went by as they discussed how both teams were disappointments so far this season. Max pointed out that the Steelers did lose their starting quarterback to injury. Xavier and Trent both agreed that the Browns had been overhyped going into the season. The team looked to be talented, but changing a losing culture proved hard.

"Hey, they still have a chance at making the playoffs. Maybe their recent win streak is a sign of what's to come," Kona speculated, trying to look on the bright side.

"Switch over to the Packers and Giants for a minute," Max ordered.

"Give it up, Max, Green Bay is done. They got their ass handed to them last week by the Niners," Trent teased his friend over his favorite team.

Noticing that Brandon had been strangely silent, Xavier remembered a point he wanted to needle him over.

"Hey, Cole, you didn't tell me your cousin went to Breakwater University."

"What?" Brandon questioned, still lost in his funk.

"I saw your cousin while I was visiting Breakwater a few weeks back. The coaching staff wanted to lock down my commitment," Xavier explained.

"Which cousin?" Kona inquired, thinking it was one of the Coles from town.

"Yeah, his cousin Kaia goes to Breakwater. She's from Grass Valley, over near Green Hills," Max informed his seatmate. "She's on his mom's side."

"Yep, I'm taking a tour of campus, and my tour guide perks up when she finds out I'm from Azure Rocks," Xavier recounts. "Up until that moment, I had planned to see if she wanted to hang out that night for some fun."

"Damn, I haven't seen Kaia in about a year, I think," Trent recalled. Figuring why the hell not, he asked a question that might upset his friend. "Those Austen sisters are real fine works of art. How did she look?"

"I hate to break it to you, Cole, but your cousin is fucking hot. I wouldn't disrespect you with a one-night stand, but I'm going to be after her next year," Xavier promised, teasing his fellow team captain. "A hometown connection would make for a solid friend with benefits. She kind of reminds me of Madison, only not as tall with a bigger bust."

"What did you say about my sister?!" Brandon exploded from his chair.

"Shit!" Trent jumped up. He barely made it in time to get in front of Brandon before he attacked their teammate.

"What the fuck, Cole?" the team's safety said, looking up from his chair.

"Don't you ever fucking talk about my sister that way!" Brandon snarled.

"I only said that your cousin looked like Madison. You need to chill the fuck out!"

"Come on, Bran," Max said, pulling his friend's arm. "Glove didn't mean it that way. If he had, he would've said something worse."

"Damn right, I would've," Xavier agreed, his surprise turning to irritation. "I like Madison. I wouldn't disrespect her like that."

"Yeah, man, everyone likes Maddie," Kona said, leaning around the angry teen's legs to watch the game. Arguments amongst his teammates didn't faze him. They happened often.

"Back up, bro. You get way too stressed out over this shit," Trent told his friend.

"No, shit, he does. Poor girl can't even go out on a date without him going psycho," Xavier pointed out.

"A date?!"

"Brandon Cole, you simmer down, right this minute!

All the teens turned to see Ivory Thorne standing with hands on her hips. A rare flash of anger crossed her face. Before it swiftly vanished, all the teens thought her flushed face made her appear even hotter.

"I think it's time for you knuckleheads to head downstairs to watch football. Your coach can keep an eye on you while I order the pizzas."