by Brown,Dick
“Thanks. But you sure you don’t want to go with us?”
“I don’t think so, but thanks anyway,” Guy replied over his shoulder, headed toward their motel several blocks away.
“What’s with him, he don’t like girls or something?”
“Nah, he has a serious girlfriend back home.”
“His loss, man, more girls for us, right? Come on, we’re wasting time.”
Chapter 23
Party time
The hotel lobby was full of celebrating Southern Cal fans. Coaches were conspicuously absent. Rod and Junior rode the crowded elevator up to the tenth floor. As soon as the door opened, the crowd noise assaulted their ears. Partygoers with arms draped around each other staggered out of the rooms into the hallway, whooping it up.
Junior pulled Rod close and yelled into his ear, “I got somebody I want you to meet. She’ll make Cass look like somebody’s little sister. This way, my man.” Junior pushed Rod through the crowd toward the end of the hall. “This is my suite and only my closest friends are allowed in.”
Rod tried to hide his surprise when they entered the crowded room. Topless girls tossed their breasts around and sloshed their drinks, gyrating to ear-shattering strains of The Twist blaring from a boom box. The dancing never slowed down when Elvis took over the sound waves.
Junior disappeared for a few minutes. He returned with two plastic cups full of a clear liquid and handed one to Rod. “You need a drink, man. We’re way behind.”
“You know I’m not much of a drinker. What’s this?”
“Don’t know. Just drink it and grab you a chick. It’s good home brew. You’ll love it. I’m still looking for a special chick for you.” Then he disappeared into the crowd.
After a few swallows, Rod started to mingle, feeling mellower by the minute. An olive-skinned girl with long, silky, black hair wearing nothing but bikini panties came up to him and took a swallow of his drink. “Hey, man, where’d you get this shit? It’s better than the shit I’m drinking.”
She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the makeshift bar in the kitchen, where the counter looked like a liquor store display. She found a fresh cup for herself, took his cup and began pouring a shot of every bottle on the counter into each cup. Behind the liquor bottles was a large clear jar with a kosher dill pickle label still on it. It was half-full of a colorless liquid like Rod’s first drink.
“What’s that stuff?” he asked, pointing to the large jar.
“Beats me? I heard somebody call it panther piss. That what you been drinkin’? Must be some good shit. Last couple I saw drinking it are in the bedroom now fucking their brains out.” She grabbed the jar and topped off their cups. “Okay, let’s drink to that. If I chug-a-lug mine down first, you have to go down on me. If you finish first, I have to go down on you. Bottoms up.” She turned her cup up and drank the concoction down as fast as she could.
Rod quickly gulped down the horrible-tasting mix. He didn’t want to lose the bet to a girl who had probably screwed half the guys at the party. Half way through, he felt the hotdogs and beers from the ballgame coming up.
“You don’t look too good, man,” she said as Rod threw up all over himself, the floor, and sink. “Jesus, looks like you lost the last two days’ meals. Not much of a drinker, huh? Here, let me help you.” The girl pulled his arm around her shoulder and led him to the bathroom. “Gotta get you outta those clothes. Jeeze, man, you really stink.”
“What was in that drink?” His voice started to slur. “I’m really dizzy. I need to lie down.”
“Just as soon as we get these nasty clothes off you,” she said, pulling his vomit-soaked shirt, pants, and shoes off. “Now, let’s get you to bed, handsome. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you.”
The room was spinning as Rod and his unknown friend waded through the crowd toward the bedroom.
“Hey, Jamikah, I been looking for you. Where you taking my man with no clothes on?” Junior asked with a knowing smile. “Be good to him, he’s my best friend. I’ll clear the room out for you.”
Junior opened the door to the master-suite bedroom to find a foursome working out on the king-size bed. “Okay, time’s up, you assholes have to go so my man here can get some action.” He helped Jamikah get Rod onto the rumpled bed. “Hey, man, you be cool now, you hear. Don’t let me down.”
“Yeah, just stop the room from spinning.”
“Not to worry, just lay back and enjoy.” And then Junior was gone.
“Jamikah. That your name?” Rod mumbled.
“Don’t worry ’bout my name, you won’t remember it tomorrow. Just shut up and let me work this big boy up a little bit so we can get down to business.”
Rod felt her massaging him and shimmying her wet vagina down on his hard-on that felt like it was going to explode. Jamikah slowly began humping him, faster and faster, moaning louder the faster as she humped. The room swirled in circles as Rod tried to focus on the ceiling until his lights went out.
The heavy throbbing at the top of his head woke Rod up. He could hardly move. Painfully, he cut his eyes to see Jamikah passed out naked beside him. He tried to stand up. Holding on to a chair to steady himself, Rod shuffled slowly to the large window to close the drapes, shutting out the sun so he didn’t have to squint. Without the blinding sun, he looked back at Jamikah. Her long slender body was stretched out on her back. Her breasts looked bigger last night, he thought.
“Rod, my man, how did Jamikah treat you last night?” Junior inquired as he walked into the room.
“Not so loud, man. My head is killing me.”
“Okay, okay, but tell me, how was it?’
“From the way my dick looks and feels, she must have had a great time. Too bad I don’t remember a thing. Just don’t tell her that.”
“Aww, man, she is one of the hottest chicks around and doesn’t let just anybody sample the goods. And you don’t even remember? I been trying to connect with that hot little momma all year and she won’t give me a taste no matter how hard I try. She jumped on you like a bitch in heat, and you don’t remember anything? I’m disappointed in you, man.”
“The thing I do remember is throwing my guts up all over myself and the kitchen. I don’t have anything to wear.”
“No problem, I got some clothes in the car. I’ll go get ’em. And man, if I was you and had the green light she gave you, I would bone that sister one more time just for the memories.” Junior laughed on his way out.
Not embarrassed by his nakedness, Rod sad down on the bed. Jamikah roused a little and stretched her arms and legs before opening her eyes. Rod sat there watching her. “How do you feel?” he asked softly and brushed the hair away from her eyes.
“You still here?”
“Where else would I be with no clothes?”
Jamikah laughed. “I ought to call you Superman. I never knew anybody could last as long as you and be ready for seconds and thirds.”
“I always try to please a lady,” Rod said without revealing he didn’t remember anything.
“First time anybody ever called me a lady,” Jamikah said in a serious tone.
“Maybe you just haven’t met the right guy.”
“Will you cut the gentleman bullshit and give me one more ride before Junior gets back?”
She pulled him down on top of her. “Looks like your dick needs some loving to make it feel better.” With a quick motion, Jamikah flipped them over, got between his legs, and went down on him until he was fully erect. Quickly, she switched to a sixty-nine position. As her head worked up and down on him, he massaged her hot button.
When Junior returned. Rod was drying off from a shower. “Here, try these on, we’re about the same size, except the pants might be a little long.”
“P.U.! When’s the last time you washed these?
” Rod held his nose in jest.
“Hey, man, be glad I left them in the car after a frat party last week.”
“They’ll do ’til I can get back to the hotel.” Struggling with his balance, Rod pulled them on carefully. “Can you give me a ride to the hotel?”
“Sure, man.” He turned to Jamikah, who came into the room wrapped in a towel. “Don’t go ’way, I’ll be right back and we can party some more.”
“In your dreams,” Jamikah called after them as they headed out the door.
There were bodies still strewn all over the suite in various stages of undress. The place reeked of sweat and vomit.
“Sorry about the mess. Whatever that was in the drink you gave me was some kind of wicked. What was it?”
“I honestly don’t know, man. I just know somebody always brings it to every party and it works wonders on the girls. Guess it worked pretty good for you, too.”
The hotel lobby was quiet now and housekeeping was busy cleaning up the mess the celebrating fans left behind. Junior waved at the concierge to have his car brought around. Shortly a black Mustang pulled into the driveway.
“Is this yours?” Rod asked in shock.
“Nah, it belongs to a dealer. He just lets me drive it.”
Rod ran his hands along the front fender of the Mustang before getting in. “This is really cool. Ahh . . . I love the smell of a new car.” He checked out the instrument panel as they pulled away.
“They treat all the players good. Some better than others. Life’s good here as long as we keep winning. Hey, what about you? Heard from Cass since you been in California? And tell me what happened after prom night.”
“No, I haven’t heard from her, probably never will. Prom night’s a long story. The short version is I didn’t want to be manipulated by the Worthingtons and their money, and I needed to make some money to help my mom out. I had no job skills, so the Air Force seemed like the best answer. She didn’t take that very well and said she hoped I came home from Vietnam in a body bag.”
“Man, that’s some bad shit.”
“Yeah, but I’m really doing pretty well, graduated at the top of my class in basic training. That’s why I’m out here going to tech school learning a lot of high-tech stuff I can use when I get out.”
“Sounds like a bummer to me. I hate going to class. Tutors do most of our homework. All we have to do is show up in class the minimum number of days required to pass.”
“Don’t you want to get your degree?”
“I won’t need a degree in pro ball. I can always come back and finish it later.”
“Yeah, right. What if you get hurt and can’t play anymore like me? What then?”
“Hey, man, you worry too much. Scouts are telling me I’ll be a first-round pick. I’m gonna be rich while you’re working your ass off for chump change if you don’t get your scrawny ass shot off in Vietnam,” Junior said with a chuckle.
“I don’t know, not getting your degree sounds like a big risk to me. Anyway, it’s not definite that I’ll go to Vietnam. I may be sent some place to learn a foreign language . . . maybe Russian. That’s where I scored the highest on my tests.”
“Russian! You gonna be some kinda spy or somethin’? Man, you crazy!” Junior said as he pulled his Mustang up to the motel entrance.
“By the way,” Rod said. “I been meaning to ask you who the girl was you wanted me to meet that was so fabulous.”
Junior smiled. “She found you first. It was Jamikah. Was I right?”
Rod shook his head. “Yeah, man, you were more than right.” He reached over to shake hands with his friend, but gave him an emotional goodbye hug instead. “I probably won’t be in the area next season, so you’ll have to win without me. But, I had a great time last night. You really know how to throw a party. Jamikah is something else. Good luck with that. Oh, by the way, did I tell you what a great game you played? Take care, man.”
“Don’t get all mushy on me, man. Consider last night with Jamikah as my goin’ away present. Just watch your back if you go to Vietnam. They all look alike.” Junior grinned at their inside joke.
Rod shook his head, got out of the car, and waved goodbye just as he had from the bus months earlier. He hustled up to their room, inserted his key, and swung the door open all in one motion. Guy was watching TV.
“Sorry about leaving you after the game, you missed one hell of a party.”
“I’m glad you and your friend had a great time. It wouldn’t have been fun for me. I called my girlfriend and talked for almost two hours. We’re getting married when I get my next assignment. I just hope it’s somewhere east of the Mississippi. She doesn’t want to get too far away from family.”
“That’s great, man. I’m happy for you. I’m just not ready for that kind of commitment yet.” Rod quickly changed the subject. “Hey, what do you say we go on back to the base early? Not much to do here without a car. Give me a few minutes and I can be ready to check out.”
“Fine by me.” Guy looked away from the TV with a confused expression on his face. “Where did you get those clothes? That’s not what you wore to the game.”
“It’s a long story,” Rod said as he plied on layers of deodorant and after-shave, put his uniform on, and threw Junior’s smelly clothes in the trash. “Come on, let’s get back to the base.”
New orders
Rod and Guy arrived back at Vandenberg, anxious to find out where they would be stationed next—together, they hoped. The next morning, they skipped breakfast and went straight to the squadron commander’s office. Rod knocked and was told to enter. Both saluted, identified themselves, and stood at attention.
“At ease, airmen.”
“Sir, Airman Lanning and I came back from leave early to pick up our new assignment orders, sir.”
“Orders have been cut and you can pick them up at 0800 tomorrow like everybody else, airman. Dismissed.”
“Yes, sir, thank you, sir.” The two airmen did an about-face and returned to their barracks.
“Well, we are technically still on leave. Want to go into town and catch a movie? That new James Bond flick From Russia with Love is in town. Maybe he can teach us a few tricks,” Rod joked.
“Might as well, we have a lot of time to kill until 0800 in the morning.”
“Look at the bright side. We don’t have to roll out at 0500 and can take our time getting to the mess hall.”
Rod wrapped his pillow around his head, but couldn’t silence the morning reveille call piped throughout the barracks. He rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. It didn’t work.
“Man, I can’t go back to sleep. Can you?” Rod called up to Guy in the bunk above.
“Nah, we might as well get up and head over to the mess hall so we can be first in line to pick up our orders.”
Rod and Guy strolled to the mess hall and lingered over their blueberry pancakes, greasy sausages, and coffee until the sun lit up the base. It seemed weird to be able to walk around while other wings marched in formation to class. They were careful to walk in step side by side so as to look official in case they met any inquisitive MPs. They weren’t first, but the line at the squadron commander’s office wasn’t long. After they had their orders in hand, they decided to go back to the barracks to open them. Their pace was much quicker now. Back at the barracks, several other guys had stayed on base and were discussing their orders, too.
“You go first,” Rod said.
“Okay, here goes.” Guy ripped the manila envelope open, slid the orders out slowly and shouted, “Oh my God, I don’t believe it! I’m going to Arnold Air Force Base in Tullahoma, Tennessee! That’s only a few hours’ drive from home. Looks like you’ll be getting a wedding invite come June. I can’t believe the luck! Okay, open yours.”
“Let’s have a little drum
roll.”
Guy made a noise that sounded a little like a drum roll.
“Here we go, I’m tearing the envelope open. Sliding the orders out and . . . I’m going to Monterey to learn Russian! More schooling before I get assigned to a duty station. How ’bout that? It says my test scores are in the top one percent of the class. Man, who would have thought? Mrs. Rodriguez, my high school Spanish teacher, might take exception to that. She’ll faint when I tell her I’m learning Russian. Sarge said this was probably the assignment I’d get because my test scores in languages were really good back in Texas. I thought he was kidding.”
“Well, I guess that’s it. It’s been fun being your bunkmate these past months, buddy. Maybe we’ll cross paths later before we muster out,” Guy said. “If not, you gotta come to my wedding.”
“Looking forward to it, my friend. I wouldn’t miss it.”
By week’s end, the barracks were cleared and waiting for the next flight of airmen. The two friends parted ways with handshakes and moved on to their new destinations. Rod was not as positive as Guy about his new assignment. He made decent grades in high school and could speak some Spanish after two years, but Russian?
Chapter 24
Defense Language Institute, Monterey, California
The base looked like the other bases Rod had seen with their boxlike barracks and buildings laid out around a quadrangle. The bus rolled to a stop in front of the receiving building. He hoisted his duffel bag over his shoulder and followed the training instructor along with the rest of the group to get assigned to his wing and barracks. This would be home for the next year.
The first day in class, the instructor opened his welcoming speech with, “Gentlemen, look around you; front, behind, left and right. Before this course is finished two or more of the people you just looked at will be gone. This is the most intensive training you will ever experience. But I assure you that if you are one of those that finish, you will be able to speak fluent Russian. And that’s important because this Cold War is heating up and we need to know every move the Russians are making. Intelligence, men, is the weapon of the future, and you will play an important role in keeping our defense alert and strong.”
