That Boy by Jillian Dodd Read Free Book Online Page B

the air, grinning at me. Phillip has so many clothes on that he looks like the Michelin man. “It's Phillip and Danny. I think they want me to come play football with….”
    “ Strip football? ” Lisa screeches, interrupting me. “I'm coming over. Now .”
    I hear a click in my ear and know that she has hung up on me.
    Kind of rude, don't ya think?
    But I will probably forgive her because she has a huge crush on Danny and the idea of seeing him with no shirt on is almost too much for her to handle.
    I think it's hilarious.
    I mean he's just a guy. Okay, he's a hot guy.
    I open my window and yell to the boys, “Be right down.”

    Strip football.
    Sounds indecent, I know.
    But we don't strip, like naked or anything.
    Well, at least not completely.
    Strip football is a game we created a few years ago. It is usually played on a sunny day, when there is snow on the ground. The rules are a bit sketchy at best, mostly because Danny and I tend to make them up as we go. The basic gist of it is if you mess up, like miss a well-thrown pass, get intercepted, fumble the ball, or miss an important tackle, you lose an article of clothing. Danny and I tend to argue, okay ,
so we fight
, during this game because what constitutes a bad play or pass is a bit of a
grey
area.
    And well, Danny and I both always think we're right.
    That's where Phillip comes in.
    I am convinced that the United Nations should send Phillip to the Middle East. He would have a Peace Treaty signed, with all parties thinking they got the best deal, in under an hour. It is simply due to his fine negotiation skills that Danny and I don't kill each other.
    He is truly amazing. Smart too. Somehow,
I think since he never gets involved in the arguments,
he always stays warm and dry, while Danny and I are running around in the snow with nothing on but a T-shirt, jeans, one sock and if we're lucky, maybe a mitten.
    The fun part about playing the game in the winter, we have played it in the summer but the game is over pretty fast, is that you have lots of layers to strip off before you're out of the game. Our moms used to yell at us because they were afraid we'd freeze to death. It's a major embarrassment to be called inside by your mom. Much worse than losing outright. But thankfully, they gave up on us, assuming we're old enough to come in the house before frostbite sets in.
    I quick put on multiple layers. First a swimsuit, then T-shirt, bike shorts, sweatshirt, sweatpants, snow pants, jacket, mittens, socks and boots. I pull my hair back in a ponytail, throw on a baseball cap, and then I add sunglasses and a scarf for good measure.
    You have to be very careful about how many layers you put on because there is a fine line between perfect and too many. Too many layers and you can't bend your elbows or knees. And if you can't bend them, it makes it very difficult to throw, catch, and run. Then you can end up stripped so fast that the extra layers didn't really do you any good in the first place.

    When I get outside, I see that it's not just Danny and Phillip who are going to play, but some other guys have shown up too.
    As you can imagine, strip football is a bit of a novelty game and is developing quite a following. You'd think beings there is stripping involved that it would be a coed game, like strip poker, but this game is for guys only. Well, except for me. And it's more of an
I'm a manly, macho, tough guy, and I can stand to be out in the cold weather playing football with practically no clothes on
kind of game.
    The boys have already split into two teams, by the time I plod over through the snow. We had a beautiful white Christmas, and there are about four inches of new snow blanketing the grass. The teams seem to be split, Juniors versus Seniors, with Phillip, Neil, Joey, and I, on one team and Danny, Dillon, Kevin, and Brandon, on the other.
    We huddle up and start on offense. Joey plays quarterback and makes a perfect throw to Phillip. Phillip catches it, but