Chapter 29
29
HOPE
I stand with my hands on my hips as I survey the mini golf course.
It’s literally an entire golf course shrunk down to miniature, complete with greens and bunkers. None of this crappy fake turf BS on a flat concrete surface with metal bars surrounding the edge. This is a state-of-the art quality golf course right here.
I didn’t even know this place existed. Huge overhead lights make it feel like daytime, and the guys are enjoying a beer while Evan and I each drink a soda as we make our way around the course.
“All right, Ev. I need you to get a hole in one this round to knock Ben out of first place,” Sebastian urges.
I watch Evan’s chest puff up, and his eyes twinkle with mischief. He’s loving the attention he’s getting from Ben and his best friend, Sebastian. I’m guessing Piney Lakes only produces hot, sexy men if these two are anything to go by.
“I’m gonna do my best.” He swings his club, and Sebastian moves in behind him.
“Hang on. You need to adjust”—he twists Evan slightly—“yourself a little this way. Right. Go ahead,” he tells Evan with a sharp chin lift in the direction of the hole.
“I just want to point out that you two are ganging up on me, and it’s throwing me off my game,” Ben says, tongue in cheek, as he holds his beer off to the side.
Sebastian whispers something in Evan’s ear, and they both chuckle. Then Evan lines up the ball.
For the first time in forever, I’m relaxed and enjoying the moment. The guys’ playful banter continues as Ben tries to distract Evan, and one of my favorite songs comes over the speakers. I move my hips in time with the beat, singing the lyrics under my breath, “Will you meet me in the middle? Will you meet me in the end?” as I tap my feet.
Evan hits the ball, and we all hold our breath, watching as it lands on the green and rolls toward the hole. It rolls about three inches past the hole and comes to a stop. “Damn it!” Evan cries.
I open my mouth to remind Evan about his cursing, but Ben beats me to it. “Hey, Ev. None of that.”
Sebastian claps Ev on the back. “Yeah, Ev. A gentleman never curses in front of a lady.” He tips his chin toward me with a wink, and I feel heat rise up my neck.
Evan dips his chin to his chest. “Sorry, Mom.”
I smile at my son. “I know.” I tip my head toward his wayward ball. “Pretty sure you’ll get it in this time.”
He shoves his shoulders back. “I know I will.” He struts to his ball and hits it, but it rolls about two inches on the opposite side of the hole. I watch his hands tighten around the club and his mouth form a straight line. He tries again, and the same thing happens. Again and again. With each pass of the ball missing the hole, I watch his temper burn hot, but he holds it in. Finally, his ball rolls into the hole, and we all cheer. “About time!” He dips down to grab his ball out of the hole. “Stupid ball. It should have been an easy shot.”
Seb shakes his head and pats his shoulder in consolation. “Bad luck, Ev. Happens to the best of us.”
“Yeah, well, that sucked.”
Ben wraps his arm around Evan’s shoulder. “I notice you kept your cool under pressure,” he tells Evan, his voice dripping with sincerity. “Even though that hole totally sucked for you.” He pushes away playfully. “But it was awesome for me!” He laughs as he dances away from my son like a big kid.
“Hey!” Evan shouts playfully as he chases after Ben. “I’ll get you next time,” he declares with a grin.
I giggle under my breath, so happy to see him having a good time. We need to do more activities like this, though I think we’re having so much fun because of the guys and their youthful playfulness. I love how they’ve taken Evan into their circle.
Ben chuckles, places his beer on the high-top table, and steps up to the tee to drop his ball. As he positions his feet and lines up the shot, I sigh at the way his back muscles move beneath his sweater and his ass fills out his jeans.
Sebastian sidles up next to me with a raised brow and a smirk. Busted! My neck heats with embarrassment, and I feel it flaming all the way up my throat. He watches me with amusement filling his eyes, and I die a little on the inside. Thank goodness he keeps any comments to himself, although his thoughts are written all over his face.
The thwack of the club against the ball draws Sebastian and me back to the game, and, much to Sebastian and Evan’s dismay, Ben lands a hole in one. He’s not humble about it either, streaking across the green, cheering like he’s won an Olympic gold medal. With his arms high above his head, he reveals a sliver of toned abs, and I can’t miss the trail of dark hair that disappears under the waistband of his jeans.
A sensation that I thought I’d never feel again takes me by surprise, and I squeeze my thighs together. Tingles erupt in that area I thought I’d buried along with my husband, and I glance around to ensure nobody can tell how turned on I am.
Since it’s a Monday night, we’re the only people here—a blessing, considering how obnoxious we’ve been. To be fair, I don’t think we’d be as noisy as we have if there were other groups on the course.
“Your turn, Cookie,” Ben says as he saunters back toward us, blowing his knuckles and rubbing them on his sweater, looking proud as punch.
My heart does a little skip at the nickname he’s given me. I figured he used it to make us seem like a couple when the guy at the bake sale wouldn’t take no for an answer, but this is the second time he’s used it since then. My stomach flips and my body warms at the intimacy of Ben calling me Cookie.
I shove those feelings aside quickly because I shouldn’t feel all gooey inside—I’m not even sure how I feel about him giving me a nickname when my husband never did.
I step up to the tee and drop my ball. Feeling three pairs of eyes burning into me is a little intimidating, but I try my best to focus.
“Should I tell her she needs to twist a little to the right?” Evan whispers conspiratorially to the guys, like I can’t hear him, so I shuffle a little to the right.
“Is that better, Ev?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder.
He gives me two thumbs up, and I grin, turning back to the hole, but not before I notice Ben’s eyes on my ass. I’m tempted to give it a little wiggle, but I don’t want to lead him on after what he said to me earlier in the bathroom.
Why a man like him would be interested in a mess like me is beyond my comprehension. He’s a cop, though, so his instinct is to help people, but I don’t need anyone feeling sorry for me.
I hit the ball, and it goes flying through the air, landing way beyond our hole in the shrubs on the next green. The guys practically fall over laughing, and I roll my eyes but can’t stop the giggle that bubbles its way up my throat. It really was a terrible shot.
“Cookie … that’s the best hit of the night!” Ben calls out and I think maybe I like having a nickname after all.
“The best. Mom should get a trophy for that one,” Evan splutters between bouts of laughter.
“Ha, ha, boys. Laugh it up at my expense. I don’t care.” And I don’t mind because I haven’t seen my son smile and laugh so much in years. I trudge across the course in search of my ball as I chuckle, feeling so much lighter than earlier.
We play the next hole with the guys behaving in much the same way, continuing their smack talk and jokes as we each take our shot. Of course, I take the most number of shots to get the damn ball in the hole. To be expected, I guess, since I have the coordination of a baby panda.
This next hole’s a little trickier. I have to hit the ball beneath a waterfall and around a bend, which then goes up a slight slope. There’s no way I’m going to get this ball in the hole. The guys couldn’t do it, so I’m not holding my breath. I line up the ball and whack it hard. It has a long way to go, and I want to make sure I have a slim chance of getting it close to the hole. It rolls beneath the waterfall with speed, then ricochet’s off the rocks, sending it around the bend and disappears from view. I make my way to the green and can’t see my ball anywhere. “Great. It’s disappeared again, only this time I have no idea where it could be.”
Evan races up to me. “It’s okay, Mom. We’ll help you find it.”
I ruffle his hair. “Thanks, Ev.” The four of us search, pushing back shrubbery, but turn up nothing. “Darn it, I’ve lost my ball this time.”
“Uh, Hope,” Ben calls. When I turn in his direction, he’s crouched near the flag. With a surprised expression, he points to the hole. “Found it.”
My heart picks up speed with excitement and disbelief. “No way!” I race over and peer into the hole and sure enough, there’s my ball. I leap around the guys like I’ve won the million-dollar lottery. “Oh, yeah!” I shimmy my ass with my hands raised in the air, enjoying my fluke shot. “Take that, boys!”
Even while I’m celebrating, I know with all my heart there’s no way in hell I could replicate it. It was a totally lucky shot. It’ll never happen again, so I make the most of it.
Ben scoops me up with his thick arms wrapped around my thighs and runs around the course like a maniac! “Oh, yeah! She did it! That’s my girl!” He jostles me as he runs, and I’m laughing so hard that I fall over his shoulder. My hands land on his tight butt, and in the heat of the moment, I give it a firm squeeze and a slap.
My hair flies all over the place, and I bet my face is as red as a tomato with my hysterical laughter, but it feels so good to laugh this hard. It’s been such a long time since I’ve had anything to laugh about.
Finally, we settle down and finish the last hole of the night. I’m actually sad the evening is over. “Thanks for inviting us along tonight. We had so much fun,” I tell Sebastian. “Right, Ev?”
“It was all right, I guess.” He toes the ground with his shoe.
I press my mouth into a straight line to hide my grin. Such a sore loser. “I know you had fun, too, Ev.”
Sebastian leans in to hug me goodbye. “We’ll have to do it again some time.”
I return his friendly embrace. “Definitely. Just maybe not on a school night next time.”
He nods in agreement, tucking his hands deep into his jean pockets and making the fabric stretch across his thighs. When these two go out together, they must get a ton of attention from the ladies. A strange pinching feeling occurs in my chest at the thought of Ben being the center of female attention that isn’t mine. I don’t like the thought of women looking at him, and I certainly don’t like the feeling the image evokes in my body.
“We’ll work out when our schedules align next.” Seb says. He and Ben exchange a bro-hug, and Seb climbs into his truck while we climb into Ben’s.
I can’t wipe the smile from my face as we drive home. I’d forgotten what it was like to have fun. To laugh. To be playful. To be in the moment.
“Seb’s really cool,” Evan blurts.
The glow of the dashboard highlights Ben’s grin. “He is. He’s been my best friend since kindergarten.”
“Woah! You’re really old, so that’s a long time,” Evan says.
I nudge him with my elbow. “Evan, don’t be rude.”
Ben chuckles. “I’m only twenty-seven. I’m not that old.”
Twenty-seven? Yikes.
He’s so much more mature than his twenty-seven years. I sort of calculated his age when he told me about Tahlia, but hearing him say it out loud makes me feel old at thirty-four. I shouldn’t be noticing his tight butt and firm abs. If I only consider his age, he’s too young for me, but I can’t deny the pull I feel toward him.