30. Jameson
Chapter thirty
Jameson
I’ve spent the last two weeks fully focused on my game. The tournament in the Bahamas last weekend was the last one until after the holidays, and I had to do well to guarantee a spot in the tournaments in the new year.
After spending a week practicing with my coach and JT down in the Bahamas before the tournament started, I was on top of my game all four days. It felt great to get my groove back, especially after I sank a chip on Sunday that clinched the win for me. I’m riding a high from the win for sure.
The only thing bringing me down is that Bryn’s not here. I know other athletes, “real athletes” as Lila would call them, who brag about or bemoan the post-game adrenaline that essentially begs your body to find someone to fuck and fuck hard.
It’s not quite as aggressive for golfers. Games are slower paced, and your adrenaline isn’t getting pumped through you from beginning to end. But, let me assure you, when you’re tied going into eighteen on Sunday and have to chip in your ball from ten yards off the green, your adrenal glands get the fuck to work.
And when your girl isn’t there to celebrate with you…well, it’s not preferable. Luckily, Bryn was watching from her hotel in Canada and FaceTimed me as soon as I hit the locker room.
I can still hear the way her voice dropped when my face filled her screen, her breath catching as she said, “Hey, sexy.”
Refusing to hang up with her beautiful face and miss out on the intoxicating effects of her presence, I took her with me during my entire post-round routine. Yes, even the press conference and the following interview with ESPN. Did Bryn spend almost an hour staring at the darkness of my pocket? Yes, yes she did. And, in hindsight, I see how she could’ve just watched me on TV and then called me back as soon as I was done, but I asked her to stay, and she did.
As I left the course, Bryn’s face remained on my phone, held directly in front of mine as my driver for the weekend headed to the hotel. She entertained me with her thoughts about the round, what I did well, what she thinks I could do better, Izzy’s thoughts on the various players’ attire. We talk essentially every night now, and we never miss a night before one of my rounds. I’m not superstitious enough to say she’s my good luck charm, but I do believe in routine, and lying in bed, talking with Bryn the night before a round, is by far the best part of my new routine.
Hell, she’s the best part of my life right now, something I’ve never felt about a woman before. Even when things with Alexis were good, golf was always my highlight. I lived for the tournaments, for spending time out on the course in Florida, working with my coach or my caddie. Now, I still enjoy playing, but I can’t wait to be done so I can talk to Bryn, even if it’s just sending her a text because I know she’s in meetings all day.
I don’t love her, of course not. It’s way too early to be throwing around phrases like that, but damn, it might be close. I’ve never felt like this with anyone else. It’s like my life is the tide, and she is the moon. No matter how far away she is, without even trying, she impacts every move I make, every thought I think.
Which is how I came to be in Denver this weekend, standing in the concourse at the DIA arrivals to surprise Bryn with a weekend together.
Bryn
Just landed! How goes the time with Ryan?
Ryan, who’s been my caddie for the last four years, and I have been in Arizona the last two days, playing golf from sunup to sundown. We were supposed to be there all this weekend as well, but when Ryan mentioned he might be coming down with a cold this morning, I jumped at the excuse to cancel the rest of the trip. Health is very important. And fuck, do I need to see my girl.
Me
Call me when you get to the main terminal. I have something I want to show you.
Bryn
Is it going to be a dick pic? You know how I feel about airport dick pics.
Me
I said call. Obviously I would just send you that as a picture, hence the name dick PIC.
Wait, are you saying you’d be up for dick FaceTimes if they aren’t in the airport?
brYN! Inquiring minds need to know the answer.
And now I have a half-stiffy thinking about us using FaceTime for sexy time.
Update, it’s now a full-on erection.
My phone buzzes, Bryn’s FaceTime coming through.
“Hey, babe!” My smile is so large, my cheeks can barely hold on to it.
“Hey, sexy—where are you?” I hear her voice, both over my earbuds and from the group just getting off the escalator in front of me.
I pull my hat down, confirming I’m as incognito as possible, and shout, “Bryn!”
I see her then, pulling her navy-blue carry-on behind her as she scans the room. I start making my way toward her, reminding myself not to run. “Bryn!”
She sees me, and fuck if her smile doesn’t make me light up like a goddamn suburban house at Christmastime. I reach her in three more steps and pull her into a tight hug, kissing the top of her head before nuzzling her fully against my body.
“Hey, Jameo,” she whispers into my chest. “I missed you.”
I tighten my arms around her, not able to let her go yet. “I missed you, too, baby.”
After far too short of a time, in my opinion, she pulls back, flashing me another brilliant smile. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in Arizona.”
I shrug, pulling her in again for a chaste kiss on the lips, ever aware that someone could recognize me at any time. “I missed you.”
“So you’re here for the…night?”
“Nope. The whole weekend. If you’re good with it, I actually got us a room at The Brown Palace downtown, thinking maybe we could spend the weekend together?”
“That sounds amazing. Let me just shoot Kelsey a text to make sure she’s good to watch Jack for a few more days, but I’m sure Izzy or my dad can always go grab him if not.”
We make our way out of the airport, walking in the below-freezing temperatures to reach her car in the outdoor parking lot.
“When am I going to get to meet your parents, anyway?” I ask.
She pops her shoulders. “Whenever you want to. You’ll like them. They’re genuinely fun people to be around. A lot like your folks, actually.”
“Maybe next week?”
“I’m sure they’re around.” We take a few more steps before she stops. “Wait, are you saying you’ll be in Wild Bluffs next week?”
I take advantage of the stop to pull her into a deeper kiss, reveling in her warmth. Finally, I pull away, saying, “Yep. The realtor thought it would be best if I was out of my house completely so he could stage it, so I figured I might as well grab a room out at WBCC. I’m actually planning on basing out of there until after the New Year.”
She laughs, jumping into my arms and pressing her mouth against mine. I catch her, wrapping my arms around her hips, and pull her tighter to me. “So you’re not annoyed that I’m going to be around for a month?”
Pulling back, she wraps my face in her ice-cold hands. “I truly think the only way it could be better was if I had my own place so we could stay together.”
Her eyes widen as if that was a confession she hadn’t been prepared to make. I lean down, softly biting her lower lip, before I lean back so I can look into her eyes. “You could stay with me. Waking up next to you for a month sounds…fucking amazing, B.”
She slides down out of my arms, leading me again to wherever she parked her car.
“Why don’t you park in the covered parking?” I ask when it’s clear she’s not ready to respond to my invite to essentially live with me for a month—an invite I had not been planning to make, but one I in no way regret.
“Have you seen how much it costs to park in covered parking?! My car is just fine out here, thank you,” she says, pulling out a travel-sized hand sanitizer and squeezing a dollop onto her palm.
I honestly have no idea how much it costs to park at an airport, in covered parking or not, so I choose to remain silent.
“There it is.” She points to the black Tesla along the back row of the airport parking lot.
“Lucky you were able to find a spot so close,” I say sarcastically.
I swear I can hear her eyes roll as we both climb into the car.
“It appears I may have done something to upset the parking gods. Perhaps a ritualistic sacrifice is in order.” She looks me up and down. “Eh, probably not their first choice, but you’ll do.”
I pretend to be offended. “I’ll do?!” I throw my arms up. “The parking gods would be lucky to receive such a fine specimen as a sacrifice.”
She chuckles.
“Plus, it’s not like we’ve got a virgin readily available to sacrifice. Those are hard to come by these days.”
When she doesn’t laugh or play along, I turn from the window to look at her. Her knuckles are white, she’s gripping the wheel so hard, and she’s working her bottom lip with her teeth.
“What just happened, B?” I reach over and rest my hand on her thigh, giving it a light squeeze.
She glances at me out of the corner of her eye. “There’s…” She bangs her head against the headrest. “Ugh. There’s something I probably need to tell you.”
Fuck. Fuckity fuck. This definitely does not seem good.
I clear that thought, trying to dislodge the huge lump of fear that landed in my brain. “Um. Okay. You can tell me anything.”
That sounded…good. Normal. That’s a normal response, right?
Bryn keeps her eyes focused on the road, slowing the car as we wait to merge onto the highway. I give her space to think, trying to tell my pounding heart that it’s not going to be something bad. She’s not going to confess to cheating on me. She hasn’t been banging random Canadian hockey players all week.
“I’m…” She massages the middle of her forehead with one hand. “Fuck it. I’m a virgin.”
She finally turns her head to look at me, but I’m actually in shock. She’s a virgin? How? She’s twenty-eight. She has had past boyfriends. Sure, we haven’t gotten into our past dating lives or our sex partner count, but…we’ve fooled around. How has this not come up? Wait, do I actually care?
“So…yup. I could be the sacrifice if we decide that’s the route we need to take. Actually, if you’re going to just continue to sit there with that stunned look on your face, just do me a favor and kill me now. No sacrificial altar needed.”
Damn it, I’m not handling this right.
“B. I don’t care. I mean, I do care. But it also doesn’t change anything.”
Her eyes dart my way again, and I can see the lights reflecting off the tears pooling along her lower eyelids.
“Fuck, baby. Don’t cry. I’m sorry. I know I’m not saying the right thing. I’m just surprised, is all. You’re a smoke show and are so confident both in life and in the bedroom. It just seems…out of character, I guess.”
She finally releases the steering wheel with her right hand to wipe at her eyes, and I reach out and grab it, pulling it to my lips before setting it in my lap.
“Can I—can I ask some clarifying questions?”
“Clarifying questions? What is this? An interview?”
“B…”
“Fine. Ask your questions.”
“Are you saving yourself for marriage?”
She shakes her head, letting out a wet laugh. “No.”
“Then, why…?”
She shrugs. “It just kinda happened. I was friends with all the guys in my 200-person high school, so no way was I ever going to hook up with one of them. Then, in college, I dated a little bit, but I was so focused on doing well and keeping my scholarship that I wasn’t willing to risk even the tiny percentage of a chance of getting pregnant unless I was in a fully committed relationship. And I never was. After college, I dated Peter and, well, he did believe in waiting until marriage—or, his mom believed in waiting until marriage, and he could never disappoint her—so we did other things, but never did go all the way.”
“And since then?” he asks.
“And since then, I’m sorta back to where I was in high school. All the single guys in Wild Bluffs are the same dorks I went to high school with. I’ve been on a few dates with randos from an app when I’m traveling for work, but I’ve never liked anyone enough to see them more than a couple of times…before you.”
She’s biting her lip again, and fuck if I don’t want to make her pull over so I can just hold her. Let her know that this doesn’t change anything.
I’m not sure what to say, so I just go with the first thing that comes to mind. “Makes sense.”
She rolls her eyes, dislodging a few of the remaining tears. I reach over, carefully wiping them off her cheeks as she continues to navigate us to our hotel.
“I’m not sure I’m allowed to ask this, but…does that mean you do like me enough to consider it?”
She sniffs. “Always fishing for compliments…”
I chuckle as she continues, “I mean, yeah. And, for the record, I had considered—planned on, really—not telling you. It’s never been a big deal to me, and I didn’t want it to be for us. But Izzy has been on me to tell you, and then it felt like a sign when virgins randomly came up in conversation.”
“You weren’t going to tell me you were a virgin? You were just going to…going to…”
“Have sex with you like a normal person? Yes, that was my plan. It’s not like I’m unaware of how it works.”
My dick, with its selective hearing, is only picking up on the fact that she was planning on having sex with us and is now hard as a rock.
“Yeah,” I reply. “But it just feels like I should’ve known. So I could make it…special?”
“So you’re saying that, had I not been a virgin, your performance would’ve been average at best? But now that you know you’re my first, you feel you need to put some effort into it?”
I shake my head. “Nope. Of course not. I have no doubt in my mind that every time I fuck you, every thrust, every moan out of your mouth, will be fucking perfection. I just could’ve”—I run my hand through my hair—“gotten flowers or something?”
She laughs. At least she’s enjoying how awkward I’m making this. “Oh, really, is that what you got when you lost your virginity?”
I chuckle too. “Nope. Gave myself a nice high five for a job well done. Though, in hindsight, it wasn’t deserved. It was awkward, with a lot of fumbling around.”
“Well, I promise to let you give me a high five after you fuck me for the first time, but I expect you to keep the awkward fumbling to a minimum.” And with that, she focuses back on the road, successfully navigating us around the streets of downtown to our hotel like she didn’t just drop a huge bomb and then asked me not to act like nothing had changed.