9 Boyfriends

Chapter 23

“I..” I had to clear my throat to get the rest out. “I am really excited about today too. Are you sure it is okay that I have never golfed before?”

“Positive.”

We spent the next half hour in silence, listening to the music on the radio. Owen turned into what looked like a long driveway. There was a large stone pillar on each side of the entrance. Two houses were tucked away on either side of the road, pushed behind some big trees. Owen followed the road around a corner and over a small bridge. I looked up and saw that the road continued to wind up a small hill. At the top of the hill was the most beautiful building. It was all stone and it was massive. I looked out my side window and saw a group of golfers talking on the grass right next to the drive. I looked over at Owen.

“I thought we would go somewhere different than the Country Club. This is a hotel, but it has one of the better golf courses in the area.” We passed the large stone building and pulled up in front of another one that was smaller, but still beautiful. As Owen stepped out of the car my car door was opened by a kid that looked only a little older than me. He was wearing khaki pants and a green polo shirt. “Welcome to The Pelican Golf Club. Do you have clubs in the trunk?” I looked over to Owen – did we? Owen smiled at the boy. “Yes, we do. We have a 9am tee time, under Blackbourne. We are going to have some breakfast first, than we will take some time at the practice tees.” The boy held out a ticket to Owen. “Sounds like a great morning Mr. Blackbourne. Enjoy your breakfast and your clubs will be at the stand by the practice tee when you are ready.”

Owen took the ticket and placed it into his pants pocket. He put his hand at the small of my back and led me into the building and up the staircase to the small dining room. Over breakfast Owen went over some of the major rules of golf. After breakfast we walked back down stairs to the pro shop. Owen walked right up to the counter. “I have something on hold under Sorenson.” The guy took a box from under the counter and placed it on top. It had a small bow on top of the box. Owen handed the box to me. I hesitated only a second, but then grabbed the box from him. I opened the lid and saw a pair of what must be the appropriate golf shoes Gabe had mentioned. They were grey with lines of pink and white. “Thank you Owen.”

“You’re welcome Sang. Why don’t you go over there and put them on.” He motioned to a bench by the wall. I went over and started putting my new shoes on. When I walked back up to the counter the guy said “So it is your first time on a golf course Miss Sorenson?”

“Yes, is it obvious?” The guy laughed before saying “No, not at all. Your boyfriend blocked out the five tee times after yours. That usually only happens when there is a first timer going out.” I looked up at Owen. “I told you I would take care of it Sang.”

By the time we were walking back outside I felt a little more confident about actually doing it. That is, until we walked up to the practice tees. I saw a few other people swinging their clubs and it hit me that Owen expected me to do that too. What if I totally miss the ball? What if I let go of the club? What if I hit the ball into the woods, or the lake! “Calm down Sang, deep breath. I promise this will be okay. If you lose a ball in the woods or the water, we have other ones.”

“How did you know that was what I was thinking?”

He gave me his millimeter smile. “Everyone is nervous about losing all of their golf balls their first time out. I took a guess you wouldn’t be any different.”

I smiled back. “Okay, what do I do first?” Owen spent the next 15 minutes showing me how to hold the club, how to swing, and letting me practice.

“Alright, time to get started.”

The first 11 holes were embarrassing. On three holes, I managed to keep the ball on the green after my first two drives, but after the fifth putt trying to get the ball in the hole I just picked the ball up and put it in. But hole number 12 luck was on my side. The ball stayed straight after my first hit. I only needed one more little jab to get it about 15 feet from the hole. After my first putt it was about 5 feet away.

“Wonderful Sang! You can definitely make it in this next one.” I nodded, he was right. I can do this. I wanted to do this. I wanted to make Owen proud. I lined up and took a deep breath, hitting the ball with what I hoped was just the right amount of power. The ball glided along the grass and disappeared into the hole. I let out the breath I was holding. I shot the club up in the air “I did it! I did it!” I turned to Owen, his smile wide and amazingly beautiful. In two strides he was right in front of me and wrapping his arms around my waist. He lifted me off the ground and spun me around. It felt amazing – all of it. Sinking the ball in the hole, feeling Owen’s arms around me, seeing his smile through all of it. He stopped spinning and started to slowly drop me back to the ground. When my feet touched the ground I thought that would be the end of it, but he held me close.

“I knew you could do it Sang.” Before I could respond, he dropped his mouth against mine and held it there before he started to move his lips. I mimicked his movements, surprised that I was doing this with Owen. Surprised, but not upset. It felt perfect and I wasn’t ready for it to end. Owen pulled away, only slightly, enough to look at me. I thought he was going to say something, but instead he leaned back in and pressed his lips against mine again. This one lasted longer, I think. Time was blurring in my head and I don’t know if I could have told up from down. This time he pulled away and took a step back. “Absolutely perfect Sang. Want to do it again?”

“Yes.” I let it out on a breath. He smiled back at me “I was referring to going to the next hole, Sang.” He winked and bent down to pick up the club I had dropped. As he straightened back up he whispered “but I can promise you we will be doing that again soon too.” The last six holes I was a little distracted. I managed to get the ball within 10 feet of the hole every time but then all I could think about was Owen’s lips on mine and I ended up missing entirely.

I was sitting in the car while Owen helped put the clubs in the trunk. He finally slid in next to me. I turned to him “Owen, I am sorry…” at the same time he said “Sang, thank you…” His eyebrows furrowed together “You go first. Why are you sorry?”

“I am embarrassed at how I played. I can’t believe you stayed out there with me.”

“I happen to recall you came in under par on hole twelve.” With that, he leaned over and quickly kissed me. “And I will never be embarrassed to be around you. I am proud of you for getting out there and trying something new. Nobody is amazing their first time out on a course. We will just have to come back and do it again. I was actually going to thank you for coming with me. I know it may not have been your first choice of dates and I feel like I have a lot to compete with.” I stared at him, not knowing how to respond. Owen felt like he had to compete with the other guys? He seemed to sense what I was thinking because he let out a little chuckle.

“I would like this to remain between the two of us for now Sang, but I am only 19 remember, and I have not had many girlfriends. I am still learning how to “let loose” to use Dr. Green’s phrasing.” I smiled back at him. “I thought it was a perfect date with you. I wouldn’t have picked anywhere else. And I would love to come back and try again.”  With that he brought his hand over to hold mine as he pulled out from under the porte cochere. He kept his hand tangled with mine the whole way home.