Flashing Lights - J.B / N.B

Hole in One

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Not even 5 minutes in and Joe had already made it his mission to welcome me properly to the group. We were all sitting around the table getting a few drinks in before finally starting the course. My brother, seeing how Joe was taking care of me, decided to leave the two of us alone in our own world while he talked to Evan and Logan.

"What happened to you being cramped with 'work' today and not being able to make it?" Joe interrogated, his gaze dancing back and forth to my face and the small cocktail in my hand. Trying my best to not get annoyed, I put on my best smile and answered him, "Well my client ended up rescheduling, so I was pretty much free for the rest of the day." At this rate I'm going to lose track of all the lies I've told him. "Well I'm glad you showed up," he grinned, showing me his pearly white teeth, "I was actually kind of hoping that we could get to know each other better." I bit my lip at his confession, stopping myself from saying something rude in return. Instead I tilted my head mockingly. "Really now?" I raised an eyebrow, "Don't tell me you're curious about me, Mr. Burrow," I teased. "What if I am? Is that a crime Miss Hubbard?" he probed, his voice low trying to keep others from hearing our conversation.

I don't know why, but I laughed. It wasn't one of those shy giggles with a hand covering my face or one of those short fake chuckles that I give just to be nice, no. This was one of those fits of laughter, full of happiness type of laughs. A genuine laugh. There's no reason to laugh either, yet the way he so confidently confessed left me dumbfounded and not knowing what to do.

Joe just stared at me, his features seeming softer this time, more relaxed. Once my laughter finally died down I spoke up, "Haven't you heard Burrow, curiosity killed the cat," I teased, poking him in the chest as extra measures. "Good thing cats have nine lives," he winked, getting the last word. 'Damn him and his quick wits,' I cursed in my head. I was about to ask him why he didn't order any alcohol after realizing that he's stuck with just water. But, one of the guys called out my name, interrupting us. I turned my head to follow where the voice came from to see that it was from Evan.

"Sam's told us that you're an interior designer, is there any way you could help my wife and I out? We just bought a house near the city and were thinking of renovating," he asked, sounding hopeful. I smiled at the mention of my career, secretly thanking Sam for bragging about me to his friends. "Of course! I wouldn't mind at all! Sam can send my info to you later and you or your wife can contact me with a date that's fine with you," I replied sweetly. Happy that I was able to get a new client even on my day off. "That's great, thanks! She'll be really happy to be working with you," Evan thanked.

"An interior designer, huh? You really had me fooled by thinking that you were some sort of doctor," Joe joined in the conversation, to which everyone laughed including me. "Me? A doctor?" I pointed to myself while laughing. "Out of all the jobs and careers out there, you thought I'd be a doctor? Burrow, you must be crazy to think I'm even capable of taking care of another person," shaking my head in disbelief. In my peripheral vision I could see Sam agreeing with me as well.

"What inspired you to become an interior designer then?" Trey butted in now curious. "I think I found my passion for it  in my second year of college?" I was unsure of how to answer, so my response sounded more like a question once it left my lips. "Back then I had a hard time choosing the career path I wanted to take and found that interior design was what fit well with me the most," I added more confidently.

The guys all seemed satisfied with my answer, all reminiscing about how they also had to think of back up plans in case they didn't make it to the NFL.

Starting to feel more comfortable, I found myself laughing along and joining into everyone's conversations. An hour had passed by the time we all decided to finally start playing, the sun was shining right above us, signaling that it was early into the afternoon. It was now my turn to swing and felt the wind start to pick up from behind me. Taking note of this, I pulled the ball closer to me, placing my foot into position to swing. I took a deep breath before swinging the club down with full force. Releasing my breath once I heard the club making contact with the ball and watched how the ball bounced perfectly onto the green and rolled closer to the hole. Coming in short by only a few inches, my ball became the closest one to the hole.