Matchplay (12 page)

***

I
spent Thanksgiving Break with my dad. He wasn’t quite up to making a turkey, and I wasn’t sure he even knew how. My mom had always been the one to cook the big holiday meals. We decided to just get Chinese take-out and watch movies.

We tried to watch a comedy but neither one of us laughed. I was thinking about how Aaron and I had left things: completely
in the air. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do or even what I wanted to do.

My dad stopped the movie and gave me a serious look. “What’s going on with you and Aaron
?”

I shrugged. I didn’t have any idea where to begin. “Things are complicated
.”

My dad put his hand on my shoulder. “Things were very complicated when your mom and I first met
. We never told you this but I was engaged to someone else when I met your mother.”

My dad’s words shocked me. I wasn’t sure I had even heard him correctly. “You were engaged to someone else?”

My dad nodded. “It’s not something I’m very proud of. Sherrie, the woman I was engaged to, was a wonderful person. Pretty, smart, funny, everything a guy could want. We were together for almost a year. I loved her but I wasn’t in love with her. I didn’t know the difference until I met your mom.”

I was still in shock. My dad was such an honest and upstan
ding person. How did something like what he was describing happen to him?

“I made a huge mistake when I met your mom. I was so overcome with intense feelings for
her, I neglected to mention I was engaged to someone else. I didn’t want her to see me as unavailable even though I was. I know it’s a cliché but with your mom, it was love at first sight. I had such overwhelming feelings for her, feelings I never had for Sherrie. I knew immediately that marrying Sherrie would be a mistake.

Unfortunately, I didn’t handle things as well as I could
have and in retrospect I deeply regret it. Not that it was an excuse but I was only twenty as the time. I lacked the maturity to handle the situation. I started seeing your mom before I completely ended things with Sherrie. Of course, they both found out and I lost both of them. And I deserved every bit of heartbreak I got.”

I was confused. He said he lost both of them. “How did you get back together with mom?”

“It took a lot of hard work. I had to convince your mom that she could trust me, even if I didn’t deserve it. I had to convince her that we belonged together and that she was the love of my life. It wasn’t easy. But eventually, she let me back into her life and into her heart. I never did another thing to hurt your mom and I spent her entire life trying to make her happy.”

“You succeeded, Dad
. I know you made mom happy and that she loved you with all of her heart.”

My dad nodded as he choked back a sob. He took a deep breath then said, “I think you should give Aaron a chance to at least prove he’s worthy of your love.”

I nodded. I guess if my mom was willing to give my dad a chance, I could give Aaron a chance, too. 

***

I
didn’t hear anything from Aaron while I was on break and I didn’t hear from him when classes started again, either. I was nervous about seeing him in class on Thursday and was shocked when he never made it. He had never missed class before and it was only two weeks until our final presentations were due. With all of the personal drama going on between us, we hadn’t had much time to finalize our projects.

When I exited the building after class, I was surprised to see Aaron standing outside presumably waiting for me. As I passed by him, he started walking with me.

“Why weren’t you in class today?” I asked.

“I told Dr. Griffin that I needed some extra time to finish something I was working on and she excused me from class.”

I eyed him suspiciously. “What were you working on?”

He gave me a half smile. “It’s a surprise.”

“Okay,” I said with some trepidation.

“I’d like to show you, if you have time
.”

“This was supposed to be our study time
.” 

He grabbed my hand. “Come on
. Follow me.”

When we arrived outside The Clubhouse I stopped in my tracks. “I’m not going in there
.” 

Aaron took both of my hands in his. “I know the last time you were here, it was awful. I promise I will never let anything like that even happen again. I won’t let you out of my sight. I withdrew from the Tournament and I told the guys the reason why, because I’m in love with you. They’re not very happy with me and they don’t understand but it doesn’t matter. Getting you back means more to me than they do. If I could move out, I would but I’m still the club President and I’m required to live here.”

I considered everything Aaron had said but I still felt extremely uncomfortable with the idea of going in there. What if I came face to face with Evan again?

“What I want to show you has to do with our final present
ation. I know how important it is to you, so I did some extra work on my own.”

“Okay
. But only because it has to do with our project, which I’m extremely nervous about since we haven’t had much of a chance to work on it lately.”

“You don’t have to worry about it
. Trust me.”

That really was the crux of our problem, wasn’t it?

The Clubhouse was quiet. I assumed that was because it was still early and most of the guys were still in class or at the library studying. Aaron led me down a narrow hallway past several doors, which I assumed were other guy’s rooms. We stopped at a door at the end of the hallway.

“This is it.
My college home.”

Aaron took a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. “Put your hands over your eyes,” he said. “And don’t peek.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Please play along,” he pleaded.

I obliged and placed my hands over my eyes. He opened the door and led me into the room. His room smelled of fresh laundry. It surprised me. He placed his hands on my shoulders and positioned me. “Okay, you can open your eyes.”

I blinked a few times to make sure my eyes were actually working. I could feel my jaw drop. “Oh, my God,” was all I could manage to say.

In front of me was a doll house-sized Mary Cassatt Museum. It was two stories high and had six rooms. Each room had two miniature Cassatt paintings and tiny people viewing the paintings. Each room also had benches and a few chairs and some small people were seated on them. The most impressive thing was that the miniature museum was fully lighted. Each painting was illuminated by a small pin light and every room had a working miniature chandelier.

“How did you do this?” I managed to say still in shock.

“I asked a dollhouse maker to help me design and build it. He’s been working on it with me for weeks. I hired an artist to paint the miniature replicas of Cassatt’s work. He could only do one or two a week, so there are only 12 paintings. But I think he did some of her best ones.”

I examined the miniature paintings more closely. “This is amazing
. I can’t believe you spent so much time and energy on this.”

Aaron looked into my eyes. “I did it for you, Sunshine. B
ecause I know how much the project means to you and I know how important the class is.”

I gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, Aaron.”

“Just seeing the smile on your face and the excitement in your eyes was worth it.” He stroked the side of my face with his thumb. He looked at me with such tenderness it melted my heart. “I’d better get you back to the dorm. The guys are going to start coming home for dinner soon and I don’t want them to make you feel uncomfortable.”

I nodded and Aaron led me out of his room. As he was loc
king his door, I could see Evan walking down the hallway toward us. I immediately froze.

“What’s up, Evan,” Aaron
asked, the tone of his voice strained.

Aaron put his arm around me and pulled me close to him in a protective gesture, all the while glaring at Evan.

“I just wanted to apologize to your girlfriend,” Evan sneered, his voice dripping with insincerity. “I may have said a few things that were out of line.”

May have said?
A few things? What a jerk. He had said several things that were definitely out of line. Not much of an apology, in my opinion. But he did call me Aaron’s girlfriend, even though at this point, I really wasn’t. Was I?

Evan continued. “Anyway, I hope to see you at our end-of-the-semester bash. I’m the head of the social committee, so I know it’ll be a good time.”

I didn’t know how to respond to Evan or if I was even supposed to. Aaron saved me. “I’ve got to get Rainy back to the dorm,” he said as he pulled me down the hallway away from Evan.

I could hear Evan’s voice echo down the hallway after us. “Catch you later, then, Bro.”

  When we exited the social club, I eased myself from Aaron’s protective grasp.

“I noticed that Evan called me your girlfriend,” I said as I looked into Aaron’s eyes.

He held out his hand for me to take. “Well, are you?” he asked.

We both stared at his outstretched hand for a moment. It was a moment of truth. I knew if I took his hand, it would mean I was going to give him another chance and I was ready to let him back into my life.  As soon as I reached for Aaron’s hand, he grabbed mine and quickly laced our fingers together. His grasp was tight as if he was afraid I might change my mind. When I looked up at Aaron, his face was glowing with joy.

He brought my hand to his mouth and kissed my fingers. We looked into each other’s eyes and the energy between us surged. It took my breath away for a moment.

“I’d better get you back to your dorm,” he
whispered.

When we got to the front door of my dorm, I wondered if he was going to try to kiss me. I wondered if I’d let him. I didn’t have to wonder long.

Aaron leaned over and gave me a soft kiss. We both looked at each other and there was another energy surge between us. He didn’t hesitate to pull me into him and kiss me again. This time with more intensity and urgency.

When we broke
away to both take a breath, he said, “I think I’d better go.”

I didn’t want him to. “My roommate will be out of town this weekend at a speech tournament,” I blurted.

Aaron raised an eyebrow. “Are you propositioning me?” He gave me a sly grin.

I smiled but didn’t deny it. Part of me was actually happy to see some of the arrogant Aaron returning. It was as much a part of him as the sensitive Aaron was. They were all sides of the complex guy I was growing to love.

“I’ll pick you up on Saturday at seven. Wear something really nice.”

I nodded. Aaron gave me one last kiss on the forehead then put his hands in his pockets and watched as I unlocked my dorm’s front door.

Ten

A Bounce Back

O
n Saturday, I wore the only dress that I had, the one I had worn Parent’s Weekend. I hoped Aaron wasn’t disappointed that I was wearing it again. I decided to dress it up a bit by pulling my hair back into a loose pony tail and wearing the pearls my mom had given me before she died.

At exactly seven, there was a knock on my door. When I opened it, Aaron handed me a small bouquet of sunflowers.

“Thank you,” I said. “They’re beautiful.”

“So are you
.” Aaron grinned.

So was he. I didn’t think Aaron could get any more gorgeous until I saw him dressed in his charcoal grey suit. He could have put any male model to shame. Both of us eyed each other with such lust, I was sure he was thinking the same thing I was. Let’s skip the dinner and go right to dessert here in my dorm room.

“We’d better get going. Our reservation is in 15 minutes.”             

***

T
he trendy restaurant was one I had heard about but never actually saw. It was supposed to be one of the most expensive in the city.

When we entered, the atmosphere was a bit haunting with an industrial vibe. I felt like I had entered a de Chirico painting.

The host led us to a secluded table near the back of the restaurant and we sat down.

After we ordered, Aaron’s expression turned serious. He gazed into my eyes. “I hope you don’t think this is too much too soon but I wanted to give you your Christmas present is little bit early.”

It was only the beginning of December. “I didn’t get you anything yet.”

He grabbed my hands in his. “And you don’t have to. Your being with me is enough of a gift.”

He reached into the breast pocket of his suit and removed an envelope, which he handed to me.

It wasn’t what I was expecting at all. My curiosity was def
initely piqued. I opened the envelope and pulled out two airline tickets. They were to St. Petersburg, Florida.

“I want us to see
the Dali Museum together,” he said softly. “I know he’s one of your favorite artists and I wanted you to build some happy memories there. You seemed so sad that the last time you went was connected to your mom’s death.”

“When?”
I asked.

“I was hoping we could go after our exams but before Christmas. I know you want to see your dad but I was hoping we could spend a long weekend there. My uncle has a condo in St. Pete that he never uses. He said I can use it any time I want.”

Aaron had such a tenuous expression on his face, it almost looked like he was in pain waiting for my response.

“I’d love to go
.”

Aaron exhaled and smiled. “Great. I can’t wait to completely spoil you in Florida.”

“Wait a minute. I agreed to the trip but I don’t remember agreeing to being spoiled.”

We both laughed.

When we got back to my room, awkwardness and sexual tension filled the small space. I wasn’t sure where we were with each other. I didn’t know if we’d take things where we had left off or start over from square one.

Aaron closed the space between us and cupped my face in his hands. He caressed my cheek with his thumbs as he looked into my eyes. “I’m glad you decided to give me another chance. I promise I won’t let you down this time.”

I gulped. “Kiss me,” I whispered.

And he did.

He started by softly pressing his lips to mine but it didn’t take long for his tongue to slip into my mouth and for the desire between us to build.

I grabbed his hand and led him to the bed. I pulled him down with me
so we were both lying down. We stared at each other for a long moment. “I don’t deserve you,” he sighed.

I kissed him. I would have given myself to him completely if he had asked but he didn’t. He stroked my cheek with his thumb. “I want to make love to you
. But not here and not now.”

I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed. He continued. “I told you, I want it to be perfect.”

“As long as it’s with you, I know it will be perfect. Will you stay here with me tonight?”

He smiled. “I was hoping you would ask.”

The next morning, I awoke with my head still on his chest, the way we had fallen asleep. His arms were wrapped around me and our legs were entangled. It felt so comfortable and so right, I didn’t want to move but I had to pee. I gently stroked Aaron’s chest until his eyes opened.

“Is it morning already?”
He yawned.

“Yes, and we’ve got some work to do on our final project, which is due this week
.” 

He kissed my forehead. “Do you have any idea how much I love waking up next to you?”

“I think I have an idea.” 

We both got up and got out of bed. He took me into his arms and whispered into my ear, “I’ll see you in a few hours, Sunshine. We can spend as much time as you want today working on our project.”

***

A
aron and I had been working on the script for our final presentation for a few hours when there was a knock on the door. Strange because I wasn’t expecting anyone but Olivia and she wouldn’t knock on her own door.

When I opened the door, I saw it was Lucas. He went wide-eyed when he noticed Aaron was sitting on my bed.

“Maybe I should come back later,” he said uncomfortably.

“No, Man,” Aaron said. “It’s cool. We’re almost done with our work anyway.”

Lucas plopped down on Olivia’s bed and I sat down next to Aaron on my bed. The three of us stared at each other for a few moments.

“This is awkward,” Aaron blurted. I frowned at him and he shrugged.

“Olivia’s due back soon,” I said trying to make conversation. Aaron was right. It was awkward.

“She’s been spending a lot of time with
Marney,” Lucas stated.

I saw a moment of recognition cross over Aaron’s face. Then he looked at Lucas with a puzzled expression. Before I could stop him, Aaron said, “Well, they are dating.”

Lucas’s face turned sheet white and Aaron looked at me. “I’m sorry,” he mouthed.

Lucas blinked a few times as if he was processing what he had just heard. “A lot of things make sense now
.”

“Lucas,
Olivia was afraid to tell you. She didn’t want you to think any less of her because she likes girls.”

“She was really worried about that?’” Lucas said. “Why?”

“You’ll have to ask her that question,” I said.

As if on cue, Olivia and
Marney burst into the room. They were still on what appeared to be a post-debate-team-win high.

“What’s up, Bitches,”
Marney said laughing. “You’re looking at speech team regional champions!”

Olivia eyed Aaron. “I guess we can assume that the two of you kissed and made up while we were away?”

Aaron leaned over and kissed my cheek then said to Olivia, “Your keen powers of observation and deduction are unparalleled.”

Olivia eyed Aaron suspiciously. “Why the compliments all of a sudden, backhanded though they may be?”

Aaron cleared his throat. “It’s possible I may have accidently let it slip that you and Marney are a couple because I wasn’t aware that Lucas didn’t know.”

“And here I thought you were too drunk to remember that,”
Marney chimed in.

Olivia sat on the bed next to her brother. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“I’m a little upset that I’m the last to know. I am your only brother.”

Olivia embraced him in a big bear hug. “Now you have to help me tell Mom and Dad,” she said and we all smiled.

***

I
was surprised at how unprepared most of the other groups were for their final presentations. I was glad we decided to go last. The other students may have been mad if they had to follow us. Two of the groups were so bad it made me wonder if they had worked on their presentations at all.

After every other group had
finished, Dr. Griffin called me and Aaron forward. Aaron had placed his miniature museum at the front of the room with a sheet over it. He was beaming with such pride when he lifted the sheet to unveil his masterpiece. Several of the students in the room actually gasped in surprise. They all got up from their seats and gathered around the museum he had built to get a better look.

I cleared my throat then gave the oral part of the present
ation. I tried to match the speech as closely as I could with the pieces he had reproduced. I also gave some interesting history about Mary Cassatt including the information Aaron had given me about her lost mural.

Ours was the only presentation to get a round of applause by the rest of the class.

After class, Dr. Griffin stopped both of us before we could leave.

“I just wanted to let the two of you know how impressed I was with your work,” she said.
“That was, by far, the best presentation I have seen in my 30 years teaching this class.”

I could see a twinkle in Aaron’s eyes. I think he was proud of the accomplishment, even if he had initially only done it for me.

Dr. Griffin turned to me. “Rainy, the internship next semester is yours, if you want it.”

“Of course, I want it.
Just let me know when you’d like me to start.”

She nodded. “I’ll email you all of the details.”

When we got outside, Aaron embraced me, picked me up off the ground and swung me around. “We did it!” he shouted.

When he placed me back on the ground, I reached up and gave him a kiss. “I can’t thank you enough
.”

“No need to thank me
. I know how much the internship means to you. All of the work was worth it.”

***

A
aron picked me up just liked he promised and we headed over to The Clubhouse for their final party of the semester. Over the weekend, students would be filtering home for break and Aaron and I would be on our way to Florida.

We stood at the front door of The Clubhouse and people were already lined up to get signed in. Aaron squeezed my hand. “Ready?” he asked.

I nodded even though I really didn’t feel ready. I didn’t trust Evan and the last time I saw him, with his fake apology, left a bad taste in my mouth.

“Don’t let go of my hand, okay?” Aaron
instructed. “No matter what. Even if you have to use the bathroom, I’ll go with you and stand outside the door.”

The saddest part about Aaron’s statement was that it should have sounded extreme but really didn’t. I knew I wanted to be with Aaron but I also knew The Clubhouse was a big part of his life. I knew it was difficult for him to bring those two pieces of his life together because
they really didn’t fit.

We didn’t stand in the line to sign in. Aaron pulled me right past the sign in table and the guys manning the station just nodded at him.

“I need to make the rounds first,” Aaron explained.

I assumed it was a duty related to him being President of The Clubhouse. He pulled me around the house as he checked in with various guys: two guys handing people beer at a keg; three guys serving drinks at the bar; a guy carrying a huge bowl of chips and dip toward the bar and a guy running toward the bathroom with several rolls of toilet paper.

“Looks like everything is okay,” Aaron said.

“Obviously the guy with the toilet paper has the most crucial job,” I said and smiled.

He grinned. “We always give that duty to the smartest freshman.”

He leaned down and gave me a soft kiss. “Thanks for co
ming. I know this isn’t your thing.”

Not my thing was really an understatement but I let it go. Then I caught sight of Evan out of the corner of my eye and cringed. I braced myself for whatever nasty thing I knew he was inevitably going to say.

Aaron saw my expression change before he saw Evan. I thought Aaron was going to say something to me but Evan stepped up next to him.

“Hey, Buddy,” Evan said as he patted Aaron on the shoulder. “Glad to see you made it.
And brought your lovely girlfriend with you.”

I didn’t like the emphasis Evan placed on the word girlfriend. He managed to make it sound dirty.  

“So, will Rainy and her family be joining us in Aspen this year?” Evan asked.

I could feel all of the muscles in the hand of Aaron’s I was holding immediately tense. When I looked into Aaron’s eyes, he was shooting daggers at Evan.

Aaron had said nothing to me about Aspen. Not that I had expected him to. We hadn’t really talked much about the winter break, other than our trip to St. Petersburg.

Evan continued, “I guess it would be a little awkward with
Keira and her family being there.”