Got Game?

by Stephanie Doyle

  “It’s okay, Grams. Odie is worth every penny.”

  “I truly am.”

  The timer on the oven went off and Grams began her journey over to the oven. Odie looked as if he wanted to help with setting up the walker for her, but Pop shook his head. Both Reilly and Kenny knew Grams wanted to do it on her own and the more people fussed, the more irritated she became. Besides, she had purposely set the timer two minutes short knowing how long it would take to reach the oven.

  One of the secrets to baking, after all, was in the timing.

  “So what’s in the truck?” Kenny asked, diverting Odie’s attention. “What kind of equipment are we talking about?”

  “It will be best to wait until it’s here and then I’ll explain. Which if my faulty ears have not comp-pletely failed me, is right about now.”

  Reilly figured Odie must have dog ears because it was the only way he could have heard the rumble of the truck no one else heard for at least another thirty seconds. But there it was, making a rumbling sound throughout the house until Reilly realized that when Odie said truck, he wasn’t talking about a measly pickup.

  Following him outside around the house, Kenny, Pop and Reilly all watched the large truck buck and roll its way down the long driveway.

  “That’s a whole lot of tech-nah-logy,” Kenny whistled. “Hell with that kind of technology, maybe he can make it so I can crack the top twenty.”

  “Let’s concentrate on one family member at a time playing in the American.” Reilly watched as the driver of the truck hopped down to greet Odie. The two men shook hands and then came toward the assembled group.

  Reilly’s jaw dropped. The driver was like no man she had ever seen before. He was, in a word, perfect. It was like the time she ran into Brad Pitt at a party when she’d been dating Buck. It was enough to take her breath away. He had perfect features set in a classic square face, although not so square it made a person think of Herman Munster. Moving with a subtle grace, he jogged his way over to Reilly. His leather coat was open and through it she caught glimpses of a tight, almost spandex-like material that showed off his defined pecks and his one, two, three, four… yep, that was a six-pack.

  Hello. The word was in her head as he drew closer, but she knew she was going to have to work a lot harder to get it out of her mouth. Right now she was dumbstruck.

  “Reilly, this is Pierce,” Odie said, coming up behind the man and patting him on the back.

  “Pierce,” she managed to utter. Pierce was perfect. He smiled, but his attention turned to Kenny. His gaze seemed to linger until Reilly decided which way his wind blew. It was fine by her. A man that good-looking was too intimidating for a woman to be around. It was better he preferred men. Safer for womankind everywhere.

  “And you are?” Pierce asked of Kenny.

  Not overwhelmed with the man’s physical beauty, Kenny reached out and shook his hand. “Kenny. I’m the caddy.”

  “My brother. He dates my best friend, Erica.” Reilly put it out there so as not to give Pierce any false hope. After all, she didn’t want him to try and make a move and get shot down and then maybe leave because then she wouldn’t be able to look at him anymore. Looking at him was fun.

  She wished Erica was here and could appreciate him with her.

  “Pierce is an expert in Peel-lattes.”

  Reilly struggled to put the word in context.

  “Pilates,” Pierce said again and winked.

  “That’s what I said. Peel-lattes is this new-fangled exercise…”

  “Actually, it’s been around for decades, Odie,” Pierce corrected him.

  “Boy! Will you let me finish? As I was saying, it’s this exercise that con-cen-trates on elong-gating the muscles. Strength without bulk. It will work your core.”

  Pierce moved his hands - one across his lower abdomen and one just below his chest - to showcase the area known as the core. Reilly lost track of what Odie said after that because she was once again counting Pierce’s six-pack through the clinging material of his shirt.

  “…will help improve clubhead speed. Clubhead speed will make the ball go farther. Reilly!”

  She jumped and hoped that her staring hadn’t been obvious. “Yes, sir.”

  “You will show Pierce to an available room and Kenny, you’ll help me get started unloading my equipment. I need a wide open, dry space.”

  “The barn will do,” Pop suggested. “I’ve got some portable heaters in there that will keep you warm enough while you work.”

  Odie clapped his hands together. “Then let’s get started.”

  ***

  Most of the morning was spent getting settled in. Reilly showed Pierce his room and if she lingered a bit to watch him remove his coat so she could get the full effect of the clinging blue shirt underneath… that was her prerogative as a woman.

  Soon though she helped Odie, Pop and Kenny set up what would be known as the training area in the barn. They created two sections. One was for weights, hanging bars, mats, heavy medicine balls and a Pilates bench with an assortment of strings and pulleys all over it. The bench scared Reilly a little.

  On the other side of the barn were several boxes which contained what Odie called his own invention. Next to the crates was a pretty sophisticated computer. Reilly was jazzed to see how it would all work together. But Odie informed her she was in no way ready for that phase of his training. Body first. Tech-nah-logy second.

  Mind always.

  It was almost three in the afternoon when everything was said and done. Pop and Grams had decided to lie down for a bit. The rest of them were sitting around the kitchen table eating sandwiches and drinking coffee as a reward for all their effort.

  Reilly stretched back and let out a sigh. She ached from all the moving and she was tired after not having slept well the last few days, given all the excitement of what had happened. Everything loaded and ready, she figured she was entitled to some rest. Pops and Grams had the right idea.

  “I think I’m going to take a nap. I’m beat and a little…”

  “A nap? A nap?” Odie barked. “There will be no naps. There is no napping in golf.”

  “But…”

  “But? That sounded sus-spicious-sly like you were about to cont-tra-dict me. You were not going to cont-tra-dict me, were you?”

  “No.”

  “You will go to work with Pierce. Pierce, break down her schedule as I have outlined it, please.”

  Pierce smiled with a hint of sympathy. “We’re going to start you off today pretty light with a two-hour workout and then we’ll cool you down with some yoga. Most of today will involve instruction over the moves, but you’ll feel like you’ve done about five hundred sit-ups when all is said and done. Do you work out currently or have some part of your physical regimen you want to keep?”

  Kenny chuckled. “Physical regimen? The only exercise Reilly does is to touch her toes before her first practice swing.”

  “You know. To stretch.”

  Pierce’s eyebrows rose. “Okay, so the three hours a day of physical conditioning I have mapped out for you… that’s going to be new?”

  Reilly gulped. “This is not a contradiction in any way, but is this really necessary? Yes, I would like a few extra yards out of my driver, but…”

  “There’s that ‘but’ word again.” Odie huffed. “A few extra yards. The average driving distance on the men’s tour is two hundred and eighty-eight yards. What is the average driving distance on the women’s tour?”

  “Two-fifty something.”

  “Two hundred and fifty-two yards. Your average driving distance is?”

  Reilly sighed. “Average? Two seventy-three.”

  “Two seventy-three. It means you kick butt on the women’s tour but you won’t do diddly-squat on the men’s tour. What tournament is it you’re wanting to play in and not embarrass yourself?”

  She knew it was rhetorical but she played along. “The American.”

  “The American. As far as I ca
n recollect, the Amerr-i-can is played as part of the men’s tour. You don’t need a few extra yards. You need at least ten more to not humiliate yourself. Fifteen to be somewhat competitive. If you want to make it to the weekend - the weekend - where the big dogs play, that’s going to mean over twenty yards.”

  “It’s impossible,” she said. “Twenty yards with a couple of sit-ups? It’s ridiculous.”

  “It’s not a couple of sit-ups. It’s over five hundred and it’s not impossible.” Pierce caught her attention and this time she was too pissed off at him to melt at the color of his blue eyes. “If you’re willing to work for it.”

  Oooh. That hurt. Pierce went right below the belt and not in the good way. “You think I can’t work hard?”

  “I don’t know you.”

  “I do.” Odie nodded. “I know you. I know how you used to work. I know how many practice swings you used to take, how many balls you used to hit. I have watched you play recently and I have seen for so long you’ve been getting by on the work you used to do. Sure you beat the field week in and week out. But where has your game gone, Reilly? How has it imp-proved in the last five years? The last two?”

  Reilly’s jaw dropped at his accusation. “I work in the off-season, Odie.”

  He made a derisive sound. “You work. Do you work hard? Do you push yourself? When was the last time you tried something and failed at it? When was the last time something did not come easy for you? When was the last time you had to comp-pete? It is time, lil’ girl. Time for you to be re-ac-quainted with the comp-pet-titor inside you. Time you stop resting on the laurels of being a naturally gifted athlete and look to the comp-pet-itor who has been buried deep for so long. Because that’s who I need to see, Reilly Carr. The athlete will fail you. She’s not talented enough, but the comp-pet-titor I used to know… she might have a chance.”

  Reilly pushed back the chair as she stood. She glared at Odie and felt the rage boiling in her gut. Not a competitor? Not a hard worker?

  “Lunch break is over. Let’s go to work.”

  ***

  “Ow. Ow. Ow.”

  “Maybe if you stop saying ‘ow’, it won’t hurt so much.” Kenny adjusted his sister’s arm over his shoulder. Pierce had the other side and together they were helping Reilly up the stairs.

  “You think? You think it’s the ‘ow’ that’s causing the pain and not the severe muscle cramping in my stomach?” With each move of her foot, her muscles protested. With every breath, her muscles protested.

  Five hundred variations on stomach exercises designed to strengthen her core. Her core was not happy.

  “Take a hot bath and a muscle relaxant. It will help. We’ll concentrate on arms and legs tomorrow to give the stomach muscles a rest, but after that it will be full-steam ahead. Sixty-two days isn’t a lot of time.” Pierce opened her bedroom door and removed the arm from around his shoulders.

  “Sixty-one,” Reilly muttered. “There’s only sixty-one days left.”

  “Right. Well, good night. Night Kenny.”

  “Yeah.” Kenny nodded to him and helped Reilly the rest of the way to her bed. He made his way to the door, which led to the connecting bathroom between their rooms, and got the bath started for her.

  Reilly heard the running water and groaned. It was going to feel good if she could make it there. Right now it was about a fifty-fifty shot.

  “You going to make it on your own?”

  “For a hot bath, I’ll crawl there.”

  “He really worked you hard.”

  “And not in the good way,” she said, smiling.

  “Hate to tell you this, sis, but I think Pierce would be more interested in me than you.”

  “I know. But a girl can dream. He’s still nice to look at. Too bad Erica isn’t here to appreciate him with me. I’ll have to call Tessa. It isn’t right only one woman should enjoy such a natural work of art.”

  Kenny grimaced. “Tessa won’t come. She’s got a boyfriend, remember? Robert.”

  Reilly didn’t have much energy left, and what she had, she planned to use to make it to the bathtub and then to bed, but she couldn’t let the snot quality in his tone pass unnoticed.

  “What’s your deal with that, anyway?”

  “No deal.”

  “You were a dick to her when she came over to offer the auditorium.”

  “She was trying to show off she had a boyfriend. As if I care?”

  “Which you shouldn’t. Because you have Erica. But even if you didn’t have Erica I would beat you to within an inch of your life if you tried to get between Tessa and her boyfriend. You had your chance. You led her along for years. If she’s found someone else, I say good for her.”

  “You don’t know what it was like between us so shut up about it. You are the last person on earth who should be handing out romantic advice. You do nothing but fail at relationships.”

  “And you do nothing but avoid them,” Reilly snapped back, feeling the sting of his comments.

  Kenny stalked off toward the bedroom door. “Mind your own business. Go get married again.”

  “Stay away from Tessa!” Reilly shouted as the bedroom door was slammed shut and then winced as once again her stomach muscles protested. Stupid brother. The least he could have done was helped her to take off her sneakers because there was no way she was going to be able to bend down far enough to do it herself.

  Oh, well. She’d take the bath with them on.

  CHAPTER 12

  She tossed her head back and groaned as he slid even deeper inside of her. His hips thrust steadily. With his hands, he rolled her body in a fluid motion over him, letting her feel every inch of his cock as he bumped up against the walls of her soft flesh.

  Damn, she felt good. Tight and wet and so fucking perfect for him.

  He reached up for her breast and it overwhelmed his palm. She was more voluptuous than he remembered and the change was exciting.

  Her fingers dug into the hair on his chest and he knew she was getting close. She was moving faster. Up and down, racing for her finish just like she used to. Always so urgent as if she was afraid she was never going to get there. But he’d never let her down. Sometimes he’d had to take care of things after the fact, but she always got her pleasure in the end. He was a gentleman.

  He heard the catch in her throat as she stopped breathing and watched as the flush started at her belly button and moved up her body. It was worth it to hold on for a few more seconds to see her orgasm move over her body like a wave, even as he felt her tighten her internal hold around his dick.

  Another push, one more, one more and yeah, there it was - that fabulous liquid feeling that came as his body exploded. He felt the come surge out of his body and wondered if she could feel it, too.

  Fuck, he thought. That was great. It was always great with her.

  “Oh, my goodness,” she sighed and collapsed on top of his chest. Her hair tickled his nose and he was forced to move his hand to remove it before he sneezed.

  Her breasts felt good pressed against his chest. He hadn’t spent enough time on them. He’d barely had her nipples in his mouth before he’d moved on. He was most definitely a breast man. Next time he’d give them the attention they deserved.

  “You need to go.”

  Kenny popped open his eyes. Tessa pushed herself up so she was leaning over him, her hands on his chest. He was still semi-hard and inside her.

  “You need to go.”

  “But I just came. Bah dump bump.” He patted the mattress with his hand in sync with his bad joke. Not laughing, Tessa rolled off him and got to her feet. Man, she was beautiful naked. Her legs were endless and her hips curved and dipped into her waist like a winding road. He’d had her almost every year since the time she was eighteen and he decided this year, the way she was now was by far his favorite.

  “We shouldn’t have done this,” she croaked as she made her way to her closet to get a robe he knew would be hanging on the back of the door.

  She�
�d bought this house from her mother when her mother decided to move to Florida to forever avoid the Nebraska winters. Tessa hadn’t changed it all that much, modernized the kitchen and bathrooms and repainted a few rooms, but her bedroom was still the same. She never bothered to move into the master bedroom and Kenny was glad. Lying in her room, in her bed, brought back a host of lovely memories starting with the time he’d come home from college and finally let her seduce him, a feat she’d been attempting and failing at for two years.

  Two years was a lot of time for a woman to think about sex, and although she’d been a virgin, Tessa had blown his mind that day.

  Come to think about it, she’d blown his mind every time since. They were great together in bed. Fuck buddies. Friends with benefits. He came home, they hooked up. It was nice. Then they went their separate ways. No harm, no foul. It had been like this for years. So why was she telling him he needed to leave?

  “He’s not coming over for a midnight booty call?”

  Tessa came out of the closet with her terry cloth robe wrapped around her. “Who? You mean Robert?” Her face scrunched with disgust. “Do you honestly think I would have sex with you and then turn around and have sex with him in the same night? What kind of person do you think I am?”

  Ooops. Women. They were always so damn touchy about… well, just about everything. “I didn’t mean you would have sex with him.” The idea did sort of make him queasy. “I just don’t understand the big rush to get me out of here. If you give me a couple of minutes, we could go for round two.”

  “No round two. There shouldn’t have been a round one.”

  Not at all pleased with how fast things were progressing Kenny rolled out of bed and reached for the pants he’d kicked off onto the floor.

  Tessa began pulling at the blankets like she was trying to erase what they’d done.

  “What is your problem?”

  She whirled around with the pillow still in her hands. She crumpled it between her hands and he could see she was angry at something. Someone. “Did I do something wrong?”

  He couldn’t imagine what. She’d gotten off. It’s not like the one time when he’d accidentally sucked on her neck so hard he’d given her a hickey. She’d been pissed at him then because she said she looked awful in turtlenecks.