Chapter Eight: Some Kind of Disaster 2/2

I stopped to look at him.

He was really going to talk to me about this? Even though he avoided pretty much everything personal.

“They asked me,” he admitted.

“Does Gus know?” I asked.

He shook his head, “I’m not going, and I would never do that to him.”

I didn’t think he would, not to Gus or Benny.

“What kind of people are they?” I asked.

“They are pretty out there,” he laughed, “I’m not even sure really how to describe them.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Benny hasn’t told you where she comes from?” he asked.

He started to walk, and I had to walk fast to catch up.

“She comes from money,” he said, “That’s why her parents don’t like Gus.”

That seems like a really shitty reason.

“They think he can’t provide for her.”

“We both know that isn’t true,” I said.

“We know that,” he said.

“So why do they like you more than Gus?” I asked, “Because you come from money?”

He turned to glare at me.

Was that too obvious? He really hates me asking personal questions.

“I do come from money,” he said.

I was surprised that he even answered.

“That isn’t the reason,” he said, “They don’t really know me, but they know I owe them.”

I had to stop him, “Owe them how?”

He just stared back at me. He didn’t plan for that to come out of his mouth, did he?

“I’m not answering that,” he said simply.

He started to walk again.

“Why tell me anything then?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. He still sounded a little frustrated.

He walked faster than me, and I let him stay ahead of me.

The trail got steeper, and I was nearly out of breath as I tried to climb.

I was thankful he didn’t try to talk to me. I still wanted to know, why did he owe Benny’s parents anything?

It took forever for us to reach the course, and I was ready to drop.

I laid down on the ground once I was surrounded by grass.

“Here,” I heard Michael say.

When I looked up, he was holding a bottle of water over my face.

“Thank you,” I said, taking it.

“I forgot to give it to you earlier,” he admitted.

I wanted to glare at him, but I just sat up and took a drink.

“You will have to talk to me now,” he said, “It’s you and me against them.”

This wasn’t what I had in mind when I told Michael that mini-golf sounded like a good idea.

Besides, I wasn’t the one not talking to him.

“You might want to get up,” he said, “We have to go in and get our clubs.”

I looked at him like he was crazy, then my brain registered what he actually said.

It took me a minute to get up, then I followed him inside the white and gray brick building.

Benny and Gus were inside already.

They looked like they made up, and I was glad for that.

“Finally,” Benny said, “What took you guys so long?”

Michael pointed back at me.

“Yep,” I said, “All me.”

I knew I was terrible at these kinds of things, but I wouldn’t deny it either.

“Let’s go check-in,” Gus said.

He headed towards the main desk, and Michael went with him.

I knew it was my chance to ask her about Michael, but if I did, that would mean she would know that he already knows.

Instead, I decided I would ask her about something else.

“Are you planning to tell Gus today?”

She met my gaze and made a face.

She was trying to put it off.

“I don’t know,” she said, “I want to tell him, but I don’t want to ruin the mood.”

“So, tell him before the mood,” I suggested.

“Then he won’t want to stay,” she said.

“You won’t know until you talk to him,” I stated, “When we go off and separate into our teams, tell him.”

She hesitated before nodding, “I’ll try.”

“You will tell him,” I said, “He deserves to know. Besides, you are going to bring him anyway, so he should know.”

She smiled wide, “Okay.”

“Are you two done?” Michael asked, “We’re ready over here.”

Benny tensed, but I could see how nervous she was.

“You got this,” I said.

She nodded fiercely and went right for the boys.

I took in a good breath before I ran to catch up with them.

++++++++++

I sighed as I stared at the course.

This was going to suck. I was going to make us lose.

“We can’t lie about our score, can we?” I asked.

“Nope.”

I glared at the faded red club.

“Like I said before,” Michael said, “Think of this as a monitored game, kind of like bowling.”

“What?” I tried not to hiss.

“The clubs have some type of device in it that records every time it makes contact with the balls,” he stated, “So when we are finished, we will go and check our scores at the desk.”

That sounded terrible.

I didn’t think this was really going to be a competition.

“I have to warn you,” Michael said, “We used to come here a lot until Benny got inhumanly good at miniature golf.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You guys got beat by Benny?”

“We don’t joke about losing to girls,” he said, “We learn from our mistakes, and then we destroy them.”

“I can’t promise I’ll be very good,” I warned.

“You couldn’t be any worse than Gus,” he stated, “He is the worst mini golfer I’ve ever seen.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, “Because you haven’t seen me play yet.”

“I hope you aren’t that bad,” he shrugged, “Because I want to win.”

Doesn’t everybody?

“Is there a reason?” I asked.

He turned to smile at me, “Gus and I are just having a little wager.”

“That sounds dangerous,” I said, “What happens to the loser?”

“I’ll let you know if we lose,” he said.

“I’m not involved in this wager, am I?” I asked.

He shrugged innocently.

This bastard.

“What does that mean?” I demanded.

“It means we need to win,” he said, “Red needs to kick blue’s ass.”

I hesitated before nodding.

Let the games begin.

I watched Michael hit the ball first, and the ball just barely missed the hole.

I saw the irritation on his face.

“This is still a game,” I stated.

He hit the ball again, and it landed in the hole.

“Two,” he said, “Shit.”

I felt my hands start to sweat once I set my ball down.

Why did it have to be a competition? I hated those things.

I took in a breath, and I hit the ball a little harder than I planned.

It rolled, and I had to shut my eyes.

“Well, shit,” Michael said, “Seems like we might actually have a chance.”

I opened my eyes, and the ball wasn’t there.

He reached into the hole to grab both balls.

So, I made it in with one swing?

He held out the faded red ball, the one that went with my club.

His was dark red, that way we knew which ball and club belonged to who.

The next course had a small hill in the center.

Michael was first again, and I frowned as I watched him hit the ball.

I really wanted to know what the wager was.

“Michael?” I asked.

“Fuck,” he hissed.

The ball didn’t go in until his fourth swing.

“So, do I get to know about the wager?” I asked, “If I’m involved, I think I deserve to know.”

I set the ball in front of me.

“If I tell you, we will definitely lose,” he stated.

I hit the ball harder than I planned, and it went past the hole and hit the backside only to bounce off and land directly into the hole.

“That’s why,” he pointed.

So, what if I was doing surprisingly well?

He removed the balls from the hole again.

“Tell me,” I said.

I felt like I was about to lose my mind.

I hated not knowing things. First this whole trip, now the wager.

Was he doing this on purpose?

He handed me my ball when we got to the next course.

“How many of these are there?” I asked, looking around.

“Eighteen,” he stated, setting his ball down.

“So, what happens if we win?” I asked.

He hit the ball, and it barely skimmed the hole but didn’t go in.

I watched him barely tap the ball into the hole.

He looked at me, and I felt a weird chill run through me.

I had to look away.

“You should tell me,” I said, “Knowing is half the battle.”

“I already told you no,” he simply.

“If you don’t tell me,” I had to think of a good enough threat, “Then I’ll purposely miss every hole.”

“Then I’ll play for you,” he stated.

“I’ll tell Benny and Gus you cheated,” I warned.

He stared back at me, and I didn’t want him to keep looking at me like that.

I felt weird.

I set my ball down.

“If you make it in one hit, I’ll tell you,” he said.

I met his gaze again, and this time I knew where I felt it.

I didn’t want him looking at me, it felt kind of dirty. We’re in public.

Since when did his gaze have that effect on me?

This was my chance. If I make this ball in one hit, he’ll tell me.

I took in a breath before I hit the ball, it went over the first hill. The ball picked up speed going down, the first one made it fast enough to go over the second one, and right into the hole.

Damn, I was good at this.

“I’m impressed,” he said.

He leaned down to retrieve the balls again.

“You were saying?” I asked.

He gave me a smile that made me glare at him.

“The losers have to do whatever the winners say,” he stated, “It’s the rule for every competition we have.”

“Between you and Gus?” I asked.

“And Benny,” he stated.

Which now meant, me too.

“Crap,” I said.

“They might go easy on you since it will be your first loss,” he stated, “But I will receive no mercy.”

That sounded fair to me.

Take all the fun out of the games. That should be punishment enough.

Michael got his first hole in one on the next course.

I made it in two.

This was going to end sooner than I actually wanted it to.

I glanced up at Michael, and I felt a little guilty.

Part of me already knew that I kind of liked him, but I don’t know to what extent.

He laughed when he completely missed the ball with the club.

His laughter was contagious, and I couldn’t help but join in.

“That was bad,” he said, “Did you see that?”

I nodded, watching him try to hit the ball again, but he couldn’t stop laughing.

This is what I wanted to see.

He was having fun. He wasn’t acting like a jerk at all.

I was too focused on him that I didn’t pay much attention to anything around us.

“Ren!”

Michael turned to look at me.

He made a face at me.

“What?” I asked.

He pointed to my right, and I turned to see Benny waving wildly at me.

Was that Benny I heard calling me?

I waved at her and smiled.

“Remember the rules,” Benny said, “Payback is a bitch.”

I turned to look at Michael to see his reaction, and it didn’t look good.

“Payback?” I asked.

He made a face.

“Let’s not lose,” he said.

It was my turn.

It took me three hits this time.

“What did you do to them?” I asked.

“Gus can be a wimp sometimes,” he stated as we walked to the large gray castle, “Sometimes it’s just Benny and me.”

I nodded slowly.

“I’m guessing she lost,” I said.

“Understatement,” he stated, “She was destroyed.”

“Okay,” I said, “So what did you make her do?”

He smiled wickedly at me, “She had to get herself a spray tan.”

I shrugged, “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“She was orange,” he stated.

“Some people end up orange,” I said, “Don’t they?”

“She was purposely sprayed orange,” he stated, “Like carrot orange.”

I gasped, “Evil.”

Has it really been that long since their last wager?

“She was lucky that the color washed out after two weeks.”

She was orange for two weeks? Poor Benny.

“I can’t even imagine what she might have planned for us,” he said.

I was quick to nod, “Let’s not lose then.”

Of course, once we were both on the same page, both of us were utterly missing the hole.

We were going to lose. I was terrified of the wager, but I would like to think that I would be shown mercy.

The sky was starting to darken, and the green surrounding the holes just looked dull. The structures around started to light up, making the course look a million times more exciting.

I knew it wasn’t that late yet, the clouds just decided that the sunlight was done for now.

“It’s nice,” Michael said from next to me.

I didn’t realize I was lagging until I noticed the way he was standing.

It was strange, I didn’t notice before that his uniform was a little big on him. It made him look smaller than he was. The shirt and shorts he wore now fit him perfectly. I could see the muscles of his shoulders when he would swing. I couldn’t help but stare at him.

I nodded, remembering what I was supposed to be doing before I set my ball down.

“Are you doing it on purpose?” he asked.

I turned to look at him, “Doing what?”

He looked down, and I didn’t want to know where his gaze drifted, but I had an excellent idea.

“Every time I look at you, your legs are pressed so tightly together,” he said, “I can’t fucking think straight.”

I felt the blood rise in my face. I suddenly felt very self-conscious about the shorts I was wearing. So many rips and tears. There was even a good-sized tear just under my left butt cheek.

“Stop doing it,” he groaned.

I tried, but I couldn’t do it.

“I don’t think I can,” I confessed.

He turned away, and I had to give myself a minute to relax before I could hit my ball.

Four hits until I made it that time.

I can’t function if he is going to say that kind of stuff to me. I know I’m a pervert who has been watching him, but I wasn’t thinking anything dirty.

I had to grab the balls this time.

He stood at the next course already.

I handed him his ball, and my hand made contact with his. They were warm, much warmer than the last time I touched him.

“We’re going to lose,” he said.

“I think we have a chance,” I said.

“We had one,” he stated, “Until we started looking at each other.”

So, he knew then?

“Now would be the perfect time to take a bathroom break,” he stated.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked.

The way he looked back at me made my entire body shake.

“You could always come with me,” he stated.

“We need to finish this game,” I stated, “We’re almost done.”

We had four more holes to go.

“We will definitely lose if we continue like this.”

“What am I supposed to say?” I asked, feeling suddenly exhausted.

“Say yes,” he said quietly, “Come with me.”

I couldn’t possibly do that. Even if I did feel the pull to follow him. It wasn’t the time for that.

“There are two ways we can do this,” he said, “Either you come with me, or you wait here for me to be done.”

I opened my mouth, but he stopped me.

“Don’t,” he hissed, “You’re about to ask me why, aren’t you?”

I hesitated before nodding.

“You made your choice then,” he said.

He started to walk away, but Benny and Gus walked up.

“You guys aren’t done yet?” Benny asked.

I could see the frustration clear on Michael’s face.

I don’t think he would run off while they were here.

I wasn’t wrong, he stayed, and he was quiet the whole time.

Benny tried to distract us, but it didn’t work. We were already doing pretty poorly.

“That’s the last one,” Gus said once my ball went into the hole of the last course.

Benny got them out, and we headed inside to see the score.

“Damn,” Benny said, “We beat you guys by five.”

I felt pretty shitty right now.

Gus looked obviously triumphant.

“We should let Ren off the hook,” Gus said, “It was her first loss.”

“Oh no,” Benny said, “She is one of us, so she gets her punishment fair and square.”

I was nervous, and most definitely terrified.

She looks like she has a plan already.

Benny, you are officially evil.

“Come on,” she said, “We have an appointment.”

“We do?” I asked, “Where?”

“I planned for this,” she said, “Of course, I hoped we would win, and I hate canceling plans at the last minute.”

“Get on with it, Benny,” Michael hissed, “What are we doing?”

“Right now?” she asked innocently, “Getting on a bus.”