The Neighbor #2 (The Neighbor Romance Series - Book #2) (6 page)

“Well, are you considering exploring what you and
Max have then? He is your age, well at least closer in age than Professor
Curran is. He came by to see you a couple of times when you were out the past
few nights. He is a jokester and cute too,” Kelly said.

“Max and I are old friends. We were more than
friends at one point but we are nothing more than pals now.”

“Just curious,” Kelly said casually.

“Are you crushing on Max?” I guessed.

“I have no clue what you are talking about. I am so
busy with classes. I don’t have time for Max or anyone else.” Kelly was turning
a curious shade of red.

“I don’t know why the hell I didn’t think of it
sooner. You would be perfect for Max. I am not just saying that. I think you’re
a nice person and very pretty. You take good care of yourself in terms of
fitness. You are also smart. I have seen your course load and
it’s
heavy That is saying a lot coming from me because I am
extremely protective of who Max goes out with.”

“Wait a moment. Max is a popular guy with a ton of
friends. I am a girl from Kansas who has very few friends on this campus. I
don’t have the confidence to go after a guy like Max.” Kelly needed some help.

“At least allow me to test the waters for you. I
will see what is going on in his brain.”

“Ugh. Well please tread lightly.”

“I promise. Speaking of Max, I have to go with him
to Sex Ed. I missed the last class so I’m relying on him to bring me up to
date.”

“Well, have fun with your golf instructor.”

“It’s just class today.”

“
Sure
it
is.”

I rolled my eyes.

****

Outside of Tobin Hall, I met Max.

“Right on time.
How have you been Max?” I asked.

“The usual stuff Jenna.
I am behind in all of my classes. I have rush week at the frat so I have been mucho
busy.”

“I can tell you have been hard at work in Spanish
class,” I joked.

“Not so much. I am no linguist. I am in secondary
Española and all I can manage is mucho.” Max had bags under his eyes. He looked
wiped out.

“I can see you are short on sleep…Anyways, I have a
couple of things to talk to you about Max. One is I think I am skipping lecture
today,” I said and waited for his reaction.

“No way Jenna.
Have you not talked to Professor Curran yet? I wondered why you have been
avoiding me. Are you scared to go to class?” Max asked.

I still hadn’t been to Sex Ed since the first day.
It still felt awkward even though Ryder and I had been seeing each other since.

“I’m not avoiding you. I’ve been busy. All I can say
about Ryder is that it is handled. Give me some time before I fil you in. I
want to keep things private for now. Please understand,” I begged. He hated to
be left out.
Especially when it concerned me.

“Okay, but I want you to promise that you will come
to class next week. It’s actually a good class. You might learn a thing or two.
Ryder is an excellent professor and he’s funny as hell. He has been detailing
different methods of birth control. I never knew what an IUD was. Few people
guessed correctly when asked what the acronym stood for. He had us write down
what we thought and less than 10% of students answered correctly. I guessed
Inter-Underwear- Destroyer.”

I laughed. “Nice job Max,” I commented.

“Today is all about condoms. We all know what they
are but he will tell us how to use them properly. I think he is
gonna
give some out. I’m not
missing this class. I love free stuff. So what is second on the agenda?” Max
asked.

“I hear you have met my roommate Kelly Womack on
several occasions,” I said probingly.

“I didn’t know that meeting your roommate was front
page news.” Max was clueless.

“What do you think about her?”

“I don’t think about Kelly. She seems nice, cute
girl.” Max was still clueless.

“Fabulous. That is all I needed, cute girl. I can
work with that.” I said goodbye and split.

I was intending to go to class but I still couldn’t
get myself to. Oh well, I’d see Ryder at the golf course on Saturday. The
sexual tension between us was building. We were constantly aware that what we
were doing was taboo to some people…and that made it even more exciting.

****

I changed into my golf garb on Saturday. I only had
a couple of outfits and needed more. I put on my best bra and panties. Ryder
would not see them, but they made me feel sexy.

Westlake was the public course. I was early for our
lesson. I had made a habit of arriving early and I thought that perhaps I
seemed too eager. The course was situated on a slough that was connected to
West Lake. It was definitely not designed for the country club set. The greens
were brownish and as far as I could see, there were no carts. Walking was fine
with me but it would be disappointing to a golf aficionado like Ryder. The
clubhouse where we could rent clubs and pay greens fees was a doublewide
trailer.
There was a stand that sold soft drinks, cans of
beer and snacks.
I thought Westlake was charming.

“Hey beautiful.
This place puts Magnolia to shame. I expected a little more but you’re here and
that’s all that matters.”

Ryder gave me a peck on the cheek. I had to remind
myself that he was only my golf instructor to the public. To me he was so much
more.

He was wearing typical golf khakis and a shirt that
pulled tight around his muscular body. His golf cap was firmly in place.

“I think we will have to increase the intensity of
the workouts. I’m not sore at all. The 4-mile run did nothing. I should expect
that you are a step behind considering your age.”

“With a comment like that, I guess you don’t want
your surprise,” Ryder teased.

“Depends what you got me?”

Ryder revealed a shiny new set of golf clubs in a
light pink leather bag. A black “J” was embroidered along the side.

“You got me my own clubs?” I hugged him. “I hope
they weren’t too expensive. I am sure I won’t need so many clubs. We can return
a couple or I can share them with you.”

My hands started to sweat as I felt his heart beat
against me. I slowly pulled away.

“I got a good deal from my friends at Callaway in
Carlsbad CA. It’s a set and I’m sure you will use them all.
Ready
to work on your chipping game?”

“Yep.
Let’s get going.”

“I love the fact that you are earnest but you have
to have control when we hit the greens. Forget for a moment that we are
anything more than an instructor and student,” Ryder said seriously.

I had never seen Ryder display this side of
himself
. He brought intense to a completely new level. I
focused on my new set of clubs and knew in the back of my mind that I could
loosen Ryder up.

“Are carts available?” Ryder asked the man in the
trailer.

The man laughed. “We stopped using carts years ago.
We are required to keep a few around for folks who can’t walk. We are called
Westlake Public because the taxpayers provide for us. They have been grumbling
about throwing up some low-income housing. That is a lie because they will
probably sell the land for condominiums. I can tell by your garb and your set
of fancy clubs that you have golfed at some resort spots. We cater to the
average Joe or the duffer. Most people buy a few cans of beer and pay their
greens fees before they head out. Some I never see again. I expect they are passed
out in a bunker or they dropped in the slough. Why are you and your wife in a
place like this?” the man asked.

“I am actually her golf instructor.”

I smiled in agreement.

“Golf instructor.
I have heard that one before.” The man grinned and handed us the scorecard. It
had a photo of Westlake taken about 10 years ago and a cheap printer had
produced it.

“Thanks” I chirped as we left the trailer. The
jingle of a bell secured to the door accompanied our exit.

“First we will refresh the skills you have already
learned. How’s your grip? Now that you have your own clubs, you can keep one by
your desk. Pick it up when you are studying or watching television. It will
help the grip feel natural.”

He was really taking this too serious.

“Yeah, I can use it for personal protection too, if
I leave it lying around. I know some women keep a baseball bat next to their
bed.”

I had completely forgotten how to hold the club
properly.

“Allow me.” Ryder placed his hands over mine. The
electricity between us was immediate and undeniable. I had missed his sweet
breath and the firmness of his touch.

“Much easier this way.
It is all coming back to me now.” I looked into Ryder’s green eyes and he
seemed to connect with me as a woman and not as a golf student. The moment was
fleeting as he took golf too serious. He pulled his hands away slowly as he
caressed the length of my arm to my shoulder. My heart paced faster and my
hands began to sweat.

“Okay, where were we.
Stance.
Let me see your stance. Show me some posture like your mom taught you,” Ryder
said.

“My mom never corrected my posture.”

“Well, bend at your knees and keep your upper torso
straight. Feet should be spread and aligned with the shoulders. Now curl your
shoulders in.” Ryder provided verbal cues when I preferred a manual assist.

“I feel like I am sitting on an imaginary toilet,
poised to take a shit,” I said and Ryder laughed.

“I have never heard it put that way. It is something
that might come out of John Daly’s mouth but not Byron Nelson’s or Ben
Hogan’s.”

“John, Byron, Ben. It is coming out of Jenna Walsh’s
mouth,” I said with a smirk.

We practiced some of the fundamentals before moving
on to chipping. I thought it was sexy the way Ryder took command of his space
on the golf course. I wanted to invade his space and I would when the time was
right.

After chipping for a while Ryder asked, “So what two
types of chips you do not want to hit?”

“I have a full schedule of classes. I was not aware
I had a quiz today. I have no idea how not to hit the ball.”

“Okay smarty pants. I will tell you. First; do not
tell me about your full schedule when you have been skipping my Sex Ed.
classes. I hope you’re not expecting special treatment from the professor.” Ryder
smiled. I was relieved because I though he had left his sense of humor in the
car.

“Touché.
Now onto golf,” I said.

“You don’t want to hit the ball fat. Some refer to
it as a
chunker
and the ball doesn’t go anywhere. I
expect you will hit quite a few of these in the beginning. You may
overcompensate for this flaw by hitting the ball thin, which is commonly called
a skull. This ball will careen across the green, past the hole and into the
opposite bunker if there is one.”

“It is like Goldilocks. You want to get it just
right and avoid the extremes.
Right?”

“I suppose. Whatever works for
you.
I have hit many balls in the bunker and it has taken time to learn how to
safely get out. Some people are so good at a chip shot that they don’t consider
the occasional bunker a bad thing. Chipping requires acceleration, which is
difficult because it is really a component of the short game. Our mind tells us
that we should be practicing control at this point. The trick is to achieve
controlled acceleration. It’s a tough one. Keep it low. A high ball is an
unpredictable ball. It can end up anywhere. Sometimes you luck out and it ends
up in a good place but you can’t rely on luck.
Any
questions?”

“Sorry, what?”
I asked. I had not heard a word of his dissertation.

“This should be good. Let me see if you heard a word
of what I was saying.” He chuckled.

I hit a clean shot out of the bunker. It was not too
thin or fat. Like Goldilocks, I had found perfection right in the middle. The
ball rolled to within inches of the hole. Ryder was stunned.

“Yippee.” I threw down my club and pumped my fist
like Tiger Woods.

Ryder gave me a congratulatory high five. He scooped
me up into a hug. His muscular hands were on my ass where they belonged. I
buried my head in the cradle of his sinewy neck.

I pulled away and noticed his hat had moved to the
side. I straightened it out and asked, “What is so special about the hat?”

“I went to the Ryder cup in 2012. It was in
Illinois. It was
kinda
a
watershed moment for me. I had Arnold Palmer sign it on the inside. I am not
star stuck easily but this guy is it to me. He was not on the team of course
but I ran into him in the clubhouse getting lemonade mixed with tea. I
hesitated asking him for an autograph but I did it anyways. He was polite and
more than I had ever imagined. I was afraid that meeting a person who I held in
high esteem would be a letdown. The United States lost that year on the last
day so in that way it was a disappointing week but meeting Arnie and getting
him to sign my cap was epic.”