The following Wednesday I get an email from the director in the morning, asking if I'm available to come and work in the evening. I'm a little puzzled because I usually don't have to work before Thursday but I reply saying that I can. I can always use the extra cash and I don't have any studying to do tonight anyway.
I show up around 4 and once I'm changed I make my way to the notice board in the foyer which tells me who I'm caddying for. I see my name written in for the four fifteen slot and I'm delighted to see the player's name as Santana Lopez.
Excited to spend more time with her, I make my way out to the tee, and find her already waiting, doing some practice swings with a driver.
"Hey!" she calls out as I approach.
"Hi!" I beam at her. "Are you playing alone today?"
She nods. "Thought I could use some company though, so I requested you," she says almost shyly, not meeting my eyes. I can barely contain my grin.
"Awesome. Well...if it's just you, shall we just go now? The tee is free."
"Sure," she smiles and leans down to tee up a she takes her shot I pull out a scorecard and start filling it in, feeling extremely glad to be writing in "Santana Lopez" at the top once more.
"So…how was the rest of your weekend?" I ask lamely as we head up the fareway.
"Um. It was okay," she responds, looking straight ahead as she strides up the slight incline. "On Sunday I went to the gym in the morning but I didn't really do anything else." She gives a small shrug. "What about you?"
"Oh…I didn't do much either." I don't want to talk about the space restaurant because she'll think I'm a huge nerd. "Just some studying and stuff. Then my roommates and I went out for dinner on Monday." I quickly add the last part to make myself sound more interesting. I don't want her to think I stay at home and do work all the time.
"Cool. Can I have an eight iron please?" I extract the club from the bag on my back and fall silent while she lines up her shot.
"I hope I'm not keeping you from any important school work," she says after hitting the ball, smirking slightly.
I take the club from her and laugh. "Not at all. I generally don't have too much to do anyway because it's my first year. I'm sure it'll be worse next year."
While she's setting up her ball to play the second hole I take a moment to admire her while she won't notice. She's dressed in a black polo today, and I briefly wonder how many different colors she must own. Her pants are fitted and a light cream color and her hair is tied back in a high pony tail like it was the other day. God, she is so sexy. I sigh and avert my gaze from her ass when she turns around.
"Nice shot," I take her club and smile like I wasn't just totally checking her out.
We play the course quite slowly, taking our time and chatting along the way. Santana jokes with me and tells me funny stories about people from the club. I don't think I'll be able to look at the director in the same way again, after she tells me about the time he gave a speech totally hammered then tried to play golf and crashed his cart into a bunker on the third hole.
"So what made you get into playing golf? I guess you must have started pretty young." I ask her with interest as we set off from the eighth tee.
"Oh yeah," she nods, "I guess I was probably about eight or something." I smile and think that an eight year old Santana with a visor and golf bag must have been adorable. "It's funny; I never would have started if it weren't for my dad. He used to play a round every weekend with his buddies while my mom would look after me at home. Then one time she had to go out of town for the weekend and my dad forgot to get me a sitter," she rolls her eyes and seems to smile at the memory. "So he ended up having to take me with him. I just sat in the cart the whole time and watched them play. After the round was over I asked my dad if I could have a turn so he took me to the practice bays." I smile.
"That's cute."
She laughs. "Well obviously I totally sucked. I was using his giant club and he had to stand behind me and help me hold it. But I wanted to be as good as him and his friends so I asked if I could get lessons." She pauses to take a shot.
"So I did," she continues as I put her club away. "And I got little baby clubs that were like, this big," she holds her hands out about 3 feet apart and I grin. "Then eventually once I was old enough I joined the same club as my dad and started playing in juniors' competitions and stuff. I won a lot but I think I was helped by the fact that there were hardly any girls to compete against," she laughs.
"Did many of your high school friends play?" I ask.
She shakes her head. "None of them did. Well, there was a couple of guys from my school in the club once I got older but they didn't really want to play with a girl," she rolls her eyes. "It was just kind of my 'thing' that I did," she says with amusement. "My friends would all get pissed when I had to leave the party early cause I had a competition in the morning," I laugh. I think my friends would be the same.
"Do you miss it back home?"
"Sometimes," she admits. "It kind of sucked having to leave all my friends and stuff when I did, but it was too good an opportunity to miss. I occasionally go back to visit or have a competition in the area. They really know how to have a good time so it's great to go back and party with them when I get a chance."
I smile. "That sounds great. I'd love to go to LA one day – I've always wanted to," I say wistfully.
Santana falls silent for a few seconds and looks at me. "Pitching wedge, please," she eventually says. I hand her the club and she walks a few paces away to her ball. She pauses for a second before confidently chipping it onto the green towards the hole.
"We-ell," she says slowly as she walks back to me. "I know a way that could happen." I raise my eyebrows.
"What do you mean?"
"Um. Well," she says suddenly shy. "I was wondering if maybe…well, basically most pros usually have a personal caddy who goes with them to all their competitions and stuff. I don't have one so I usually just have some random person hired by the club." My heart starts beating faster. Oh my god, is she asking me to be her personal caddy? "You could be mine maybe, if you like." My eyes widen.
"For real? Oh my god," I say as she nods in confirmation. I grin as I imagine it. I would get to play with her all the time. And go to competitions all over the place. Plus, no more creepy old guys!
She holds up her gloved hand. "Before you answer," she says quickly, "take a few days to think about it." I give her a questioning look. I'm totally ready to say yes right now. "It will probably be more work than what you usually get and you might have to be willing to be away often at weekends, especially in summer." She's grinning because I think she knows that I want to do it. "I mean," she shrugs, "You wouldn't absolutely have to be at every competition, but in general, it'll take up quite a lot of your time." I don't care; I'll give her all the time she wants. "So just think about it okay?"
I nod and smile. "I will. Thanks." She gives another shrug and steps up to putt.
We're finishing up the seventeenth hole and the sun is starting to set, just like the last time I was caddying for Santana.
"I am so glad we're nearly done cause I am starving," she remarks as she tees up for the last hole. "Sometimes I think eighteen holes just seems like way too much, you know?" I giggle because I agree. "I mean, it takes at least three hours to play a round. Even four or five if you're a shitty golfer."
I laugh. "Yeah, I know. I'm hungry too. My roommate is making us all dinner tonight and her food is super awesome so I can't wait."
"Four iron, please. What are they like? Your roommates."
"Oh they're really great," I answer after she plays her shot. "I didn't know them before I moved in at the start of the year but now they're like, my best friends."
"Yeah? How'd you find the place?" She asks, sticking her hands in her pockets and walking alongside me.
"Oh, well I had met Tina before a couple of times because she's a friend of Sam's," I explain. "My boyfriend, Sam, moved out here a couple of years before me so we met when I visited a few times. Turned out she and her two roommates were looking for someone to take the fourth bedroom and I didn't want to live on campus."
"Oh, right." She pauses. "Um, yeah, I hear it's gross there," she mutters. She walks over to where I've set her bag down by the green and pulls out her putter.
"Hey, that's my job," I say jokingly, and she laughs softly.
"Oh, sorry. Habit, I guess," she says with a smile.
She finishes off the hole and I write in her last score. She did well but not as good as last time.
"Not my best," she says as I hand her the score card. "But, whatever. I've been feeling distracted today anyway."
She walks over to her bag and hoists it onto her own back. It looks huge on her tiny frame as she walks towards me.
"Well, thanks for the round, Britt. I'll see you around. Enjoy your dinner!" she says with a grin as she tugs off her glove and holds out her hand.
I roll my eyes at the formality but shake her hand and smile at her. "No problem. See you, Santana!"
She walks off towards the parking lot, presumably to put her clubs in her car. I sigh and walk towards the locker room, feeling that slight depression you get when you've just parted ways with somebody before you wanted to.
Later on, at dinner, I tell the others about the offer Santana made me while we were playing.
"So she asked me if I want to be her personal caddy. Like, all the time!" I say, before stuffing more of Mercedes' home made mac 'n' cheese into my mouth.
"For real?" Mercedes gives me a surprised look.
"Wow, Britt!" Tina exclaims. "That seems like a big deal."
"I think it is," I say, after pausing for a moment to swallow. "She told me to think about it for a few days."
"And what are you thinking about it?" Sugar asks me from the other side of the table. "Do you want to?"
"Yeah, I think I do," I answer. "It's just that she said I'd probably have to work a lot more than I am right now, and I'd have to go away with her a lot."
Mercedes nods in understanding. "I can't believe she even asked you, considering you met, what, on Saturday? It sounds like a big commitment."
I nod in agreement. She's right; it does seem crazy that Santana asked to me to fill this huge role for her after like, 5 days of knowing me.
"She must like you a lot," Sugar remarks and I try to hide my smile. I must admit the prospect of hanging out with Santana all the time is very appealing. Not to mention all the awesome trips I would get to go on.
Later on, as I'm going to bed, Sam texts me goodnight like he always does. I reply and then toss my phone to the side with a sigh. I haven't told him about what Santana asked me. If I'm honest, it's not the extra time commitment which is making me hesitate to take the job. I've been drawn to Santana since the moment I saw her and I'm not stupid; I know what this infatuation is. I'd be lying if I said I'm not attracted to her and now that I know her personally, the feeling has only intensified. It's like there are two parts of me. The main part which knows that nothing can or will happen because I'm dating Sam and we'll be fine just being friends. But then there's some tiny part of me which kind of wants…
No. I shake my head as if it will rid my mind of these dumb thoughts. God, what am I thinking, Santana probably has a boyfriend of her own. She doesn't exactly strike me as a rampant lesbian. Well, I guess people say the same thing about me and she is a professional golfer…but no. Sam.
I sigh again and try to think about something else. I definitely have a problem with over thinking things…