by Ivy Jordan
“We should probably get ready to go,” she eventually whispered.
“Yeah, I guess so.” I didn’t want to let her go, but the majors would be getting under way soon, and we needed to get ready. I let her pull away and got up to get changed. I didn’t want to think about the stress of the day, but it hit me immediately as soon as I stood up and thought about getting ready.
Hailey looked amazing in a light blue dress. I loved when she wore dresses. She played the part of a pro golfer’s girlfriend quite well and always dressed appropriately. We stepped out in the hallway of the hotel and were about to get going when I stopped her and said, “I’m not sure that I’m ready for our contract to be over.”
She stopped and looked up at me. “What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t want it to be over yet.”
“For God’s sake, Caleb, this is not the time to be worrying about things like this.”
“Hailey.”
“Hush now. You need to focus on the game, and nothing else. Get out there and win this for yourself. That’s all you have to worry about. Don’t you worry about anyone else but you when you are out there.”
I pulled her to me and kissed her long and hard. I loved kissing that girl, and when I kissed her, then it was way more about me wanting to be with her than me worrying about the contract or making people think that I was stable and secure. We parted, and she looked up at me, and I could swear that I saw love in her eyes. Is that possible? No, it is crazy.
It was the second to last hole in the game, and I stood there waiting for Matt to give me a club. He gave me a three wood for the long hole. There was a sand trap that I had to avoid, but I was feeling good so far. The day had breezed by quickly, and I had nothing to complain about.
Hailey had given me a good talking to, and when I got out there, I just kept focusing on her and nothing else. It helped me get through the tough holes. When I thought I was about to choke, I just thought about her, and everything else just went away.
I hit the ball and watched it shoot off, completely missing the sand trap. It bounced along and went into the hole as if it was meant to live there. It was the first hole-in-one that I made that day, and the crowd cheered. Hailey was out there somewhere, and I could feel her approval with every good step that I made.
I had one more hole to go, and I was already in the lead. The green jacket could be mine if I just focused. The fear was real; I could feel it threatening to choke me until I was dead. The fear followed me from hole to hole, but so far, I had kept it at bay.
I was doing the things that Dr. Brentwood told me, I was listening to all the comments Matt offered me, and I was remembering what Hailey told me. Those were the reasons why I succeeded so far, and with just one hole to go, I could let the fear kill me or I could push it aside and win this for myself.
I wanted it all for myself. I wasn’t doing this for my father, Aria, or even all my fans. I was fighting hard, and I was doing it all for myself because I deserved it.
I walked over to Matt, and we went to the last hole together.
“You can do this, man; there’s just one more to go, and you have it. There’s no more choking. You have had an amazing day.”
“Thanks for everything, Matt. You have no idea how much it means to me.”
We moved to the last hole in the majors and watched as the other players made their shot. I felt sick to my stomach suddenly, knowing this was it for me. It was now my turn, and Matt handed me an iron that was going to help me win. I refused to make eye contact with anyone. This was it, and it could all go away in a second.
I walked up to the green and stood there looking out into the fairway. Fear took over and settled in my chest. It was so strong that I felt it wrap around my heart and squeeze tightly. It would kill me if I let it. I let all the fear in just for a few seconds, feeling every inch of it as it coursed through my entire body. I let it sit there for a few seconds as it threatened to choke me.
I could have given up on it right then. I could have let it choke me and just give up, but I thought of Hailey, and suddenly, it was like a door shut on the fear. I locked it out and kept it at bay once again as I swung the club and hit the ball.
As I watched it go off into the fairway, the crowd went nuts – it was all over, and I had won. I had won the Masters. The green jacket was now mine. I turned with a grin on my face to see Matt cheering and Hailey screaming in the crowd. They had huge grins on their faces, and I reached into the air with my club excitedly.
Finally, it had finally happened for me.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Hailey
I couldn’t help but scream in excitement when I saw Caleb make his shot and win the Masters. I was jumping up and down, probably looking ridiculous, but I didn’t care. He had won, and I was insanely proud of him for doing so.
He had finally made it, and he was over the moon. He had his hand raised in the air, the club shooting for the stars; he looked so happy, and tears filled my eyes as I watched him revel in his well-deserved win. I watched as many people went up to him and congratulated him on the win. He deserved it, and I was thankful that his parents were there to see him win. His father would not be able to hound him any longer.
It was the job of the previous winner to put the green jacket on the new winner, and it wasn’t long before the festivities were under way. Perry Davenport approached Caleb and presented him with the jacket and shook his hand. Caleb was grinning from ear to ear, and I couldn’t help but smile right along with him. I made my way through the crowd and got closer to him. I didn’t want to disturb him, though.
Caleb’s parents were there suddenly surrounding him with congratulations and hugs. His father was practically glowing, and I felt happy for the whole family. I hoped that the pride his father felt would last a very long time. Caleb deserved to be there for all the hard work that he did. He had finally made it, and I was happy that he no longer had to go into the media and be laughed at. I decided to make my way over to him and congratulate him myself.
As soon as he saw me, he grinned. “Hailey!”
“Congratulations! I’m so happy for you.”
He leaned over and pulled me to him, kissing me hard on the mouth. I melted into his arms, not caring that his parents were standing beside us. We parted, and I looked over at them and almost laughed at the surprised expressions on their face.
“Hi, I’m Hailey. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Hailey, it’s a pleasure. You have changed our son; he’s barely recognizable.”
I laughed while Caleb rolled his eyes. “Oh, I didn’t do anything. He was always in there somewhere.”
“Well, it’s just wonderful having you here.”
“Thank you; you must be very proud of Caleb,” I said, looking at him and winking.
“Oh, we are,” said his father.
“Very proud,” his mother added, beaming up at her son.
Caleb turned to me and kissed me on the forehead. I loved when he did that; it made me feel cherished. “Thank you, Hailey, for all your help. Most especially for believing in me.”
I smiled. “Of course I believe in you. I always have and I always will. You’re an awesome golfer; you just needed to believe in that yourself.”
“I know. But I couldn’t have done it without your hole. I’ll always remember the twelfth hole.”
I started laughing, “Me, too, you bad boy.”
He kissed me again on the lips, and then I pulled away from him as other people started coming up and congratulating him.
I watched as he got dragged off into a crowd of people. I had never seen him happier than at that moment, and he deserved every bit of it. Tears welled up in my eyes as I knew that it was all over. It was finally over, and although I was happy for him, I was also very sad that it had to end so quickly. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around my shoulder, and I looked over in surprise to find Matt there smiling.
“Hi, Matt! You scared me.”
<
br /> He laughed, “Oops, sorry. Are you all caught up in the moment?”
“Yeah, what a great moment.”
“I’d say. I’m proud as hell of him. What a game he played today. I got worried a couple of times, but he pulled through every time. Fuck, he really deserves this win – it’s been a long time coming.”
“Yeah, he looks so happy, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, he does. So, are you ready for a big ass celebration, or what?”
“Hell, yeah, I am.”
He grabbed my hand and led me away. We would leave and go back to the hotel where they had arranged to have a huge party in one of the banquet halls. His parents had spared no expense.
The party was insane, and there were so many people there. I often got lost in the crowd; it was so intense. I was pretty much on my own except for the times I would find Matt in the crowd. Caleb was busy, surrounded by all his fans as well as his friends and family. Everyone was basking in his glow and wanted a piece of him now that he was a big winner.
I didn’t want to intrude on his night, so I decided to go up to the hotel room and relax for a bit. I needed to separate myself from him, anyways. The job was over, and I would be returning home soon. There was no point in me being attached to his hip any longer.
When I got back to my room, I laid out on the bed and thought about the long day. I was proud of the job that I did, getting Caleb to where he needed to be in order to win. I sat up and pulled my purse over to me. I pulled the contract from my purse and read it over slowly. I was literally flying out the very next morning and returning home. Just like that, it was all over. The gig was up, and my job was done. Caleb had done what he needed to do, and now the whole world loved him. I could totally understand that feeling.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Caleb
Matthew and I were out for the day playing a round of golf. It was a beautiful day, perfect for golfing and drinking some beer. We were practicing for the most part because I was gearing up for another tournament. I was stoked about all the fame I had gotten from the Masters, and another tour was exactly what I needed. Despite all the good going on in my life at the moment, I wasn’t sleeping at night and was exhausted.
I missed Hailey so fucking much that I found it hard to breathe at times. I didn’t think that I’d ever missed anyone that much in all my life. I thought about her constantly.
“Everything all right, man? You should be on Cloud Nine right now.”
“Yeah, I should be. I miss Hailey, as lame as that sounds.”
“I miss her, too, it’s cool. She was a good girl. I’ve actually been keeping in contact with Mandy. We decided to keep in touch as friends, and she told me that Hailey got that part in Rick’s movie.”
“No shit? Well, good for her; she deserves that.”
“She’s actually playing the role of a mom.”
“She’s so young, though.”
“Yeah, funny, right? But there are plenty of young moms out there.”
“Fuck it. I want to go there and see her, see how she’s been doing. I need to tell her that I miss her so much, and I want to do that in person. God, I can’t even believe I’m saying this shit out loud.”
Matt laughed, “You sound like you really like her, man.”
“I do.”
“Well, fuck, let’s go then. We’ll fly out tonight and surprise her.”
“Seriously? Yes, let’s do it. That would be awesome.”
“Of course, I’m in.”
We finished off our game and then headed to our own homes to pack and get ready for the flight. Matt was taking care of all the flight arrangements. I just needed to pack enough to take me through to the weekend.
I was ready to go and couldn’t have been more excited about the prospect of seeing Hailey. That gorgeous girl was going to be so shocked to see me show up. Hopefully, she would be happy as well.
This was going to be a test for me. If I felt like shit on Sunday when it came time for me to leave Hailey, then I would know that she was supposed to be mine. There would have to be some things that we worked through, but I was willing to give it a try if she was. I hoped that she would feel the same way about me as I did towards her. But I would see how I felt on that Sunday and go from there.
All I knew right then was that life just wasn’t the same without her and I didn’t like it at all. I thought that I would be fine after Hailey left, but I hadn’t been. I missed having her around – it just wasn’t the same without her.
I thought about all the nagging she had done while she was there, preparing me for the majors. I even missed the fact that she always left her stuff lying around. She was so awesome, just the fact that she was her own self; she was great, and just thinking about her launched me out of my bedroom and out of the house to go see her.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Hailey
I was completely in my element while on set. I couldn’t remember the last time that I’d felt this happy. That wasn’t entirely true – I felt happy the last time that I saw Caleb.
I was pretty relieved to see he wasn’t back in the news because he was back in the clubs. He seemed to be continuing to lay low, which was a good thing. Plus, I didn’t like the idea that he would already be out with other girls. I probably would have sent him some hate mail if I found out that he was. I would hope that he had enough respect for me that he would refrain from that sort of behavior at least for a respectable amount of time. The media hadn’t yet realized that I was no longer in the picture and it would only cause a scandal if he paraded around with other women.
He would have to issue a statement in the near future announcing our breakup. I hoped that the people in the film I was working on wouldn’t make any connections between him and me. They had dyed my hair blonde for the movie, so I didn’t look like I did in those old photos, so maybe I would get away with it all.
I had gotten the role that I had auditioned with for Rick, and he had been so impressed with me that he’d practically hired me on the spot. I was over the moon, I was so thrilled.
We were in the middle of filming the movie, and it was everything that I ever dreamed it would be. It was excited to go in every day and read the lines and meet the other actors. I was just glowing each and every day. The movie was about a college-aged girl who falls in love with her professor. They have sex multiple times, and the girl ends up getting pregnant only to find out that the man she is in love with is married.
The movie was a drama with a thriller twist. The girl is not willing to just slink off into the night; she wants to make him pay for lying to her and leaving her alone and pregnant. It was a gripping tale, and I couldn’t wait to get deeper into the story. We had only begun filming, so we had a long way to go just yet.
The movie was actually a perfect one for me at that point, as I was in the early stages of pregnancy and it would fit perfectly right into the role. The director and the people I worked with had no idea that I was connected to Caleb, despite the many times I was photographed with him. I was happy for that because I didn’t want the pregnancy to go public.
I had decided to keep the baby, but I didn’t want to interfere in Caleb’s life at all. I hadn’t even told my sister about the pregnancy yet, despite my initial urge to talk to her about it. I had been whipped off to LA right away for filming, so discussing things just hadn’t come up yet. It had been less than week since I had been in Florida, anyways, so it’s not like a lot of time had passed.
I would have to start telling people soon, at some point I would start to show and then it would be out there. I wasn’t stupid enough to think that Caleb would never find out, but I wanted to avoid telling him for as long as possible. I didn’t want him to think that I had done anything on purpose to try to trap him. I just wanted to get on with my life and didn’t expect anything from him. I wasn’t looking forward to his reaction – he was probably going to be pissed. He may not even want me to keep the baby.
The director was actually
thrilled with my circumstance because then they could work with me throughout the whole film, without worrying about having to replace me later. I probably wouldn’t have got hired after all, and I was happy for that. I was being given the option to have my baby and still live out my dream. Jillian told me that this movie would launch my career, and I couldn’t wait to see what happened after the movie was released.
The role was pretty prestigious for a first-time actress. Jillian was over the moon that I had got the part and said that she was already in the works to have other projects to follow that film. She was already talking to Rick about other projects, as well as some other producers.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to swing acting with a new baby, but I definitely got a big paycheck from the movie, so I might be able to hire a nanny, or at least someone to help out. I may have to take some time off, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to take a lot of time because I had to strike while the iron was hot.
The people who knew on set had started asking about the baby and whether or not I had a husband waiting for me somewhere. I told them it was the result of an old relationship, but that I had wanted to keep the baby anyway. I was barely showing; if you looked hard enough, you could tell the difference but if I was walking down the street, no one would guess I was pregnant. I didn’t have any weird symptoms, and there was no morning sickness or anything like that to worry about so far.
“Hailey, we are ready for you.” I had sat in hair and makeup for an hour before they called for me.
It was time for me to do a scene and I got in there and gave it my all. I hit it out of the ballpark on the second take and the crew cheered when the director called “cut.” There was overly exuberant cheering in the back, and when I turned to see what was going on, I saw Matt, Caleb, and Mandy standing in the back cheering me on.