by Joey Bush
“Jenna, I was keeping a secret from you, but it’s not what you expect. What you’re thinking is far from the truth. The mythical Sammy is actually my nine-year-old son from a marriage that I started and finished years ago. You saw a trio, in some respects a family, doing the best they possibly could. The woman you saw is my ex-wife, Sally Housley. We are friends. I will tell you more about her later. She’s not a secret, but it’s a long, boring story for another time,” Ryder said and then paused. I sensed he was waiting for my reaction.
I gave away nothing. “Many thirty-three year old people have kids. By now, it’s understandable that you would have an ex-wife. You are not unique. Why keep Sam a secret? It was apparent you’re fond of him.”
“I love Sammy, and once I get started talking about him, I won’t stop. I have turned to secrets because I want an authentic relationship. If women know I have cancer, they tend to take pity on me. When they find out I have a kid, they run for the hills.”
“Why do you think that is?” I asked.
He released my hands and started pacing.
“I have heard it all. I have been accused of being a bad father, used up, or old.”
“I don’t think you’re used up and you’re clearly not a bad father. You get points for creativity with the Frisbee golf course,” I said.
Ryder laughed. “So you saw that? Okay, what about old?”
I was starting to relax. “You are older, but that’s just math. I suck at math—remember.”
“Yeah. You’re no Einstein when it comes to numbers.”
I stood up and punched him in the arm.
“You were going to get your hit in eventually.”
“You deserved it. I don’t know if I can trust you again...”
Ryder put his hands on my shoulders and looked at me intensely.
“I have never lied to you about the way I feel. I was just so damn scared of losing you. There is just something happening here that I don’t think I have ever felt before. How about another try, without the deception?”
I had heard about taking a leap of faith. I felt that I was about to take one.
“I will try my best to believe in you if you try just as hard to be honest. I don’t really have a choice in the matter since you’re my golf instructor, professor and you live next-door to my mother.”
“What if I was none of those things? What if I were just Ryder?”
“Hmm. I guess just Ryder would be fine.” I pretended to be disappointed.
“Get over here smart ass and give me a kiss.” Ryder pulled me in tight and took me to the ground.
We kissed in the sand, but it wasn’t like the scene in From Here to Eternity. We shared a lingering kiss, but sand got in the places I feared. Despite the discomfort, I was transported by Ryder’s touch.
“We need to work on your putting this week. Can it be arranged?”
“This is meant to be a romantic reunion and you’re talking to me about golf?”
“We need to keep up appearances, and I’m your instructor. Your putting sucks. Let’s go to the local putt-putt joint. You claim to be good at miniature golf.”
“Okay coach. Call me tonight and we will set something up.” I pulled myself together and started to leave.
“I missed you, Walsh.”
I laughed.
Chapter Seven
Driving back to school, I felt as if I had dropped fifty pounds. I was light again. I guess I didn’t know how much Ryder had seeped into my everyday life. It affected how I got along with my mother, my BFF, Max, and everyone I met. Kelly from Kansas must have thought I was a real piece of work. I didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing that a man had such influence on me. The scariest part was I didn’t have a choice. Ryder was becoming an important part of my life, if not the most important part.
I arrived at Leach hall. Before I went to my room and tried to convince Kelly that I was normal, I checked my phone. I had received six messages from Ryder, each one sweeter than the last. I grabbed my gear and ran into the dorm.
“Hey, Kel. Did you have a good weekend?” I bounded into the room.
“It wasn’t bad. How was home?” Kelly asked.
“It just dawned on me that I went home for the long weekend you were sitting here in Leach Hall. You’re two-thousand miles from home. I should have brought you home with me.” I felt like a terrible friend. “To answer your question, my weekend went from bad to horrid to spectacular.”
“At least it ended on a positive note." Her tone was optimistic.
“Yeah, Kelly, it ended very positive. Will you help me unpack some of this shit I grabbed from my mom’s house? She could be on an episode of Hoarders. I went through her medicine chest and got all sorts of stuff including this mouthwash. She had a couple so I snagged one. You are welcome to everything.” It was my last resort to drop hints to Kelly about her breath.
“Thanks, but my folks travel so much that they have loaded me up with samples. I’m exhausted from a packed weekend. They had a foreign film festival on campus. I must have watched 20 films. I’m putting in my buds and checking out. The light won’t be a problem.”
“Okay. We will catch up another time.”
I had not slept well all weekend, so I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
****
“Morning, Ryder. I will see you in class later this morning. I wish I had something exciting to say but I’m half asleep,” I mumbled.
“I’m on my way to campus. I went online and I have options for putt-putt this afternoon,” Ryder said in a voice that was far too jovial for 7AM.
“I want to be pink.”
“Color choice is easy, Walsh. We have to choose a course and each one has its own theme. The one off the highway has the Seven Wonders of the World. I hear the hole featuring the Pyramids is crazy impossible. There is the African Safari course close to campus that has a petting zoo attached. They also have a pop music miniature golf place. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to go into Justin Bieber’s hole. The options are vast,” Ryder said.
I laughed. “Wow. You have really done your research. If they cover the Seven Wonders of the World, then what do they do with the other holes?”
“You are the history student.”
“I’m a little behind in history, Ryder, and all I learn from your class is the history of sex.”
“That would make a cool miniature golf course. I wonder what they would say if I proposed it on Shark Tank. I could franchise the thing. I could set up all kinds of holes both male and female. Of course, I would include one that looks like a mouth. With you as my model, I could craft a spectacular mouth.”
We both laughed. “Well, if dating a student won’t get you fired, that idea will do the trick.”
His voice changed. “You don’t seem as enthusiastic as I’m about our golf adventure. Is there something up?”
“It’s still early, Ryder, and I’m still in my jammies. It takes me a while to get used to the day,” I said.
“Jammies? I can’t wait to wake up next to you again. We can linger in bed all day but you must know one thing…”
“Yes?”
“I have a strict no jammies policy in my bedroom.”
“What if it’s cold?”
“I’ll keep you warm, and I still owe you a new pair of panties. And again, I’m sorry about destroying the last ones.”
“Don’t be sorry. You can take me shopping.”
“Will you model them for me?”
Now I was starting to feel awake. “Would love to.”
“That’s what I like to hear. Anyway, I‘m driving down the highway and I’m hard as a rock. I miss your warm pussy. I almost tore your clothes off on the beach the other day. Can you talk me through this little problem? I can’t teach a class like this.”
“Ryder, you aren’t getting phone sex when I’m still waiting for the real thing.” I hung up the phone. I laughed as I imagined Ryder driving down I-26 with a hard-on.
****
My first class was human sexuality with Ryder, which necessitated a shower. I had become accustomed to smelling like my mother’s bathroom. I picked out some peach scented shampoo and vanilla body wash. I would smell like a candy factory, but it was better than nothing. As I tuned on the warm water, I heard a familiar voice.
“Hey, Jenna. It’s Eric and I’m here without Diane. She sent me in with no shampoo. Any chance you have some I can borrow?”
Bizarre, I thought. Even more bizarre that I came to think of hairy armed Eric as my shower buddy. It was a girl’s bathroom after all.
“Yeah, no problem. I have some Orchard Peach Desire. It works, and if you like peaches you will love it,” I said as I passed the bottle under the divider.
“Thanks, Jenna. Do chicks dig this scented shit?” Eric asked.
“Some do. I have some vanilla body wash as well. You can rub this on Diane. She may be into it.”
“I will give it a try. Um—her skin down there is sensitive. She’s always getting some sort of infection. Do you know if this stuff is gentle?”
Awkward.
“I can’t say for sure. I haven’t used it internally, if that’s what you’re talking about. FYI—they make oils and lotions especially for that area.”
“Any ones in particular that you recommend?” Eric asked.
“I will have to get back to you on that Eric.”
“Cool. Diane’s birthday is coming up and I think it will be a nice treat.”
I toweled off as I thought about my encounter with Eric. I would ask Max if he had made a visit to an adult store recently. My other option was to do my own research and I could take Ryder along. It would be the neighborly thing to do, helping Eric. Nothing wrong with helping a brother out. I walked back to my room.
“Hey, Kelly. Good morning. What ya reading?” I asked my roommate as she lounged on her bed.
“Not cramming for my mid-terms. I picked up some travel guides on France. Many of the films I recently watched were French and I’m mulling over a visit. I might look into the foreign exchange program. Who knows? But it’s a dream,” Kelly said.
“It’s a worthy dream. I dream I won’t flunk out of school.” I laughed.
I figured I would change things up a little. I was tiring of neon and I thought it was a trend that was on the way out. I pulled on a red and white patterned skirt and a white sweater with a deep V-neck. The skirt was short with a dangerously high slit. I figured it wouldn’t work for a trip to Magnolia but it would be perfect for putt-putt. It would be perfect for Ryder—easy access. I threw on my signature silver bangles and my red Toms. I was overdressed for an early morning class but I didn’t care.
I met Max before class. We took our usual seats behind Rozi, Rosemary, and now the ever-present Valerie.
“What’s the deal with Valerie?” I whispered.
Max rolled his eyes.
“How was your long weekend at home?” Max asked.
“Fine. I’m sure you had a crazy weekend. I can’t wait to hear the details.”
“I didn’t hit The Spot or anything like that. I’m pursuing other interests. I’m not as old as you know who, but I’m maturing. I can’t burn the candle on both ends and expect to keep it up.”
It was a herculean task to keep from laughing. Max went through phases. It was part of his charm and I expected him to hit the party circuit again soon.
“What are these other interests you’re pursuing, Max?” I asked.
“Foreign films. French films in particular. It’s a beautiful language and those French know how to handle a love story.”
I was about to mention to Max that my roommate Kelly had a similar interest, when Ryder walked into the room. The look he gave me directly was mischievous. He had been playful since our morning conversation. It was a side of him I liked.
“Today, we will begin our third unit, which deals with the history of sex. I think you will be surprised how it all started.”
Ryder was delivering a lecture, which was a departure from the way he usually conducted class. There was no Q&A. He roamed among us as he spoke of Eve to Cleopatra. He talked of Helen of Troy as if he knew her, and famous Hollywood couples, such as Bogie and Bacall, Hepburn and Tracy, Jolie and Pitt, etcetera.
He walked down the aisle behind mine. He was babbling on about the history of love and of sex, and how one couldn’t exist without the other. He faked dropping his pen. When he reached down to pick it up, he dropped an envelope on my desk. I waited until he was further away before I opened it.
You got me going this morning, Walsh. I hope you’re planning to pick up where we left off. I always repay my debts. I believe this is your size.
There was a black lace thong neatly folded in the envelope. Ryder looked in my direction and winked. I began to sweat. I took off the jacket I was wearing over my plunging white sweater giving Ryder a clear view of my breasts as they rose and fell with my quickened breaths. Ryder paused to clear his throat. I shoved the envelope in my purse and Ryder continued his lecture. I didn’t take notes or listen for the remainder of the class.
“I thought the history of love and sex would be a bore, but I liked it. Does Ryder talk to you like that when the lights dim?” Max joked.
I rolled my eyes. “I will catch up with you later, Max. Please keep your voice down. Like I told you before, Ryder is my golf instructor.”
“Right, Jenna.” Max hurried away before he was approached by Valerie.
****
Ryder and I were alone in the classroom once again. I sat on his desk when I was certain everyone else had left. I wanted to jump in his arms, but I was still extremely paranoid about being caught.
“Seven Wonders. We should putt-putt at places I will never visit,” I said.
He smiled. “You never know. You may travel the world someday. Don’t you have a bucket list? I have started to check items off mine.”
My heart jumped into my throat. “What? You aren’t at that point yet—are you?”
He met my gaze. “I don’t want to get into that now. I’m not keeping secrets. I just don’t want to talk about it. None of us are immortal. My future is a touch more precarious than most. Shit, I can see the change when we even hint at discussing cancer. It is like the air was just let out of a balloon.”
“You’re right, but I don’t take pity on you, and I will prove it when I beat you at mini-golf tonight.” I smiled.
“Great, I will swing by Leach Hall at 4 PM and pick you up,” Ryder said.
“It seems like a real date. I like it better than meeting you somewhere.”
“It’s protocol as your instructor that I drive.”
“I won’t even go back to my room. Pick me up at The Albertson Building. I will change if you think it’s necessary.”
“It’s perfect. I’m picturing you bending over as you retrieve the ball from the hole. Mmmm.”
“Protocol, Professor Curran. Protocol.”
I walked out of the classroom and shut the door. I had a smile on my face and I was sure Ryder did too.
I breezed through history and psychology and didn’t retain a morsel of information. I didn’t remember a time when I was so excited about a date. Two of the best nights that I have ever had were in Ryder’s arms. I didn’t know how we would manage it, but I hoped it would be the night we went beyond just oral sex. I wanted it all with Ryder.
****
He pulled up along College Way in a red, convertible Mustang. It looked as though it was antique and I didn’t know where the hell he got it.
“I know. Off the hook—right? My car needed some work and I borrowed this from a friend.”
Ryder hopped out of the car and opened the door for me. He looked more irresistible than usual, with aviator sunglasses and a navy US Open cap. He was wearing a black t-shirt and grey cargo shorts.
When he plopped down in the driver’s seat he said, “I love it. I can see all the other women checking you out. I’m quite the luc
ky girl.”
“Yes you are,” Ryder commented as we sped off.
I just smiled. The danger of speed added to the intensity of the evening. Ryder gunned the engine and fixed his eyes on mine.
“Eyes on the road, Ryder,” I squealed.
“I can’t help it, Jenna.” Ryder bit his lip and we came to a screeching halt at the Seven Wonders Putt-Putt course.
****
Ryder and I approached the counter and picked up our scorecards, club, and ball. I chose pink and Ryder grabbed red.
“Do you need a grip refresher?” Ryder asked.
“No. We are playing on my turf now, Mr. US Open. I will buy some sodas after our round, if you’re lucky. There will be no fancy lagers and no country club amenities.”
He laughed and said, “We’ll see about that.”
We walked to the first hole, which was replica of the Eiffel Tower.
“Ryder. You avoided my earlier question about the Seven Wonders. I Googled the subject and there is a modern version and an ancient version of the wonders. This isn’t on either list. What type of place is this?” I said sarcastically.
“Well, Ms. College Student. I think the Eiffel Tower is pretty fucking wonderful. It is the first hole no matter what you think—hit the ball.”
I smacked my dirty pink ball at the monolith and it became wedged in the flimsy mesh.
“You are supposed to hit the ball up the tower, not at the tower. This is going to be a long adventure.”
We moved to the Christ the Redeemer statue, which was a replica of the one in Brazil. The arms on this version were rotating. Ryder smacked his ball into one of the rotating arms.
“Nice one hot shot. That must be considered sacrilegious to some. Allow me to grab your ball, it’s out of bounds. You have to take a penalty stroke.” I knew Ryder was watching so I bent over deep to fetch the ball.
“Oh, you received my envelope.” He noted my black lace thong I had put on under my skirt.