“I never know what I’m going to get, but I’ll take it all the same.”
Paloma leans in further, her leg brushing against mine, and her entire body stills. These tables are slightly too small for two people to sit at them side by side, but I can’t seem to give a damn. Not when Paloma’s warmth is pressed against me. The chatter around the club restaurant becomes background noise. When I rub my hand down my own leg, my pinkie almost grazes against her thick thigh, and I watch her shiver from the barely-there contact.
She clears her throat. “Whatever you say, Mr. Adventurer. Instead of giving me a nickname, let’s get going. Were you able to get in touch with any sponsors?” she bites out, but her breathy tone gives her away, and I bump my knee against hers, needing more contact. I click my spreadsheet, pulling open the list of confirmed sponsors and donationswe’ve pulled in so far and turn the laptop in her direction so she can put eyes on it herself.
“Clinton, Paloma. How are you both doing today? You two really do make a great team!” Glen says as he makes his way to our table.
“We’re good, Glen. How are you?” Paloma answers for both of us. Probably already knowing Glen has a point he really wants to get to.
“I’m doing pretty well myself, Ms. Reyes. Any day at Mossy Oaks is a good day to me. Only thing that’d make it better is if I was on the course. You know what I mean?”
He chuckles, and I can’t find it in me to disagree. I have some great memories from here, but my eyes still find Paloma when I answer, “You aren’t wrong about that, Glen.”
“You both coming back together and working on this charity feels right.” There are so many areas between the spaces of his words that I want to expand on. I wonder if he knows more about our past than he lets on. But it’s only for a moment before he interrupts my thinking.
“You know what!?” he exclaims, clarity blooming on his features. “You two need a team name. Oh yeah.” Glen nods enthusiastically. “So what do you think it should be?”
“Oh, uh…no, we were good with—” Heartbreaker here attempts to backpedal out of Glen’s suggestion, and I’m not having any of it.
“Thanks, Glen!” I reply cheerily, interrupting Paloma in the process and earning a kick from under the table. “We are going to be meeting up on the green soon to get our team name all worked out.” I smile at him and watch as his eyes widen, his own grin spreading along his aging face.
“Well, alright then! That’s wonderful.”That beautiful balding bastard, I think as I shake my head a bit. I chuckle at the gift he doesn't even realize he gave to me before turning back to Paloma.
“I’ll let you two get back to it.” His eyes linger between us and the laptop. “I just wanted to say hello before I locked myself back in my office.” He waves his goodbye and turns toward the bar before making his way back to the hallway leading to his office.
“Team name? Getting on thegreen?” Paloma glares at me, her voice even and low, but her eyes have a fire behind them. I may not be willing to chase after a woman who might not be ready for what we could be together, but I am completely and achingly willing to tempt her into following me.
“The Mulligans,” I reply simply, watching realization blossom across her face before she hides behind her wall again. There may be only two players in this game of ours, but a second chance is all we’ll need.
We put our heads down, her on the laptop as she matches the new sponsors up with scheduled posts for social media, while I rifle through vendor lists and donations that have come in. It’s easy to get lost in something you love and look up to find a couple hours have passed. When I look over to Paloma, she’s sitting like a shrimp, her back bowed as she hovers over the laptop. One of her legs is tucked under the other, and the pink tip of her tongue pokes out of her lips as she squints.
“I want to make an overall post for the socials, and since I have you right here with me, tell me more about Albatross. You said you dreamt it?” she asks.
“I woke up one morning ready to finish my golf contract and come back home to make Albatross Youth Academy a real space for kids in our community. When they enter the program, they’ll be entering a safe space where they’ll not only be focusing on their golf game but a space to finish their homework, build lasting friendships, and gain a skill in something that excites them. Someone took me under their wing whenI was young, helped me find a purpose that was truly mine and not what they wanted it to be because I was a kid. I want to give the same opportunity to each of our kids here.”
“Our kids?” she asks with curiosity.
“The kids here in Cypress Lake. We’re their village. If not us, then who?” I ask her a rhetorical question.
“You’re right, that’s really beautiful, Clint. I’m glad to see you still have such a big heart for our hometown.” My eyebrows jump up, and for a moment I consider that Paloma thinks I’ve grown too big of an ego to consider Cypress Lake. She must have noticed my expression and quickly continues, “Not thatyouwouldn’t, but some take their opportunity and never look back. Honestly though, it’s truly wonderful what you’re doing.” Her voice is a little louder than those around us, a few curious members peek over at us. My eyes don't leave hers though; it's her excitement for something I have put my all into which has every ounce of my attention. I’m used to hearing this kind of praise from a few friends, but her approval is something I never expected to receive.
“And what about you? What made you open Shaken Tropes?”
Her cheeks tint, and man, do I love it. Fuck me. Warmth spreads across my chest. I’ve got it bad. She’s the end game.
Instead of hauling her into my lap, I wait for her to tell me about the bar she opened with her best friend. I considered looking her up, going online and getting all the answers I could possibly want. “Google is free,” as Sel would say. Actually, it’s exactly what she said when I asked her why she was looking up Paloma. I knew then I messed up. She asked me every question under the sun to try and understand how I had an ex she didn’t know about. But I didn’t want to bother with Google or social media; I wanted to hear about her life from her.
“I don’t think you’ve met my business partner, Cassidy Heart, but we’ve been best friends since before high school, and with our love for books it was kind of like Albatross in a way.” She sighs a breathy laugh. “It felt like a fever dream. Cassidy came over one night sharing her bookish takes on cocktails, and at first we considered a book club.”
Wanting her to continue, I ask, “What happened with the book club idea?”
“The dream just kept getting bigger.” She smiles fondly. “We created our first cocktail, One Bed, and it’s all we needed to finally decide we wanted so much more than a book club. It’s been four years now, and I would do it all over again.” The serenity and joy flitting across her face is all I need to see to confirm she loves what she does for a living.
“And you still love golf enough to be a vendor...or I guess the event coordinator now,” I say. I don’t phrase it as a question because I know my Heartbreaker isn’t going to involve herself with anything she doesn’t love. The thought pulls me out of calling her mine, but it leaves me wondering. Maybe this isn't really something she wants, but the heat behind her eyes tells me otherwise.
She’s always been mine.
“Do you maybe want to take a break from this? Grab a bite to eat and maybe play a couple rounds of pool. As…friends?” The last word sours my stomach, but it’s where we are now or at least where I hope we will be headed. She looks up at me as I stand, handing her the large bag she brought with her. “Come on, Heartbreaker. Let’s go shoot some pool. Loser buys a pitcher of beer.”
