Greg served the ball over the net to Dean. Dean received the ball, bumping it into the air toward Colton, who then bumped the ball high into the air near the net, setting it for Dean. Dean jogged a couple of steps forward, swinging his arms and jumping into the air, preparing to make contact with the ball. He arched his back, swung his arm backward, and in one quick snapping motion, his spine rounded forward, his hand smacked the ball, perfectly spiking it into the sand between Greg and Bryce with lightning speed.
Greg, Bryce, and Colton stood dumbfounded, silent and still, eyes wide, mouths hanging open, staring at Dean.
“Okay…Imighthave played on a volleyball team when I was younger.” Dean smirked with a little shrug.
“Hell yeah!” Colton whooped, ran over, and jumped on Dean’s back piggy-back style. He pointed across the net at Bryce and Greg. “We’re gonna kick your asses!”
“Shit! We’re fucked,” Bryce muttered to Greg.
Chapter 21
Dean
Dean slouched in the passenger seat of Colton’s G Wagon; his forehead rested on the window as he stared out of it. The drive to the charity golf tournament wasn’t far from San Francisco, but as they got closer to the golf course, traffic had slowed to a snail’s pace. Colton rhythmically tapped his thumb on the steering wheel and huffed. “God, I hate traffic.”
Colton turned his head to Dean, then reached over and poked his shoulder. “Why so quiet, Mr. DJ?”
“I don’t know why, but I’m pretty fucking nervous about this.” Dean chuckled, still gazing out the window.
Colton smiled. “There’s no need to be nervous. The hard work, the fundraising, is already done. How much did you raise for the children’s hospital?”
Dean shrugged with a hint of a smile. “three-point-eight million.”
Colton gasped and quickly turned his head. “For real? Fuck! That’s more than triple what I raised. That’s awesome!”
Dean finally drew his eyes from the window to look at Colton. “Thanks. I have the greatest fans. All I had to do was post the link and the donations poured in, so I really can’t take credit for anything.”
Colton reached over and patted his shoulder. “Well, today is the fun part. Don’t be nervous. Besides, we’ll be playing together. So, you know we’ll have fun.”
“Yeah. Once we get started, I’m sure I’ll shake the nerves.”
As they parked and began making their way to the clubhouse, Dean could now clearly understand why he was nervous. There were television vans and camera crews everywhere.
“This is on TV?” Dean asked.
“Yeah, it’s live TV,” Colton answered, adjusting the bag on his shoulder.
“Shit! I didn’t realize this would be on live TV. Now I’m even more nervous!”
Colton stopped and turned to Dean. “Dude! You perform sold out shows to thousands of people, almost every weekend. How isthismaking you nervous?” He waved his hand toward the course.
Dean shrugged one shoulder. “I’ve only been playing golf for about two months. I don’t want to embarrass myself on live TV.”
Colton sighed. “Okay, look, I did this tournament last year. Ninety-fice percent of the time, the cameras are on the PGA professionals. They rarely put the celebrities on camera, and when they do, it’s for a quick wave or a short interview, something trivial like that. The celebrities get to come out, have fun, and get drunk.” Colton smiled as he poked Dean in the center of his forehead. “So get outta your head and let’s go grab a beer!”
Dean rolled his eyes and smirked. “Fine. You had me at beer. Let’s go.”
A short while later, Colton prepared for his tee shot at the first par three hole. He lined up the shot, took a couple of practice swings, and approached the tee. He squared his shoulders and hips, took another look at the location of the pin, and took a giant swing.
The ball flew high in the air, landed on the green, took a slight bounce, and began rolling toward the hole. The crowd started cheering louder and louder as the ball crept closer to the hole. When it dropped inside, the crowd erupted with a roar.
HOLE IN ONE!
Colton threw his club into the air, arms up, and turned to Dean with a huge, beaming smile.
Dean screamed, ran out onto the tee, and grabbed Colton by the waist, lifting him off the ground. Overcome with the emotion of the moment, Dean kissed Colton on the cheek, dropped him back to the ground, and smacked both his shoulders. Colton gave him a huge hug and laughed in celebration.
Colton, still smiling, pulled away from Dean. “Alright, your shot. I’m counting on you. Don’t let me down, Devlin!”
