Page 47 of The Sweet Spot

Chapter 9

“What’s going on with them?” Jess whispers, tipping her chin across the room to where Max is standing at the bar with that reporter, Sienna. Standing a polite distance from one another, they are both holding drinks, clearly talking but not looking at each other.

“What do you mean?”

She squints. “I don’t know, but there’s definitely something weird going on.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Because Max completely lost his game the second she showed up on the course.”

“Oh?” That piques my interest, since JB mentioned something earlier, but I don’t have enough information to tell Jess and feed her inner gossip bloodhound. “What happened?”

“She showed up on the ninth hole, and the second Max saw her, he tripped over his own feet. Considering he's built like a giraffe, that's a long way to fall. His swing was a mess after that.”

“And that’s what you’re blaming coming third on?”

She nods.

I laugh, shaking my head. “You came third because Austin can take direction and plant his legs in the right position.”

She scoffs. “Oh, please. This has nothing to do with Austin’s thighs and everything to do with my partner getting tongue-tied over a bespectacled reporter.”

“It’s okay to admit defeat, Jess. It’s a ProAm. It’s not that important.” As the words leave my mouth, I realize what a hypocrite I’m being. I literally let my partner finger me to make sure we won.

Jess rolls her eyes. “Easy for you to say. Hooking up with your partner sure helped your competitive edge.”

“Jess,” I warn, brushing against JB slightly as I sit back. He’s beside me, completely unaware of our conversation because he’s too busy talking to Austin about how rats laugh when they’re tickled. He gestures so broadly with his fork that he nearly takes out a candle. Not that he notices.

I smile, watching this man who seemingly has boundless enthusiasm for anything.

“—they can also be trained to play hide-and-seek. Apparently they enjoy it—” JB continues.

She knocks me with her elbow, drawing my attention back to her. “I'm just saying, it probably helped.”

“JB.” Max passes a beer to each of the players, then takes a seat next to Austin. Sienna is still at the bar, watching him.

Interesting.

“Are you guys talking about rats again?” he asks.

“Maybe,” Austin says.

“How many times do I have to tell you, JB, nobody wants to hear this.”

JB takes his friend in with a mock snarl. “Did you know rats will free trapped friends before eating chocolate? That’s the kind of loyalty I expect from a teammate, but I keep getting disappointed.”

Max barks out a laugh. “Oh, please. You really think your teammates have a problem with loyalty? After Tate took the L for you so you could meet your caddy crush?”

Caddy crush?

Max’s eyes connect with mine for just a second before he glances back at JB.

“I wanted to hear more about the rats,” Austin interjects. “Did you say that rats can make their eyes vibrate?”

“Only when they are happy,” JB mutters.

Just as Max is about to respond, Sienna takes a seat next to him but makes no effort to greet us. Max glances at her sideways, clears his throat, and sits up a little straighter. Jess kicks my shin under the table. I kick her right back.