Kiss My Putt (Summersweet Island 1)

I watch with rabid fascination, trying not to pant like a dog, as she uses her fingers to comb all that wavy blonde hair up into a high ponytail, the front of her shirt stretching tightly over her mouth-watering tits, while she pulls a band off her wrist to secure her hair before snatching the planner back out of my hand and speaking to me again.

“From now on, just don’t answer any phone calls from unknown numbers,” Birdie continues, pulling a pen out of the spirals of the planner and clicking it before scribbling something in one of the dated squares. “If you get any email requests for interviews, forward them to me, and I’ll draft up an automated reply about how you’re not talking to anyone at this time. After we get done with a skills camp on the practice putting green and you make it through the lessons I scheduled for you today, you can give me all your log-ins and I’ll start replying to things and make a list of what should be tackled after that.”

I’m in a daze, staring at her mouth as it moves, her lips covered in some shiny shit I just want to lick off, until I realize her mouth is no longer moving and she’s tapping one sneaker-covered foot against the sidewalk.

Wake up, idiot!

“Sorry, you’ll have to excuse me. I’m a little out of sorts this morning, since my boss was late. Also, so glad to hear you’ve decided to be agreeable about the whole fixing my public image thing. I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist my charms.” I smile at Birdie and watch her grind her teeth for a few seconds.

“I’m only resisting the urge to choke you. Don’t push it. And I wasn’t that late,” she protests.

“Seventeen minutes. That’s pretty late.”

I try giving her a stern look, but it’s really hard, because she is super annoyed, and it’s adorable.

“Look, I had to run up to the police station really quick to pay a stupid citation, all right? Can we just get back to work, since that’s why we’re here?”

“Yeah, nope. I’m gonna need more information on this citation.” Spinning my golf hat around on my head so the brim isn’t shielding my eyes and I can see her better, I cross my arms in front of me.

I hear her mutter something under her breath that sounds like a date, since the only thing I can make out is 2018, before she clears her throat and meets my eyes again.

“Tess and I had a little fire the other night. We’ve been banned from beach fires for another month, and the cops found out.” She sighs with a roll of her eyes. “It was stupid the first time, and it continues to be stupid.”

“Ahhh, a break-up burning.” I nod with a laugh, quite familiar with Tess’s need to cleanse the bad by lighting it on fire and removing it from their lives. “Who was the poor soul this time that Tess loved and left who wonders where his favorite sweatshirt went?”

Birdie’s face is completely expressionless.

“Oh shit,” I whisper. “Am I the poor soul? I couldn’t find my lucky golf hat this morning, and I know Tess knows how to pick a damn lock.”

I stop worrying how many of my things might have went up in flames last night and forget how to breathe when ever so slowly the corner of Birdie’s shiny, lickable mouth tips up. Then the other corner goes up with it until the dimple she has in her right cheek is showing and the sounds of quiet laughter coming out of her makes the back of my neck tingle.

Her smile and laughter are gone just as fast as they came, like someone flipped a switch, and I almost whimper like a baby when her lips are back into a straight line and the dimple is gone.

“Don’t worry, it wasn’t anything of yours. We don’t care enough about your stuff to burn it.”

Fucking ouch, man.

“Grab your putter and let’s get to work. Your first lesson is in an hour, and I need to make sure you don’t suck and you won’t throw a temper tantrum by a water hazard.”

Jesus, the hits just keep on coming.

“Wait!” I shout, since she’s already turned away from me and started walking toward the putting green.

When she stops with a huge sigh and looks back over her shoulder at me, I quickly jog over to the golf cart Bodhi left parked in a spot in front of the clubhouse before he disappeared into the bar to find Tess. Grabbing the small insulated cooler bag from the floorboard, I walk back over to Birdie and step up onto the sidewalk to stand in front of her, unzipping the lid to the bag as I go.