As soon as he met Amanda, Brett knew that he had found the girl of his dreams. She was beautiful, sexy and clever. She could cook in seven languages, had a happy nature and was the most fun to be with, either in or out of bed. There was never any doubt in his mind, right from the outset, that this was the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Then she dumped him.
The only explanation she offered him was that he was boring, that he didn't do anything but play golf. That was a tough pill for Brett to swallow, especially as he was a professional golfer. He tried hard to think of negatives to sling back at her, even if they were only to make him feel better about losing her... but he failed. She was, after all, the girl of his dreams, so it was hard to see any flaws in her.
For several weeks he was unable to find an antidote for the "Amanda blues", and then things got worse when he took off alone for South Carolina, on the vacation they were supposed to take together. No matter what he did, all he could think about was how they should be doing this together.
For the entire first day he was there he was sure the vacation was a mistake. The cottage he'd rented for them was cozy, romantic and overlooked the beach, but as he wanly padded around it all he could think of was how much better it would be if she had been there to share it with him. The second morning he woke up, alone, and decided to find somewhere to play golf. "It might be boring," he thought, "but it's what I do."
*****
Shelly watched him practicing from her position at the pro shop window. He was a good player and, although he'd been distracted when he came in, he was pleasant to her when he asked if he could practice and play the course that day. Something about the handsome but sad figure gripped her attention and wouldn't let go as she watched him pound ball after ball. It was mesmerizing, almost like he was working something from his system.
It was a strange feeling, the attraction she felt to this man she knew nothing about. It wasn't like her to be impulsive in either her attraction, or her selection of men, but there was no denying the heat he was generating all around her body as she watched his graceful movements. Something about his tall frame, muscular shoulders and the melancholic demeanor pulled at her emotions and she started imagining her hands wandering over him. "Stop it Shelly." She shook her head. "You're supposed to be working."
The vision stayed with her for the rest of the day, distracting her and raising her curiosity. She even stayed around after work, just waiting to see if the mystery man came in again when he finished his round. It was a wretched end to her wait when she saw him come off the course, put his things straight into his car and drive off.
*****
The next day, fate paid Shelly back, and then some.
Brett was at the cottage entrance, struggling with the screen door as he tried to wrestle the previous night's pizza box into the garbage. He didn't notice the morning jogger deviate from her path and head towards him.
"You're the golfer." The red-faced, soaked shirt, girl with short, sweaty blonde hair bounced up to him. She wasn't vaguely familiar.
Taken aback that his lack of fame still allowed such recognition, Brett nodded with a hollow expression. The bizarre meeting had him lost for words as he started to notice the rest of the girl's features, happy indigo eyes, high cheekbones and a figure that even her sports bra couldn't conceal.
"I'm sorry." She stepped forward and offered him her hand. "I'm Shelly. I work at the golf course you played yesterday."
Brett shook her hand, still struggling for a spark of recognition, but his mind had been closed to other women since the onset of the Amanda Blues. Shelly spoke to him in bubbling, short phrases as she asked him where he was from, how long he would be there, what his plans were. Brett fielded the questions with a growing confidence, as he started to recover from the surprise.
"Where are you playing today?" she asked him.
"No plans yet." He shrugged. "I haven't even had breakfast."
Shelly almost jumped at him. "You want to go play somewhere? It's my day off and I know a great new course, you'll love it."
Brett didn't know what had hit him when she jogged off. He'd agreed to her picking him up in a couple of hours and playing that afternoon with her. As he poured himself his morning coffee he tried to work out what it was about Shelly that made him agree to something that he normally wouldn't do. Sure, she was pretty, but that wasn't enough for him to wilt so easily. He put it down to her enthusiasm. Thinking back to her giggly personality and more than pleasant looks, he smiled at the image. Maybe the afternoon wouldn't be so bad after all.
*****
Shelly kept surprising him. The first surprise was the squealing tires that announced the arrival of her open-topped Jeep. Then she jumped out in a golf shirt and shorts, looking even prettier than he remembered from two hours earlier. When they got to the golf course, it turned out she could play better than he expected also, good enough to halve their match on the 18th green.
"Playoff!" Shelly declared as Brett shook her hand. "We'll have a putting competition to decide the winner."
"Sure." He smiled at her enthusiasm and followed her to the practice green, feeling the blues leaving him for the first time in days. "What's the bet again? If we're going to all this trouble, I guess I should know."
"Hmmm," she pretended to consider with an impish look, "we never did say. What about dinner? Loser buys dinner tonight."