Love 'Em or Leave 'Em by Angie Stanton Page B

another deep breath.
    Okay, now you're stalling. Just hit the dumb ball.
    She wound up and swung, trying to keep her eye on the ball and not the group gathered to watch her tee off. Her club came around, and by some miracle hit the ball. Her euphoria was short-lived as the ball took a forty-five degree turn to the right. At least it went a somewhat respectable distance.
    Ashley picked up her tee and walked over to the group. She glanced at Luke. "Yeah, that was really fun" A smile curled at the edge of his mouth.
    Back in the golf cart, Ashley and Cricket were able to go the opposite direction of Luke and Tami.
    "Okay, just shoot me now. Put me out of my misery"
    "Oh come on, you were fine. Don't be so hard on yourself."
    "Easy for you to say. You golf like the club is an extension of your arm. What's with that? Where did you learn to golf?"
    Hesitating, Cricket replied, "Well, I grew up a coun try club kid. We spent our summers at the club swimming, golfing, and playing tennis."
    Perfect, how could she not have guessed? Cricket, always impeccably dressed and displaying perfect manners. The girl was bred to play good golf. Unlike Ashley, who was born to embarrass herself. If there was one thing Ashley had, it was humility. Lots of it. How could you not when you screwed up as much as she did?
    Approaching the next ball, Ashley said, "Okay, Country Club, I beg you, help me survive this miserable day" They smiled at each other and walked up to her ball where Ashley received her first lesson. Cricket walked her through every shot. She taught her how to properly hold the club and where her feet should be planted.
    She still wasn't golfing well, but at least she seemed to hit the ball more often and accurately.
    Across the fairway, Tami worked Luke at every opportunity.
    Watching Tami's performance made Ashley ill. She and Cricket would look at each other and roll their eyes as Tami batted hers at Luke and laughed at every amusing thing he said.
    It felt that their date was more like a twosome than a foursome.
    After six holes, Luke approached. "Hey Ashley, how about we switch off and you join me for a while?"
    "I don't know if that's such a good idea." Her pulse began to race.
    He walked over to her cart and removed her golf bag. "And why would that be?"
    "You've seen me golf. I'm terrible," she said, following after him "And I happen to know good golfers hate to play with bad golfers. I don't want to cramp your style."
    He lowered his sunglasses enough to gaze over the top at her. "Don't worry-I'd never let you do that" With a quick wink, he turned and walked away with her bag.
    Ashley stood, mouth open and cheeks scarlet.
    Tami pouted her way into the cart with Cricket. Ashley climbed into Luke's cart. He appeared unaffected as he grinned at her. "Ready or not, here we go."
    The cart flew forward and Ashley put her foot up on the side to keep herself in place. Apparently Luke liked it fast-at least when driving.
    Golfing together wasn't quite as horrible as she'd thought it would be. While her drives were short, she hit pretty straight, and Luke's constant banter kept her entertained. Each time he hit the ball, Ashley couldn't help but watch in awe. There was such power in his swing. His muscular arms gripped the club gently and his whole body wound up and then released in one smooth, awesome swing. His athletic physique was a beautiful combination of strength and grace. She wondered how it would feel to be held in his arms.
    "Are you this good at every game?" she asked.
    Leaning toward her, he gazed into her eyes. "Oh yeah, I can play any game you want. What'd you have in mind?"
    Torn between wanting to know what those games might be and smacking him for his provocative comment, Ashley settled for giving him a stern look and she walked around to get back in the cart. "Sports, Luke. I'm talking about sports. I asked if you're good at all sports"
    Pulling forward to drive toward Ashley's ball, Luke responded. "I love pretty much