My Stepbrother (Secret-Possession)

Hole In One

I roll onto the soft, comfortable sheet. Streaks of sunlight penetrate the window and blind me. I rub the sleep from my eyes as they meet the daylight.

"Baby, get ready in thirty minutes. Christian has a very important golf game today. He needs the family's support." Turning to my side, I find Mum sitting beside me. She's casually dressed and looks younger than her thirty-two years.

"What time is it?" I ask in a raspy voice as I slowly pull the comforter over my face. "Don't you have patients to keep alive?"

Mum gently drags the comforter away, exposing me in my shorts and tank top. I groan. "On shift, now come on, get up. We can't be late," she says and walks out of the room.

I childishly grumble for a while before I pull myself together and make my way to my private toilet. I'm ready in twenty minutes as I run down the staircase to join Mum and Christian, who are anxious about our appearance. From the half-relieved sigh they let out, I instantly know that Lilith is still getting ready.

"Pretty," Mum mouths playfully, and I blush at her compliment.

"We'll have breakfast when we get to the diner," Christian tells me. He manages a smile, though I won't say he's nervous. That courageous man looks ready if anything.

After what feels like an hour, though it's actually nine minutes, Lilith shows up still whining about the lack of sleep, just as I feel inside. She is holding two hats. She hands me a big fancy white ribbon hat that suits my "keep one up one sleeve" black crepe tuxedo blazer dress. Hers is golden, as she is wearing an adorable mini rosy pink dress that makes her look like a model. I think I look like one too in the outfit Mum left on the sofa in my bedroom and with the hat that Lilith promised I would need. We walk to Mum's Audi SUV, where we all get in, and everyone's eyes dart towards me, even Mum from the driver's seat, mainly because it's her policy to make sure I fasten my seatbelt. With annoyance, I click on the thing while Lilith swallows a laugh and puts on her earbuds.

TPC Summerlin is exactly the golf course I imagined it to be. The environment is beautiful and calming, yet busy. The members of the country club and their families, I guess, fill the lodge as we join them.

Mum mentioned some specific events on our way here. There might be another ceremonial event tonight.

As we follow Christian and Mum while they introduce us to different families, or rather, to me in particular, I become aware of how well-known Mr Boyce is around here. Lilith, on the other hand, complains under her breath.

"They should feed us, at least if they could wake us up like that. It's eight on a f*****g Saturday."

I understand her frustration, but the truth is I'm not used to events like this, so I'm pretty impressed even though I might need a cup of tea for now. When Christian's eyes find Leigh with a group of young boys around his age, Christian makes his way to them, while Mum asks us to sit at the six-seat table.

With all five of us seated, we are served a healthy, delicious sandwich and a variety of other breakfast foods, including pineapple and coconut juice. I feel a little down about not having tea, so I know I have to make one immediately after I get home. Leigh is sitting opposite me. He looks outstanding, just like every other day. His dress trousers and shirt fit him well. However, I feel uneasy with him facing me because he seems unwilling to ever drop his gaze somewhere or something. I know my cheeks are already red as I avoid his intense stare. I don't see him looking at Lilith that way. Ever since yesterday, I still can't explain what happened in his room. If my mind says it was flirtation, Leigh's eyes will switch to innocent. It isn't apparent, and I don't know what to think, so I try to push the thought to the back of my mind.

When the game starts, we are all outside the field with dozens of others. Christian's challenger is said to be an excellent competitor. I've heard from some golf enthusiasts beside us saying he lives twenty-nine miles away from here. If I heard correctly, I think they say southeast Henderson, which I absolutely don't know where that is, but I know that Christian must be good at golf if someone from twenty-nine miles away is coming to challenge him.

I don't know a single rule of golf, but Lilith, whose father is Christian Boyce, knows more than I thought she did. She explains it to me in detail while appearing to be bored by the game. I end up cheering with the group of Christian supporters when his ball gets shot closer to the hole, although his opponent managed to hit a good shot as well. After arriving at the second location where the balls landed, Christian's opponent's ball is behind, so he takes the next shot, and it stops closest to the hole, which is denoted by a flag. Lilith seems a bit worried about the game, even though I thought she wasn't entertained by it.

My eyes caught Mum standing in the front row with some women. They all look anxious as we wait for Christian to make his next stroke. With quite tension, Lilith mumbles something that I can't quite grasp at the same time as Christian's ball hits into the hole.

The applause was loud, and I began to think almost everyone here was supporting Christian. I smile when my eyes land on Leigh, standing far across with two boys I know from school beside him. He shoots me a broad smile as he celebrates his dad's first stage win, after all the waiting, that is, for recording. We all move to the next hole. The game becomes very tight as Las Vegas starts heating up. Today's weather is hotter than the short days I've spent here, so I keep fanning myself with my hand.

The game is played over eighteen holes, and we are already sweating by the seventh when Christian's ball lands in some impossible location, forcing him to go back to where he last hit the ball to play the shot again, since he has fewer options. With that, people around us groan in annoyance.

"That man is pretty good," Lilith says as she dabs her forehead with a napkin.

"Christian will catch up," I say. "He will, right?" I ask her, and she nods with a smirk.

"Hey, ladies." Two voices in unison behind us, and we turn to see Leigh with his two friends.

"Hey, guys. I'm tired," Lilith complains.

"I don't expect you girls to stand until the eighteenth," a guy the same height as Leigh smiles. Honestly, the three of them are all tall, with only the other one being a foot shorter.

"I think we should be heading back to the lodge, Ava," Lilith says. "Have you met Tyron and Arlen?" She waves at the two boys, with Leigh in the middle.

The other guy shoots me a wide grin and winks at me. "Hey, pretty lady, I'm Tyron Bertram." Taking my hand, he kisses it tenderly, while Lilith and I share amused glances. My mind immediately recalls what she told me about him back at the strip last weekend. He's kind of the troublemaker among the three. "And this is Arlen." Tyron points to the tall guy.

"I can introduce myself, douche," Arlen growls at him and takes a step towards me. With a warm smile, he shakes my hand, which I'm already mentally planning to wash as soon as I find a toilet. "Arlen Garret." From the corner of my eye, I notice Leigh staring at some couple farther away with both hands in his pocket while continuously tapping his foot against the green field.

Lilith didn't describe Arlen as the type who hangs out with Brendon, the illegal provider, so I feel more comfortable replying to him. "It's my pleasure meeting you."

"And she has an accent," Tyron stares at me fascinated, while Arlen blushes and asks us to join them back at the lodge.

***

"So you three are all siblings," Arlen asks after I return from the toilet.

"Not yet," Leigh firmly answers, and he asks for two iced teas while the others order cocktails from the young waitress at our table. "I think maybe you would prefer iced tea, Ava," he says slowly after placing the order.

With a smile, I nod, and his lips curl up in a smirk. After our refreshing beverages arrive, we sip them in relief and discuss my week in the new environment. Leigh even chuckles lightly at a story he already knows, as I'm always recounting it to my cousin in his car. We end up making three more orders as we converse.

In a Tyron-like manner, he invites me to his home party tomorrow, to which I will be going with the girls. Later on, we decide to return to the field. We are lucky to make it before the end, as Christian hits his ball across the water hazard and into the hole on a single shot, while his opponent manages to hit his ball out of the bunker, as Leigh continues to explain to me. At the same time, the boys move further ahead to get a clearer view. Some people around Mum applaud and pat her on the shoulder as a congratulatory gesture, I'm sure.

"Told you he would catch up," Lilith smirks at me before she follows my mum.

"Good game, huh?" I say.

"Long game," Leigh chuckles, and I giggle, agreeing with him as I fan myself, eager to get out of this dress already.

"Here," he holds out a napkin for me, and I immediately blush when I accept it and wipe my face and neck with it. "You look beautiful." He says after an extended silence, instantly regretting it as he fumbles on his following words. "I mean, the dress looks beautiful on you. Like, okay... Just okay." He bites his lower lip and turns his head to the side. I'm sure I look rosy as I stare at him, trying to process the reason we both feel awkward in the same place, yet neither of us wants to walk away.

"Thank you," I mutter.

We all head back to the lodge again as Lilith and I complain to Christian and Mum about our legs and request trolleys. Christian keeps calling us the weak new generation, and he even threatens to start waking us up every morning for a run if we continue to complain. That's how Lilith and I embrace the long walk back without further opposition. Christian and Mum continue to receive appreciation and commendation from people while we exhaustedly follow behind them.

The event continues into the late evening while Lilith, I, and some girls Lilith somehow knows share a table.

Leigh, Arlen, and Tyron seem to disappear immediately after Christian's victory.

The four of us later have our dinner. Lilith must be as exhausted as I am because neither of us involves ourselves in Christian and Mum's conversation.

We arrive home around nine. It isn't easy for Mum to get out of the parking space, as some cars have blocked us in the middle. Christian has to deal with the situation, which takes over twenty minutes.

The scent of home, even though I recently moved here a week ago, makes me feel more tired, and I know the only thing I need right now is a good bath and sleep.

"Thank you for today," Mum says, sitting in the same spot as this morning while she massages my feet on her lap.

Mum made me a warm tea and brought it for me. This time it tastes like chocolate, but it's perfect. As I gulp it down, I ask, "For what?"

"Trying... for everything," she says.

"Thank you too for being the only one in my life," I say to her. Since Mum is a sensitive person, she pulls me closer to her and kisses my temple.

"Oh, my baby," she whispers.

We both lie on my bed and wrap ourselves in the comforter with the air conditioning on. "I think you're doing well. The women at today's event admire you," I tell her after a quiet moment.

Smiling, she says, "I'm just trying to fit in." But she laughs after she says it, making me believe it was just words from the tongue, not the heart.

After some small talk, Christian knocks on my door. With a final goodnight kiss, Mum turns off my bedroom light, and darkness fills my vision.