Chapter Thirty-One
Caleb
Friday arrived, and so had the Masters. I couldn’t believe that they had finally arrived that we were all there. The crowds were thick, and there was plenty of tension in the air. Everyone knew what was at stake here and you could feel the fear and the nerves as if it was air to breathe in.
I knew exactly what that feeling was like because I had been there multiple times. The feeling was always the same. I started to feel the anxiety build tried the breathing exercises that Dr. Brentwood had told me to use when I felt anxious at the Masters.
Today was the day that things got under way and it was a nerve-wracking experience, to say the least. I had to remember to focus and not think of what had happened in the previous years. That was the past. It didn’t mean that I was going to choke that time.
I saw Matt talking with Aria and walked over to them. They were chatting casually, and both seemed to be in good spirits.
“Hey, Caleb, how are you feeling today?” asked Aria.
“As good as I can, I suppose.” I smiled, but I didn’t feel like it at all. My emotions were starting to get the best of me.
As I looked around, I saw my parents standing and talking to some of my peers. Everyone was there and it was starting to make me feel a little crazy. My mother saw me and waved. I waved back at both of them. I had no intention of approaching them, though. I didn’t need to hear any well-meaning advice from my father. He would only make it worse, and I needed my mind as clear as possible. I would have been better off if my father would have stayed home. The last thing I needed to worry about was him being disappointed in me.
Matt leaned over to me. “Relax, man; it’s going to be okay. Remember what the doctor told you and start focusing on different things.”
I nodded, appreciating the fact that Matt could read me like a book. I was relieved Aria could not read me in the same way. She had no idea I was freaking out inside. My emotions were high, and I was starting to feel the stress overload. I didn’t think that it was possible to feel more stress than I did at that moment.
I started to breathe deeply in the hope that my heart rate would start to slow down. I couldn’t believe how many people were there; it seemed like so much more than the year before. Though, I was probably losing my mind at that point. Things were beyond stressful for me, and I needed to listen to Matt’s advice and chill out. It was only the beginning, and we had a long way to go.
“Well, you must be very excited to have made it this far, Caleb. I have to say that everyone at Under Armour is very impressed with you and looking forward to your success.”
I smiled at her. “Thank you, Aria. I hope that I won’t disappoint you guys.”
“I’m sure you won’t. You have done well in the tournaments.”
If only she knew that the tournaments meant very little to me. They were just practice until I got to the Masters. It didn’t matter until I got there, and I still wasn’t sure how I was going to get through it with my sanity intact. I just had to take it one hole at a time and to not overthink things. That would be a mistake. I needed to pretend that my father wasn’t even there. That was the best way to handle the day.
I left Matt and Aria to talk while I started to walk around. Matt called out to me that things were getting started soon and to not go too far. I waved him off and kept moving. I wanted to try to find Hailey, but I wasn’t sure where she would be. I had left the hotel earlier than she had and knew she was to meet me there at some point.
It wasn’t long before I found her and my breath caught at the sight. She was wearing a light pink sundress, and her brown hair caught the light nicely. She was talking to a few random people and smiling brightly. She couldn’t have looked more beautiful than she did at that moment.
It was hard to recall life before Hailey came around. She had become a staple in my life, and I knew it was going to be very weird when she was no longer by my side. In fact, I couldn’t even picture what my life would be like without her by my side. Will I really go back to clubbing and taking random women home? I wasn’t entirely sure that I would; it would seem so foreign after being with Hailey for three months.
I had to wonder if I would think about Hailey the next time that I slept with another woman. We had been sleeping together for awhile now, so it would be weird to sleep with someone new. Wow, I really made a mess of things. I had a hard time regretting any of it, but I just didn’t want it to end – ever.
I approached her and pulled her away from the crowd, apologizing to the people she was talking to. “Sorry, I need to steal this beauty for a moment,” I said. Hailey laughed as she waved goodbye to them. She was glowing, and I just couldn’t stop looking at her.
“Hey, handsome, how are you feeling today?”
“Not good, to be honest with you.”
“It’s happening already? You need to think good thoughts.”
“I’m trying,” I told her.
“Well, maybe you should think about last night. Because it’s been giving me good thoughts all day, that’s for sure.”
I laughed. “No kidding, it was great. You really do know how to make me feel good, don’t you?”
“Well, I try,” she said, blushing.
I grasped her hand in mine and looked around the event. There was a buzz in the air, but as long as I was with Hailey, I felt so much better about things. I could do this. I was sure of it. I was determined to win this year; I just needed to focus and keep my eye on the prize.
I couldn’t help but look at Hailey when I thought that. She would definitely be a prize all right. Hailey wasn’t going to be around much longer, though. Her contract would be up at the end of the week, and then she would be gone. First to Georgia and then eventually to LA to have her big acting career.
I didn’t want her to go, which was certainly a new feeling with me. I wasn’t in love with Hailey, but fuck if I didn’t like her in my life a lot! It made me sad that she was going to go away. It drove me nuts just thinking about it. I couldn’t think of anyone else I would rather spend time than her, and yet there wasn’t a whole lot that I could do about the situation. We would each go our own separate ways, and I was powerless to stop it.
How long can I pay someone to play my girlfriend? I almost laughed; it was a ludicrous thought. There was no way Hailey would be okay with that. She wanted a life, a real life. She didn’t want a pretend boyfriend for the rest of her life. She had a bright future and deserved someone amazing to share it with.
I smiled down at her. Yes, she was quite the beauty. I leaned over and pulled her towards me, planting her with a big kiss. I lingered with that kiss as long as I could, not wanting to let her go.
I heard a long awwww around us as we kissed, and she started to laugh as we pulled apart. I smiled down at her, knowing that she thought we were just acting once again. The crowd definitely loved us together, and that probably wouldn’t change.
“Well, I should probably get out there now; the show is about to start.”
She nodded her encouragement. “Good luck, Caleb. I’ll be watching. Just relax, and you will be okay.”
I nodded and walked away from her. I needed to find Matt so that we could get on the green and get the party started.
Matt and I walked to the first hole of the Augusta National Golf Club and waited for our turn to move. If you won the Masters, you got a green jacket, a very prestigious gift. Golfers all over the world vied for one. If you won the green jacket, it was the job of last years’ winner to put the jacket on you.
Perry Davenport was last year’s winner, and I would love very much for that guy to have to put the jacket on me. He had been winning for far too long now, and it was time for a new winner. Plus, Perry could be an arrogant dick sometimes. I saw him a few yards away. It was his turn next, and he was probably going to do quite well. He always did.
I look out at the fairway. The ruff at the Masters were very long. The grass was much longer and thicker on either side of the fairway than it usually was at the tournaments. I started to think about the twelfth hole, which was a bad idea.
The twelfth hole was a famous one in Augusta, and it was notorious for being hard. It was only 150 yards, which was not good for any golfer. But it was twelve holes away, and I needed to focus on the first eleven first without worrying about the hard one already.
Matt was carrying my bag. At the Masters, there were no carts, the caddies were there to carry the bags for the players, and that was as good as it got. I turned to Matt, who smiled at me. It was my turn to go up, and he gave me a thumbs up. He handed me a club, and I approached the green and got into position.
I knew all eyes were on me, and I decided to think of Hailey. She was out there somewhere watching me and probably casually talking to the new people that she met. She was proud of me already, and that thought warmed me all over. I leaned into the swing, and the ball shot into the fairway and immediately rolled into the hole. The crowd went nuts, and I smiled from ear to ear. Matt was cheering loudly as I walked back over to him and handed him the club.
“One down – only seventeen more to go,” he said with a laugh.