Chapter Eight
Caleb
I was pacing around my apartment feeling very antsy. To be honest, I was bored. I had been on my best behavior all week, and I was basically going out of my mind. I wasn’t sure how I was going to pull off being a good boy for three whole months. These Under Armour people had to be insane.
I didn’t know what else to do with myself. I couldn’t possibly stick around my apartment for the next three months. At least the girlfriend situation was being taken care of; that would allow me to go out and at least go to events. The rate I was going now, though, I would absolutely lose my mind if I had to stay in the apartment for another second. Why had I agreed to this? Maybe if I would have fought back just a little, they would have realized that they needed me just as much as I needed them. I was not a slacker; I was a serious player.
My phone buzzed, and I looked down at it. A flood of relief went through me as I realized it was Matthew. He was asking me to hit the driving range with him. I could certainly hit a few balls into the air. There was no thinking on the driving range. I could just unleash my anger on the balls. Just send them flying across the fairway. The great thing about the driving range was that you could just stand in one spot and hit ball after ball to your heart’s content and you never had to go looking for the balls.
I agreed to a late-night golf session with Matthew and headed out to meet him. I was looking forward to seeing him since I hadn’t been able to do much all week.
I walked up to the driving range, and Matthew was already there with drivers and balls. I was itching to send some balls out.
“Hey, man, how are you? You don’t look no worse for wear being out of the limelight for awhile.”
“Yeah, right. I feel like I’m going crazy.”
“Well, I’m sure they don’t expect you to be a hermit now.”
I groaned, “To be honest, I don’t know what they expect. I’m just laying low for a bit until I figure out my next step. I definitely don’t need to be getting hammered right now. The last thing I need is another incident, and you sure weren’t any help the last time.”
He laughed, “Yeah, well, I was in pretty bad shape myself, I just don’t have anyone to answer to.”
“Yeah, lucky you. What a shit show.”
I got into my stance, a stance that in fact took years to develop, and I hit the ball hard across the fairway. Matthew whooped with laughter. I proceeded to hit five more balls the same way. Had I actually been playing a tournament, I would be a shoe-in for a win.
“Now why can’t you do that at the majors? Look at those balls fly!”
I grinned at him. “I can’t tell you, man; I just freeze up. I play like a champ until I get to the majors and then something grabs me by the throat. I don’t know why. How do I stop something when I don’t even know why it happens?”
“It’s pressure, man. That’s what the big leagues are all about.”
“I don’t think that’s it. I’m starting to wonder if I’m really cut out for it.”
“What are you talking about, Caleb? You are amazing at the game; I wouldn’t be working for you if I thought otherwise. You have a stress issue; maybe we can work on that together.”
“I’m not sure I want to play golf my whole life.”
Matthew just stared at me – I had officially stunned him into silence. “Are you serious?”
“Maybe... I’ve been thinking about it for awhile. I’m not my dad; I never was, and I never will be. I was put in this place. I never asked to be here. Fuck, maybe I’m just talking nonsense. I just don’t know what I want right now. I just know I’m not my dad, even though every fucking body expects me to be.”
“Well, you just blew my mind; I’ll tell you that much. I never would have thought.”
“It’s just something I’m thinking about, getting out of my father’s shadow, you know. I’m not saying I’m going to do it. I just want to keep my options open.
“I respect you, man, and I’m here no matter what you decide. You will always have my support.”
“Glad to hear.”
We continued to hit the balls for the next thirty minutes before Matthew had the brilliant idea of going to grab a beer, and that was something I could never turn down. I had no intention of getting hammered, but a few beers wouldn’t hurt. We left quickly and headed to the golf station bar where we could sit and watch the other players hit the balls.
As we settled in with a couple of beers, Matthew picked up the conversation where we had left off. “So what’s your plan here? I know you don’t plan on staying in your apartment for the next three months.”
I smiled. “No that isn’t the plan, at all.”
“So, let’s hear it.”
“I’m going to hire a girlfriend.”
He burst out laughing, “What are you up to?”
“Well, I told you how pissed Under Armour was about my sexy video at the club. They suggested as part of my good behavior that I get a girlfriend to keep up appearances.”
“You with a girlfriend, c’mon!”
“Exactly, it just wasn’t going to happen. So, Aria suggested I hire one. I talked to my dad, and we agreed to hire an actress for three months and pretend that I have a girlfriend. It’s all, of course, just a way to keep me out of trouble, but whatever.”
“Oh my God. Are you serious? This is insane.”
“I know,” I said, laughing. “But it’s totally true.”
“So have you hired someone? When does she arrive?”
“Well, I found a girl through an agency. It was kind of weird, actually. I just looked through a lineup of portfolio pictures, and I picked one that I liked. She’s coming here for an interview to see if we make a good fit. But how could a girl resist a guy like me?”
“No kidding. Does she have any idea what she’s in for?”
I laughed, “Oh, she will be treated quite nicely, I assure you of that. Best behavior, remember?”
“Yeah, right. I’ll believe it when I see it. I can’t believe you, man – hiring a girlfriend? Only you would come up with these ideas.”
“So, they gave me a lineup of girls that might be interested in the position, and, well, she stood out to me. Hopefully, when we meet, she will take the job, and I can at least get back to some form of normalcy in my life. I can take her out and at least go places.”
“Why didn’t you choose Angelina Jolie? That is one hot chick. We hear all kinds of stories; she’s a hot rod.”
I laughed, and it took awhile before I could catch my breath. “You idiot. I can’t date a well-known celebrity. It has to be on the down low. This girl is a small-time actress, not well-known. No one is supposed to know she’s an actress. She’s just going to come here and play a role. It’s kind of awesome actually, like a fun little game.”
“This is insane. Who even thinks this stuff up? It’s crazy.”
“It’s perfect, especially for the situation. It will work out wonderfully.”
“So, when is this happening? Do I get to meet her?” he said with a wink.
“She’s MY girlfriend, Matthew; try to remember that. She should be arriving tomorrow morning from Georgia. I’m taking her to dinner tomorrow night to see how the chemistry is. We have to be able to get along if anyone is going to believe this, unless she’s a really great actress. But, of course, I don’t want to be with someone who I hate, either.”
“True. You definitely want to make sure that you get along.”
“Obviously, you will meet her at some point; she’s going to be around for awhile.”
“Very cool. I agree – this is going to be interesting. I hope you know what you are doing.”
“Well, I don’t really have a choice, and my father just loved the idea, so there was no turning back.”
“Yeah, your old man must have loved the idea that you have to be on your best behavior. I wouldn’t be surprised if he called Under Armour himself and told them to threaten you.”
“No kidding.” I took a long swig of the beer and hoped silently that it hadn’t been the case. Though, I wouldn’t put anything past my father at that point. He always knew how to kill my buzz, no matter what I did.
“So, what’s this girl like? Did you get details?”
“No, not really. Nothing about her personality or who she is. Just a picture and some hope. I guess,” I said with a laugh. “In her picture, she looks so innocent looking. It’s kind of cute. But that’s the perfect look for a public image – the public would eat her up like candy. But who knows? She looks innocent, but that could just be a façade.”
“Yeah, girls have fooled us both before.” He motioned the waitress to bring a couple more beers.
“I hope she’s as innocent as she looks because I don’t want any nightmares, or worse, some girl who is really uptight. That would really make for a long three months, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, I get it. But she could be perfect, you never know.”
“I hope so. I don’t want to do it to begin with, never mind get stuck with someone I don’t like.”
“Just keep things professional, and you’ll be okay. Don’t judge her by her looks; like I said, she could be perfect. Don’t assume she’s a nightmare. You guys are having dinner; you don’t need to hire her at all if you get a bad vibe.”
“Yeah, that’s true. I guess I’m just anxious to get on with it. It’s already been a week, and I’m itching to get back out there.”
Matthew laughed. “I hear you, buddy. Just be nice to the girl. It’s bad enough she’s going to have to put up with your spoiled ass for three months.”
I laughed, “Yeah right.” I took a sip from the new beer the waitress brought, enjoying the cool liquid as it went down my throat. The next few months were certainly going to be interesting, but I was also looking forward to it. It was going to be a real trip.
Who would have thought that I would be in the situation? Matthew was right, it was insane, but that was also my life. I needed to focus on the majors, and that new girl was going to help me do it. All I needed was for her personality to match the picture that I saw, and everything would be perfect.
Matthew and I sat there for the rest of the night talking about the majors and how I was going to beat the “choke” when the time came. Maybe if I took it easy for the next few months, just chilling with the girl, I wouldn’t feel so much pressure at the end when it came time to perform. That was the theory that Matthew had anyways.
Whether I could pull it off was something we would see when April came around. There was no way around that. I would have to wait and see. The girl could really be the answer to all my problems.