Free B0075M2D1U EBOK by Julie Cassar

play with my balls, remember? Here. All yours.”
    Oh no. My eyes got wide and my breath caught in my throat. Oh no, no, no.
    He did not just say that. I quickly looked over to Jeremy, whose face instantly lit up and I gave him a warning look. At that same moment, Leo and Brennan began laughing even harder, almost falling down right there on the greens and a look of confusion spread over Nick’s face. Nick was holding out his golf ball for Jeremy. I looked down and put my hand up to cover my face and slowly shook my head. I was not going to explain the faux pas he just made about allowing Jeremy to “play with his balls.” Clearing her throat loudly and trying to calm everyone down, Anya announced, “Come on! Let’s finish the game.” And with that, she dragged Leo and Brennan with her onto the last hole. I walked over to Nick, letting my club swing gently in my hand. Just before I approached, I looked straight at Jeremy and said, “Remember. Hands off.” Jeremy’s eyebrows went up as he gave me his best innocent puppy dog eyes look while he grabbed the golf ball out of Nick’s hand. I shook my head as I walked by and stuck out my arm for Nick to take. He looped his arm through mine and we followed Anya, Brennan and Leo to the last hole with Jeremy trailing behind. We finished our game (with Nick just watching me play, since he had so graciously given his golf ball to Jeremy) and then our friendly little group walked back into the main building to turn in our equipment. We all lingered in a line while the pimply, greasy-haired boy behind the counter counted up all the clubs and then went down the line as we all handed him our golf ball…“Uh…You’re short,” he said, looking accusingly at Nick, who had given his golf ball to Jeremy so he could finish out the game. Leo spoke up as he flipped his shaggy blonde hair to the side of his face so it was out of his eyes and said, “Oh, mannn! You would not believe it! We lost a golf ball in the waterfall.” (As far as pimply, greasy kid knew, Jeremy only lost one ball, not three.)
    “ Couldn’t you just reach in and get it?” the pimply, greasy kid said.
    At this moment, Jeremy spoke up. “No,” he said with complete certainty as he shook his head back and forth, then glanced over at me before he firmly stated, “ His balls are irretrievable .” I caught the double-meaning instantly and tried to hide my smile as I looked away from Nick. Jeremy’s “irretrievable balls” comment made Leo and Brennan practically fall down with laughter. Even the ever-gracious Anya stifled a giggle with her hand. Nick just shrugged, and the pimply greasy kid behind the counter looked annoyed.
    We finished up, and Nick and I followed the others outside. It was a clear night, with a bright, silvery glowing moon. I glanced up and could see about a million stars sparkling in the purplish-blue dark sky. I heard muffled sounds of the other golfers in the distance and the crunching footsteps of my friends on the gravel parking lot ahead of me. That’s when it happened.
    Nick grabbed my hand and stopped me dead in my tracks. His sudden touch startled me, and I stumbled slightly as I turned back to face him. He put his other hand lightly on my lower back and gently pulled me towards him, all the while staring into my face with those gorgeous emerald green eyes of his. Oh my . I tried to take a deep breath, but I couldn’t breathe. I think I forgot how. I was so surprised by his sudden move I literally stopped breathing. My heart was pounding and my mouth went dry. Just then, Nick leaned in, and gently pressed his lips to mine. Everything around me stopped. I let my eyes slowly close as he pressed his soft lips harder and I started to kiss him back. For a few seconds, the world around me went away. All I could feel were his soft lips moving slowly on mine and his strong hand pressing gently into my lower back. Then, with his other hand, he laced his fingers through mine, tightening