Official Description:
JUDGES CHOICE WINNER in the LET THE GAMES BEGIN CONTEST. Edward Cullen’s golf game is falling apart. Can his new female caddy help him turn it around or will she just be another distraction? ExB, AH, Rated M for sex & language. 9800 words plus glossary.
Word Count: 11,098
I was lucky enough to be a judge in the Let the Games Begin contest, which led me to this gem.
Let me start off by saying that I know absolutely nothing about golf. I always just thought that it’s so boring. That’s one of the reasons that I love this one shot–Picklewinkle uses the game to tell the story and explains just enough that we can understand what’s going on without overwhelming us with a bunch of technical golf terms, giving us the ability to feel the disappointments as well as the victories right along with the characters.
The story starts off with former golden boy Edward at a low point in his career.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Come on, Emmett. This is bullshit.” He buried his fingers in his hair, curling them around the strands at his crown and yanking tensely. The juvenile action would have been humorous, if it weren’t for the grimace on his face and the fact that his hair was kind of pretty. I couldn’t imagine him being quite as handsome if he were half-bald.
“Edward, this is business, and you know I never joke about business. We’ve got to shake up your game… get you out of this slump you’re in.” Emmett McCarty was a formidable-looking adversary – all six-foot-five of him – even when he was partially obscured by a desk. Not that he scared me. Okay, he did, a little, but when he smiled, the loveliest little dimple appeared on his right cheek and made it impossible for me to believe that he would pummel me, even if he could. He lounged casually in his ergonomic chair, his hands crossed behind his head, as if this were just another day at the office. Perhaps for him it was.
“So I had a couple of off-days… That doesn’t mean my entire game is falling apart.” He stopped pulling his hair to scowl at the man across from him. I’m sure he meant it to be menacing, but it was rather like a watching a tiger stalk an elephant. Emmett had size and intelligence on his side, not to mention statistics. Edward Cullen’s game was in the toilet.
“The Masters is four weeks away. If you want to up your sponsorship, you’ve got to play to win.”
Emmett informs him that he needs to get his game back, and that he needs a new caddy. Edward’s pretty delusional when it comes to his former caddy:
I’ll get in touch with James. He can help me with my swing.”
“We both know James isn’t coming back.” Emmett’s quiet voice held a subtle touch of irritation, but his face remained expressionless.
“I can make him understand. He’ll come around.” Edward’s nervous pacing debased the certainty in his words.
“You fucked his wife. All the tea in China won’t bring him back.”
Enter new caddy and golf coach, Bella Swan. Edward is not happy with this new appointment to say the least:
“This is your schedule. I expect to see you bright and early tomorrow.”
“Baby, the only way you’ll see me first thing in the morning is if you wake up in my bed.”
They train, and Edward, though still cocky and arrogant, starts to take Bella’s advice. Of course, there’s insane UST, and he wants more than a coach:
“Stay with me tonight.”
My head was spinning. How I’d changed from an object of disdain to one of affection in a few hours was beyond comprehension. The mature thing to do would have been to ask, but I was the farthest thing from mature in that moment. I was only hormones and emotions. I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to happen, only that I was afraid to ask myself that question.
I exited the elevator in silence and made a beeline for my room. Halfway down the hallway, he grabbed my wrist and spun me around.
“Tell me you don’t feel it,” he dared, pinning me to the wall with his hips, dragging the tip of his nose across my ear and along my cheekbone.
Things don’t happen when Edward wants them too (of course), so he ignores her, except on the golf course. He becomes no-nonsense and really focuses on his game. When they get to the Augusta National, he seems to be even more distant from Bella and is acting a little more like his old self.
“What the fuck do you want?” he demanded in a growly voice, rubbing his sleepy eyes with the heels of hands. He was wearing only pajama pants, and it was obvious that I’d woken him.
Distracted by his bare chest, it took me a moment to speak. “I’m… I’m sorry. I thought you’d still be up, since you’d had a date.”
“My personal life is none of your business.” He scowled at me, already irritated.
“I wasn’t implying it was my business, only that I thought you’d be out late entertaining. But since we’re on the subject, you picked a hell of a time for a fling. I expected more from you.”
“Oh, that’s rich. You had your chance, sweetie. You don’t get to say that I can’t be with someone else…”
“This isn’t about being with someone; it’s about focus. Your mind should be on golf, not on fucking someone.”
He glared at me; the yellow flecks in his eyes like tiny, angry flames. “You have no idea what’s on my mind, Isabella. Now leave me the fuck alone and let me sleep. Like you pointed out, I have a big day tomorrow.”
He closed the door quietly and left me standing in the hallway. I wanted to bang on his door and demand that he talk to me, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good. He would never open up to me. The only place he wanted my help was on the golf course.
Over the course of the tournament, Edward starts to rely more on Bella’s advice. She gives him a pep talk, letting him know not to give up:
“You can do this,” I assured him. “Pretend we’re in yoga class and focus your mind on the task. Don’t let it wander ahead or fret. Block everything else out. There is just this moment and this hole.”
“What do I get if I make it?”
“A green jacket.”
There’s more to the story and let me just say that it’s pretty hot. Though I have never read anything else written by her, I love the way that Picklewinkle writes and will definitely be checking out more. Even if you aren’t a sports fan, I think you should check out The Green Jacket. I think you’ll find that golf isn’t as boring as you might have thought.
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