Belle

Thomas looked completely flummoxed as he was interviewed on his front door step on the evening news broadcast. I expected an angry response from him, or even Belle, but there was nothing.

With the tournament only five days away, I started to get itchy, nervous. I couldn't get rid of her image from my brain. Four days to go, and I started checking airfares. I paced around the house, slamming doors, if I had a dog, I would probably have kicked it.

In the end I gave in to my growing anxiety, and booked flights for the following day. There was no accommodation anywhere around the Kapiti coast. With the Open on, everything was sold out.

I did have an uncle who lived in Upper Hutt. A quick phone call and he said I could stay with him. He even offered to pick me up from the airport.

So that was it. I visited all the construction sites, talked with all the supervisors and contractors. I made sure that they understood, if they needed me, I would be available on my mobile. I locked up and headed for the airport.

I arrived in Wellington with the event only a day away. I turned up at the course early the next morning. It was expensive, but it was possible to get tickets to watch the players practising.

I waited three hours before Belle walked out onto the first tee. She looked as beautiful as ever, her short mini-skirt showing of those spectacular legs. I watched eagerly as she went through her warm-up routine. She might be beautiful, but she was tense. Her features were hidden behind her cap and dark mirrored sunnies.

She placed her ball on the tee and stepped up to drive. Unlike the thing of beauty I remembered and was expecting, what I saw horrified me. The confident cocky excited young woman I knew had been replaced by this anxious timid creature.

She walked off and we were able to follow the group around the course. I wanted to yell out, but thought better of it. I just followed with the main gallery.

By the time she was on the eighteenth, she looked more confident. Still uneasy. I wondered if her parents turning up tomorrow might make her more comfortable. Her caddie walked with her as they returned to the clubhouse. A lady beside me started screaming out her name, and Belle waved to her and wandered over.

I stepped back, hoping my cap and sun glasses would be enough.

The woman reached over the tape and hugged her. Belle pulled off her cap, signed it and handed it to the woman. They laughed and joked about something before Belle looked up.

Yes, it was one of those moments. Our eyes locked together and I saw the faltering smile grow into a full-on grin. "Carl, what are you doing here?" The woman she was talking to turned and glanced at me as if to say, "Who the fuck are you?" I just shrugged.

"Came to watch NZ's premiere woman's golfer in action."

"But Dad told me you gave away the tickets to charity."

"I did. It earned a lot of money, too by the way. So thank you for doing that."

She lifted the tape, much to the consternation of the security guard, and walked over to me. She fell into my arms and we hugged. "I am so glad you are here. Bloody hell, I have missed you so much."

I nodded. "I have missed you, as well."

Her lips grazed mine and suddenly we were surrounded by flashing cameras and people started to mill around. She grabbed my hand and led me underneath the tape. The security guard grabbed me. "Hey, bro, you can't come in here. Sorry."

Belle barked. "He's with me."

"Doesn't matter, Miss. He is not allowed in here."

He was big, his arm muscles were bigger than my thighs, his face a picture of tribal tattoos. He looked fierce and I wasn't going to argue with him. I stepped back under the tape. Belle snapped, "Good god, do you know who I am?"

He nodded. "Yeah, cuz, I know who you are, but it's more than my jobs worth to let him in here."

She stepped under the tape and called to her caddie to take her clubs. She walked off with me down towards the carpark. "Damn it, Carl, if you had just accepted that package all this would have been avoided."

"Belle, I don't need your money. For your information. I was always coming. I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Oh yeah, smart arse, and where do you think you're going to get VIP tickets from then, hotshot?"

"I'm not. I only came to watch, and hopefully to catch up."

Her anger wasn't dissipating. If anything, she got angrier. "I thought you might have come to be with me."

We walked out into the car-park and she twisted into my arms, hers circled my neck and she clung on like crazy. Her mouth quickly found mine and soon out tongues danced playfully as cameramen who had followed along took shot after shot of our kiss.

She said, "Hang on a minute, I need to talk to Billie."

She walked off and I was assaulted by half a dozen frantic reporters. Who was I, how did I know Belle, was I a golfer, a coach? I waved them away. Belle returned. She jumped in beside me, we sped away.

"Where are you staying?" She asked.

"Lower Hutt, with my uncle."

"Damn it, Carl, I did send accommodation."

"Yes, and the cancer foundation is very grateful for the money it raised. I'm sure they will be sending a thank you note."

She shook her head in dismay but, smiled cheekily. "Christ, you're a frustrating man. Why can't you accept the simplest gift?"

"I have no problem with gifts. But come on. Am I that hopeless, that you think I can't pay my own way?"

"It had nothing to do with that. Damn it. It was just a gesture of goodwill, and I was hoping we could put aside the stuff from the past and spend some time together."

"Cut me some slack Belle. I mean I didn't know if you were here with anybody else. Christ you have so many

"Oh, for fucks sake. If I didn't want to see you, I wouldn't have got dad to take you the bloody tickets, would I? Now you're staying in Lower bloody Hutt. How can we see each other?"

She sighed deeply before asking. "I have to attend the big dinner tonight. If I can get you a ticket, would you go with me?"

I nodded. As we drove back down the motorway, she jumped on her phone. I heard her trying to wrangle me a ticket, but it was a no-go. "Fuck," she snarled. "See what you've done. Now I can't get you in."

"Oh well, no big deal. I can see you tomorrow."

"No way. You will just have to find somewhere else to eat. You're not going anywhere, you're staying with me tonight."

I chuckled snidely. "You seem pretty sure of yourself."

She reached her hand across and dragged me into a deep sensuous kiss. "Maybe, but that tells me that I'm on the right track."

We went back to her hotel room and we fought our way through the crowds of fans who had turned up just to scream at her, talk to her, or hopefully even shake her hand. They were amazing. Scary as hell for a small town boy like me.

Once locked safely inside her room, she instantly fell into my arms. Her succulent velvety smooth lips were again on mine, our mouths open, our tongues swirling and dancing.

I grabbed her by the arse, crushing her against my now throbbing erection, her breasts heaving against my chest. Her thin T-shirt was no match for her pointy nipples. Her hands grabbed at my shirt, pulling and ripping as she ripped it from my body.

I lifted her T-shirt, unclipped her bra and those gorgeous sexy boobs filled my hands. Her boobs weren't huge, but they filled my grasping hands. They bounced in my palms, her nipples hard and swollen, the flesh quivering under my assault.

Her skirt fell away as I unclipped the buttons on the side. She quickly pushed my shorts down and dragged me to the big soft bouncy bed.

I was soon embedded deep into her sex, our pubic hair matted together by her aromatic juices. The sloppy wet slap of our flesh collided as I slammed her down into the mattress, her fingers clawing frenetically at my flayed shoulders. Her skin filled my mouth as I sucked and nuzzled, bit and kissed. It was fast, fiery, passionate and over in minutes.

We were left panting wildly as we tried to breathe. She glanced at her clock. "Shit, I have to go."

She bounded out of bed and headed for the shower. A change of clothes, and she was out the door. I showered myself, and changed back into my gear. I rang my uncle to tell him I wasn't coming back that night, then wandered down the street. I wasn't dressed for a restaurant, so I found a McDonald's and ordered a burger. There was a big screen TV on the wall, and low and behold, there was a shot of Belle being interviewed just before going into the banquet. She was being bombarded with questions about who the mystery man was. She quietly informed them that I was her new coach and was going to be working with her.

The next bit was funny. When the TV One reporter asked, "Do you usually go around kissing your coaches?"

She grinned cheekily and replied, "Only if they are really good looking, and sexy as hell."

With that, she turned away and walked into the banquet room. The reporters showed images of us in the car-park, kissing by my car. "We wait with bated breath," the reported finished.

I finished my meal and wandered back to her hotel. Now I had a problem. I didn't have a key, and had no way of getting in.

I hung around the lobby for a while, but the security guards had their eyes on me and there was no way they were letting me anywhere near the elevators.

I had no option but to wait it out. Thankfully, Belle came out early and called me on the phone.

The next morning, I dragged her out of bed early. "No, sweets, let's just lie in. I don't have to be on the course for promotional stuff till eleven."

I gave her a smile and started making breakfast. She wandered out and helped. The old banter returned, and we actually started to enjoy each other's company for the first time in a very long time. We finished breakfast quickly and I asked. "Would you like to go and hit some balls?"

She looked a little confused, "What do you mean?"

"Belle, you called me a while ago and begged for y help. I watched you yesterday, and I think I know what's wrong. I think I can fix it."

"Where would we go?"

"Waikanae. They have a driving range, and at this time of the morning, there will hardly be anyone there."

She sniggered softly mumbling. "Okay show me what you got."

We drove easily out to the course. I brought a few buckets of balls and we set up. I let her drive a few balls to get warmed up and she asked snidely. "Well?"

I walked up behind her, wrapped my arms around her. Put my hands on hers and lifted back the club. Closing my eyes I travelled back in time to that very first time we played together. We swung slowly through the ball. Then again, and again.

I stepped back to watch. Still not right I made a few further adjustments and watched in awe as that beautiful symmetry returned. That ethereal thing of beauty manifested itself right in front of me.

By the time we were through the third bucket time was running out. "Does that feel better?" I asked.

Her smile was all the answer I needed.

At the clubhouse, we were greeted by her parents. Thomas looked completely nonplussed when he saw me. He tried to swallow his displeasure as he reached out grudgingly with his hand. "Hello Carl, surprised to see you here."

"I thought I would come up and support Belle."

Elise slipped into my arms for a hug. "Well, we are so pleased you did. It is so nice to see you again my dear. Are you going inside?"

I chuckled. "No, sorry, I will be with the main gallery."

Belle stared at me angrily. "Just stay here, I will fix that. I'm not having my coach out with the plebs."

She stormed off before I could respond. Thomas gave me a smirk. "Coach, huh, well, well, well. Wonders never cease."

"Look, Sir, I'm sorry if me being here makes you uncomfortable. I just wanted to come and support her."

"For heaven's sake, son. I am damn happy to see you here. I don't know why you are the only one who can get through to her, but it works, and I am bloody happy you are here. Let's hope you are her good luck charm."

I nodded, but was interrupted by Belle who returned with my VIP pass.

Before we could say much, she was dragged away by event organisers. She had interviews and photo sessions with her sponsors, celebrities and, of course, the obligatory politicians.

Elise, Thomas and I went off to get a drink before the day got under way. It was orientation day. The players got to play the course as a group, accompanied by celebs and such like.

Belle was in the leading group and was accompanied by several officials.

Her first shot was immaculate. It wasn't that long but it was straight up the middle. Her swing

We followed for the whole round, and it was nice to see although she wasn't able to keep the swing consistent. She at least managed to find it regularly enough. When she was in that zone, she looked unstoppable.

Belle shot a very good round. She looked confident and the old cockiness returned. She joked with the other players, she was on top of the world. We exchanged glances several times during the round, always that sweet cheeky smile.

I did see her talking in-depth with her caddie. We met several times and I saw her point me out to him.

Afterwards, there were the usual photos and interviews. Thomas, Elise and I stood off to the side watching. It was during her interview with the TV One crew that she waved for me to go over. I shook my head sternly.

She was clever enough to see I didn't want that. They had to be settled for a chat with her Mum and Dad.

As the interviews raged on Elise asked me. "Why didn't you let her show you off to the world?"

Because I'm not into all that celebrity stuff

She sniggered. "I am glad to hear you say that. She sometimes surrounds herself with people who I like to refer to as cling-ons. They don't help, they just suck what they can from her. It is nice to see a normal boy in her life, somebody who loves her for herself."

Before I could respond, she dragged me into a tight embrace. We had been standing cuddled together for a few minutes when Thomas walked up. "Excuse me, young man, but that is my wife you have in your arms."

"Oh stop it, Thomas, don't be silly," Elise growled playfully.

She gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Come on, let's go inside and find a seat before they're all taken."

There was lots of finger pointing and hushed whispers. The gossip had started.

Belle wandered in later, addressing me with a grumpy protest. "Carl, why didn't you stay for the interview?"

I shrugged. "Not my scene, Belle, you know that."

She winced remorsefully. "Sorry, Babe, I just wanted the world to know that my form wasn't a miracle, just good advice."

We settled into our conversation, had some food and a few drinks. Belle got dragged away constantly, but it was nice to see her so ebullient and effusive.

I did feel a little embarrassed when we all went up to our rooms at the hotel. Thomas and Elise were staying on the same floor.

Belle laughed at my blushes as we said our goodnight in the hall.

Our lovemaking was passionate, Belle loving and warm. She was so unlike any other girl I had ever been with. Nothing was out of bounds, and she was adventurous and devastatingly sensual.

The tournament was amazing. Belle played out of her skin. Even with the pack hot on her heels, she was at the very peak of her game. Even on the final day when the wind picked up, she played like it was her destiny to win. It was unquestionable that any other fate was possible.

When she held the cup aloft in front of a screaming horde of supporters and fans, it gave me a feeling of great pride. I actually enjoyed bathing a little in her reflected glory.

After the ceremony, she invited her mum and dad onto the rostrum to say thanks. Explaining to the crowd she would never have made it without their assistance. I saw her gaze down at me, but I shook my head violently. She realised that I would just be embarrassed, so kept it to offering me thanks for the sound coaching.

I was due to fly out the next day. While we laid in bed, I asked, "So where to now?"

"My next tournament is Brisbane in two weeks. I was going to take a couple of weeks off, put my feet up for a while."

"In Auckland?" I asked, trying not to sound disappointed.

"No, I sold my Auckland place. I am going to stay with mum and dad."

"When were you going to fly down?"

"When I get back from Brisbane. I have some promotional stuff here in Wellington for a couple of days, then I was going to fly down. You could stay with me, you know."

"No, I have work to do, people relying on me. It would be nice to catch up while you're there, though."

She scowled. "Catch up... Christ Carl, I was hoping we would stay together, I was hoping you would want me there."

"Of course I do, I just didn't want to sound presumptive."

"God, you infuriate me." She gave me a glowering stare and said slowly emphasising each word individually, "I would like to stay with you if I am allowed, that is?"

"I would love that, but I do have work most days."

I was in the office when she waltzed in, looking like she fell off the cover of Sports Illustrated. Glancing around my office, the converted garage. She took in all the plans, my awards hanging on the walls and the models I had created. Spinning to take it all in she gushed. "Wow, look at you, Mr. big time architect and business owner."

I jumped up from behind my desk and we joined in a big hug. "So this is what you do all day," she murmured, glancing around the room again. Drawn to some of the house models I had built. She knelt down to look at my latest one. "Wow, babe, this is really nice. God, who is this for?"

I shrugged as she peeked up at me. "Nobody yet. It is a design I am working on. I hope somebody will fall in love with the design and get me to build it for them."

She lifted off the roof to peer inside at the layout. "It would need to be somewhere with sweeping views," she sighed.

I nodded approvingly. "Yeah, I always pictured it high up on the cliffs out Ruby Bay, or maybe Atawhai."

With a glint in her eye, she breathed. "Oh yes, Ruby Bay, that would be amazing."

"Yep, I just need a millionaire to walk in and say, build me this."

She grinned cheekily. "All right then, that's settled. Build me this."

I chuckled dismissively. "Yeah right, as if."

She gave me a stern glare. "What, you don't think I could afford it?"

Back pedalling quickly, I spluttered, "No, that's not what I meant. I just assumed you were joking."

Fixing me with a deadly stare she said, "Carl, I'm serious. I have been looking at houses all over Nelson. I want to be close to mum and dad. I hated Auckland. Dad has been harassing real estate agents all over town hunting for the right place. I love that design."

I leaned back against my desk. Unable to believe what was happening, I rasped. "Are you being straight up?"

"Yes, absolutely. Ask Dad if you don't believe me. I sold my Auckland place months ago."

"I don't have consents or anything, this is just a concept plan. Building is not straight forward, and you would need a property that would suit."

She nodded as she listened to me outlining all the pitfalls. In the end she said, "I have to go. I'm meeting Mum and Dad for lunch. Would you like to come with?"

"No, not today. I was just about to go out to site for a meeting with roofers."

"Dinner tonight then, at Mum and Dad's."

"Belle, I'm not sure that's a good idea. Your dad and I haven't exactly been getting along."

"Baloney, he is just protective of me. He has said nothing but wonderful things about you. Okay, he did say he thinks you need to grow up and move into the twenty first century, but hey. We all think that."

She gave me a quick kiss and vanished.

The day passed easily enough. The builds were all on track. I was getting ready to head off to Belle's parents' place when Thomas's BMW pulled up into my driveway.