Blind Love, Reunited

"We'll hug later, OK? I'm not going to let you forget."

I asked Polly where Alice was and she said up on the beach building a sand castle with Lauren. "I recognized her right away. She looks exactly like her mom. We talked for a little bit. She's a good kid, very unlike the teenager I was."

Ricky laughed at that, "She's got you fooled, Miss Pauline. My stupid sister is playing you, just like she's playing every boy on this beach that shows her any attention." Then he turned his attention to me, "Uncle Paul, what did you think of that wax? Huh? Told you that was good stuff."

I agreed, "Yeah, I felt like a ten footer at Point Break wouldn't have knocked me off my board."

"Hey, Miss Pauline, would you walk my uncle up to where Lauren is? I want to say hi to some of my friends before we go," Ricky asked.

When we got to Alice and Lauren, Alice shouted out, "Hi, Mr. Paul. I ate all the tomatoes from your garden. Will you grow me some more?" I promised her I would.

Lauren said to Polly, "Alice is a really cute kid, Miss Pauline. I'll babysit for you someday."

Polly said she would think about it then really close to me, she said sheepishly, "My folks are having a barbecue today. Why don't you come? Dad would love to see you again, you two always got along great. I can pick you up and then drive you home after."

I panicked but calmed down enough to politely decline. She sounded disappointed when she said, "OK. Maybe another time."

The teens were quiet on the walk back up the beach to the pickup, and even while Ricky and I peeled off our wetsuits, but as soon as we got in the truck, Lauren launched into me. She gave me shit the whole drive home and when Ricky got the rundown of me declining Polly's invite, he joined in too. It was only 10 miles from the beach to my apartment, but the damned California traffic made it take 40 minutes. A damn long 40 minutes.

* O~>

I didn't hear from Pauline before my Tuesday after school lessons, but I did on Thursday. Her lavender scent gave her away again and I greeted her with a smirk. "How is my 28 year old ex girlfriend today?"

"Oh, ha ha, funny guy. Been talking to Alice, have you? It's a woman thing that a man wouldn't understand. I remember my mother being 28 until I was in high school. Speaking of talking to family members, I went to happy hour with your sister yesterday. It was very enlightening."

I couldn't help but cringe and that made Pauline laugh. "Don't worry about it, handsome. Of course we talked about you, but all it did was give me some ideas on a couple new angles to take the 'ex' out of ex-girlfriend."

"Now, Pauline, listen to me...," was as far as I could get before I heard my students arrive.

She said in stern tone, "I'm picking you up at noon on Saturday. Later, handsome," then to my students, "Have a good lesson. Bye, now."

One of my students asked, "Mr. Stiggers, are you dating Miss Striker?"

All I could reply was, "Sounds like I am now."

* O~>

Noon on Saturday arrived and I got a knock on the door right on time so I opened it. There was no point in not answering it, she would have used the 'hidden' key to open it anyway. She barged right in and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards my bedroom.

"Sorry, buddy," she said, "no jeans today." I heard her going through my dresser drawers until she shoved something into my hands. "Put these on." Slacks and a polo shirt.

I didn't bother asking her why or even to leave my bedroom. Fuck it. I stripped down to my underwear and her gasp confirmed she was still in the room.

"Oh, baby," I felt her lightly touch the front of my thigh, "how did you get these bruises." I didn't answer so she did for me, "Your sister told me you walk into things sometimes, but I had no idea so violently. Oh, honey." I ignored it all and got dressed.

Once in her truck I asked her where we were going and she just told me it was a surprise. She then proceeded to tell me all about how the news of us as an 'item' spread through the school like wildfire. It took about a half hour to get to our destination, she parked and led me out of the truck where I smelled the Pacific in the not too far distance.

"I'm going to tell you what we're going to do, then you get 30 seconds to panic. After that, you'll pull your shit together and we are going to do this. Understand?" I just nodded. What else was I going to do? She took a deep breath and said, "We're at Torrey Pines, you have a 3 PM tee time."

Panic was a fucking understatement, I blew my shit. "Pauline! I'm fucking blind. What don't you understand about that. You're so fucking crazy. Take me home! Right now!"

She responded, "Your 30 seconds are not up yet. Continue."

"Listen, you nutjob. You've always been crazy, but this takes the cake. I can't golf, I can't fucking see the ball, the pin, or the whole fucking golf course. What's wrong with you?"

"You have 10 seconds still left. Continue."

My mind was going through a million things to scream at her all at once, all I could get out was, "Goddamnitalltohell! Aggghhh!"

"OK, that's all the time you had," she said, like she heard nothing that came out of my mouth. "Cane in your left hand, I'll lead you with your right. This way."

I didn't move. "I'm not going anywhere. I can't do this."

"That's what you told your sister when she suggested you start surfing again." She was right but I still didn't budge.

"That's different. Take me home." I realized I sounded whiney, making me angrier.

She sighed heavily then kissed my lips briefly but hard. "You can do this. And you will. Don't know if you remember my mom's friend that used to work here, Beth Walters, but she's on the board of directors here now. She arranged for us to have a round on the North Course. I know you always liked the South Course better, but that was because it was more challenging and for your first time out, we thought this would be better. And because you haven't swung a club in a while, we'll start at the driving range and I can go over how I'm going to coach you to play. Did you know that there's a blind golf association? It's more than 50 years old. I read all about how to coach you through your blindness."

She kissed me again, tenderly this time. All the fight left me and I sagged my shoulders. "That's better," she said softly, "come on, honey." Then she led me through the parking lot until an attendant asked if we needed assistance. "Will you bring the clubs from the back of that truck to the driving range? We're going to check in."

Once at the driving range, she handed me some golf shoes she retrieved from the bag. They were my brother in-law's equipment, he was the same size as me, so it made sense. Pauline and Eva's scheming was apparently well thought out.

She asked me to do some stretches, just like the ones I would do before a tournament, while Pauline went over how things were going to work out. I was to never swing the club until she indicated it was clear. That way nobody, mainly her, got hurt. She would explain the look of how the ball lied, any traps and generally where they were situated relative to the green, and then how the green sloped. She would tell me the range and I would select a club, though she would select the club if I was uncomfortable. She'd put the club in my hands and then move the club face in front of the ball that she teed, and then line me up using her arm across my chest to indicate direction. From there I'd shuffle back a few inches away from the ball, if I got the clear signal I'd take two or more practice swings and then shuffle forward again. If I was still lined up and all was clear, I'd hit the ball.

I was nervous as fucking hell. She gave me one final kiss and then I went to it.

We started with the irons and worked our way through several buckets of balls until we went to the drivers. On my very first shot, starting with a four iron, we worked through the routine. "Clear," she said and I took two practice swings. I got a surge of confidence; did I still have muscle memory for swinging a club? I shuffled back up to the ball and she indicated I was good and clear, then I just crushed it. The feel of making contact with a golf ball felt fucking amazing, bringing with it a wave of adrenalin pulsing through my body.

"Holy shit, Paul! Nearly 200 yards." I got a kiss for it too. With a little tongue thrown in for good measure.

Working through the clubs, the driver was the most difficult. Rick favored the large head style driver that I never liked back when I was regularly playing. It felt like there was a Volkswagen at the end of the shaft, but I think I got the hang of it.

She called it quits on the driving range about an hour before the tee time to rest. She went and got the golf cart and picked me up with an iced tea for each of us and we sat in the cart while we waited for three o'clock.

"How do you feel?" She asked.

"Nervous," I replied honestly, "but I have to admit that it felt amazing to hit a golf ball again. I can't believe how much I missed that."

When our time was up, she teed the ball up for me on the first hole, which I remembered well from the countless times I golfed here as a kid and then as an adult. A long par 4 and a straight shot of 410 yards. We worked through our routine and Pauline confirmed I knocked it straight down the fairway. A 5 iron distance from the pin as I found out, Pauline was using a smart range finder she borrowed.

The way Pauline coached me was the real surprise. She somehow shelved the ever-present silliness and was all business when it came to giving me directions. Sometimes she had to correct me, but I listened and followed her orders. I was worried that we would slow the game down too much and irritate anyone coming up behind us, but it was late in the day so the course was less crowded. Mostly it was because she was efficient, and we quickly fell into sync with one another and kept things moving.

On the green, we had a different routine entirely, but it was much more difficult as the instincts I once excelled at reading the break, I couldn't use. She tried hard to do that for me when describing the green and then lining me up, but we needed work there. Out of courtesy, I'd only take three tries before she'd pick up the ball and move on to the next tee. We would work on that down the road, she assured me.

We finished the front nine and I was feeling almost high. I surprised myself at how much I remembered the course and its nuances, even looking out at the ocean, remembering the spectacular view afforded by Torrey Pines.

"How're you feeling? Up to playing the back nine or are you tired and want me to take you home?" She asked.

"This has been amazing, Polly. How are you feeling? I'd like to keep going if you're OK with it, coach."

She responded playfully, "Well I just don't know. I've been your caddy and coach, I've driven the cart, and I think I need some sort of compensation by now. Especially if you want to finish."

I knew that tone, knowing what she was really asking. I was feeling so good and the moment took me so I gave it to her. She was close, so grabbing her by the waist was simple enough and I pulled her into me, kissing her passionately with every fiber of my emotion. A decade of longing for her was bundled into that kiss.

We came up for air, she was breathing heavily still in my arms. She said, "Tenth hole, par 5, straight shot, 536 yards."

I replied, "Point me a little to the left, I want to stay clear of the fairway bunker on the right."

* O~>

As much as restaurants bugged me, she insisted I let her take me out to dinner after golfing. It was one of our favorite old haunts in Cardiff By The Sea. I hadn't been since I was last there with her. It was just like I remembered, but then I was on cloud 9 from golfing and just a great day.

When we arrived at my apartment, I carried Rick's equipment up to my place as it was too late to take them back to my brother-in-law and they weren't safe in her truck, her truck-beast too big to fit in her garage. She said she'd come by in the morning and we'd take the clubs back.

Once in my apartment she asked me what I was going to do for the evening. I told her how sore I was, using muscle groups I hadn't used in a long time, and that I would take a shower and just go to bed. She gave me a nice kiss on the lips and said she'd see me in the morning. I had kissed her back but was glad she didn't press for more, the way I was feeling, I don't think I could have resisted anything.

I took a shower, hotter and longer than I should have, beyond being responsible with drought in California now being a constant. I dried off and got ready for bed. When I hit the sheets in bed, it felt so good. What a day.

Then I smelled lavender. Oh my god.

* O~>

=========

* O+

The excitement of lying in bed with Paul again was intense, my heart was going a mile a minute. He wasn't in bed a nanosecond before he realized I was there. He lifted his head and chest in surprise, about to jump out of bed when I caught him, my hand to his chest bringing him back onto the mattress and pillow. "Shhh," I tried to assure him, "Relax. Everything is going to be alright."

I wrapped my naked body around his, it felt familiar and exciting at the same time. I could feel his erection building through his boxers with my thigh and I could feel his pulse quicken with my hand over his chest.

I thought I was going to get resistance, maybe even a fight, but that didn't happen. He pulled me up and completely on top of him, my thighs straddling his hips while his hands gripped my ass, pulling me harder onto his erection. His mouth on mine, tongue and lips passionately exploring my own.

I thought to myself that with his bedroom completely darkened, we were on equal footing here. Then I remembered just how good we used to be together in the dark.

He managed to maneuver me over onto my back and he got reacquainted with my body using his hands and his mouth. From my face to my neck, then on from my shoulders down to my breasts which he clearly remembered how sensitive I've always been there, he detailed my nipples with his mouth and hands, keeping my buzz going strong. I could almost hear the hum of electricity that was coursing through my skin, tingly bolts running through the length of my body. I felt him going lower and brought him back up to a kiss. Him going down on me could wait until later.

His boxers disappeared and then he paused, he told me that he was sorry but he didn't have a condom, I told him I had it covered and not to worry. Then I breathlessly asked him, "When was the last time you were with someone?" He responded that the last time for him was with me, all those years ago. I kind of thought so, but I felt both sad and elated at that. I determined myself to rock his world and bring the memories and thrill of the moment all back to him, but he had me already so stimulated and on edge, I was at his complete mercy.

When he entered me, I almost shot into space like a rocket at full blast.

* O+

Afterwards, we lay on the bed for a long while in silence, my head on his shoulder, my fingers making circles through his chest hair. I was in a really happy place. Despite my professed anger before and swearing I would never forgive him for his actions, I had him back again. Now. In the present tense. I damned well intended on keeping him in the future as well.

If he ran, I'd find him. Fight for him.

Somehow he read my mind and tensed up. I realized that my resolve was going to have to start right now. "Calm down," I told him softly but with assurance, "I know what you are doing, where your head is. You are going to overthink this and panic. You want to know what's going to happen next. Stressing about if you can be in control. Just stop. You've always done that, but you don't have to now. You don't have to be alone anymore, Paul."

He sighed, so I continued. "I had a great day. I know you did too. This is what being happy feels like."

"You don't know what you are getting yourself into...," he whispered.

"Shush. You don't know what you'd be getting into with me either. Yet. I come with some baggage too, Paul, but what I think, what I know, is that we can heal each other. Together. And we'll have more good days than bad ones, and we'll both be happy. I promise."

"I love you, Polly. Beautiful Pauline. I never stopped."

"I know you do, handsome." I touched his cheek and kissed him before saying, "I love you too."

I held him with as much skin on skin contact as humanly possible, then reaching down, I touched him until he was ready again. We made slow, caring love after that, almost being able to physically feel and see our emotions. I knew he deeply loved me and I'm sure he felt the same from me. I also knew my life would never be the same again.

* O+

When I woke up in the morning, I just had to smile at the feeling of being in bed with Paul again. It was wonderful. He finally stirred and we fooled around some more and then again in the shower before I had to get ready to pick up Alice from my folks.

I groaned at the prospect of dealing with them today, but I had to get that part over with. The dread was tempered with the fact I was with Paul again. I hadn't felt this happy in ages.

Alice greeted me with an enthusiastic hug and spoke a mile a minute over all the treats Grandma had bestowed upon her while she was there. Mom seemed to sense that something was up with me right away while I could feel her tension over the fact that I needed an overnight somewhere without Alice. Dad peeled away Alice and the two of them played in the living room while Mom gave me the third degree in the kitchen.

"You look different," she started.

"Yeah, I should," I countered, and then went for the deep end, "I got laid. The really good kind."

"Oh, my," she feigned being surprised, but I knew better. "Anybody I know?"

I sighed but knew it was time to lay it out. "Yeah, you know him. Paul. My first love, the golfer."

"What?!" She lost her mind over the news, but I explained the whole situation and then repeated for Daddy later, only a milder version as Alice was within earshot.

They were grumpy the rest of the evening and I didn't care. My mind was made up. I was going to fight for Paul and that was that. I knew Alice would be on board even though she didn't realize that life was about to become very complicated.

* O+

I picked Paul up after class on Tuesday and took him out for dinner though he said he'd rather eat at home, but he grudgingly agreed. It was a burger place, and I thought he'd be comfortable with that. Him stressing out was still a possibility but this place would surely minimize the potential. I watched him carefully explore the table with his hands, getting the lay of the land, and strategically relocate his beer when the waitress brought our drinks and placed them in front of us.

I asked him sincerely, "So, lover. Are you getting used to the idea of us being together again?"

"It's all I think about," he replied, "but in your best interests, I don't think it's such a good idea. You deserve better. A much better life than I can give you."

How was I ever going to get him to stop that way of thinking?!

I reached out and held his hand across the table. "My life is already better with you back in it. Believe me."

He shook his head in disbelief, so I knew it was finally time to fill in the missing years. "Paul, you have to first understand that your noble gesture didn't work out like you thought it would."

I had his undivided attention. The tell being that his brow creased just like it used to when he was trying to read a complicated break on the green before a difficult putt. That did little to relax me before releasing some of the memories I had locked up and not told a soul but my mother.