Miranda was all packed and ready. She listened to Callie and packed summery dresses and outfits. The wedding was on Saturday, and they were flying down to California today, which was Friday.
She was glad they were only taking a 2 hour flight. She didn't want to share a room with Ben, but he was so serious about looking the part. She stressed that they had to have separate beds.
"Hey." Miranda greeted, opening the door for him.
Like always She took in his outfit. He was wearing white shorts and a red polo shirt. His Nikes were red as well.
"Hey, here, let me grab your bags." Ben said, reaching around her to grab her small suitcase and the matching travel bag.
"Thank you."
"So I think we can fool my family into thinking we are in love. I especially need my mom to see that I am capable of being in a serious relationship."
"Are you though?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm saying why would you need to fool your mom. What's leading her to believe that you are not."
"Um, well, in college, I built quite the reputation."
"Oh, you are a player." Miranda concluded.
"No, not really. I just didn't see the means of settling down at that age."
"Oh, and you do now."
"Of course. That is when the right one comes along."
"How will you know if she is the right one."
"I'm not sure because I haven't met the right one ever, but I know she will be different than the rest."
"Hmmm." Miranda sounded nodding her head. She hadn't met the right one either, and she guess she would know when they arrived as well.
"Why did they want everyone there so early?"
"Well, my cousin is like me, and he loves golf. So we all are meeting on the golf course."
"Oh okay, you like golf...are you any good?" Miranda asked.
"Yes, I was on the golfing team in high school and in college."
"Hmm, I figured you were a football man."
"Nah, but I do love basketball, and I played that as well."
"Did you do any sports, Miranda?" Ben asked as he continued driving.
"Um, no. But I was in dance from the time I was a little girl. I also played the clarinet, and then when I got to high school, I switched to the oboe. Both the fingerings are the same." Miranda explained. "I was on the debate team and in the student smart bowl."
"Student smart bowl?" Ben questioned.
"Yeah, it's a competition against schools. They asked trivia questions, math, science, English, and all that type of stuff. I was the captain."
Ben looked over at her for a while.
"There's the look." Miranda commented.
"What look?"
"The looks guys like you give thinking. Oh, what a nerd she is."
"I am offended by the guy's like you comment. If you are summing me up to be in the category like your ex and honestly I was, I was thinking how hard it must have been to have beauty and brains your whole life."
Miranda snorted in laughter. "Brains canceled out my beauty all through school."
"So says who...people like you don't just get beautiful overnight. That's a beauty that grew and matured for years." Ben returned quickly.
Miranda blushed. This man was definitely a smooth talker.
The plane ride went smooth, and Ben held all of their bags as they walked out.
"I can hold my bags, Benjamin."
"I'm a man, Miranda. I got it." He replied, walking to their rental car.
"I'm taking you to the store before the hotel."
"What do we need from the store?"
"Beautiful dress you have on, but you need a proper golfing skirt and shirt. Probably a visor too because the sun will be beaming down."
"Okay." Miranda responded, sitting in the passenger seat.
At the hotel, Ben sat Miranda's suitcase on her bed.
"Thanks, and thank you again for the outfit and the shoes."
"Oh, that was no problem."
"I'll let you get changed in there while I change out here."
"Okay, cool." She voiced.
Miranda went into the bathroom and applied a little bit of makeup before putting on a white visor that matched her prestine white skirt.
She opened up the bathroom and walked over to put on her brand new sneakers Ben bought.
“So, that’s your golfing outfit, huh?” Ben asked, his eyes lingering on Miranda's bare legs.
“Yeah, why? You saw me pick it out, Is there something wrong with it?” She glanced down. The skirt was pretty short, but she thought she looked cute.
“Uh, no,” Ben said, swallowing hard. “Nothings wrong at all.”
Miranda felt a surge of confidence as she noticed the slight huskiness in his voice. His eyes were sweeping over her in a way that she felt everywhere.
When they reached the club, His family had already arranged for golf club rental for those of them that didn’t have their own, so it didn’t take long before they were out on the course.
"Hey everyone, this is my girlfriend Miranda." Ben announced joining the crowd as his hand was placed on the small of her back.
"Miranda, we were beginning to think he made you up." An older man laughed who looked just like Ben.
"Dad, I told you that I would bring her to the wedding first to meet everyone all at once." Ben responded.
"Hi, Mr. Warren, it's so nice to meet you. Ben has told me so much about you." She chimed, shaking his hand.
"Miranda, this is my mother Patricia. Mom, this is Miranda."
"Hi Mrs Warren."
"Oh, you can just call me Mrs. Pat. It's so nice to meet you and you are so beautiful."
"Thank you so much." Miranda blushed.
"And this is my brother Curtis, but everyone calls him Curt."
"It's nice to meet you, Miranda."
"Oh, you as well." Miranda smiled.
"So, have you ever played golf before."
"I haven't, but I have watched this man play on a week day." Miranda lied, smiling.
"Yeah, she became my personal cheerleader."
"Yeah, you know I'll always cheer you on." Miranda voiced giving him a playful smile.
"Okay, come on, let's get started." Jacob called out, who had a groom shirt on.
Ben and Miranda lingered at the back of the group because she seemed to be the only person who had no idea what she was doing. When they were the last two, Ben came up close behind her, his hard chest pressed against her back and his hips even with hers as he brought his arms around her.
Miranda could feel his warm breath on her neck, and it made her shiver. She had to force the distraction out of her head to concentrate on Ben's instructions. The guy she had no interest in should not be in her head like that.
“Okay, you want to make sure you’re aligned correctly. Your shoulders and feet should be pointed directly at the ball. And bend your knees slightly.” Miranda did what he said, even though the positioning felt awkward.
Ben directed her to pull the golf club back, and then she swung it forward in one continuous motion, miraculously hitting the ball and sending it flying in the general direction of the hole... kind of.
It didn’t go nearly as far as everyone else’s balls did, and it did veer slightly off to the right, but she was still thrilled to see it go anywhere at all. She knew that without his help, her chances of actually hitting the thing at all were slim to none. She was able to actually get the ball in the hole with a couple more strokes. Ben's dad was keeping track of the scores and was quick to let her know that she was in last place because of how many strokes she used on the first hole, but she didn’t really care. She was actually having fun.
She never had golf on her bucket list, but now she could cross it off. She needed to actually get out of the house and do things for a change.
A big part of her was not expecting this guy that Ben was and how easily they got along. He was quick to help her, and his hands on her body kept things interesting.
Even just the casual touches, like his hand on the small of her back, stirred her desire. She was starting to ache for him, and she didn't understand where it even came from. Again, she disiked him. Maybe it was like a lack of companionship and sex. She hasn't had sex in five years, let alone an orgasm. She was just so busy and didn't even want to go looking for a man.
Ben and Miranda made it to the fourth hole when her swing was a little off and the ball went flying wildly, landing just to the left of the hole she was aiming for, near a patch of trees. Curt and Patricia were just ahead of them, waiting. Ben waved them on. It was going to be a while before they caught up.
“I’m sorry,” Miranda apologized as they started to walk toward her ball.
“I know I’m kind of holding you back, and this can’t be much fun for you.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Ben interjected, slipping an arm around her waist. There was no one around to see them, so he wasn’t just putting on a show. Miranda held a confused look. Why was he doing this?
“There’s nowhere on this course that I’d rather be.” He told her. Miranda blushed and smiled at him. He probably was just saying that because he didn't want to be up there with his family hounding him about their relationship.
When they reached the hole, Ben didn’t come up behind her this time. He talked Miranda through how to swing the club, and she forced herself to relax. She took a deep breath and made sure to shift her weight from her back foot to the lead one and follow through. Miranda watched the ball fly toward the hole, her heart leaping as it landed and rolled closer...closer…
“Oh my God! It went in the hole!” she turned to Ben with a huge grin and threw her arms around him. “Did you see that? I did it all by myself!” Ben's hands went to Miranda’s hips, and he pulled her closer until she was flush against him.
Suddenly, the mood shifted. Out the corner of her eye, she could see Ben's dad checking on them. Sexual tension crackled in the air, and they were kissing before she knew it.
Miranda's hands went to the back of his head, feeling his very fresh cut. His long, strong fingers gripped her hips as his tongue slipped into her mouth, tangling with hers.
She moaned, and he swallowed the sound. Desire was pouring off him in waves, and it matched the way she felt inside. This is just pretend. It's just pretend. Miranda chanted in her mind.
"Good job, and thank you. My dad was watching." Ben said after clearing his throat and backing away from her.
Miranda frowned inwardly. She thought he kissed her because he wanted to. This whole ordeal was confusing.
Ben and Miranda did catch up to the group eventually. Miranda was getting the hang of it a lot, and Ben also played to and bumped their score up.
"Ben's never brought anyone around before." A woman voiced coming up on the side of her.
"So I've heard."
"I'm Cassidy Ben's cousin."
"Nice to meet you, Cassidy, Miranda." She introduced shaking her hand.
"My aunt said you were a surgeon, "
"I am," Miranda responded.
"That's so cool. I love to read and argue, hence why I became a lawyer. What made you want to become a surgeon?"
"To save lives. I know it's seems like an obvious reason, but it's the number one goal, and it's exciting. I face novel challenges frequently. Some procedures are high risk with unknown outcomes. To take something that's malfunctioning or broken and replace it or fix it. It's such a blessing. It's who I was meant to be, " Miranda replied with a smile.
"Smart, beautiful, and established... Ben really had to bring his A game."
"It was no need to bring it. It was already there. Smart, handsome, and established." Miranda clarified. "He's charming," she added. "Oh and definitely a smooth talker,"
"Well, thank you, honey." Ben voiced from behind her.
"You should come to the Bachelorette party tonight."
"Oh no, thank you. I would not want to intrude."
"Non sense, we would love to have you. Join us in the ballroom on the left side of the hotel if you change your mind...nice meeting you, Miranda," Cassidy said before walking off.
Later that evening, Miranda sat on her bed reading her book.
"I'm going to my cousin's bachelors party. It's in the hotel in the big event room. The Bachelorette party is downstairs as well on the other side. Just in case you change your mind and want to go to that. "
"I'm probably just going to lay down and continue reading this book." She replied, not looking at him fully.
"Okay, cool, I'm going to take a shower and get a dress. You can order room service. Don't worry about the tab or nothing like that. I got it."
"Thanks,"
Ben grabbed his towel and things before walking into the bathroom. He turned on the shower and waited a few minutes before getting inside.
He thought about the kiss he shared with Miranda. He didn't know what that was about. He kissed her because he wanted to. Not because his dad was standing right there, but he needed a cover story. He couldn't let her know that he was interested. The only thing he didn't understand was why he wanted to. He did not like her. She was closed off, could be rude, and down right mean. He barely knew that woman.
Miranda looked up as the bathroom door opened up, and she looked him up in down. He had on a white Tommy Hilfiger shirt and blue jeans. The shoes he decided to wear were white nikes, and he had on a silver Rolex. He smelt good too, the scent wafted from the bathroom and over to her to tease her nostrils.
Miranda looked back down into her book and shook her head. Ben put his wallet into his back pocket and grabbed his phone.
"Okay, you might be sleeping when I get back, but if you need me. I'm in that ballroom."
"Okay, see you later, Benjamin." She replied quickly.
Ben left out, and Miranda quickly grabbed her phone and called Callie.
"Hey, Bailey,"
"Callie, we kissed, and I'm freaking out."
"Why are you freaking out ?"
"Because he looks at me like I am dessert or just seductive. I don't even think he knows he's doing it."
"Yay, that's exciting."
"No, it's not. This is wrong."
"Why is it wrong? Admit it. You like that he looks at you like that. You like that he finds you attractive."
"I mean, yeah, I'm flattered, but still, I can't do this. I don't want to like anyone. This is just pretend. When we get back home. I have to give him the cold shoulder."
"What?"
"Like freeze him out. That way, we can keep our distance and go back to the way we were before."
"If you say so, Miranda."
"I know so. Plus, I think it's just cloudy because it's pretend. A little space will do us some good."