My Favorite Girl Pt. 04

I could only imagine what they were saying up in the booth and I'd have to explain when I got finished but I didn't care right now. I'd make something up once I finished if I even chose to talk to the press. They were already all over me for leaving this morning then coming back two hours before my round was to start. I avoided the questions, but I wouldn't be able to for much longer.

I stepped up and relaxed then swung. The ball took flight and arched high into the air before reaching its max then started to descend back to earth.

"Go ball," I called. "Get there!"

It hit below the pin and basically stuck the landing, barely rolling but a foot before it came to rest about a foot away from the flag stick. There was a roar from the crowd as I smiled just a little before walking back and handing my club to my caddie. He wiped it clean and stuffed it back into the bag.

"Good shot," my caddie whispered. "What was the heart thing?"

"Nothing," I sighed and took a sip of water.

"Ok," he said and let it go.

About ten minutes later I put my short birdie putt into the hole and extended my lead to two shots. I found the camera again and gave it the universal I love you sign with my hand before walking onto the next hole. The fifteenth was over and that was the end of that. I returned to my focused self but still had the sadness in my heart.

I finished eighteen and headed for the clubhouse. I had to stop briefly and give an interview before making it there. I told him I'd talk but we had to walk while doing it.

"Assess your round?" he asked.

I sighed before I answered. "It's been a long day. I finished the round and take a four-shot lead into tomorrow. I did what I had to do to protect my lead."

"We noticed you were gone then returned this morning. Can you explain....?"

"Personal thing," I said before he could finish. "Not something I'm going to talk about. If it happened on the course, I'll talk about it. If not, don't ask."

"The heart and love signs then?" he asked.

"I like the fifteenth hole," I offered. "Most guys like the nineteenth hole, I'm different I guess."

I had reached the clubhouse now and stopped to see if he had one more before I went inside.

"Thanks," he smiled.

I pulled the door open and headed inside to fill out my score card and make my round official.

I sat in my hotel room all alone about a half an hour after my round was over. Today finally caught up with me and it all came crashing down. I broke down as I curled up on the bed and just lay there. I felt so empty, so alone, so angry with myself about everything. I didn't want to face tomorrow. How was I going to go out there and compete tomorrow?

I made it through today by pushing everything down and focusing on the task at hand. Now that I had nothing to focus on but the very issue, it was killing me. How did I let the best thing I had ever had come my way get away? I couldn't answer that, I just had to let it go, let her go. I did what I could and it just wasn't good enough.

I scrolled through my phone and looked at all the pictures I had of her and of us. We were so happy, had so much fun, had so much promise, and now... it was over. Dory was right. I strung her along a little too long and now not only was her heart broken but so was mine. I stared at my favorite picture of her for a moment before setting the phone down. I picked it right back up and called Dory.

"Everything alright?" she asked as soon as the line connected. "I saw you on TV today and you look heartbroken."

"I fucked up with Emma," I sniffled. "Bad."

"Oh no, Jason," she sighed. "What happened?"

"That Edward guy, that's what happened," I scorned.

"And me," I added. "I screwed up too. I can't put all the blame on him. I let it go too far before I told her how I felt."

"But... you told her?" Dory asked.

"I poured my heart and soul out to her," I sniffled again. "I'm too late."

"Gosh, Jason," she said and felt my pain. "I'm sorry."

"It feels like I lost my dad all over again," I whimpered.

"Tell me what happened," she said. "And take your time darling. I'm all ears."

I took a breath and settled myself before explaining today, the past few months, Ed, the lies, the way I felt, I left no stone unturned. An hour went by as we went back and forth, she asked questions, I explained and gave my reasons why when I had to. It actually felt good to talk to her and get it off my chest.

"Jason," she said once I was finished and the conversation took a long pause. "I hate to say it, but you did everything you could. You just waited too long."

"I know," I sighed. "I wish there was something else I could do to change her mind."

"I wish I could give you a solution, but the fact is there's nothing more that you can do."

I sighed and hung my head. I knew she was going to say that but just that small part of me wished she would have a solution that I could work with. I'd even go with her telling me to go and kidnap Emma right now if she would have offered that as a solution.

"You're going to have to wait on her now," she offered. "But you have to ask yourself a hard question."

"What's that?"

"Are you willing to forgive her if she does change her mind?"

"She broke my heart, Dory," I sighed. "But I would in a heartbeat. I know I told her it was now or never, but who am I kidding? Everything I've done to her, she deserves to do it back to me tenfold."

"Two wrongs don't make a right, but I get what you are saying," Dory replied.

"Should I try calling her?" I asked.

"I wouldn't," Dory replied. "You both went through hell today and calling her isn't going to make it any easier. You have to wait on her if you're willing to."

I sighed.

"Waiting is the hardest part," Dory offered. "Because the call may never come."

I just shook my head in disgust with myself. "I don't even know what to say right now."

"Take some time, grieve, learn from your mistakes and grow up a little. I hate to say I told you so, but I did warn you that this day was going to come. I applaud you for coming clean and telling her. You did the right thing there."

"It sure doesn't feel like the right thing."

"The truth is a hard pill to swallow," she said and quoted her line from two years ago.

I sighed hard and sat there for a moment in silence. "I'm exhausted."

"Get some rest," she replied. "Call me if you need me. And, even if you don't. You're going to be alright. It's just going to take some time to get there."

"Thanks Dory."

"Bye Jason."

I closed my eyes and just lay there for a while in silence thinking about today and replaying the events over and over and over. What could I have said better? What could I have done differently? What could I have expressed so that the outcome would have changed?

--------------------------------------------------------------Sunday -----------------------------------------------

My phone started ringing. I barely awoke to answer it I was so tired from everything. I leaned over, noticed the clock by the bed, 6:47 am, as I searched for my phone. It was the next morning, I couldn't remember falling asleep, I was still in my clothes from my round of golf yesterday, and I was still just as tired as I was when I hung up the phone after talking with Dory. I finally found the phone and picked it up.

"Hello?" I answered it in a fog.

"Jason?"

"Emma?" I questioned and sat up.

"Jason." She was crying now and trying to catch her breath before she spoke again. "Please Jason. I was up all-night thinking, crying, talking to myself, trying to figure it out, and realizing that I probably screwed this all up. Is it too late? Am I too late to call you and ask for another chance?"

"Of course not, Em," I assured her. "It's never too late when it comes to you."

"Can you come get me then? I thought about everything and I want to be with you. It's just...... yesterday...."

"You don't need to explain right now," I offered. "If you want me to come and get you, I'll come and get you."

"I do," she half begged. "Please."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," I said. "Let me get on a plane. Just hold on Emma, I'm coming."

"Thank you," she sobbed.

"Can I call you back? I have to call the company and get the plane. I promise I'll call you right back."

"Yeah," she whimpered.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. I'm just tired and I was worried you'd say no, and..."

"I meant Ed," I cut in. "Is he there? Is he around?"

"I'm not at the condo. I'm at the apartment. We got into a fight last night. He stormed out, I packed what I could, and I left."

"Ok," I sighed a huge sigh of relief. "Stay there, let me call the company for the plane. I'll call you right back. Just hang in there, Emma. I'm coming."

It took an hour to get a pilot and plane ready before I was heading off again to Tallahassee once more. This time would be different. I knew Emma was coming back with me. Once I got her I'd have to figure out where to go after. This was two mornings in a row I was leaving the hotel and heading off. I had another two pm tee time today and the press would be all over me again. I knew just who to call.

"Good morning, Jason," Dory cheered as the line connected.

"Did I wake you?" I asked.

"No," she laughed. "I'm just about to leave for hot yoga so I've been up for an hour already."

"You still do that?" I asked.

"Yeah," she cheered. "You should come try it with me sometime."

"Well.... I have a favor to ask you and if you say yes, I just might join you a time or two."

"Ask away."

"Can I come and stay with you for a couple of days, maybe longer if needed?"

"Certainly," she cheered. "I can't wait to see you guys."

"Guys?" I questioned.

"Yeah, you and Emma...," she replied but started to trail off at the end.

"How did you know I was bringing Emma with me?" I asked.

"Oh... well... um... I-ah," she was stumbling over her words. "I just thought that... you wouldn't be coming here by yourself, so I just assumed. You've never come here alone, so..." She was so trying to cover her tracks.

"When I get there," I chuckled. "I've got to teach you how to BS better."

Dory laughed now. "She is coming with you though, right?"

"She is," I replied and could hardly contain my happiness.

"Just so you know, she called me," Dory offered. "About an hour after you called, she called."

"If you talked her into it, Dory... thank you, thank you, thank you. I got the phone call I thought I would never get."

"I didn't talk her into it," she replied. "We just talked... about a lot of things. I... did not know what she was planning on doing after she hung up. I just assumed that with you calling me, she had called you."

"And," she continued before I could speak so I let her talk. "I owe you an apology and a thank you myself."

"You do?" I questioned. "For what?"

"I always assumed you told Emma about my secret. And, while I knew it would be safe with Emma, it did bother me that you would tell someone about it. But I found out last night that you, in fact, did not tell her about me and my uncle. So, I'm sorry I assumed, and thank you for not telling anybody about it."

"It wasn't my secret to tell," I offered. "But... I forgive you and you are welcome."

"When can I expect you two to arrive?" she asked and changed the subject.

"I'm on a plane as we speak. But I need a second favor also."

"Name it."

"I can't bring Emma back to the hotel where I'm at. It isn't a good idea. The press was asking a lot of questions yesterday about where I went. They are going to be all over me today since this is the second day in a row."

"Right," Dory agreed. "You don't need that."

"There's that little executive airport near you. That's where I'll have you meet us. I'll drop her off there with you and then head back to golf my final round. Is that ok?"

"Perfect," she said. "Go get your Emma, don't worry about anything else right now. I'll handle it."

"Thanks Dory. I'll let you know when we get off the ground."

"I look forward to hearing from you," she cheered.

The car pulled to the curb in front of the apartment as Emma stood there by the door waiting for me. Her bags were packed with what she could bring, the rest would be gone for good. I opened the door before the car even stopped and leapt from it. I ran to her as she stood there and held her arms open and cried as she waited for me.

Nothing was said as I reached her. She simply smiled that perfect and beautiful smile as I scooped her up and hugged her like I had never hugged her before. She was crying still as I held her tightly and cried with her. She cried these deep sobs as she let all the stress and despair leave her body while in the safety of my comforting arms. I was her safe place, her shelter in the storm, her one true love, and the one she was meant to be with.

I just held her, hugged her tightly and let her get it all out. It felt so good to hold her right now. I knew I had my girl, my Emma, my favorite girl. She was mine now and I would make certain she would always be mine. No more broken promises, no more playing games, we were in this together. We would face some challenges in the future but for right now, in this simple moment, nothing else matter but her in my arms taking me back.

"Thank you," she sniffled. "After yesterday.... thank you for coming."

I leaned in and kissed her. I kissed my Emma for the first time for forever. It was this deep and passionate kiss that kept going. These long and deep soul kisses that said in this moment that we would be alright. My soul had awakened right then, this weight was lifted from me, my favorite girl was finally mine to love fully and truly.

She was panting and sniffling while trying to wipe the tears from her cheeks as we parted from the kiss and looked at each other.

"Jason, I'm sorry."

"Don't be," I smiled. "It's ok."

"No, it's not. It's not ok. We can't keep doing this to each other. If we love each other, we have to stop hurting each other."

"We're going to work on that, together," I offered.

"I need to say something. I need to apologize for a few things that I've done to you. I don't want anything between us, no secrets, no lies.... nothing."

I wanted to tell her I didn't care what she was sorry for. I wanted to tell her it didn't matter. After all the things I had done to her, her grievances against me shouldn't matter. But the way she looked at me as she spoke really meant that it was important for her to get it off her mind. I nodded and waited for her to tell me what she was sorry for.

"In the beginning, I started dating Edward to make you jealous," she confessed.

She had a fearful look on her face as she stood there looking at me. I took the information and waited for her to tell me there was something more, something that was life changing, relationship altering, I'd be really mad if I ever found out. After a moment, it never came and she was now waiting for me to respond.

"Are you apologizing to me for that, or are you just telling me that?" I asked calmly. "If you're worried I'd be mad about that then you don't need to worry. You don't really need to say sorry for that either. Of all the things I've done to you and put you through, I'll give you a pass on that one."

"It was bothering me," she offered. "I did it to make you jealous and in hopes it would push you to maybe change your mind and want something more with me. In the beginning he was nice and he did care for me, and...."

"Emma," I said softly and stopped her. "You don't need to explain yourself. All that stuff is in the past now. I've done some horrible things to you. You dated a guy to make me jealous. If you're willing to forgive me for every hurtful thing I've done to you, I can certainly forgive you for that."

"I'm more than willing to forgive you for everything," she replied. "You are more of a man than you think you are. You made mistakes, said you were sorry for them, and you're willing to work to earn my forgiveness."

"I'm willing to do whatever it takes to earn that from you," I said without hesitation.

"I know you are, and we will get there in due time," she nodded.

"I'm sorry for yesterday. I'm sorry I broke your heart. I just..." She was trying to find the words, but she was getting a little choked up at the moment.

"Take your time, Em," I assured her.

"I said no because I was scared. I said no because I thought it was too good to be true. I said no because I was an emotional wreck and you showed up and sprang it on me. But I realized how stupid it was of me to say no. This is something I've wanted for longer than you have."

"I'm scared too," I offered. "But that's what makes us so great. We are scared of the same thing, but we can work together to not be afraid of it. The open and honest dialog doesn't stop because we are going to be together."

"I know," she smiled a little.

"I want to make this clear," I said as I looked at her for a moment before I continued. "Make no mistake about this, if you get into that car with me and you leave with me, we are all in. We are making this a serious relationship now and by doing that we are about to walk down a very hard road where it will be just you and I walking it together and facing the challenges that are going to come our way."

"We won't be on vacation time or casual visit time anymore. We won't be together for the sex and just the good times we had anymore. Everything that comes with a normal relationship is now going to challenge us. We will have real responsibilities to each other and a real commitment for each other. Plus, we are going to face the obvious challenges that a normal couple wouldn't face because of who we are."

"But, I know for a fact that I have never been so certain about something before. I want to face all those obstacles with you because it's the only chance I have to be truly happy in life. I realized and know I won't find a better person to share my life with other than you. Do you still want to get into that car with me and get out of here?"

"Absolutely, yes," she responded immediately. "I went over this a hundred times and a hundred different ways last night, but I always came back to a single solution. You. And despite everything that's happened between us, I know who you are, and you are a really good man who will be there for me. You are my one person in life I was meant to be with. I know the challenges will be great, but we are greater together than all of them."

"So?" I asked with my soft smile. "We're doing this then? We're taking the journey together?"

"Yes," she smiled. "All in."

We were hugging again with tears in our eyes as we stood there for a moment and just held each other. She finally leaned back to wipe her nose again.

"Are you ready to get the heck out of here?" I asked.

"More than ready," she replied softly.

"Do you have what you want? Once we leave, there is no coming back."

"I have you," she smiled now. "That's all I really need."

"Let's get going then."

Less than an hour later we were back in the plane rolling down the runway to get back into the air. We quickly climbed into the air and reached altitude before we both relaxed and felt some relief that we were away from the ground where Ed was. He wasn't a threat; it was just more comforting that we didn't have to worry about a confrontation anymore.

"Thank you, Jay," Emma finally sighed in relief. "Thank you for coming back to get me."

"I promised you I'd always be there for you."

"I know," she smiled. "Thank you."

She turned her body and leaned into me as I held her. It felt so perfect, so peaceful, so right, so surreal to be holding her right now. This tremendous weight had been lifted off of me. Since January of last year, I had been waiting for this moment, the moment I could call her mine. The way that this all happened was in no way, shape, or form how I had envisioned it though. But it was all over now, all behind us. The way it happened would make a good story to tell one day.