Matchplay A New Adult Romance - By Dakota Madison Page 0,48

that you and Marney are a couple because I wasn’t aware that Lucas didn’t know.”

“And here I thought you were too drunk to remember that,” Marney chimed in.

Olivia sat on the bed next to her brother. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“I’m a little upset that I’m the last to know. I am your only brother.”

Olivia embraced him in a big bear hug. “Now you have to help me tell Mom and Dad,” she said and we all smiled.

***

I was surprised at how unprepared most of the other groups were for their final presentations. I was glad we decided to go last. The other students may have been mad if they had to follow us. Two of the groups were so bad it made me wonder if they had worked on their presentations at all.

After every other group had finished, Dr. Griffin called me and Aaron forward. Aaron had placed his miniature museum at the front of the room with a sheet over it. He was beaming with such pride when he lifted the sheet to unveil his masterpiece. Several of the students in the room actually gasped in surprise.

They all got up from their seats and gathered around the museum he had built to get a better look.

I cleared my throat then gave the oral part of the presentation. I tried to match the speech as closely as I could with the pieces he had reproduced. I also gave some interesting history about Mary Cassatt including the information Aaron had given me about her lost mural.

Ours was the only presentation to get a round of applause by the rest of the class.

After class, Dr. Griffin stopped both of us before we could leave.

“I just wanted to let the two of you know how impressed I was with your work,” she said. “That was, by far, the best presentation I have seen in my 30 years teaching this class.”

I could see a twinkle in Aaron’s eyes. I think he was proud of the accomplishment, even if he had initially only done it for me.

Dr. Griffin turned to me. “Rainy, the internship next semester is yours, if you want it.”

“Of course, I want it. Just let me know when you’d like me to start.”

She nodded. “I’ll email you all of the details.”

When we got outside, Aaron embraced me, picked me up off the ground and swung me around. “We did it!” he shouted.

When he placed me back on the ground, I reached up and gave him a kiss. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“No need to thank me. I know how much the internship means to you. All of the work was worth it.”

***

Aaron picked me up just liked he promised and we headed over to The Clubhouse for their final party of the semester. Over the weekend, students would be filtering home for break and Aaron and I would be on our way to Florida.

We stood at the front door of The Clubhouse and people were already lined up to get signed in. Aaron squeezed my hand. “Ready?” he asked.

I nodded even though I really didn’t feel ready. I didn’t trust Evan and the last time I saw him, with his fake apology, left a bad taste in my mouth.

“Don’t let go of my hand, okay?” Aaron instructed. “No matter what. Even if you have to use the bathroom, I’ll go with you and stand outside the door.”

The saddest part about Aaron’s statement was that it should have sounded extreme but really didn’t. I

knew I wanted to be with Aaron but I also knew The Clubhouse was a big part of his life. I knew it was difficult for him to bring those two pieces of his life together because they really didn’t fit.

We didn’t stand in the line to sign in. Aaron pulled me right past the sign in table and the guys manning the station just nodded at him.

“I need to make the rounds first,” Aaron explained.

I assumed it was a duty related to him being President of The Clubhouse. He pulled me around the house as he checked in with various guys: two guys handing people beer at a keg; three guys serving drinks at the bar; a guy carrying a huge bowl of chips and dip toward the bar and a guy running toward the bathroom with several rolls of toilet paper.

“Looks like everything is okay,” Aaron said.

“Obviously the guy with the toilet paper has the most crucial job,” I said and smiled.

He grinned. “We always