Love on High Seas - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Tee Off


Once more, London and Maddie had a night of passion that only ended when the clock stroke 2 in the morning, as they fell into each other’s arms, exhausted from all the kisses and orgasms, falling asleep shortly after with a smile in their lips.

Around 7 in the morning, the first rays of light began to enter the room, waking up London. Her eyelids felt like they weighed three tons each, and it took her a couple of seconds to crack open her eyes. Blinking her eyes a couple of times, the heiress noticed it was already morning. She turned her head to the right and saw that Maddie was still asleep. There was a beautiful smile on her face, making her look like a doll. A very dishevelled and sleepy doll... her doll... her Hideous-hair Maddie, as she liked to call the blonde, ever since the incident that originated that nickname.

Not wanting to wake her up just yet, she moved in closer to Maddie and gently squeezed the blonde’s body against hers, feeling her warm skin touching hers.

“I don’t want to wake you up... you look like a doll when you’re asleep. But if I don’t wake you up now, we won’t have time to get ready for breakfast.” –London thought, as she caressed Maddie’s nose with her finger, making her nose twitch a little. –“Then again, what’s a couple of minutes more under the sheets?”    

Staying truth to her decision, she decided to wait another 10 minutes before waking up Maddie. While waiting for the right moment to wake her up, she kept staring out the window, even though there was almost nothing to see, because of the rather thick and strangely mysterious fog. The fog was as thick as pea soup, and London saw herself saying you could slice it with a butter knife. And if it looked like that, then she could only imagine how cold it was outside.

“Now that’s what I call a foggy morning. You can’t see a thing outside.” –London’s thoughts echoed in her mind. –“Good thing we’re here, between the sheets and the covers. Still, there’s something about this fog that makes it beautiful... If I were the monster, this would be the perfect time to come for a little trip to the surface, without being seen.”

With these thoughts in her head, the heiress quickly imagined the Loch Ness Monster coming out of the loch, its head a long neck above the water, turning left and right, searching to see if it was safe to be. The version of the creature she had come up with on her mind looked like a child’s version of what the creature might be, fluffy, pink with green polka dots and huge goofy eyes. She giggled of how her imagination could be so childish and innocent sometimes.

“As if the monster would look like that.” –she thought, as she kept giggling.  

Minutes went by; when finally she decided Maddie had had enough sleep. With an evil smirk on her face, London began to kiss her. Placing sweet kisses all over her face and neck, she fully woke her up with a sweet yet luscious kiss on the lips. The blonde giggled, repaying her girlfriend for waking her up in such a sweet manner, with an even bigger kiss.

“Mmm... I love it when you wake me up like that.” –Maddie whispered, as she stretched her arms. –“Can I have a few more of those delicious kisses to go, please?”

London did not even answer her. She simply leaned her head and kissed her sweetly once more. She would never get tired of kissing the girl she loved.

“So, how do you feel?”

“I’m a haute mess.” –Maddie laughed. –“You did quite a number on me last night, you know that?” –the blonde giggled, as she snuggled in closer to London.

“Well, you also did quite a number on me last night, and you don’t hear me complaining.” –the heiress said deadpanned. –“And you’ve been watching Ashley Tisdale movies again while I’m at the spa, haven’t you?”

“How do you know that?” –Maddie asked her.

“You said I’m a haute mess... that’s one of her catchphrases.” –the heiress rolled her eyes.

“Guilty as charged. I can’t help it, she’s one of the funniest actresses I know, and you said it yourself that I look a lot like her.” –she sighed, admitting it, always smiling.

“You’re right, you really do look like her, and I mean a lot. You could be twins for all we know.” –London told her, as she planted another kiss on her lips. –“You know, it just occurred to me that we’re in a hotel...”

“Well, duh.” –she said with a tint of sarcasm, rolling her eyes.

“Come on, don’t interrupt me.” –she begged her. –“As I was saying, we’re in a hotel, and we could, I don’t know... maybe call room service and have our breakfast here in bed. I checked the brochures and we have that option.” –she pointed out.

“Mmm... as tempting as that sounds, I think the others will be waiting for us to have breakfast with them.” –Maddie told London, as she threw the covers aside. Even though the room’s air was warm due to the central heating, the blonde still shivered as her nude body was exposed to it. –“Brrrr, it’s really cold.” –she chitter her teeth, trying to warm up –“How abut we take a nice long hot shower together in order to get warmer?”

“You know we really don’t need to shower together to get warmer, don’t you?” –London asked her, joking.

“I know that. I just wanted to have an excuse to have you next to me a little longer.” –Maddie said, as she got up from the bed.    

“I thought I was the one who came up with those lame excuses. I guess I’m starting to rub it on you, Blondie.” –London giggled, as she slide out of bed and walked to where she was, putting her arms around her and pulling her into what some would call a sexy embrace, with their nude bodies touching one another. –“God, you’re so sexy... even with ... (kiss)... that messy hair of yours.” –she giggled, as she kissed Maddie.

“Look who’s talking!” –Maddie said deadpanned. –“Did you look yourself... (kiss)... in the mirror this morning?” –she giggled.

“Nope...” –she also giggled. –“But I’m not... (kiss)... the one, who has the nickname... (kiss)... of Hideous-hair Maddie.” –London pointed out, while continuing to kiss her.

“Come on, let’s... (kiss)... continue this in the shower.” –Maddie said, as she grabbed the brunette’s arm and guided her to the bathroom.

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After a delicious breakfast that could have easily competed against the ones served aboard the S.S. Tipton, the gang went outside and tried to decide on what to do next. That would be their second day in Loch Ness, which meant that on the following afternoon they would have to go back to Edinburgh, in order to continue their voyage aboard the cruise ship. Needless to say, knowing they would only stay there for maybe another 40 hours, they were looking for something to do that was out of the ordinary.

“With this fog, it’s basically impossible to go on another cruise around the loch” –Max said. The fog was as bad as it was when London woke up; they could barely see an inch in front of them.

“You mean it’s basically impossible to do anything.” –Zack said.

“Don’t be so negative about it; we’ll find something to do.” –Cody told his brother.

“We can always go back inside and spend the day reading or watching television, at least until the fog dissipates a little.” –Barbara suggested.  

“That could take hours!” –Zack exclaimed.

“Or just a few minutes.” –a voice was heard, followed by a series of barks. –“The fog around here can appear and disappear in a matter of minutes sometimes.”  

Coming out of the fog was Caitlin, and she was not alone. With her was a beautiful Rough Collie, who kept yapping as it approached the gang. Max instantly crouched and began to pet it on the head. The dog thanked her by licking her hand.

“Good morning, Caitlin.” –Maddie greeted her.      

“Morning, everyone.” –Caitlin greeted them all. –“Ah, I see she likes you.”

“What’s her name?” –Zack asked her.

“Don’t tell us it’s Lassie.” –Mark joked.

“No, it’s not Lassie.” –she giggled. –“This is Diana.”

“Oh, she’s so cute... I wish we could’ve brought Scampy and Ivanna with us. That way they could play with her.” –London said, as she also began to pet the beautiful Rough Collie.

“I know, but you know the law in this country is quite strict when it comes to letting foreign animals enter.” –Maddie said, as she crouched and also began to pet Diana.

“She’s really beautiful. It’s easy to see you take good care of her.” –Anastasia said.  

“It’s more like she takes care of me. She’s really protective. I’m almost amazed she likes you, because she usually doesn’t like strangers.” –Cailtin said. –“But tell me, what are you doing here in the middle of the fog? It’s freezing out here.”

“We’re here trying to figure out what to do.” –Cody answered her.

“And the fog pretty much has restricted our options.” –London declared.

“Don’t worry, the fog might take a little to dissipate, but it will happen before lunch time, I can guarantee you that.” –Caitlin said. –“As for what to do, you can always go shopping, or maybe go back into the inn and read the book by the fireplace, at least until lunch time.”

“And what about you? What are you going to do today?” –Maddie asked her.

“Oh, I came outside to walk Diana and now I’m going to get ready for the big event that’s going to take place after lunch at the Flintheart property.”

“And what big event is that one?” –Mark asked her.

“Oh, that would be the Fort Augustus Gold Tournament. It’s one of the year’s highlighting events around here, and it will take place this afternoon, right after lunch.” –she said.

“You’re entering it?” –Mark asked her.

“Yes I am.”  

“You play golf?! But that’s an old folks sport.” –Zack said.

“Actually Zack, over the last 10 years golf became a sport played by many young people.” –London said. –“I should know, I play it.”

When she said that, everyone around her stood there in silence, looking really serious at her. Noticing it, the heiress did not know if they were looking at her that way because of what she said, or because they did not know how to properly react to it. Even Maddie was like that. Finally, she broke the silence by saying:

“What? What did I say?!” –London asked, still puzzled about her friends reaction.

“You play golf?!” –Cody asked her, surprised.

“Yeah, I do. I mean, I’m not Tiger Woods, but I can swing a club.” –London answered.

“You never told me that. Where and when did you learn how to play golf?” –Maddie asked her girlfriend, still processing what she had just heard. By now, the blonde should have already been used to finding out stuff she did not know about London, but every time she thought she had finally found out every little secret about her, she managed to surprise her once more.

“Well, you never asked.” –she giggled innocently. –“And I learned when I stayed in Dubai.” –she said. –“Did you really think I only went shopping when I visited that town?”    

“To be honest… yes.” –Anastasia hesitated for a bit in saying that. –“Don’t get me wrong, but you don’t seem like the kind of girl who’d appreciate playing golf.” –she told her.

“Well, to tell ya the truth, I’m not really into it, but when you have to attend a private golf tournament instead of your father, you at least need to know how to play a little.” –London admitted.

“Does that mean you’ll be entering the tournament?” –Caitlin asked her. –“Anyone can enter, including tourists.”

“What’s the prize?” –Zack asked. –“If it’s a tournament, then it’s bound to have a prize… a prize in cash!” –he exclaimed, at the same time ideas for what to do what the prize money raced through his mind. He had never played golf in his life, but how hard could it be? After all, unlike his brother, he aced in every sport there was. Why would this one be any different?

“Oh, there’s a prize, yes, but the money will be donated to charity.” –Caitlin explained.

“To charity?!” –Zack exclaimed, a little disappointed.

“Well, I think that’s a wonderful idea.” –Barbara said. –“And I’ll tell you even more; I’m going to enter in this tournament. Who’s with me?”

Quickly, everyone raised a hand. Zack was the last to raise his hand, on account that he was counting on winning the prize for the money, but now that he knew the money would be given to charity, he was not so sure if he really wanted to play golf. As for Caitlin, when she saw that everyone was ready to enter the tournament, she nearly began to jump from joy.

“Excellent! I’ll sign you all up right away.” –the young Scottish girl exclaimed. –“Believe me; you’ll have a blast, all of you.” –she confidently said.

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After lunch, and just like Caitlin had told them, the fog lifted and a good thing too, otherwise it would have been really hard to for anyone to play golf. The tournament was to take place in a property about 20 miles from Fort Augustus. In order to get there, one would have to drive there, or catch a bus. The gang offered to give a lift to Caitlin, which she accepted. Her sister Karen was to take her, but because their cook, who usually helped around the inn had asked for the afternoon off, she would only be able to join them around dinner time.

But before they could go, and since they had not bring clothes appropriated to play golf, London decided to treat them all to a trip to one of the boutiques in the village, where they all picked clothes appropriated for what they were about to do, including tam o’ shanters. Needless to say, they all looked right for the part.

On their way there, accompanied by Carey, Felicia and Stephen, Caitlin told them just about everything regarding the tournament, the party that would follow, as well as the dinner offered by the head of the Flintheart clan to the tournament’s participants and their companions. She also told the gang all about the history the Flintheart clan had with the Loch Ness monster’s legend.

“The Flintheart clan is one of the oldest clans to have settled in this region- Its castle was build on top of a hill, turned to the loch. Over the centuries, stories regarding them as the keepers of the secret were passed from generation to generation.”

“Keepers of the secret? What secret?” –Stephen asked her.

“The secret of Loch Ness; namely the secret of the creature’s existence.” –Caitlin answered. –“You see, the tales say that if there is someone who might know if the monster real is someone from the Flintheart clan.”

“So, you mean that if the monster is real, then someone from that family would know?” –Zack asked her, to which she waved her head. –“Why didn’t anyone in the village told us this?! It would have saved us the problem of questioning all those people as to where we might find the monster!”

“For once I agree with you, bro.” –Cody said. –“I haven’t seen any reference to the Flintheart clan in any of the books I bought about Loch Ness. If the clan is so important to the history of the creature’s supposed existence, then why isn’t it documented?”

“Well, mostly because over the centuries they have negated their involvement in the history. You should have been here to see the way the head of the Flintheart clan, Dame Emilia, treated the last journalist who even attempted to talk about this. She practically kicked him out of the property herself, after setting the hounds after him, and I’m not joking on that matter.” –Caitlin told them.

“But why would she do that?” –Barbara asked.

“You have to understand, the Flintheart clan is probably one of the oldest clans in Scotland, and their personal history has been… outshined, by the tales of them having anything to do with the creature. Everyone around here knows about those old widow’s tales, but most people have decided to not even mentioning them out of respect for the clan’s true history, which is quite rich I might say.” –Caitlin said. –“It’s not hard to imagine how she feels about people only remembering about her family, based on something that could not even be real, instead of all the great historical achievements the clan has gathered over the centuries. But don’t worry, Dame Emilia Flintheart is a true lady and she is very nice to those who deserve it, as she puts it. She’s tough as nails, but has a soft heart, which she shows on the right time. You’ll have the chance to meet her tonight during dinner and see it for yourselves.”          

After nearly half an hour, they finally arrived at their destination. The entrance to the property was done across an old iron gate where you could see the name and coat of arms of the property’s owners, the Flinthearts. Over the gate there was a banner advertising the tournament. As they crossed inside, they were surprised by two security guards asked them for their credentials. Caitlin, who was on the backseat showed them the papers bearing their registrations in the tournament, and they let them through.

They were all a little surprised about that, but did not think about it anymore when they all saw why the tournament was to be held there. The grass went as far as the eyes could see. It was green and vigorous, wet from the amount of humidity in the air. The only thing even more beautiful than that gorgeous natural landscape where they would soon play golf in was the old Flintheart castle, with its magnificent and majestic three towers. Looking at it, it was clear the castle had been rebuilt more than once over the centuries, yet, it still retained that medieval look from the days when Scotland was still named Caledonia. If the stones building it could talk, they would certainly had hundreds, if not thousands of tales to tell to those who were there.  

Parking the car in an improvised parking lot next to the castle, they then joined the people that had gathered in a set of tents, where the action was taking place. When they agreed to enter the tournament they thought this was just a small event, but it was being covered by just about everything from BBC to Eurosport, not to mention some newspapers and sports bloggers.

“I thought you told us this was just a small event.” –Barbara said, as she looked around.

“I never said that. I said it was the biggest annual event around these parts. It was you who assumed that just because we’re in the middle of nowhere that it would be small.” –Caitlin told her.

“That explains the amount of security.” –Carey said.

“For a second there, I thought people had come here just to see the two of us playing.” –London whispered to Maddie, who giggled.

After grabbing their credentials, there was a small photo session where the 26 participants were all photographed and a small interview was done. Needless to say London and Maddie were the ones who got the most attention, even though one or two journalists from the local newspaper, as well as a reporter for the Times recognized Stephen and proceeded to interview him.  

“Mr. Stevenson, could you tell us why you’re here? Are you researching for another book” –one of the reporters asked him.

“I’m afraid that’s not the case. I’m here merely accompanying my son as well as his friends, who will participate in the tournament.” –Stephen answered.

“Do you think your son, or any of his friends, including Miss Tipton or her girlfriend, stand a chance of winning the tournament?”

“To be honest, I don’t know. But, since this is a charity tournament, I do believe that everyone will be winners. Still, I believe that they will try their best and perhaps give the more experienced players a run for their money.”

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The organization behind the planning of the tournament seemed to have predicted everything. Some of the participants had brought with them their own golf bags with their own clubs, but for those who did not have them, they provided them with clubs to play with. Zack opened his as soon as it was given to him and tried to figure out what was inside it.

“Well, let’s see… we got balls here, and clubs… and what are these iron clubs?” –he asked to the others.

“Those are irons, Zack.” –London told him. –“You use those to play the ball towards the hole over shorter distances.”

“This is a lot of equipment to play one game.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure your caddy will help you decide what to use.” –Mark told him. –“Besides, no matter how many rules this game has, the golden rule is just one… play the ball where this one lies.”

To each player was assigned a caddy to carry the golf clubs and to also drive them to the teeing grounds in golf carts. As soon as everyone was ready, the tournament started with the oldest contestants playing first. The gang noticed that with the exception of Caitlin, they were youngest ones there. The rest of the contestants were all men and women with ages between 35 and 70. With 18 holes to go, they had a lot to play.

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As the tournament went on, time seemed to slow down to those who were watching it. But not for the players; those were too concentrated on the game to even notice that. When it was finally time for the gang to play, Zack was the first. Following the instructions and recommendations from his caddy, who was a man of his early forties, he played his first ball.

“Remember, empty your mind and keep an eye on the ball.”

“Gotcha.” –Zack waved his head to his caddy. –“Just got to hit the ball.”

After looking where the hole was, he looked down at the ball, squinted his eyes, and took a really deep breath. Clearing his mind, Zack visualized the move, shouted “fore”, swing the club and hit the ball… or so he thought. He kept looking into the air, looking for where the ball might have gone, not realizing he’d missed it. It was only when Cody called him to tell him the ball was still in the tee that he found out he’d missed the shot.

“You missed the shot, Zack!” –Cody yelled at his twin.

“What?!” –Zack exclaimed, looking down and seeing the ball still on the tee. –“Oh, come on!!!” –he said, as he swung the club once more, and failing, miserably. It took him another five shots before he finally hit the ball, sending it flying over the green.

“Try to relax. The ball can feel your stress.” –Zack’s caddy told him.

“Thanks for the tip.” –Zack as he kept exhaling loudly, still a little frustrated for not having been able to hit the ball on the first try. “Well, if I’m having trouble playing this game, then Cody won’t be able to hit the ball, even if the fate of Mankind depends on it.” –he thought to himself, smirking.  

Unfortunately, Zack could not be more wrong about it. When he played his first ball, Cody was a natural at it. Picking a number 2 club, he tried to relax before concentrating on what he was going to do.

“Now, how did that old spiel go? Oh yeah… the tee is used to support the ball.” –he thought to himself, setting the tee on the grass and placing the ball on top of it. –“The club is held loosely between the index and the fourth finger of the right hand. Then you place the left hand palm open facing away, then slide the right hand below the left. Now place the thumb, and close it, while moving the index finger over the thumb.” –Cody repeated to himself, as he did the movements with his hands, adjusting himself to take the shot.  

“Fore!” –he shouted.

Swinging the club, he hit the ball, launching it into the air, landing just a couple of meters from the hole. This shot was so good that almost everyone started to applaud Cody.

“I can’t believe it!” –Zack thought to himself. –“How come he managed to do that shot perfectly, while it took me five strikes to do it?!”

“Now what do you know? It really paid off reading that old book about golf.” –Cody mused to himself, satisfied with his play.

“Lucky shot, that’s all that it was. I bet that he won’t be able to pull that stunt again.” –Zack told himself. There was no way his smart twin brother, who was a loser at just about any sport would be a wiz when it came to playing golf, a game, where Zack was not acing in.

But once more, Zack was wrong about it. As the tournament went on, Cody kept playing like an ace. The one who proved also to be an ace was Caitlin. She was quite good for a girl her age and the way she played showed that. But, those two were not the only ones to score big on the tournament, and as it went on, the Tipton gang, one way or another showed the other players, as well as everyone else who came to watch the tournament, that there was more than one way to play golf.

For example, on hole number 3, in order to play a putt, Anastasia decided that the best way to get a good shot at the ball was to perform the splits. And on hole number 6, Max decided to play blindfolded. London and Maddie also had their fifteen minutes of fame when playing on hole 9, where they London helped Maddie, by holding the club over hands, and swinging it for a magnificent shot. Still, none of those managed to beat what Zack did on hole 12, where after failing a putt he grabbed the ball threw it into the air and hit it with the club as if he was playing baseball, sending the ball into a hook, landing on a sand trap.

“Oh, come on!!! That ball has to be cursed!” –he yelled, as he tossed his club to the side in anger.

“Try to calm down, sweetie. Remember, anger is your worst enemy on this game.” –Carey warned him from the middle of the crowd.

“Zack’s really having a hard time, isn’t he?” –London whispered to Maddie’s ear.

“Definitely.” –Maddie giggled. –“He’s not used to having this kind of difficulties when playing a sport. Still, I feel sorry for him, right now.”      

“Don’t be, it’ll teach him not to be so cocky about being the best in sports.” –London told her.

“Just like the time when your dad lost all his fortune, and you ended up having to live with me and my family, which helped you realizing the true value of friendship and that money shouldn’t be spent like crazy just because you have it?” –Maddie teased her.

“Yep, pretty much like that.” –London said, smiling.

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As the sun went down, and its last rays of light disappeared behind the mountains, the tournament reached its end, when they got to hole 18. Counting the points, all members of the gang ended up on the last places of the scoreboard, which did not surprise them, for they had been playing against older players. Only Caitlin had had a score that placed among the top 10, an 8th place, which granted her the honour of going up on the podium. As for the scores among the members of the Tipton gang Cody was the best, while Zack had had the worst score, and that made him feel absolutely down on his luck. Trying to cheer him up, his brother gave him a pat on the back.

“Come on, don’t sulk like that.” –Cody told him.

“Easy for you to say...” –Zack sighed. –“It wasn’t you who made a fool of yourself in front of everyone.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Look at me, I suck terribly at sports.” –Cody said truthfully. He knew his brother was better at sports than he would ever be, and he had no shame admitting it. Cody really believed he had had luck, and nothing more than that.

“Yeah, Zack, it’s not one game that’s going to spoil your reputation.” –Maddie told him, as she approached and sat right next to him. –“So Cody managed to score higher than you in a sport, big deal. You still hold the title of king of sports.”

Maddie always knew what to say to cheer up Zack. That was why he cherished their friendship and had come to see her not only as his friend, but as a big sister, when looking for advice or a shoulder to cry on. And she was right, what was one game? Cody still sucked at every other sport, and when compared to him when it came to skating, his twin would need to practice for decades before even achieving his natural talent.  

“You really think so?”

“I know so, silly.” –Maddie said, giving him a well deserved hug. –“Plus, you can’t be all gloomy and grumpy during dinner. That’s not very sporting and you know it.”

“And that’s why we should all celebrate with a drink.” –London said, as she showed up with the adults, carrying a tray with orange and lemon juice glasses. –“We really should toast to this crazy afternoon.” –she smiled at them, as she gave a glass to every member of the gang, starting with Zack, trying to also cheer him up a little.

“Thanks, London.” –he chuckled. –“And, yeah, let’s toast to it! To a crazy and different afternoon, and may we have many more like these throughout this voyage!” –Zack exclaimed, raising his glass, to which everyone else did the same.  

Just like Caitlin had promised them, it had been a really fun day, and unknown to them, before the night ended, that really fun day would become a truly unforgettable one.