Sophie's Playboy Read Online Free Page B

should be played for the sport itself. Not to chit chat with your foursome. Not to stroll between holes. Not to take ten minutes to line up every putt."
    "Parker, are you obsessed with golf?"
    He chuckled, and sparks zinged through Sophie's middle.
    She swore his voice was familiar.
    "No, I'm not obsessed. But I guess I come pretty close."
    "Well, if we want to talk about waste and golf, lets talk about water and golf courses in the desert. That seems the height of wastefulness to me."
    "You don't think people who live near the desert should have the recreational outlet of golf?"
    Sophie ignored the flashing lights that indicated callers waiting. "You're phrasing the question wrong. Should we deplete a vital resource in an area where that resource is scarce, for a pastime that has no bearing on quantity or quality of life?"
    "Of course golf has a bearing on quality of life," Parker grumbled. "It lowers blood pressure, reduces stress, exercises the heart and lungs—"
    "—in heat over a hundred degrees, which forces everyone to drive carts rather than walk, thereby eliminating the health benefits."
    "Boy, you don't give an inch, do you?"
    "This is rant time, Parker. We're ranting."
    "Seems more to me like we're bantering."
    29
    Sophie's Playboy
    by Natalie Damschroder
    Sophie grinned at his flirtatious tone. "This isn't dial-a-date, Parker. Try peddling it somewhere else. Thanks for calling." She hit a button. "Next caller is ... Jessica! Jessica, you're our last caller before the break."
    Sophie had a hard time concentrating on the rest of the show. Her mind kept conjuring Parker's creamy voice. She opened her Rave hour with comments on purchasing trendy clothes at second-hand shops, a way to avoid waste. That started a discussion on fashion. Melina told her at the break that she'd had to tell six callers complaints weren't allowed in the second half of the show, so Sophie made sure to state often that this was Rave Hour and only to call to praise, compliment, or thank someone or something.
    "The last caller we can take tonight is.... "She looked at Melina, whose dark eyes twinkled.
    "Parker," she mouthed, and held up four fingers.
    Sophie sighed audibly. "The last caller is Parker. Parker, don't you have enough to do?"
    "Nothing as fun as this," he teased. He wasn't on a cell phone anymore and that shower of sparks she'd come to expect was brighter this time.
    "I suppose you're calling to rave about golf."
    "Not this time. I'm calling," his voice lowered a register and Sophie shivered. "To see if this is dial-a-date."
    Sophie's tongue got caught in something. She saw Melina frantically signaling "dead air" and tried to think of a good comeback. She had to say no teasingly and sweetly, but God help her, she wanted to say yes.
    30
    Sophie's Playboy
    by Natalie Damschroder
    "Are you a playboy, Parker?" She grimaced as soon as the words were out of her mouth.
    "Define playboy."
    Sophie thought of Biff, the purest form of the beast. "Rich, no real job, hangs around the club all day talking about investments and making dates."
    "Well—"
    She cut him off. "Dates a new woman every week, making it clear that he's only having fun, not looking for commitment.
    Seeks that fun wherever it can be found, whether on the water, in the mountains, or on a golf course."
    "I guess you have something against playboys?" He was a little less teasing now.
    Sophie remembered this was the Rave. She glanced at the clock and wrapped it up. "Of course I don't have anything against playboys, Parker. You serve a valuable function in the country's socioeconomic dynamic. And that ends the debut edition of Rant and Rave! If you enjoyed the show today, don't hesitate to let us know!" She read the station's phone number, e-mail and snail mail addresses, and signed off. "Call tomorrow! For Rant and Rave and WNRK radio, I'm Sophie Macgregor. Have a dynamite night!"
    Her music started with perfect timing. Sophie sat and listened until the commercial started. It