“Yeah, we’ll have to travel some, but it’s not too far. Only a couple of hours.”
I hadn’t given it much thought before, but of course, they travel. I guess because I’m used to seeing them play close by, I hadn’t thought of what it’ll be like when he’s on the road.
Before I can think too much about it, we’re pulling into a parking lot. Penn opens my door and helps me out of his truck.
I smile as I take in the area. “Indoor mini golf?”
He nods. “Have you been here?”
“No. I haven’t done this since I was a kid.”
His hand encases mine as he leads us inside. A young woman stands at the front, wearing a hot pink polo shirt and a matching cap. She’s leaning against the counter, scrolling on her phone.
When she doesn’t acknowledge our presence, Penn clears his throat. “Two tickets, please.”
She lifts her head, popping her bubble gum loudly. She reaches for the card he’s holding, then does a double-take. At first, I think maybe she recognizes him, but the way she’s staring, eyes falling over his entire body, I realize she’s just noticing how attractive he is. Her eyes trail over him and then to me, narrowing a bit before taking his card.
“Clubs over there, balls over there.” She smiles, even batting her lashes a bit as she points to where everything is.
Penn tucks the receipt into his wallet, paying no attentionto the pretty woman checking him out. “Thanks,” he says without sparing her a glance and drags me away.
I laugh quietly, but he catches it.
“What?” He grabs a putter for me—pink, of course—and a black one for himself before picking up a bucket of golf balls.
“She was checking you out.”
He arches a brow. “That right?”
I nod, but he doesn’t even turn around to confirm that she is definitelystillstaring at him.
We weave through the lobby to the first hole. It’s dark where the course is set up, but all the fixtures surrounding us are glowing, casting a variety of bright neon pink, orange, and green lights. The walls are painted black, but there’s a massive mural of space in glowing colors covering every inch of the place.
“Wow,” I say in awe. “This is so cool.” This isn’t what I expected, but in the best way.
Up ahead is another couple and a family, but other than that, it’s only us. “Ladies first.” Penn nudges me forward and drops a ball in front of me.
I line my putter up and tap it. It rolls straight through and plops into the hole smoothly. I give him a wide, proud smile. He shakes his head, a grin pulling at his lips.
I step out of the way and hold the bucket while he takes his turn, sinking the ball as easily as I did, but it was a pretty straightforward shot. The holes get trickier the farther we go. The lights are cool, but they’re playing tricks on my eyes.
Penn keeps effortlessly dropping his ball into the holes. I was fairly confident coming in. Growing up in South Carolina, there was no shortage of mini golf places, and as a teenager, it was something I did a lot. I’m a bit rusty now, apparently.
By hole six, he’s kicking my ass and my competitive side isitching. I’m not used to losing. To be fair, the things I excel in are mostly academic.
I huff, blowing the hair from my eyes as I line up my next shot. I swing my putter, sending the ball sailing over the small bridge. It bounces off the edge and right past the hole. Grunting, I step up and bump it again. It circles the hole, but instead of going in, it stalls. I all but stomp over and tap it again, finally landing it.
I give Penn a tight smile. “Your turn.” I really should be better at this. My family owns golf courses, for crying out loud.
His lip twitches. I think he’s holding back a laugh.
Unsurprisingly, his shot easily goes over the bridge and curves perfectly into the hole in one try. I roll my eyes.
“What’s wrong? Don’t like to lose?” he asks playfully as we continue through the course.
“I’m fine, but aren’t you supposed to let me win? Since this is a date and all?”
“Not my style. If you want something, don’t be shy, just ask.” Meeting my eyes, he says, “I’ll give it to you. You want me to let you win, Barbie?”
