Although decidedly upscale for mini golf, the place reminded Thad of the old-school arcades he and Gavin had gone to as kids. Everything here was much less shabby and sticky, but the overhead lights were dim while everything else was lit up with glowing, neon colors.
Apparently, the nineties were back. Thad wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that.
Unsurprisingly, Graham did better than him at the first hole.
“Unfair,” Thad grumbled when Graham got the better score. “You actually play golf.”
“They are two totally different games!” Graham protested with a laugh. “C’mon, dude. Don’t even start with the pathetic excuses.”
Thad did a little better on the second hole, but Graham scoffed at him. “Dude, you can do better thanthat.”
Thad grinned, knowing Graham was intentionally trying to goad him into competition. It was working too.
“Yeah?” he asked in a low tone, right in Graham’s ear. “Want to make a bet?”
Graham raised an eyebrow, his teeth sinking into his lower lip. “What kind of bet?”
“Hmm.” Thad pretended to think hard about it before he leaned in again. “How about the winner gives the loser a blowjob?”
Thad felt as much as saw the shiver that went through Graham’s body. “You’re on.”
Graham won the next hole. And the next.
Not by much, but enough to put him in the lead at the end of the first round.
“Want to grab a bite to eat before we move on to the second course?” Thad asked.
“Or we could go back to my place now.”
Thad grinned. Itwastempting. Graham’s ass looked amazing in the custom-tailored jeans he wore, and his white polo wasn’t exactly detracting from the look either.
“You paid for three rounds,” Thad pointed out. It had been expensive too. Honestly, the place seemed overpriced to Thad, but when Graham shrugged, Thad realized it probably didn’t even register to Graham.
Oh, to have a multi-million-dollar contract… Thad thought wistfully.
But a moment later, Graham’s stomach rumbled, and Thad gave him a pointed look. “C’mon. Let’s grab a bite to eat.”
“Yeah, okay.” Graham let out a little grumble but followed him toward the restaurant.
The place had a lot of shareable options, so after they were seated and perused the menu, they ordered a handful of small plates. They quickly agreed on shrimp, lamb, and chicken skewers, while Graham chose seasoned edamame and Thad went for the Korean BBQ bao buns.
They ended up sharing those too.
Conversation flowed as they ate, and it suddenly hit Thad that, in the end, dating Graham didn’t feel wildly different from being his friend. They hadn’t lost their usual banter or the way they’d always teased each other, it had merely been layered with the ability to touch in different ways.
To be softer, at times.
Truthfully, it wasnottouching that was the hard part now. Though, as always, their legs ended up tangled together under the table.
By the time the meal was over, Thad was quite full, and Graham had been convinced to keep playing.
Apparently, either the food had helped, or Thad was starting to feel his game because he managed to beat Graham by a hair on the second course.
“Damn it,” Graham said, laughing. “I guess I shouldn’t have had another cocktail. Best of three to determine the winner?”
“Sure, blame the cocktail,” Thad joked, though he suspected Graham wasn’t feeling the alcohol at all. “Yeah, best of three sounds great.”
Unfortunately, the place was getting a little busier as afternoon became evening and they had longer to wait between holes.
