Thad made a bad joke about that at one point and Graham nudged him in the ribs with his elbow. “Ugh, you’reterrible.” He rolled his eyes.
“You like that about me,” Thad said confidently.
“I do.” There was a smile at the corner of Graham’s mouth that made Thad want to lean in and press his lips there.
They were neck and neck as they went through the final course, neither of them holding a lead for long. And by the time they reached the ninth hole, Graham had 395 out of a possible 450 for the course and Thad had 390.
“You know,” Thad murmured as they waited for their turn. He skimmed his fingers along Graham’s spine under the guise of shifting out of someone else’s way. “I think we should up the wager. If I win, I’ll make it worth your while. I’ll lick your ass before I fuck you tonight, if you’re up for it.”
Graham choked on the remnants of his cocktail.
“Dude,” he said, pounding his fist against his chest and coughing. “Youarea cheat.”
Thad grinned, unrepentant. “It’s just an offer.”
“You’re on. I’m not going to go down easy,” Graham warned him as the people ahead of them finished.
Thad had to bite his tongue to keep from making another joke. From the look on Graham’s face, he knew it too.
The final hole had a steep embankment leading up to a sunken spoked wheel, all lit up with colorful lights, different colorscorresponding to different point values. The center one was sixty, which totally didn’t make sense with the previous point system, but whatever.
Maybe it was supposed to be the tie-breaker, or something.
The layout reminded him of skee ball, a little, and he thought fondly of when he and Gavin had played that game at the arcade.
Maybe he should invite Gavin to come play here sometime. They might get kicked out if they started fighting but at least they’d have fun in the meantime.
Ready for his final shot, Graham lined up, gently doing a test swing as he sized up the target.
Thad liked the determined flex of his jaw.
Not to mention the great side view.
“Just remember,” he called out as Graham pulled back to putt. “Sometimes you win when you lose.”
Graham made a sputtering noise, but the ball did go a little left of the target, landing in the section next to the center ring.
It flashed blue and his score showed up on the screen above. Fifty points.
Thad grinned, strutting over to take his shot. “Trust me, you won’t regret throwing the game,” he promised.
“I didn’t throwanything!” Graham said with a laugh. “You cheat. Youtotallycheat!”
“It’s not my fault you’re easily distractible,” Thad pointed out with a shrug.
He squared up, took a deep breath, and sank it into the center ring. It flashed green.
Sixty-fucking-points.
He crowed, raising his putter above his head. “And I’m the champion, bay-bee!”
“Cheater,” Graham accused but he was laughing, and all Thad wanted to do was kiss him. He wanted to pull Graham into his arms and kiss his grinning mouth. And damn it, hecouldn’t.
Because there was too high of a chance someone would recognize them. A couple of kids had come up to the table while they were eating and asked for Graham’s autograph and a few adults had elbowed the person next to them when they passed, as if to say, ‘Look who it is’.
If anyone saw them kissing, it would be all over the internet.Especiallybecause Graham wasn’t out.
“Victory is mine,” Thad said instead, holding his hand out for a high five.
