We both got out and headed to pay. Kaleb grabbed us golf clubs and a ball each. I examined the eighteen holes. The theme for this time around was carnival. There was a small Ferris wheel on hole ten and a carousel on hole eighteen. The space smelled of corndogs and soft carnival music.
“So, are you good at this? Because I am the king of mini golf.”
Kaleb waved his gold club, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I couldn’t help but smile, deciding to put my problems aside for now and just focus on having fun.
We both were doing well for the first few holes. Kaleb was beating me, and I could tell she was strategizing at each hole we arrived at, but soon I started showing I was pretty decent myself.
“Alright.” I was aiming at the ball; the grass went down the slope slightly, then curved to the right. I swung back just enough and hit the ball. I watched it go smoothly over the grass, going to the right and right into the hole. I smiled.
Kaleb groaned because his ball was sitting just a few inches away from the hole.
“Hole in one,” I said as I turned to him, unable to hide my happiness.
“Damn.”
“I thought you said you were the king of mini golf, Kaleb.”
“Hey, we still have a few more holes.”
“According to the score, you need to make the last three in one. Otherwise, I win.”
Kaleb walked up, putting his ball into the hole. We moved to the next hole, and I went first. I watched the ball land just near the hole. I turned to Kaleb and watched as he set his ball down, lining himself up. I couldn’t help but smirk seeing the way his finger tightened on the gold club, and the way his feet shifted.
“Are you nervous, Kaleb?”
“No,” he said instantly. “I’m focused.”
I snorted. “I should have put money on this.”
He glanced at me. “You still could.”
I leaned onto my gold club. “I feel I would be stealing your money.”
Kaleb smirked as he looked back toward the ball. I watched him pull his club back and hit the ball. The ball went down the grass and hit the side of the barrier. The ball went slower before coming to a stop just a few inches from the hole.
Kaleb turned. “Well, it looks like you win.”
Kaleb and I shared some fries and a couple of corn dogs after we were done. I couldn’t stop teasing him about how smug he was at the beginning. “You could have led on, you were good yourself,” he said, biting into a fry.
“And let you know you were up against someone who could beat you? Where is the joy in that?”
I watched his eyes sparkle as he looked at me. “How did you get so good?”
“Jade, Ilsa, and I come here a lot. Ilsa loves mini golf.”
He laughed. “I should have known that.” His hand brushed against mine, and I felt my heart skip a beat. I wondered why this couldn’t work. Surely, Kaleb and I could figure something out.
We threw the garbage away, and Kaleb held out his hand. I took it, feeling his fingers wrap around mine as he pulled us to head toward the car. His shoulder bumped with him. “So, what do you want?”
I looked at him, confused. “What do you mean?”
“You won, what do you want?”
“We didn’t make a bet.”
“Let’s say we had.”
We arrived at the car, and he opened my door. I glanced around the parking lot. There were a few cars parked a distance away, and I could hear people on the golf course, but no one was really around us.
