Page 129 of To Love or to Lose
Since then, I never considered trying to force someone to open their heart to me again.
This though, sitting in the back of a car with Jameson on our way to some secret date location, almost makes me think I could be okay with this.
I would be content—happy, even—doing this with Jameson for the foreseeable future.
“Mini golf?” I ask as we get out of the car. “Jameson, you have no idea the competitive monster you’re about to unleash.”
Jameson’s trailing closely behind while he keeps hold of my wrist. “I think I may have the slightest idea.”
I look back at him as we continue up the path. “Okay, who told you about the BINGO incident?”
A laugh bursts from his throat. “What?”
“No one ever told you about that?” I ask. “I thought I was being set up!”
He looks at me with an amused expression. “Genevieve, I’ve been competing against you all year. I think I have a good idea of how this is going to go.”
“There’s one slight difference,” I tell him as we both grab a putter and a golf ball. “There won’t be a tie this time.”
“There could be.”
We make eye contact as I set my ball on the start of the first hole. “There won’t be.”
My putter connects with the ball, and it immediately hits the wall, then ricochets right back toward me.
“I think you might be right.” Jameson smirks. “There will definitely not be a tie.”
“Ha ha,” I say in a deadpan tone.
As it turns out, Jameson is amazing at mini golf, and I am awful.
“Genova, wait.” He stops me before I can take my shot at the last hole and steps behind me, leveling out my hands on the putter, and setting his chin on my shoulder. “Now, a nice and easy swing will send the ball straight down the line.”
And it does, because as soon as mine and Jameson’s hands swing the putter—perfectly in sync—the ball rolls down the faux grass and dips into the hole.
My hands shoot up in shock, the putter almost hitting Jameson when I do. “Hole in one!” I shout through my excitement.
Jameson lets out a whoop of excitement, and before I can register what’s happening, his hands are around my waist and he’s lifting me in the air.
This type of overjoyed feeling seems scarce in life, and yet, with Jameson’s help I got a hole in one in mini-golf, and don’t think I could ever feel happier.
Usually, I would have avoided his help at all costs, but this feels much too romantic and much too surreal for me to do anything but let it happen.
“Well, now we have to celebrate,” I laugh as he sets me back down.
“I’m thinking…” He trails off, pulling my face between his hands.
Standing in the middle of the mini golf course, Jameson kisses me. While it’s not the first time he’s done it, it feels like the start of something more, like we’re both making sense of the fact.
This is real, and it's staring us straight in the face.
“I really love mini golf.” Maybe it’s not what I truly intended to say, but I think it gets my point across.
Jameson’s smile grows as he pulls away from me. “Let’s go,” he says, grabbing my hand.
“Where?”
“It’s a surprise.”
