Page 40 of The Hearts We've Broken
“We’ll do eighteen holes,” I said. “There’s two of us.”
“That’ll be forty dollars.”
Juniper raised her brows and her eyes flicked to me at the employee’s tone, but I just pulled out my wallet and handed him my card.
“Grab a putter and a ball over there. There’s three different courses you can choose from. You’ll do two of them for eighteen holes. Have fun.”
I had to suppress a laugh, because how could any normal person expect to have fun when the personworking sounded like Roz fromMonsters Inc.? I, however, was just happy to have time alone with Juniper without cameras, or fans, or even my friends around to make fun of me.
We headed over to the gumball machines holding the golf balls.
“What’s your favorite color, Peach?” I asked.
“Blue,” she replied.
“What? Not peach?” I teased, moving over to the machine with the blue balls and trading the quarter to dispense one. It fell into the chute with a clunk, and I lifted the flap, grabbed it, and handed it to Juniper before grabbing my own red golf ball. We both grabbed a putter then walked past the bar to the hallway to get to the courses.
Immediately, it was clear that this wasn’t your typical mini golf course. Each hole wasn’t very long, and they were all themed in some way with an untraditional spin. The first one was set up to look like a graveyard, and another hole was an arcade-looking game. Each hole had a placard with instructions next to it.
A fit of laughter from Juniper erupted from beside me. “This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I told you we’d have fun.” I winked as I stepped up to the first hole, dropping my golf ball behind the line. I—admittedly—hit the ball a bit too hard, completely missing the hole and causing Juniper to snort next to me. “What? Don’t laugh at me until you hit.”
She shrugged, stepping up to the line and hitting her ball with the perfect amount of force and power, sending it ricocheting off the corner and stopping right before the hole. Juniper raised her brows at me as if to say,What was that you were saying?
I rolled my eyes playfully and took my second shot, getting it much closer this time. Juniper hit the ball in on her next turn, and I made it on my third stroke.
“I was just warming up,” I teased.
“Sure, Casanova. Whatever makes you feel better about yourself.” She laughed, gently elbowing me in the ribs.
The next hole took us into one of those money chambers, where the air blew cash in the air and you had to grab as much as possible. The air blew Juniper’s ball through the hole—a stroke of good luck—while mine didn’t make it out of the booth.
“Damn, we’re gonna have to go play a game I know I can win. Maybe a mechanical bull.” I sighed as she beat me once again.
“I hardly think that’s fair.”
“What? Afraid to lose?”
She shot me a mischievous look. “What, like how you’re losing now? I don’t think you can taunt me with losing when I’m the one winning and you’re complaining about it.”
I waved her off. “Pfft, it’s only the second hole. We’ve got sixteen to go, I can make a comeback.”
Making a comeback was wishful thinking. By the tenth hole, Juniper was leading by at least six strokes. It was possible that I was throwing some of them because I liked the way she shot me a smug grin every time she beat me, but I’d never reveal my secret.
“This was much more fun than I expected,” Juniper admitted at the fourteenth hole. “I’ve never played mini golf this way, but it’s a cool twist on the game.”
“I’m glad you’re having fun.” The statement was sincere. It was nice to see her playful side, even if she waskicking my ass. “I didn’t expect you to beat me so easily, though.”
She rolled her eyes, lips quirking up in a grin. “I’m competitive.”
“Did you play any sports?”
Juniper shook her head as she took her next shot, the ball rolling around the corner of the art gallery themed hole. “No, but I still don’t like losing. Hate it even.”
I chuckled. “Fair enough. I like that, though. Maybe not the hating losing part, but the determination. I think it’s a good quality to have.”
“What, you like losing?”
