Chapter 17
Mermaid Mini Golf – an excuse to drink beer and whiskey
Chloe
S ophia sticks her head in my office. “Let’s go.”
“Go where? Drunk poker isn’t tonight.”
She rolls her eyes. “Duh. It’s Mermaid Mini Golf night.”
I nearly groan. Mermaid Mini Golf is a monthly tradition I started. Since my friends and I were all beyond busy trying to get Five Fathoms Brewing up and running, we didn’t spend much leisure time together. I missed my friends and insisted on this new tradition.
And now I’m regretting it. Tonight is one of the few evenings I have off. I want to spend it with Lucas and Natalia. But I’m not about to confess to my best friend about how I want to spend the night with my fake family.
Although, Lucas and Natalia don’t feel fake to me. They feel very, very real. They feel like a promise of something great. Something I don’t deserve but wish I could have.
“I can’t go. I promised Lucas I’d help Natalia tonight.”
Sophia snorts. “It’s cute you think you can lie to me.”
“I’m not lying.”
“You always tap your bottom lip when you’re lying.”
She points to me and I realize I am indeed tapping my lip. “Sometimes I wish you never moved home.”
“Liar. You love me and you know it. Now, switch off your computer and put on your golf shoes, it’s time for Mermaid Mini Golf.”
“You don’t wear golf shoes for mini golf.”
“Good.” She nods. “You’re ready then.”
I hold up a hand. “I need to phone Lucas and tell him I won’t be home for dinner.”
“Hey,” Lucas answers the phone. “Are you almost finished? Dinner is nearly ready.”
I scowl. I want to be home eating dinner with Lucas and Natalia. Not playing mini golf with my friends.
“Actually, I forgot I have this monthly tradition to play mini golf with my friends.”
He chuckles. “I’ll warn the on-duty officer.”
“Hey now. I’m not always getting in trouble.”
“And Natalia won’t throw a fit when I force her to eat cauliflower tonight.”
“Ugh. Gross. Cauliflower.”
“Have fun. I’ll see you when you get home.”
Home. I love the idea of Lucas and Natalia being my home. Of going home to them every night. Of spending every evening with them watching silly programs on television. Of waking up every morning knowing they’re in the house and I’m not alone.
Although, I would prefer to wake up next to Lucas every morning. I’ve fantasized about his naked chest more than is healthy. I’ve dreamed about exploring his skin with my tongue every night. The man is a star in my dreams.
“What’s the holdup?” Nova asks as she barges into my office with Maya on her heels.
“Judging by the dreamy look on Chloe’s face, she’s thinking about Lucas,” Maya says.
“She was talking to him on the phone,” Sophia whisper-shouts.
I stand. “I thought we were playing mini golf.”
Maya claps. “I love this. Lucas and Chloe are cute together. They make the perfect couple.”
“We’re not a couple,” I remind her and myself. “Our marriage isn’t real.”
“It seemed awful real when you were glued to him while dancing at your wedding reception,” Sophia says.
There’s no explaining to my friends who have love on the brain. I herd them out of my office and down the hallway to the rear exit.
“Where’s Paisley?”
Nova points to Paisley standing in front of Sophia’s car with her putter in her hand. Damn. Mermaid Mini Golf is halfway across the island near Mermaid Mystical Gardens . I’m never going to make it home in time to say goodnight to Natalia if I don’t have my own transportation.
But my car is in my garage back home. There’s no way my friends are going to let me go pick it up. I might as well make the best of the situation.
I force a smile on my face. “You can use your own putter as much as you want, I’m still going to kick your ass.”
“I’ve been studying YouTube videos.” Of course, she has. Paisley hates to lose at anything.
We pile into the car and drive to the mini golf course. It’s deserted at this hour. Which is good since our group tends to be a bit loud. Usually, I’m the loud one but I want this game over as quick as possible.
“I’ll get the whiskey.” Sophia pours shots of whiskey into plastic cups.
Paisley holds up a cooler. “And I’ve got the beer.”
Because you can’t play Mermaid Mini Golf without beer and whiskey. We drink a shot of whiskey before we begin. While we’re playing, the person with the highest score per hole has to drink from her beer. If you have two high scores in a row, you have to drink a shot of whiskey.
Except I don’t want to get drunk. I have no desire to have a hangover while dealing with the morning chaos of Natalia. Plus, I have a slight tendency to run my mouth when I’m drunk. I don’t need to be a genius to figure out my friends want all the details on Lucas.
They can keep wanting. I’m not telling. Good thing I can be sneaky.
I raise my cup of whiskey. “Here’s to the bootleggers. Masters of sneaky sips and secret stashes. Thanks for keeping the party alive.”
I sip my whiskey but don’t drink it all. Especially since Sophia poured me an extra-large amount. If she’s trying to be subtle, she’s failing.
I wave my putter in the air. “I’m first.”
I’m always first since we go in alphabetical order. Which might have been my idea to begin with.
I set my ball down and line up my shot. I draw my putter back and—
“Holy mermaids! Did you see that?” Maya yells.
I ignore her and putt my ball. Excellent. I’m mere inches from the hole. I line up my shot and— Nova stumbles into me.
“Oops. Sorry. Too much whiskey.” She pretends to hiccup.
I wait until she dances away and line my shot up again. This time no one stops me.
“Two. Not bad.” I dig my ball out of the hole and wait for my friends to take their turns.
None of my friends beat me. Not even Paisley, who looks in pain when she scrunches up her face as she stares at the hole before putting.
“I always lose,” Maya complains when she has to drink.
Nova smiles. “But you’re having fun!” My friend can always see the bright side. It would be amazing if it weren’t annoying.
“Until the next morning when you guys message me all the stuff I did the previous night.”
Sophia wraps an arm around Maya’s shoulders. “We’re helping you break out of your shy persona.”
“Being shy isn’t a handicap,” Maya mutters.
“But it does stop you from taking a chance on Caleb.”
Maya’s cheeks darken. “Caleb is a friend. Nothing more.”
“But you want more,” Nova says.
“We’re not discussing me. We’re supposed to be bugging Chloe about Lucas tonight.” Maya’s eyes widen when she realizes what she said and she slaps a hand over her mouth.
“Don’t worry about spilling the beans, Maya. It was kind of obvious what you were up to when you tried to sabotage me on the first hole.”
“I told you this plan was silly,” Paisley says.
Sophia sticks her tongue out at Paisley. “You say all our plans are silly.”
“Because they are.”
“Maybe you’re a fuddy duddy who needs to lighten up.”
Nova waves her hands in the air. “No fighting!”
Paisley’s dead serious when she answers. “We’re not fighting. We’re having a discussion on whether I’m a fuddy duddy or not.”
“This sucks. Chloe is on to us now.”
I wag my finger at Sophia. “I wasn’t going to give you any dirt on Lucas anyway.”
She crosses her arms over her chest and pouts. “I don’t know why not. I told you everything about me and Flynn.”
“Liar!”
“Shush,” Maya hisses. “We’ll get kicked out again.”
“We’re not getting kicked out because I’m not talking.”
“Does this mean we can go?” Paisley asks. “I’m working on a new recipe for a session IPA. It’s nearly ready to taste test.”
Awesome. I can get home in time to say goodnight to Natalia. Maybe read her a chapter of the Enola Holmes mystery she’s reading. Cuddling with Natalia in bed while reading to her is my new favorite thing. It’s better than Five Fathoms Summer IPA, which says a lot.
“Let’s get Paisley back to the brewery.” I herd everyone toward the exit. “We don’t want the session IPA wasted. Clients have been asking if we have one.”
Sophia tugs on my hand. “Who are you and what have you done with our Chloe?”
Cindy, the teenager on duty, bustles toward us before I can answer. Thank goodness because I’m not ready to confess to Sophia about how lonely I am. How I hide my loneliness behind my wild child persona. How Lucas fills holes I didn’t think could ever be filled.
“Are you leaving?” Cindy asks.
We hand her our putters and balls. “Thank the Kraken. We had a lottery to decide who had to work tonight. I lost. I thought I’d have to kick you out again.”
Paisley’s nose wrinkles. “You’ve never kicked us out. We’ve been politely asked to vacate the premises before is all.”
I hurry to Sophia’s car. We’ll be here all night debating about the difference between being kicked out and being asked to vacate the premises if Paisley has anything to do about it.
But I don’t have the time. I can’t wait to see Natalia and Lucas again. I have a feeling I’ll never spend enough time with those two.