CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
About an hour later, they ended up at a place located near the waterfront in South Boston.
Thad hadn’t been aware “upscale” mini golf existed, but apparently it did. The balls even had chips in them and registered shots, so there was no need to manually mark down scores.
Which was just as well, because it was a different system than Thad had ever seen, with a hole-in-one equaling fifty points, two putts equaling forty, and three equaling thirty-five.
Plus, random bonuses.
“Hey, you know, this is a pretty good idea. This would have kept Gavin and I from fighting about cheating, that’s for sure,” he said, bouncing a ball in his hand as they waited for drinks at the bar.
“Drinking?” Graham asked.
Thad laughed. “No. Not at that age. Gavin was pretty rebellious but not quite that precocious.”
“Gavin?” Graham sounded confused. “I thought you were the one who was always in trouble.”
“Uhh, yeah,” Thad said, suddenly uneasy. He’d forgotten Graham didn’t know the whole story. It didn’t feel right to lie to him, but it didn’t feel right to tell Gavin’s story to one of the guys on his team without his permission either.
But he couldn’t ask Gavin’s permission without explaining why and … yeah, this was fucking complicated enough already.
“Well, we both got up to some shit then,” Thad said vaguely, then added, “I meant the ball though. Built in anti-cheating technology.”
A look Thad couldn’t quite interpret crossed Graham’s face, but he nodded. “Makes sense.”
Thankfully, they reached the front of the line at the bar a moment later, and Thad let out a sigh of relief, hoping the subject wouldn’t come up again. Fuck, he hated this.
“What do you want?” Thad asked. Graham had already paid for their golf game. “My treat.”
Graham ordered a spiced pineapple margarita, and Thad ordered a passion fruit lemonade.
“Not in the mood to drink alcohol?” Graham asked with a lift of his eyebrows as they waited for the drinks to be mixed.
“It is the middle of a weekday,” Thad pointed out.
“Yeah, fair,” Graham said, wincing. “I really shouldn’t be day drinking either. Especially since I was the one who drove us here.”
Thad shrugged. “You good with me driving your car home?”
“Sure.” Graham dug in his pocket and handed over the keys.
After they got their drinks, they wandered over to the course.
Thad glanced around as they waited their turn. Thankfully, it wasn’t too busy at this hour of the day, and they shouldn’t have to wait long.
Although decidedly upscale for mini golf, the place reminded Thad of the old-school arcades he and Gavin had gone to as kids. Everything here was much less shabby and sticky, but the overhead lights were dim while everything else was lit up with glowing, neon colors.
Apparently, the nineties were back. Thad wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that.
Unsurprisingly, Graham did better than him at the first hole.
“Unfair,” Thad grumbled when Graham got the better score. “You actually play golf.”
“They are two totally different games!” Graham protested with a laugh. “C’mon, dude. Don’t even start with the pathetic excuses.”
Thad did a little better on the second hole, but Graham scoffed at him. “Dude, you can do better than that.”
Thad grinned, knowing Graham was intentionally trying to goad him into competition. It was working too.
“Yeah?” he asked in a low tone, right in Graham’s ear. “Want to make a bet?”
Graham raised an eyebrow, his teeth sinking into his lower lip. “What kind of bet?”
“Hmm.” Thad pretended to think hard about it before he leaned in again. “How about the winner gives the loser a blowjob?”
Thad felt as much as saw the shiver that went through Graham’s body. “You’re on.”
Graham won the next hole. And the next.
Not by much, but enough to put him in the lead at the end of the first round.
“Want to grab a bite to eat before we move on to the second course?” Thad asked.
“Or we could go back to my place now.”
Thad grinned. It was tempting. Graham’s ass looked amazing in the custom-tailored jeans he wore, and his white polo wasn’t exactly detracting from the look either.
“You paid for three rounds,” Thad pointed out. It had been expensive too. Honestly, the place seemed overpriced to Thad, but when Graham shrugged, Thad realized it probably didn’t even register to Graham.
Oh, to have a multi-million-dollar contract … Thad thought wistfully.
But a moment later, Graham’s stomach rumbled, and Thad gave him a pointed look. “C’mon. Let’s grab a bite to eat.”
“Yeah, okay.” Graham let out a little grumble but followed him toward the restaurant.
The place had a lot of shareable options, so after they were seated and perused the menu, they ordered a handful of small plates. They quickly agreed on shrimp, lamb, and chicken skewers, while Graham chose seasoned edamame and Thad went for the Korean BBQ bao buns.
They ended up sharing those too.
Conversation flowed as they ate, and it suddenly hit Thad that, in the end, dating Graham didn’t feel wildly different from being his friend. They hadn’t lost their usual banter or the way they’d always teased each other, it had merely been layered with the ability to touch in different ways.
To be softer, at times.
Truthfully, it was not touching that was the hard part now. Though, as always, their legs ended up tangled together under the table.
By the time the meal was over, Thad was quite full, and Graham had been convinced to keep playing.
Apparently, either the food had helped, or Thad was starting to feel his game because he managed to beat Graham by a hair on the second course.
“Damn it,” Graham said, laughing. “I guess I shouldn’t have had another cocktail. Best of three to determine the winner?”
“Sure, blame the cocktail,” Thad joked, though he suspected Graham wasn’t feeling the alcohol at all. “Yeah, best of three sounds great.”
Unfortunately, the place was getting a little busier as afternoon became evening and they had longer to wait between holes.
Thad made a bad joke about that at one point and Graham nudged him in the ribs with his elbow. “Ugh, you’re terrible.” 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. “You are a 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 colors corresponding 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 throw anything!” Graham said with a laugh. “You cheat. You totally cheat!”
“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, he couldn’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. Especially because Graham wasn’t out.
“Victory is mine,” Thad said instead, holding his hand out for a high five.
Graham rolled his eyes and high-fived him.
Thad used the opportunity to pull him in against his chest into what probably looked to anyone around them like a one-armed, back-slapping bro-hug. “You won’t regret it,” he promised before he pulled away.
Graham’s gaze was heated and full of anticipation as Thad let go. “You ready to get out of here, now?” he asked huskily.
Thad nodded. “Oh yeah. I’m ready.”
After they turned in their putters, they headed for the exit, still trash talking and subtly flirting.