Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Okay, so Taylor wasn’t ignoring Sam per se , but she’d hardly spoken to her since she ended the call a little abruptly on Saturday. Fine, maybe it was a “lottle” abruptly . She knew it was extremely childish and immature, and yet here she was. She didn’t want to hear about Sam’s date, and thankfully, she’d avoided the question so far. Though she knew her luck was sure to run out very soon.
She arrived at the mini-golf entrance and started making her way up the stairs. Neon pink and blue lights guided her up to the third floor of the complex where she spied Sam waiting for her at the top.
She looked unfairly good in a fitted camel sweater, black jeans and ankle boots. Her hair was swept to the side as she leaned back on the railing, staring into the dim room ahead. Taylor took a moment to appreciate the view, her insides at war with a mix of having confirmed Sam was now most likely dating Larry’s grandson and still reminding herself that she didn’t want to get involved with anyone anyway. Even if she maybe, totally did in this moment. Especially with Sam standing there looking like that .
“Hey!” Sam called, spotting her coming up the stairs and turning around.
“Hi yourself.” Taylor smiled, taking the last couple of steps. Sam opened her arms for a hug, and Taylor didn’t hesitate, moving straight into her space. Why did her hugs have to feel so good? Why was she even torturing herself like this? She should’ve just bailed on tonight, gone back to client status only with Sam.
“Glad you could make it. I really didn’t want to third wheel,” Sam cringed, gesturing over to a guy and girl standing together at the bar. “Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
She pulled Taylor along by the hand, not even giving her a chance to get her bearings. There was a whirl of more neon, the start of the course, then the bar, where they stopped in front of who she assumed were Sam’s friends. Sam dropped her hand to introduce them, much to her disappointment.
The two friends were huddled close, the woman giggling at something he’d said, her curls bouncing as she let out a full-on snort laugh, leaning a hand on his shoulder.
Sam’s lips quirked, her eyebrow raised as she gave Taylor a look that said, “ See what I mean?” She wasn’t wrong; she almost felt like a third wheel, even with Sam standing right next to her.
Sam let out a small cough, her friend finally registering their presence.
“Oh hey!” Her eyes lit up with a huge grin. “You must be Taylor. It’s so awesome to meet you. I’m Alex, and this is Will, he’s my”—she looked at him, sharing a shy smile—“colleague from work,” she finished lamely, tucking an errant curl behind her ear.
Will looked at Alex, bumping her shoulder. “And good friend,” he added. She blushed in response. God, these two just needed to get together already.
“It’s great to meet you both.”
Will was bald with a brown beard and glasses. Nerd aesthetic seemed to be his MO as he stood, hands stuffed into his jeans and a shirt which proudly read GOLF in elemental chart letters. Alex, on the other hand, was all legs in skinny jeans with a white shirt and black jacket, and a face that was super friendly, dusted with freckles. They looked like complete opposites.
Taylor went to ask them about how they met at work when Alex swung around to face Sam, eyes wide. “Oh my god, I completely forgot! How was the date ?” she practically squealed with excitement.
Taylor internally groaned. Couldn’t they have avoided this question a little longer? Taylor’s mood began to head south, and fast. Her hand clenched, waiting for Sam’s response as she tried to keep the smile on her face.
“Good. Not at all what I expected, but Jase is a great guy.”
“Jase? Aww, he even has a cute name.”
Alex was now making puppy dog eyes at Sam. Vomit . The nails dug in a little harder. Keep. Smiling. Sam looked at Taylor then, searching her face.
“So? Is there going to be a second date?” Alex continued on, oblivious. Sam blinked. Once. Twice. Then turned her attention back to Alex.
“Uh, will I see him again? Yes.”
This is what she didn’t want to know.
“But as friends,” Sam finished.
“Oh,” Taylor accidentally said out loud. Sam looked at her again, this time as if she’d found the answer she was looking for. She caught the barest quirk of lips, so fleeting she almost missed it. Now it was Alex’s turn to look at both of them questioningly.
“Yeah, friend zone only,” Sam continued, looking at Taylor and ignoring Alex’s subtle inquiry. “Not my tale to tell, but I enjoyed the chat with him.”
“Ooooo friend zoned!” Will chimed in.
“It was a mutual friend zoning, so no hard feelings on both sides.”
Alex reached out and gave Sam’s hand a quick squeeze. “Plenty more fish in the sea, as they say.”
“And I do like fish,” Sam singsonged.
Was that code for other guys? Or was it code that she actually liked the ladies? Or both? Or maybe she actually just liked fish. Taylor was really starting to overthink this. Maybe she just needed to ask Sam outright and find out for sure. She gave herself a subtle nod, packing the question away for later.
“Now I think the next important question of the night is, golf or drinks first?” Will piped up.
“?Por qué no los dos?” Taylor smirked and held out her arm in Sam’s direction, which she happily snaked through.
“Yes to both!” Sam agreed.
“I like the way you think!” said Alex, shaking a finger at Taylor. Alex looked at Sam then. “She’s a good one. I’m glad you brought her. I think we’re gonna get along juuuust fine.” She threw a quick wink at Taylor as her and Will made their way around the bar to order.
Drinks sorted, clubs and balls acquired, the four of them set up at the first hole. Will gave them a few tips to get going, being the only actual person with any sort of real golfing experience amongst them. He took way too much time showing Alex how to hold the putter. You’d swear he was doing it on purpose. She slid a look to Sam, who sipped at her cocktail, then gestured at the second hole. Taylor nodded imperceptibly.
“Hey you two, we’re just gonna make a start on the second hole and let you catch up.” They barely got a response as they moved away.
Popping their drinks down, they finally set themselves up to start. Glancing back, it looked like Will was now covering Alex’s hips for his next explanation.
“Yeah, okay, so even I didn’t think they’d be that bad,” said Sam, once they were out of ear shot. “This is meant to be their first not- date as co-workers.”
“Could’ve fooled me.” Taylor popped her ball down and smacked it. It ricocheted off a sombrero statue and ended up right back where she started. She looked at Sam, and they both cracked up. “Huh, maybe I should’ve been listening to Will more.”
“Why weren’t you?” She raised an eyebrow. “Distracted?”
Jesus Christmas on a stick. Was Sam flirting with her right now?
“No!” she scoffed, focusing on the ball and whacking it again. This time it at least made it halfway up the course.
“Fine, I won’t teach you how to hit a hole-in-one.” Sam stuck out her tongue.
Taylor just flipped her off and smiled. With one more hit, she got it up the ramp, through a tunnel and luckily straight into the hole. She picked up her ball and brushed past Sam on her way over to write down her shot count on their scorecard.
“Beat that.”