Page 42 of Going All In

“I mean, I could say I’m sick. Yeah, we should skip this.”

“Nope. We can do this. It’ll be fun and easy. A little drinking, some PDA, I kick your ass at mini-golf, and then bring you home,” he said with a shrug, like it was no big deal.

“Hold up there, cocky. How do you know that you’ll beat me?”

“You play mini-golf a lot?” He enjoyed watching her hackles rise.

“I’m going to wipe the floor with you tonight, mister,” she said, pushing him back out her front door and pulling it shut behind him. She jabbed him in the chest. “I’m an excellent mini-golfer.”

“Let’s make a bet. If you win, I get to kiss you, and if I win, you get to kiss me,” he said, smirking.

She scoffed. “How is that a prize? If I win, you have to do something I like. Go to a science or academic lecture or watch tennis with me.”

“Whoa, whoa. Let’s not get hasty,” he said.

“Nervous I’m going to win?”

He enjoyed her feistiness a little too much.

“Fine. And if I win, you have to kiss me like you mean it,” he said.

“Fine,” she said, heading toward the front door of the building.

She’d agreed quicker than he’d expected, and he’d take it.

Thirty minutes later, he ushered her into Urban Putt. It was an old bank that had been converted into an indoor mini-golf park with a fully stocked bar and standard bar food with a twist. He’d been once or twice, but always with a random hookup that was more interested in getting into his pants than swinging a putter. There was no fun in the game if the person you were playing with didn’t care about competing with you.

He looked forward to beating Darcy and claiming his kiss. He’d always instigated their kisses, and he wanted her to take charge for once.

He kept his hand at the small of her back, just under her short jacket as they navigated through the crowd. He lifted a hand in greeting when he spotted his friends at a high-top table in the corner.

“Hey, Darcy. Jake,” Penny said with a bright smile. “Sara was called in to work, so she and Sully couldn’t make it tonight.”

They all greeted each other, and Jake quickly ordered drinks—a pale ale for him and a porter for Darcy—as soon as the waitress arrived.

“I love this one,” Darcy said before taking a sip of her beer.

Favorite drinks had been a topic of one of their texts while he’d been away.

“He knows her favorite drink. He’s grinning when she smiles. Did you manage to tame the wild one?” Amanda asked Darcy.

Darcy laughed. “Not sure that’s possible.”

“Maybe a little,” Jake said at the same time.

“I knew he’d fall eventually,” Penny said. “Oh, the stories I could tell.”

“Hey, has Harty been blabbing?” Jake asked.

Penny grinned. “Maybe.”

“Ignore her,” he said to Darcy, playing it up.

“Sorry, this is still weirding me out. How about we start a game,” Harty said, stepping away from the table.

Penny laughed, and then looked at Jake. “It’s like you’re dating Ally or something.”

“That’s exactly what it’s like. And I’ve known Jake a long time,” Harty said.

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