Tucked (REWRITING/EDITING-)

4

Emma.

We walk outside to where I assume his car is, and he unlocks a yellow punch buggy. I love punch buggies! They're so cute, and yellow ones are the best.

"I love your car!" I exclaim.

Eli opens my door for me, then runs around to his side and gets in.

"Thanks, it was my older sisters. I inherited it when I was 17." he says as he buckles his seatbelt.

"Did she get a new one, because who would get rid of this car?" I say teasingly, but Eli's expression goes cold. His falter only lasts a few seconds though, and he turns on the radio.

"It's a long story that I will tell another time." he replies, and I sense that the topic is closed.

We drive through San Francisco, and I admire the beautiful buildings again. On the radio, an Adele song is playing, and I hum along, but by halfway through the tune, we're both singing as loud as we can. I look over at him in the heat of it and we lock eyes. He winks at me and my voice falters for a second, but I quickly recover. God, he's hot. After a few more songs, we arrive at our destination. It's a steam punk style building, called the Urban Putt. I look at Eli quizzically.

"It's a restaurant upstairs, but a mini golf course downstairs. I came here a few times as a kid." he explains.

"I love it! That sounds really cool."

He offers his arm again, and we enter the building. The hostess takes us upstairs and seats us. After she leaves, I take a look at the menu. Some of the things are pretty fancy, but I see grilled cheese with tomato soup. Perfect. Eli peeks at me over his menu. 

"What are you having?" he asks.

I tell him, and his face lights up.

"I get that every time I come here! It will change your life." he says with a grin.

As we chat about our lives I find out more about him. He's from Santa Cruz, California, and he is also going to the University of San Francisco. He's the same age as me, 18, and he has a golden Labrador named Lacey. I tell him that I'm from Sacramento, California, and that I have a cocker spaniel named Jackie. I want to ask him about his sister, but I don't want to seem like a snoop. Our food arrives, and as soon as I take a bite, my mouth is in heaven. The grilled cheese is sooooo cheesy, and its on sourdough bread. I moan in pleasure. Eli laughs.

"I know, right?"

We eat, and talk, and the more I learn about him, the more it seems that Eli is the perfect guy. And oh my god, whenever I look into his eyes, I practically melt. When we finish eating, we head downstairs.

"Let the fun begin. I'm just warning you, I have experience with these courses." He says as he raises his eyebrows at me.

"Is that a challenge?" I ask, taking a step towards him.

He leans in towards me, we're inches apart now, and licks his bottom lip. Our eyes are staring each other down, and the tension between us in smoldering. Can he feel this too? Just when I think he might !kiss! me, he replies. 

"Bring it."

As we golf, him with a pink ball, and me with a blue, the competition is on. On the first course, he offers to help me with my stroke, ( to make it a fair fight) and wraps his arms around me. He adjusts where my hands are, and shows me how to swing and aim right. I leave out the bit of information that I already know all this, because he is intoxicating. He smells like mint, but not a strong mint. Like, a floral mint, but it's still masculine. I feel his warm breath on my neck as he gives me tips, and I feel dizzy.

My moment of heaven ends as he steps away, since he probably held Mr linger than necessary to teach me how to swing, but I can't stop smiling for the rest of the course. The courses are really awesome, including one reenacting the San Francisco earthquake, a virtual one, an underwater themed one, and a chain reaction one. There are eleven stops, and each one I find something I love about Eli already. He's kind, fun, smells good, and sexy all at the same time, and I feel so overwhelmed with Him. Our competition is fierce, and we are neck and neck until the very last course. We look at each other daringly, and I raise my eyebrow at him. He raises his back, and gestures to the course.

"Ladies first." He says flirtatiously.

He's trying to make me nervous that little--- Oh well, that won't work on me. I bite my lip, and examine the course. I need to aim to put the ball into a tunnel, which leads to a very large swirly pipe all around. I concentrate, hard, and I make it on the first try.

"Yes! Beat that!" I cry.

Eli gapes at me.

"The best I've done with that was 5 tries! Alright, you win."

I smile triumphantly.

"Girls rule, boys drool!"

As we walk back to the car, Eli grabs my hand. It's warm, and comforting, and my heart swells. He is so... Perfect. When we get home, we stop at my door.

"I had an amazing time. You definitely come up with great dates." I smile shyly.

"Me too. I'll call you soon. Probably tomorrow. Maybe even later tonight. Maybe in 5 minutes." He says so adorably it hurts.

"Fine by me. Hey, I have a confession to make. I already knew how to mini golf, but who would I be to turn down a cute guys arms around me." I confess, my cheeks burning.

He looks surprised for a second, but then he turns pink too.

"I just wanted an excuse to put my arms around you. That's why I chose mini golf." He replies.

"Well, you don't really need an excuse too do that." I say quietly.

Oh god, was that too much? He's silent for a few seconds, then says

"Good."

I'm about to ask why but he takes me in his arms and kisses me. He's kissing me. Eli is !kissing! me. We fit together perfectly. This is better than the grilled cheese. We come up for air, and our noses touch, and it feels like my heart is going to burst.

"I've been wanting to do that all night." He says breathlessly.

"Me too."

This time, I make the move. My lips meet his again, and he pulls me close. In this moment, I know that I am falling, and I am falling fast, and hard.