A Storm Is Brewing

The First (Kind Of) Date

Three nervous knocks on the door let me know that Leah had arrived. I pushed my phone into my pocket, collected my keys, and fixed my hair in the mirror before opening the front door. Leah was standing in the doorway, smiling as she looked directly into my eyes.

"Hi, Soph. You look perfect."
"So do you, always."
"You ready?"
"For what?" I smirked.
"Nice try; still not telling you, though."
"Fineeee. I'm ready." I chuckled, feeling her shaky hand wrap around my waist as we headed for the car.

The drive there was filled with talk about our day, the two of us just happy to be in one another's company. It felt strange not reaching over to take her hand; both of us fidgeted about as we tried to avoid the urge.

"Topgolf." Leah chuckled to herself as we arrived.
"I'm so shit at golf, Leah." I placed my head in my hands.
"I know. I'm going to teach you."

I giggled as we got out of the car, Leah waiting for me to join her with that sparkle in her eye that told me she had put a lot of thought into picking this activity, I would later find out why. We headed for our bay, Leah taking time to pick out her club and poking fun at the height difference between us, as she often did. She gave me instructions, knowing I wasn't taking any of them in and instead was admiring her as she eloquently took her first swing.

"Still got it." She playfully stuck her tongue out at me.
"God, you are so cocky!" I chuckled—a proper belly laugh.
"Your turn." She smiled, passing me a club.
"Here goes nothing."

I stepped up to take my first go, failing miserably as I attempted to make all my movements at once. Leah was cheering me on from her seat, but I couldn't actually hit anything half-decent.

"I really am terrible, aren't I?" I beamed at her.
"You just need to practise." She smiled.

Leah took another turn, making another perfect hit and leaning on her club as she pretended to search into the distance. There was something about this, despite how awful I was at it, that left all of our problems at the door of this venue. We weren't the couple who were trying to rebuild our relationship; we were just Sophie and Leah, the two people who had found one another in life against all odds.

"How do you make that look so easy?" I shook my head in disbelief.
"C'mere." Leah smiled.

I picked up my club and walked towards Leah as she motioned with her head for me to take my position. She stood behind me, her body directly against mine, and her breath on my neck caused an outbreak of goosebumps. She placed her hands on top of mine, moving them to the correct position on the club, then placed her hands on my waist to improve my stance. I turned my head to look into her eyes, seeing nothing but adoration in them. This was her reasoning for Topgolf.

"Try it." She smiled, stepping backward to give me a chance.

I swung back, taking my go, and saw my score on the screen. Leah cheered loudly, grinning from ear to ear at me as she giggled lightly at my shocked face.

"I'm a pro." I said, widening my eyes to annoy her.
"Who's cocky now?" She rolled her eyes.

We spent the next hour taking turns whacking shots, some good and some bad. Once our time was up, we gathered our things and headed back to the car. As usual, Leah directed all the heat vents towards me, despite the fact that she was also shivering.

"I had a really good time tonight, Le." I smiled.
"Who said it's over?"
"It isn't?"
"Not yet."

We drove towards the forest again; I could recognise this place from a mile out. Leah pulled in just before we got there, sending a text from her phone and letting me know that it was needed for the next part to work. What's the next part? We walked through the trails again, Leah knowing exactly which way we needed to go, mesmerising me as we ended up in the same place she had told me about her vulnerability.