siempre

mini golf

Emilia barely slept that night and upon waking up, she realized she had a huge grin on her face. On the outside, she was super excited, but on the inside she was freaking out. She hadn't been on a date since her sophomore year in college. Instead of staying in her own head, Emilia gets dressed for the day and heads to work. 

Her boss has a lot of files that need to be processed, so it keeps Emilia's attention and she disregards her date. However, as usual, Esther texts her to remind at the most inopportune time.

Are you excited?? I'm excited!!

Emilia smiles to herself before responding.

Yeah, I think you're more excited than I am

What you gonna wear??

Not sure yet. Prob some jeans and a t-shirt

That's it?

It's only the first date, not really trying to dress up. Plus it's only mini golf

Finee but next date you're wearing something cute!

Who says I can't make casual cute??

Emilia thinks about her closet. She has nice clothes for work, but upon further evaluation, she realizes she doesn't have any cute outfits. Only jeans, sweatpants, t-shirts, and the occasional nice top. Looks like she needs to go shopping. 

After finishing work, Emilia races home to get ready. She continues to think about Esther's messages and second-guesses her outfit. Once putting it on, she finds that it looks nice. Very casual, very cute. Her phone chimes. 

Getting ready to leave. See ya soon

Her heart skips a beat and she looks at herself in the mirror one last time before leaving. 

"This is it," she whispers to herself. 

Emilia grabs her purse and a light jacket, then heads to the mini-golf course. She immediately sees Javier when pulling into the parking lot. He was standing near the line waiting for her. Emilia parks her car and takes a deep breath before stepping out. She tries her best not to look awkward while walking up to meet him. How does one not look awkward?? She keeps her head down, lifting it once she gets closer to him. 

"Hey," Javier smiles.

"Hey," Emilia replies shyly. 

"I hope you're not some secret pro-golfer, otherwise I'm in trouble."

Emilia lets out a soft laugh. 

"Oh, no. Not at all. I seriously suck at mini-golf."

"Good. I mean-- we'll be on the same level then." 

They both walk up to the line and pay for their putters and golf balls. 

"You ready?" Javier grabs their putters and hands one to Emilia.

She takes it from him. "As I'll ever be."

The first hole is mainly a warm up and they successfully put it in three strokes. 

"You're not too bad, after all," he admits to her.

"Honestly, I'm surprised at myself. But we've got 17 more holes and you'll see just how bad I am."

They put two more holes, making conversation in between.

"Is Moy enjoying his trip?"

"Not sure. He hasn't been able to text or call," Emilia's voice is soft, as it reminds her of the anxiety she has surrounding his absence. Javier notices and encourages her.