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.
"I'm sure he's fine. Makes sense not to have any service if it's a true camping trip."
"Yeah," she forces a smile. "But what about you? You have any siblings?"
"Two brothers. One younger, one older."
"Oof. My condolences. I hear it's tough being a middle child."
"Yeahh, not the best," he laughs, shrugging. "But I'm making it."
The next hole involves hitting over water and Emilia hits her ball straight into the small pond.
"Ver? I suck," she admits, laughing at herself.
"Only if I make it over, then you would suck."
Javier puts his ball and it makes it over the pond.
"Entonces, I guess you do suck," he quips at her before flashing a grin. Emilia scoffs with a wide smile on her face and hits his arm lightly. "I'm just kidding. I'll grab your ball."
Javier retrieves it and Emilia tries again, miraculously making a hole-in-one.
"What?! How is that even possible??" Javier is stunned.
"I guess you suck now," she sticks her tongue out at him and he smiles.
They finish up their putting course and return the rentals. Javier walks Emilia to her car.
"It's only 8:30, wanna grab some ice cream or something?" Javier asks.
"Sure, that sounds good right about now."
"My treat, since you beat me."
"I definitely didn't."
"No, but that hole-in-one was impressive."
Emilia smiles brightly. "It was. Okay, deal."
"What's your favorite ice cream spot?"
"Hm," Emilia ponders. "Jerry's."
"No way! That's my go-to. Every time."
"Well, I'll see you at Jerry's."
"See ya there."
Emilia gets into her car and meets Javier at the ice cream shop. They are the only two there.
"So, what's your flavor?" he inquires.
"In the summer, s'mores, but I'm feelin' froggy today."
"Verdad? Qué quieres, nena?"
"Rocky road," she smiles.
"Ooh, good choice."
"What are you getting?"
"I'm feelin' froggy, too. I'm gonna get espresso chip this time."
"Yo, that sounds so good. Wait a minute," Emilia takes a closer look at the flavors. She begins deliberating over the choices.
"You can get both, ya know," Javier says to her, almost as if it were a secret. Emilia blushes from the proximity of his torso to her shoulder.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, why pick? Just get 'em both," Javier gives her a reassuring smile and butterflies float around in Emilia's stomach.
"Okay, I'll get a scoop of both," she responds with a soft smile.
"Okay. Cone or no?"
"No, thanks."
"Cool, be right back."
Javier orders their dessert and they sit at one of the tables. While they eat, Emilia tries to avoid his eyes, but Javier notices.
"How is it?"
Emilia is in the middle of taking a bite and makes eye contact, she blushes and immediately laughs.
"It's good. I'm sorry, you caught me at a bad moment."
"Don't be sorry, it was cute," he smiles at her endearingly.
Her cheeks are burning now, at a loss for words. He takes a bite of his ice cream and she does the same.
"When does Moy come back?"
"This Sunday evening."
Javier nods his head, taking another bite. Emilia didn't know what else to say, but she could tell he was thinking about something.
"Would you.." he pauses momentarily, looking at the table. She anticipates the rest of his sentence. "Would you want to go out again?" He lifts his head and finds her eyes. Emilia is stuck for a moment inside the gentleness of his eyes, but responds shortly afterward.
"Sure. Yeah, I'd like that," she nods and he grins, finishing the last bite of his espresso chip. Emilia finishes hers and they walk out to their cars.
"Let me know when you make it home," he says to her before she gets into her car.
"Will do. Thanks for the ice cream. And for letting me beat you at mini golf," her lips curl into a smile.
"Yeah, that won't be happening again. The beating me at mini golf, that is."
"We'll see about that."
"Are you asking for a rematch?"
"I don't know," she opens her car door. "Am I?" She smiles smugly and he returns it. "I'll see you later."
"See you later."
Emilia gets into her car and drives home, feeling lighter than air. True to her word, she texts Javier when she reaches her apartment.
Made it
Me too. I had fun tonight. Looking forward to another one
Same here. Bring your A game next time
Don't you worry nena
The flutters occur again upon seeing the term of endearment. She knows its just a friendly nickname, but she can't help but feel it is more than that.
The rest of the week goes by and Moy returns from his camping trip. He thanks his sister what feels like a million times for allowing him to go. As part of his 'thank you,' he bought a wolf tooth as a souvenir for her. Emilia was elated and felt a weight lifted off of her since he came back safely. He begs her to go on a camping trip with him and she responds that she will think about it.
That night, after Moy settles himself back in, Emilia gets ready for bed. Her phone buzzes on the nightstand.
You free tmr night?
Maybe Moy just got home and I don't wanna leave him so soon
Okay no worries. Glad he made it back safe
Emilia bites her lip. Maybe she is worrying too much. But she has to make sure Moy's okay. Right? Or is that just her excuse?
Actually, I am free. I can ask Esther to watch him if she's able to
You sure?
Yeah I'll see you tmr
See you tmr nena
was super excited writing this chapter. hope you enjoyed it! more to come soon
translations:
ver? - see?
entonces- so/then
verdad?- truth/really?
qué quieres? - what do you want?
nena- term of endearment that means "sweetheart" or "girl"