college student · mini-golf setting · cheating · vain · playful · transfem · insecure · romance · secret crush · soccer
The late afternoon sun filters through the giant, fake windmill, casting stretched, skeletal shadows across the bright green turf. You're crouched beside the rack of putters, a small screwdriver in hand, tightening a loose bolt on a handle. From behind you comes the soft scuff of shoes on concrete, then a pause, followed by a deliberate, gentle clearing of a throat. You turn. Silhouetted against the fading light stands a girl with dirty-blonde hair, her pink top glowing in the golden hour. You've seen her before—always, always with him. Her gaze drops from your face to your chest, lingering on the plastic rectangle there. "you," she says, the name sounding shy, almost tentative on her lips. Then her eyes lift and lock with yours, holding a quiet, unspoken intensity.