A Picture's Worth
Copyright© 2026 by Evie Olivia Niven
Chapter 10: Mini-Golf
Bea knew, from talking to Ethan, that their planned mini-golf trip was still on. The problem was that she hadn’t yet made up with Alanna. “I can’t well be golfing with her if we’re still angry at each other,” she thought, as she made her way up the stairs to Alanna’s and Drake’s apartment. Well ... I guess I’m not angry at her, but I couldn’t blame her if she was angry at me. It hadn’t been fair of Alanna to make assumptions, it was true. But it hadn’t been fair of Bea to expect her not to, when she never explained anything, either.
Anger might have been preferable to the bone-crushing hug she got when Alanna opened the door. Not that I’m not glad that she’s not angry with me, Bea thought, as she wriggled out of her friend’s grip. But damn, she’s stronger than she looks. She could hear the shower running. Judging based on what Alanna was wearing—a t-shirt and nothing else—Drake was probably waiting for her in the bathroom. Definitely going to make this quick, Bea thought, lifting her eyebrows curiously. Alanna at least had the good grace to blush.
“Where have you been?” Alanna asked, steering Bea towards the couch.
“I can’t stay,” Bea said, gently pushing her friend away. “I just ... wanted to apologize. And to let you know that I’m okay.”
Alanna sighed. “You scared me, Bea,” she said. “You just disappeared all of a sudden ... what happened?”
“I um ... took a small vacation,” Bea explained, shifting uncomfortably. “And apparently I brought the flu home with me.”
Alanna eyed her skeptically. It was the truth ... just not the whole truth. Bea wasn’t about to tell her that she’d contracted the flu because she hadn’t slept for two days. And she most certainly was not going to tell her that the reason she hadn’t slept for two days had been because she’d gone club hopping. It was stupid and pointless, Bea thought, and nothing came of it anyway. Her heart really hadn’t been in it. And now, after what had happened with Ethan, she was glad nothing had come of it.
“I don’t understand,” Alanna said, puzzled. “I um ... well, I kind of got on Ethan’s case about you and then he disappeared for a few days, too. Did he go with you?”
Bea laughed. “No, I was back by that point,” she told her friend. A faint smile curved her lips. “I was sick as a dog, Lonnie, and you would not believe ... Ethan took care of me the whole time.”
Alanna’s eyes widened. “What?!”
At that moment, the bathroom door opened. Drake leaned out and gave them both a look of mingled amusement and annoyance. “Yikes,” Bea thought, her eyebrows raising. “Is he wearing anything in there?” Beside her, Alanna shifted, fidgeting like a child staring in through the window of a candy store. Drake rolled his eyes, running his fingers back through his hair, which spilled free around his shoulders. He disappeared into the bathroom again.
“But I want details...” Alanna whimpered, staring after him.
“I’ll call you later,” Bea assured her, leaning over to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I promise. So go get him!”
She gave her friend a nudge. Alanna didn’t need much encouragement; she sprang up off the couch and pursued Drake into the bathroom. Bea left the apartment, laughing to herself. “It wasn’t so long ago I thought that day would never come,” she thought, shaking her head. “Looking at her now, you’d never guess what she’d been through. Of course, Drake was really good motivation for getting on with the healing process, that was for sure. I got really lucky,” Bea thought, smiling, “when I found the Wolfes.”
In retrospect, Ethan supposed he really should have expected it. Bea was a fiery little huntress, and she made no bones about the fact that he was her prey. Still, maybe he’d been hoping he’d get off easy today. No... ‘get off’ is really not a phrase I should be using,” he thought, wincing. Especially not with ‘easy’ tacked onto it. On the upside, this would probably be the first time in a long time Ethan really enjoyed miniature golf. “How do you get to be seductive and adorable at the same time?” he wondered, studying her.
The dress she was wearing was just cruel. It was dark emerald green, the top halter-style, the back nonexistent all the way to the small of her back. The skirt was asymmetrical, falling down below her knee on one side, reaching only about mid-thigh on the other. Fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it—the air was just cool enough that she wore a light jean jacket over it when they were outside. Bea’s black, ankle-high boots were heeled, but she moved in them easily.
“Are you any good at this?” Bea asked, falling into step beside him.
“Usually,” Ethan replied, staring determinedly ahead. “Probably not tonight.”
Her soft laughter sent a thrill through him. God, I hope I make it through tonight without embarrassing myself, he thought. Well, he’d managed that night they’d gone bowling, but things had admittedly changed since then. At least this wasn’t the type of date where they were alone. Even Alastair and Sada had come, although Alastair didn’t seem entirely happy about it. She had less than three months left now.
“So, what’s the wager tonight?” Alastair asked, settling his golf club against his shoulder.
“Nuh uh,” Sada said, shaking her head. “Not that again. Knowing you, you’ll bet that I have to stay in bed for the next two months if I lose.”
Alastair didn’t respond. He put his free arm around her as they walked down onto the golf course. It was a beautiful golf course, too. Set to look like a tropical island, with a large lagoon in the middle, dozens of waterfalls, some big, some small, coursing over rocks and ledges, and tropical-looking vegetation; it was much nicer than some of the cheesy little courses he’d seen. All eight of them made their way to the first hole, which began on one level and dropped down to another.
“Ooo, I love these little shoot ones,” Sada said, leaning on her club as Alastair set her ball down for her.
“I never would have guessed you for a lackey, Alastair,” Quinn said, in his usual dry monotone that Bea swore meant he was just teasing.
Alastair straightened and turned to glare at his brother. “Me? What about you? You hate mini-golf, Quinn, which means there’s only one reason why you’re here.”
“More than one,” Quinn responded, a smug grin touching the corners of his mouth. “Usually at least three.”
Xandri blushed and punched him in the arm. Bea snorted, rolling her eyes and mouth ‘yeah right’. Feeling a spark of mischief light up inside him, Ethan leaned over, bringing his lips close to Bea’s ear. He felt her shiver and that thrill raced through him again. It was like that day in his apartment, before Chase had walked in on them. Something had just come over him.
“You underestimate the staying power of the Wolfes,” Ethan murmured.
Was it his imagination or was she blushing? Well, he was, just a little. He felt her hip bump against him as they stood, waiting while the others took their turns. Quinn was, as usual, good. That steady patience that had worked for him at bowling paid off here, too. Xandri was a total klutz, somehow managing to miss hitting the ball with her club a few times before getting it right. If nothing else, Ethan thought, this is greatly amusing. He grinned, watching Alanna scoot her ball around with her club in frustration.
When it came to them at last, he let Bea go first. Alastair and Sada were already moving to the next hole. Ethan watched them for a moment, before his gaze was drawn to Bea. She was very careful in her movements, leaning over to set her ball down on the green. “I’m so losing this game,” he thought, swallowing hard. “God, she’s beautiful.” Bea straightened and turned to look at him. She smiled, flicking her hair back over her shoulder, then turned her attention back to the ball.
Actually, as the evening wore on, he proved to be one of the better players. Xandri had to keep retrieving her ball from pools of water—Quinn refused to do it for her—and Alanna hit her ball right off the course several times. Alastair wasn’t much better; he didn’t have the patience for it. And Drake had never played in his life, apparently.
“Don’t feel bad,” Alanna told him, patting his arm as he retrieved his ball. “At least you kept it on the course!”
“You guys are pathetic,” Quinn said, shaking his head. He looked down at Xandri. “Sada is pregnant and she’s doing better than you.”
Xandri bit her lip. “I’m trying...” she said, her voice holding a touch of hurt.
Ethan frowned. He would have said something, but Bea laid a hand on his arm and shook her head. Why is he such an ass all the time? he wondered, watching Quinn. At the next hole, he came up behind Xandri, wrapping his arms around her and settling his hands over hers on the club. Ethan didn’t see anything more than that; Bea tugged him around suddenly to face in the other direction.
“Believe me, you don’t want to watch,” Bea explained. “Quinn seems like a complete jerk, but those two are downright sickening.”
He heard giggling behind him and sighed. Bea nudged him playfully, pushing him towards the lagoon, which had opened up near this hole. Fighting a grin, he nudged her back. I feel like I’m six, Ethan thought, sticking his tongue out in response to her noisy raspberry. It’s nice, though. Bea braced her shoulder against him and pushed, much harder than he would have thought she could. Startled, Ethan stumbled back... and ended up, much to his dismay, in the lagoon.