We exchange greetings, and Sam stage whispers, “Don’t let him fool you. I taught the kid a few tricks along the way.” Helaughs good-naturedly, and I join in. “We all have our talents. Speaking of which, are you ready for the game?”
Knox tenses, but his smile is unwavering. “Absolutely. You know I always give it my all.”
“Don’t get too cocky,” I tease, nudging him playfully. “If memory serves, you suffered a stunning defeat in the last face-off.”
Sam’s eyes go wide, but he presses his lips together and pushes a scorecard across the scarred counter. “What color balls can I get y’all?”
“Blue for me.” Knox grins. “You know I’m a creature of habit.”
Sam pulls out an electric blue ball, shaking his head. “You and your superstitions.” He turns to me. “And for the lady?”
“Can I have pink?”
He sets a hot pink ball on the counter, and I grab it before it can roll away. Excitement fizzes in my belly. I’ve never played miniature golf before, but how hard can it be?
“You’re going down,” I announce, channeling my inner Lexie. After all, if it weren’t for Lexie’s bravado, Knox and I never would have met. It was her competitive spirit that had me throwing down the gauntlet in Cancún.
That, and the fear of letting her down.
Knox chuckles. “You wanna bet?”
“That depends.” I cock my hip and flash him a syrupy-sweet smile. “Are you up for another tattoo? I’ve already got thepurr-fectone in mind.”
He huffs a laugh. “Not a chance.”
Knox pays the bill, we choose our clubs, and Sam sends us on our way.
We exit through the rear of the clubhouse, and I get a look at the course for the first time. “Aren’t these places supposed to be themed?”
Based on the name, I was expecting palm trees and big scary monsters.
Knox laughs and guides me to what I assume is the first hole. “Oh, there’s a theme, but it’s hard to spot if you’re not Georgia born and bred.”
“Like you?”
He nods. “I grew up not far from here. My parents and I spent a lot of weekends on this course when I was little. My dad was determined to make a golfer out of me, but it didn’t really take. The twist-top cones, however, did.” He laughs, low and deep. “My mom must’ve taken a million pictures of me posing on this course with ice cream dripping down my shirt.”
A pang of jealousy lances through me. I shove it down. It’s not Knox’s fault I grew up in a single-parent household.
“That sounds really nice.” I shield my eyes from the late afternoon sun and scan the course, taking in the fiberglass structures that mark each hole. “Tell me more about this theme, because I’m definitely not seeing it.”
“Each hole is one of Georgia’s natural wonders, or a significant historic site.” He points to a giant gray rock on the far side of the course. “That’s Stone Mountain. And over there,” he says, shifting his focus to a manmade waterfall, “is Amicalola Falls. It’s a great hike if you ever have the opportunity.”
He lists several other sites I’ve never heard of, and I wonder if I’ll be here long enough to visit them all. But that’s a problem for future me. Current me is on the best date I’ve been on in ages.
Knox is sweet and funny, and he baked me cookies.From scratch. No man has ever baked for me before. Or offered to do home repairs.
Or given you back-to-back orgasms.
Facts. Knox is a walking green flag.
A grin splits my face, and I’m probably beaming like a fool, but I can’t help it. Kayla and Lexie are never going to believe this.
Heck, I wouldn’t believe it if I wasn’t living it. This whole day has been like something out of a movie.
Just wait for the third act plot twist.
Nope, not going there. Not even a little bit. I deserve green flag energy, and I’m not going to let some niggling voice of doubt ruin this date.