Skila

Kiptyn is due to arrive in fewer than ten minutes. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I'm practically shaking in my heels. Lisa passes me a glass of water. “It's going to be fine. You’ve got this.”

I nod my head, agreeing. Yeah, I’ve got this, if he shows up. I can’t help but be reminded of the last person I stood by the door waiting for. I still haven’t heard a word from Amryn in almost two months. My cell rings, and for a second, the blood in my veins freezes.

Surely it’s not him. Thinking about him couldn’t have conjured him up. If that was possible, he would have appeared months ago, not the moment I’m about to walk out the door with another man. I reach my hand into my purse and pull out my cell. The call has already gone to voicemail. I check the missed calls, my hands shaking now but for a totally different reason. I breathe a sigh of relief. It wasn’t him.

It was the doctor’s office. My phone chirps with a new voicemail right as Kiptyn knocks on the door. I drop it back into my bag and smile when I open the door. Each time I see him, he’s more handsome than the time before, and tonight is no different. I could just eat him alive, right this second, with his bright blue eyes and that dimple in his left cheek. Jeans and a button-down, cream shirt are nothing special on your average man, but Kiptyn is no average man. His shirt is unbuttoned at the top, teasing me with a peek of his tan chest. I want to lick it. I can’t believe I just had that thought.

“You look beautiful,” he says, holding out his hand, and I can feel him taking me in. His words are so sincere. He makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.

“Are you ready?” I nod my head and follow him outside the apartment to his blue Audi. He opens the door for me and waits as I lower myself inside before shutting it behind me.

When he pulls out of the complex, he takes a right toward downtown. I assumed we would be doing the traditional dinner and dancing date night, and in a way, I'm disappointed. I wanted tonight to be special, extraordinary. I gaze out the window and watch the cars fly by, feeling dejected. He must sense a change in me, even though I don’t mean for him to, because he pulls off the interstate and turns around, heading in another direction.

Surprised, I turn and look at him. “I want you to know I had an amazing night planned for us.”

Had. He said had. Is he taking me back home? Has he changed his mind already? Why?

“I was going to take you to Bareli’s and then maybe take you dancing, but I'm sensing that you could use something else tonight, so I’m taking you to my favorite place in the world when I was a kid.”

I smile. I can’t help it. Going to his favorite place sounds like so much more fun than dinner at a snobby restaurant. I could do that alone if I wanted to, granted, probably not at Bareli’s, since the waiting list for that place is around two years long, but still.

Ten minutes later, we pull up outside Susie’s Miniature Golf. There’s a giant sign out front with a picture of a missing giraffe. I can tell from the picture that said giraffe used to sit right where the sign is now.

It reads, Missing Giraffe. If found, please return. Reward.

I instantly love this place. Kiptyn climbs out of the car and comes around to open my door. He places his hand at the small of my back and leads me to the front window. An older woman sits behind the counter, staring at a book in her lap.

“How many?” she asks, not lifting her eyes from the pages.

“Just two, if you can handle it, Suzy.” Her gaze lifts, and her eyes brighten when she takes in who is standing in front of her. Coming around to the front, she wraps her arms around his waist, not able to reach much higher, and when she’s done with him, she pulls me in for a tight embrace as well.

“What do I owe this wonderful surprise?” she asks, her gaze darting between me and Kiptyn.

“Well, now. We're just out looking for some fun. You still have that around here?” he asks, teasing her.

“Always for you, Kip. Y’all go on in and pick out your clubs. The new ones you ordered are in there on the right, beside those kiddie ones you picked up.” She ushers us through the gate and into the club room.

I wonder at her statement for a minute longer than I need to, and shame swallows me whole. This entire time, I've been judging this man before me based on other people's experience rather than taking the time to get to know him myself and then form an opinion. How many times have I, myself, faced that—someone looking at me and automatically deeming me inadequate because I'm a woman, or worse, when they judge me based on the color of my skin?

Kiptyn grabs two from the shelves and passes me one. I take a second to watch him and ponder what I've learned about him so far, not what someone else has told me. He is a sweet, kind man, and judging from Susie’s statement, he hasn’t let the fame go straight to his head. He gives back—some, at least. I make a decision in that moment to forget everything I've heard and just go with the flow and see where tonight takes me.

“You ready for this, Miss Parker?”

I laugh wholeheartedly, feeling the apprehension melt away. “Why yes, Mr. Price, I think I am. I've got one question before we go, though.” He looks at me, waiting. “Are you a sore loser?” I taunt him before running through the entrance to hole number one.