Redesigning Fate (Revive #1) - A. M. Wilson Page 0,35
with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. He sits down next to me, rather than across from me—a habit he’s repeated ever since that first date. He rests his hand casually on my knee, choosing to eat one handed instead.
Picking up my sandwich, a combination of turkey and cheddar, spicy honey mustard, and homemade bread, I take a huge first bite. “How do you find all these awesome places to eat? I think this is the best sandwich I’ve ever had,” I say, trying not to moan at the explosion of flavors in my mouth. I think we just discovered my new favorite lunch stop.
Elias shrugs around his own bite. “I’ve lived here my entire life. It’d be a shame not to eat local when there are so many options.”
“MmHm,” I agree. “I look forward to learning about all the secret sweet spots.”
Was I too forward? I didn’t think so, but Elias’s posture freezes stiffly. Quicker than I can blink, though, he’s relaxed again. I must have imagined it.
“Better finish up. We’re running out of daylight, and we’re gonna need it.”
I look over and see he’s nearly finished. The conversation lulls while I finish as quickly as possible without looking like a total slob.
“C’mon. Let’s change your shoes. I want to bring you to one of my favorite places.”
“Where are we?” I ask when we pull into a vacant parking lot. From my view, it looks like a park or nature trail. Across from the lot is a huge open field, and the other side is nothing but trees.
“Ever heard of disc golf?” Elias asks before he exits the car. I use the moment alone to change into my tennis shoes before following him out. He pulls a black backpack from the trunk.
“I haven’t. Is that what we’re doing?”
He reaches for my hand, and I give it to him, pressing my palm tightly against his. For some reason my warning bells are going off. We’re alone in the fading daylight, and he’s leading me towards the trees. I trust him. I mean, as much as one can trust someone they’ve known about a week. But my anxiety and paranoia are flaring up like a bad rash.
I slow my gait. “Is this safe?” My voice comes out quiet and a tad too shaky for my liking.
“Of course,” he replies. Elias stops us at the trail opening into the forest and cups my cheeks with both hands. His rough callouses soothing against my sensitized skin. “I would never let anything hurt you. Trust me. Besides, the scariest things on this course are a bunch of stoners wielding discs. You have nothing to worry about, okay?”
I nod stiffly, and he kisses my forehead.
“We don’t have a lot of time, because it’s getting dark. We can play a few holes though.”
“I don’t know how to play. You’ll have to teach me.”
He gives me a devilish grin. “I know.”
We walk a few dozen feet before reaching a wooden pole in the ground with a number ONE carved into the front and painted a bright yellow. Elias sets his bag on the ground, digging around until he extracts two discs. One is bright orange with a thin, sharp-angled, black lip around the rim, and the other is similar except it’s a lime green. He hands me the orange one and then stands next to me, facing into the trees.
“Do you see the metal basket about three hundred feet away? Off to the left of the trail? That’s the goal.”
Squinting in the evening sun, I spot the basket. “It looks small. You’re supposed to hit that?” The basket stands a few feet off the ground by a metal pole sticking vertically out of the dirt. Running from the top of the goal to the edges of the basket are a dozen or so metal chains.
“Well, you’re supposed to try to hit it. But don’t worry. Plenty of people miss. The scoring is sort of like golf. You count how many throws it takes to make it in the goal. See this number here?” he asks, tapping the wooden pole with the ONE on it. I didn’t notice the other numbers before. “This tells you how far away the basket is. So this here is 327 feet. And this number means it’s par three.”
“I’m following so far,” I reply. Sounds simple to me, and I can’t deny that it looks like fun. In high school, I was active in sports and had a natural competitive streak. My hobbies