Page 42 of As a Last Resort
“I’m seventy percent sure it’s still open.”
The last time I went Putt-Putt golfing was in high school, when pimple-faced kids downed Mountain Dew and Pixy Stix.The old course was on the south tip of the island.The whole island was beautiful, but if you were forced to pick an area that needed a coat of paint and a tiny exorcism, that would be it.
“Sam needs a distraction.She’s seeing her mom this afternoon so we need something that’ll drag her out of the inevitable slump her mother will put her in.”
Lexi told me she had reconnected with Sam and all was water under the bridge, which was great.But I didn’t feel the overwhelming desire to aid in the distraction.
“And drag her into what, exactly?”I asked.
“Something different.”
“And you want me there because…”
“I refuse to go down there alone.It’s not safe.”
I laughed.She was kidding, right?
“Don’t mock me.Anything can happen in the south tip.We’re picking her up at six p.m.”
As Sam walked out of her bungalow, I tried to ignore how her dress clung to her waist and how the fabric swung in a way that made everything seem to go in slow motion.
Lexi caught me staring.
“What?”My voice carried a little too much aggression.
“Nothing, geez.Chill.”
My truck door swung open.“You do realize we’re going to aminiaturegolf course, not an actual golfclub.”Sam and her high heels climbed into my truck.
“They’re kitten heels.”She looked at me like I knew what that meant.“They don’t even count as high heels.”
“Leave her alone.”Lexi turned to Sam.“He’s just grumpy that we messed up his nightly loner routine.So, do we want to talk about what went down with your mom or are we pretending like it didn’t happen?”
“She never showed.But she eventually texted that she wasoff the islandfor one more night and isn’t coming back until the morning.”The relief in Sam’s voice was palpable.
“So we’re celebrating dodged bullets tonight!Inkitten heels.”Lexi flashed her biggest over-the-top smile as her phone dinged.“Oh, it’s Rex.He’s going to meet us there too.”
“The more the merrier.”I eyed her.
“I guess you can both chaperone us.”
I could tell she wasn’t ecstatic about the unintended double date setup.She wanted me to stay far from Sam when it came to dating.
I drove south about twenty minutes past all the familiar landmarks.Most of the streets leading to the water on the island were lined with small beach cottages, one right after the other, passed down through generations.Front doors were usually open, onlya screen standing between the family living there and every other neighborhood kid who threatened to bombard the house.Moms could look down the street at any given time to see which house had a pile of bikes in the crushed shell driveway, a sign of where the kids landed that hour.
I drove until a large neon sign poked into the sky.The lights were blown on a couple letters so it readPIRATE’SBOOTY UTT-UTT.A few of the streetlights flickered.It looked a little more like something out of a thriller than the miniature golf park I remembered.
I drove up to a half-lit parking lot.“Lexi, I don’t think this place is still in business.”
“There’s a light on over there.”She pointed to an old, dilapidated palm hut.ACHECK-INsign hung crookedly off the roof.I parked a healthy distance away from the one brown Crown Victoria parked in the lot.
Sam closed the door to my truck and looked out over the empty lot.“This is definitely the beginning of a horror film.”
“Huh.I really thought other people would be here.People still play miniature golf, don’t they?”
“In general, or at this establishment in particular?”Sam asked.
I chuckled.
