The drive was a rather long one—thirty-five minutes, mostly open road, with green fields and tall trees on either side. Music blasted through the stereo speakers, wind blowing through our hair with the windows rolled down.
“Are you not going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked in between the silence between songs.
“All I’ll say is there will be wine, paint, and the open air,” Nathaniel said.
I wasn’t one to indulge in wine—the mere smell had me pulling faces—but I did love painting and the open air. “Consider me intrigued.”
“Thank God for that,” Nathaniel grinned.
Why do people always thank God for things he didn’t do?
Alarmed at the Devil’s appearance, I swallowed hard and tried to block him out. I didn’t want him to spoil my first date.
Is that what this is? Or was it just a phrase?
Not now. Not now. Not now.
“We’re almost there,” Nathaniel announced, drawing my attention back to him.
I nodded, realised Nathaniel’s eyes were on the road, and said, “Cool.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah, just nervous.”
“Nervous?”
“Nervous that you’re taking me to the middle of nowhere to kill me,” I joked.
A surprised chuckle escaped Nathaniel’s throat. “I’m flattered to be considered a potential killer.”
“Why would you be flattered by that?” I laughed.
“Because no one ever thinks of me as abad boy.”
“Oh my god.”
“What? Is it not true that bad boys get more attention?”
I clutched my stomach as I cringed, unable to fend off a grin when Nathaniel laughed along with me, the sound a sweet melody I could replay forever.
Minutes later, Nathaniel pulled up on the side of the road, twigs crunching beneath the tires as a grass field appeared before us. There was a broken wooden fence, an empty bottle, and nothing but open road.
“So you really are going to kill me, huh?” I breathed out, only half-joking.
Nathaniel merely grinned as he climbed out of the car and waited for me to do the same. Despite Nathaniel being taller, I was confident I could overpower him in a fight. He was slim, lean, and I was wider, with a little muscle.
I approached the fence and peered out at the well-maintained grass field, white flowers blossoming amongst the weeds. In the distance, I could make out a lake, and even further, grass mounds.
“Is this someone’s property?” I asked, glancing sideways at Nathaniel who stood beside me, hands on the fencing.
“It’s my grandfather’s,” he answered, “he owns a large estate and this land, while his, is far from his home. He has granted me permission to enter, so don’t worry about being shot.”
“Lovely.”
Without a word of warning, Nathaniel climbed over the fence and landed on the other side, a grin brightening his face. “You coming?”
With less grace than I would have liked, I hopped over the fence and followed him through the grass, still not completely convinced he wasn’t going to kill me.
