“Not quite.” Giles chuckled as Dave handed him a beer.
“Well, excuse me for trying to enjoy a messy food.” I relented, dropping the napkin, and picking the wing back up.
As soon as I was done, I excused myself to the restroom. Once there, I saw that I did have a few dots of sauce all the way up my cheeks.
“Shit,” I whispered as I took a damp paper towel to them. So much for looking nice tonight.
I reentered the bar to find Johnny and Erin moving toward the other side.
“Johnny owes me a rematch in pool. Why don’t you and Giles play on the other table.”
Giles raised his eyebrows to see if I would protest.
“Eh. Sure,” I replied, following them over there.
I glanced at the pool table and remembered Johnny’s story about Dave and the puke.
“Um, what about darts instead?” I proposed.
Giles shrugged. “Whatever you want, Florida.”
Uncontrollable butterflies were flapping around in my stomach as he brushed past me.Whydid he always have to smell so good?
Be cool. I coached myself.
I took a huge sip of my drink before setting it down on the high-top table next to the board. I held out my hand for Giles to hand me a dart. Our palms touched briefly, and I felt a jolt of electricity in my veins.
“Did you just want to play for fun?” he asked.
“Um, probably. I don’t even know the rules.”
“We can play for points,” he suggested. “Bull’s eye is fifty.” He continued to rattle off the scoring while I nodded and tried not to stare at his mouth.
“Got it?” he asked.
“Uh, yep.”
He shook his head, a smile playing on his lips. He held his hand up and moved it back and forth slightly before releasing the dart he was holding. It landed directly on the bull’s eye. My mouth hung open.
“You’re hustling me,” I accused.
He chuckled. “How could I be hustling you? We’re just playing for fun.”
“It’s not fun if you’re going to be shooting bull’s eyes all night while I struggle.”
He shrugged. “What do you want me to say? I’ve played a lot.”
Raising his hand again, he threw another dart that landed just next to the center.
“You’re up.” He gestured for me to take his place.
I shuffled to the spot and closed one eye as I held the dart up to my eye line. In all honesty, I don’t think I had ever played this before.
I took a deep breath in and released the dart. It hit the wood a few inches next to where the board was hanging before clattering to the ground.
Giles snorted next to me before slapping his hand across his mouth to stifle his laughter.
“Shut it,” I said, already readying the next dart. This one hit the wall on the opposite side of the board but stuck in place this time.
