“Do I get points for that?” I asked sheepishly.
Giles removed his hand to reveal a huge smile. “I think that’s a negative five.”
“This is going to be a long game,” I said, groaning.
“Can I give you a pointer?” He took a step closer to me so that he was directly at my side.
“Su-sure.” I mentally cursed my voice for cracking.
He placed a dart in my hand. “Okay, raise your hand.” I followed his instruction. “Now, loosen your grip. Just keep your thumb and index finger on the back of it… yeah, there you go. Now, point your body at your target. Don’t let your eyes leave the spot. When you release the dart, you’ve got to follow through.” He was leaning in closer to me now, and I gulped nervously. “Okay, try it.”
His breath on my neck caused me to blink a few times inadvertently, and I shot the dart haphazardly. It ended up hitting the wall just above the board.
He let out a sigh and dragged his hand over his jaw.
“Um. I think that was technically closer,” I said, biting my lip.
“Maybe we should start with taking a few steps closer to the target.”
After thirty minutes and another drink, I was now managing to hit the board every time I threw.
“Nice one,” Giles exclaimed when I hit just a few inches away from the center. He held up his hand for a high five, and I beamed at his praise.
“You’ve been my teacher all day,” I joked.
“I guess I have.” He took a sip of his beer. “How’s the tailbone holding up, by the way?”
I groaned. “It’s so sore. I’m going to sleep so hard tonight.”
“It’s going to be worse in the morning,” he warned.
“Ugh. Can’t wait.”
“Hey, you two,” Erin said in a singsong voice. She was approaching us with shot glasses.
I started shaking my head on instinct. “No way. Absolutely not.”
“Suit yourself, but you might change your mind when I tell you it’s karaoke night, and Dave just finished setting up the machine.” She gestured to the only empty corner of the bar where an older woman was stepping up with a microphone. Abba started to blare through the speaker system.
“Oh my god, yay!” I squealed before downing the shot she handed to me. “I love karaoke.”
Giles looked pained. “Of course, you do.”
“Will you sing with me?” Erin asked excitedly.
“Obviously. What song should we do?”
We debated before selecting a well-known boyband throwback and raced to the stage when the older woman finished.
Erin and I smiled as we sang the lyrics and even did a little impromptu dance number. I caught Giles staring at me. Feeling brave, I winked at him because I was already making an ass of myself. He bit his lip to stifle the smile I could see trying to form.
Erin and I sang our hearts out until the song ended, and we breathlessly stepped down from the stage and handed the mics to two college-aged girls.
“Nice one, babe.” Johnny planted a kiss on her head.
“Very impressive,” Giles said, trying to keep his tone serious.
“You guys got next, right?” I asked, still grinning.
