a Friday night, so we didn’t have to wait for a board. It was a mindless game, and it was exactly what I needed. Aim and shoot. Aim and shoot. No one needed to know that I was picturing Tom’s face in the bull’s eye. I was doing pretty well, and my aim was spot on. I was in the zone and loving it.
Until Harper got up from her table to head for the ladies room, which was right next to the dart boards. Since it wasn’t my turn, it wasn’t hard to take a couple of steps away so that I was kind of blocking her from getting by.
She stopped right in front of me and sighed with irritation. “What now?”
I shrugged and took a slow drink of my beer. “So, how’s the date going?”
Her head fell back as she let out a frustrated growl. I was sure she meant to sound menacing, but all I could think was that I’d like to gently bite the exposed column of her throat. “Can I please get by?” she finally asked.
“I guess it’s not going all that well, then.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What makes you say that?”
“You didn’t answer me. If the date was going well, I’m sure you’d be all chatty about it. The fact that you’re silent tells me it’s not. I’m not surprised, really.”
“And why is that?” She crossed her arms under her breasts, and now I had that image in my head—exactly what I’d like to be doing to them.
“Well, it seems to me like Tom’s kind of a dud.”
“A dud?”
I nodded. “A dud. Absolutely. What do you see in that guy?”
“You know what, Levi? It’s none of your business what I see in him or in anyone for that matter. Isn’t it enough that you’ve interfered with every other aspect of my life? Can’t you just stay out of this? Leave my personal life alone?”
Her eyes were huge and bordering on pleading, and I almost felt bad. Almost. “Sorry, princess. I didn’t mean to get you all riled up. I was simply making an observation.”
“Well, stop making observations. Stop observing. Just…stop!”
I was waiting for her to stamp her foot to make her point, but she didn’t. I turned toward the guys and saw that they were all watching this exchange too. I was so screwed. I’d be a hundred before I ever lived this down. Harper looked in the same direction and smiled. “Hey, guys!”
“Hey, Harper.” They each took turns saying it, and by the time I turned back to her, I realized that she’d made her way around me and had disappeared into the restroom.
I could’ve just stood there and waited, but what was the point? I’d just piss her off more. As fun as it was watching her get worked up, anger wasn’t the emotion I really wanted to see in her. Unable to help myself, I took one last look in the direction of her date. Good ol’ Tom was looking right back at me and appeared a bit uncomfortable. I narrowed my gaze and glared at him, and it looked like he swallowed hard.
Good.
It wasn’t easy, but I kept my distance when Harper reappeared. Luckily none of the guys made a snarky comment either. Still, the mood was gone. All I wanted to do was get the hell out of there and go home. Maybe watch a little TV. Or maybe do a little research on Tom.
One last look.
Clearly I was a glutton for punishment because I turned around to get one last look at the two of them sitting together. Only now they weren’t alone. I looked closer and saw that another woman had joined them. They were all talking and laughing, and I guess I felt relieved. If I couldn’t sit there and play the third wheel on their date, I was sure as hell glad that somebody else was.
Five
Harper
I don’t think I would ever pretend to be interested in a man just to make another man jealous. I mean, it feels kind of petty and manipulative, and I never thought of myself as that kind of person.
But I couldn’t help wishing Tom had acted a little more attentive, like he was genuinely interested in me. It was honestly annoying that Levi seemed so surprised that I would have been dating anyone
Until Harper got up from her table to head for the ladies room, which was right next to the dart boards. Since it wasn’t my turn, it wasn’t hard to take a couple of steps away so that I was kind of blocking her from getting by.
She stopped right in front of me and sighed with irritation. “What now?”
I shrugged and took a slow drink of my beer. “So, how’s the date going?”
Her head fell back as she let out a frustrated growl. I was sure she meant to sound menacing, but all I could think was that I’d like to gently bite the exposed column of her throat. “Can I please get by?” she finally asked.
“I guess it’s not going all that well, then.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What makes you say that?”
“You didn’t answer me. If the date was going well, I’m sure you’d be all chatty about it. The fact that you’re silent tells me it’s not. I’m not surprised, really.”
“And why is that?” She crossed her arms under her breasts, and now I had that image in my head—exactly what I’d like to be doing to them.
“Well, it seems to me like Tom’s kind of a dud.”
“A dud?”
I nodded. “A dud. Absolutely. What do you see in that guy?”
“You know what, Levi? It’s none of your business what I see in him or in anyone for that matter. Isn’t it enough that you’ve interfered with every other aspect of my life? Can’t you just stay out of this? Leave my personal life alone?”
Her eyes were huge and bordering on pleading, and I almost felt bad. Almost. “Sorry, princess. I didn’t mean to get you all riled up. I was simply making an observation.”
“Well, stop making observations. Stop observing. Just…stop!”
I was waiting for her to stamp her foot to make her point, but she didn’t. I turned toward the guys and saw that they were all watching this exchange too. I was so screwed. I’d be a hundred before I ever lived this down. Harper looked in the same direction and smiled. “Hey, guys!”
“Hey, Harper.” They each took turns saying it, and by the time I turned back to her, I realized that she’d made her way around me and had disappeared into the restroom.
I could’ve just stood there and waited, but what was the point? I’d just piss her off more. As fun as it was watching her get worked up, anger wasn’t the emotion I really wanted to see in her. Unable to help myself, I took one last look in the direction of her date. Good ol’ Tom was looking right back at me and appeared a bit uncomfortable. I narrowed my gaze and glared at him, and it looked like he swallowed hard.
Good.
It wasn’t easy, but I kept my distance when Harper reappeared. Luckily none of the guys made a snarky comment either. Still, the mood was gone. All I wanted to do was get the hell out of there and go home. Maybe watch a little TV. Or maybe do a little research on Tom.
One last look.
Clearly I was a glutton for punishment because I turned around to get one last look at the two of them sitting together. Only now they weren’t alone. I looked closer and saw that another woman had joined them. They were all talking and laughing, and I guess I felt relieved. If I couldn’t sit there and play the third wheel on their date, I was sure as hell glad that somebody else was.
Five
Harper
I don’t think I would ever pretend to be interested in a man just to make another man jealous. I mean, it feels kind of petty and manipulative, and I never thought of myself as that kind of person.
But I couldn’t help wishing Tom had acted a little more attentive, like he was genuinely interested in me. It was honestly annoying that Levi seemed so surprised that I would have been dating anyone
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