Page 29 of Blinded By Love

“You know, maybe you should try hitting it from behind,” Max says, his chest moving lightly against my shoulder.

“Fuck you, Max!” Chris yells.

Natalia just rolls her eyes before throwing the dart. “He distracted me!” Natalia points her finger at Max and glares at him.

“You can beat me at the maze.” Max removes his arm from my shoulder. “Let me try.” He walks towards Chris and grabs the darts from him.

“We’re just waiting for someone to cover our shift. He should be here soon,” Natalia says, walking over to me as Max argues with Chris. “We’re going to go to the maze after this.”

“I’ve never been to a maze before,” I say, turning my head away from Max and Chris to look at her.

“Really? Never?'“ Natalia’s eyes raise in shock. I shake my head with my lips turning into a small smile. Natalia smirks as if an idea just sparked in her head. “You’ll love it. I’m sure.”

“See motherfucker?! I told you!” Max yells, making my attention go back to him. He has a huge smile on his face while teasing Chris. Chris just rolls his eyes and shakes his head lightly as if Max is ridiculous. Max looks at me, still smiling. “Come and try, Jaclyn. It’s easy. Natalia just sucks.” Natalia glares at him while I can’t help but laugh.

I swear he loves drama.

I walk over to Chris who gives me the darts. I lick my bottom lip and raise my arm, getting ready to throw the dart. I miss the first time, not surprising because I suck at throwing. I throw the next one and miss again.

“You’re throwing it wrong.” I hear a deep, familiar voice say and I can’t help but turn around. Hayden has his hands in his jean pockets as he keeps his eyes on me. When did he get here? “Stop angling your hand when you throw the dart. Keep your hand straight as you throw and release it.” I don’t reply, instead I turn back around to face the board. I ignore the way my body fills with butterflies, knowing that he’s here and watching me now. My arm goes back into the throwing position. As I release the dart, I try to force myself to not angle my hand and it misses the big balloon I was aiming for. I feel Hayden come up behind me. His warm and hard chest is against my back. I shiver against him and want to arch my back slightly. Having him close feels so foreign but also right at the same time. Hayden grabs my hand and positions it a certain way. His touch on me feels like fire and I do everything I can to try and not feel affected by him but it’s hard when he is consuming my entire being “Like I said,” Hayden whispers in my ear, his lips grazing the lobe. “Release it before you throw it.” He holds my waist and he motions my wrist to throw it. I release the dart before my hand starts to go down with his. The dart hits the board making the balloon pop. “Good girl.”

I melt.

I feel like the entire world just stopped.

Fuck.

The way Hayden's simple words can affect me even though I hate that they do. The simple praise sends heat down my body and between my legs but I ignore it, or at least try to.

“Thanks.”

Hayden backs away from me and I look up at him. He is already staring down at me with heat in his eyes. His eyes go down to my lips before going back to my eyes.

“James is here. He’ll cover us for the rest of the night,” Chris says, making me look away from Hayden.

Chris walks out of the booth and wraps his arm around Natalia.

Kayden is also here, he is standing next to Max and Natalia.

Natalia and Chris walk in front, leading us towards the maze while I walk with Max, his arm hanging on my shoulder. I wish he would take it off but I don’t want to sound rude and say anything so I pretend to ignore it.

When we walk up to the stand in front of the maze a girl looks at the six of us. “$60 total. We take credit, cash, and Apple pay,” she says, before blowing her bubble gum.

“Venmo me and I’ll pay,” Natalia says as she gets her card out.

Right away I pull out my phone and pay her through the app so I don’t forget. I brought cash with me but I can just save that.

As Natalia pays I feel warmth against my shoulder that isn’t covered by Max. Chills go down my body even though it’s not that cold outside.

I look to my left and see Hayden standing next to me, looking straight ahead. I ignore the goosebumps that appear on my bare skin from touching his bicep. He’s wearing a graphic t-shirt that shows off his muscular arms with veins running down his forearms. His tattoo sleeve is visible, no doubt making every girl drool.

“Let’s go,” Natalia says, making me look away from Hayden’s arm. We walk inside the maze and Max finally lets go of my arm. He is super touchy while I am the complete opposite. Being touched makes me feel like I can’t breathe and not in a good way. I feel like I’m suffocating. “Okay, let's go in groups. Whichever group is last out of the maze has to buy dinner.” Natalia says when we stop right before we are at the start of the maze. “Okay so Chris and I will go together. Max and Kayden, since I know how much you love Max, Kayden.” Natalia smirks at Kayden but he just looks bored. He hasn’t said one word since he got here. “And then Jaclyn and Hayden.”

“I’m with my best buddy!” Max says as he walks towards Kayden and wraps his arm around him.

“Get off me asshole.” Kayden pushes him away but Max still keeps his hold tight on him.

I smile at the two. Kayden walks off, leaving Max to fend for himself. Max looks at me, gives me a quick wink before running after Kayden.

---