Page 49 of Devoted

Chapter 14

Brooks

“I’m beginning to question your sanity.” Jess shoots me a salty look as I take her hand and lead her up to the building where our date will take place tonight. I feel the buzz of my phone in my pocket, accompanied by a notification ding, but I choose to ignore it. Tonight I want as few distractions as possible from my time with Jess.

“Oh, I thought this was mild compared to zip lining. In retrospect, I probably should have done this first to get you warmed up.”

She chuckles as I open the door and guide her inside, the smell of sawdust and timber hits our noses the second we walk in. I watch her eyes brighten as she takes in the room and accompanying noises. Cheering pulls our direction to the side behind a small pony wall where a woman just hit the bullseye with her axe.

“You know what? You’re right. This might actually be fun. And I can’t wait to watch you channel your inner lumber jack.” She places a kiss on my cheek and then leans her head on my arm as we wait in line to pay.

I wanted to take Jess on another date that would get our adrenaline pumping, but also something a little more low-key than zip lining. Ethan told me of this place, Lumber Jacks, after he took Mariah here for a date. He was adamant that this activity would ignite my competitive spirit and help me take out some aggression, so I took his suggestion to heart and planned the evening for us. Plus, I can’t wait to watch Jess throw an axe like a bad ass.

It’s been a week since Cash and Piper’s wedding and the first time that Jess and I have been able to spend some time together outside of the hospital. That night when she opened up to me about her ‘curse’, things started to click for me about why she’s been cautious about our connection. I personally haven’t had many relationships that have lasted longer than a few weeks of hooking up, so I can’t relate to what she must have felt as men she invested time in moved on from her to their happily ever after’s. But after seeing the fear in her eyes that it would happen again with me, I knew I didn’t want to give her any reason to doubt what we’ve been building. It’s difficult to accept that the physical part of our relationship will progress slower than I wanted now when I fight the natural instinct to claim her every time she’s near, but I do know that Jess is the type of woman that is worth that patience.

And watching her get excited over trying something new reminds me of why I’ve been so adamant in pursuing her. Her joy is bringing light to my clouded world right now—and that’s exactly what I need from her tonight.

It’s been rough watching my mom grow weaker and more frail in the past few weeks. She’s due for another treatment next week and I know the days that will follow will be the worst. I’m mentally preparing myself for it, while also assessing how much longer I can keep my mother’s diagnosis from Jess.

Most people wouldn’t understand why I want to keep that a secret—but until you go through watching the one person you love more than anything battle for their life, knowing they might not make it in the end—well, a shield of denial forms that you rely on to block it out whenever you get the chance. You start to compartmentalize your life into boxes, and you put that illness in its own box for fear of it infecting the others. It’s like television or reading for some people. It’s an escape from reality, and that’s what time with Jess has become.

Even though the feelings I’m developing for this girl are definitely real.

Since the venue is pay-by-the-hour, I purchase an hour of lane time for the two of us and then we walk over to our assigned station where our axes and instructor are waiting for us. The woman explains the do’s and don’ts of throwing an axe and then leaves us to it.

“Do you want anything to drink? I’m going to go to the bar before we start.”

“They serve alcohol? That doesn’t seem intelligent for an activity like this.” Jess’s concern is so freaking cute, I wanna press her up against the wall and shove my tongue down her throat.

“Well, bars let you play darts while drinking? I’m guessing it’s probably along those same lines of thinking.”

She teeters her head back and forth before agreeing. “Touché. I’ll have a vodka and cranberry then, please.”

“Coming right up.”

As I stand in line to order our drinks, my phone buzzes in my pocket again. Noticing I have a moment before it’s my turn, I retrieve it and see that my aunt has texted me three times in the past twenty minutes. I scan the messages asking me to stop by the store to pick up a few things for my mom’s house on my way home, shaking my head in annoyance when I absorb that as much as I need this night away from responsibilities, they’ll always be there.

I stuff my phone back in my pocket and step up to the bar to order, realizing there’s a limit on drinks to prevent over-inebriation, which provides some level of comfort knowing people throwing sharp metal objects around can’t get too out of control.

The bartender hands me my beer and Jess’s cocktail and I return to the table stationed to the side of our lane against the wall. Two white lines are drawn on the floor beside us and the two targets are hanging several feet down the aisle. I’m a pretty competitive person by nature, so I’m curious to see if Jess has that same edge to her as well.

“Here you go, babe.” I hand her the drink and then take a long sip of my beer before sighing in contentment. “Fuck, that’s good. Nothing like the first sip of an ice cold beer to quench your thirst and help you relax.”

“It has been a long week, hasn’t it?” Jess sips her cocktail before standing and pulling her jeans up and then smoothing her shirt over her waist.

“Damn right it has,” I reply as my eyes dance up and down her body. I couldn’t help but study the way the denim hugged her hips when I picked her up and walked her to my car. The black shirt she paired with them is form fitting too, giving me a perfect glimpse of the voluptuous little body she has on her short frame. The top half of her hair is pulled back though, giving in to my compromise when I texted her and asked her to wear it down. And as I watch her walk to the station where the axes are waiting, all I can picture is her thick legs wrapped around my waist later as I carry her through my house to my bedroom.

Suddenly, my dick is growing in my jeans, providing an obstacle in throwing an axe appropriately I’d assume. Needing to reel myself in, I squash my untimely thoughts as quickly as I can and then stand behind Jess as we each grab an axe.

“You wanna go first?”

She shakes her head and then looks up at me. “I’m sort of nervous to do it wrong or throw my back out. How about you go?”

Our eyes both veer down range where two giant black circles are drawn on wooden pallets nailed to the wall. There are five circles with point values, the largest circle obviously being worth less points. I’m fairly confident this won’t take me too long to master, so I oblige and decide to go first.

“Okay. Watch and learn, beautiful.” I flash her a wink and then move to the line, positioning my body in the way the instructor described—dominant hand on the top, pulling the axe all the way behind my head, rocking back, and then throwing my entire body forward before releasing the axe at eye-level, and watching it fly down range to hit the target.

I land in the circle just outside of the bullseye, earning a respectable four points on my first throw. I’ll take it.

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