Page 46 of Mind Pucked

In no time, we show up at the bar. We walk in together, but not touching. I don’t know that I’m ready for the guys to get the wrong idea about us, but as soon as they all see that she’s with me, I wish they had the wrong idea.

“Amelia, over here,” Oliver says, waving her over.

She gives me a half-shy smile as she walks over to where Oliver, and a couple guys from the other team, are playing darts. Off the ice, we are all cool for the most part, though with enough beer in them, and the games they’re playing, it’s possible things might become heated again at some point.

I grab a drink from the bar and watch as Oliver talks to Amelia.

“I need another player—you wanna be on my team, babe?” he asks, and I can tell he already has a couple drinks in him.

“Sure, but only on one condition,” I hear Amelia say.

“What’s that, babe?” Oliver asks.

“Don’t ever call me babe,” Amelia says before grabbing a random shot off the table and downing it.

“Hey, that was my tequila shot,” Oliver says, but he laughs and hands her a few darts.

They begin playing as I try to ignore what’s going on over there. In exchange, I find a few of the guys sitting at the bar. Luca is nowhere to be seen, but Benjamin is there with his black eye, and Vaughn is sitting next to him, both with a glass of what I assume is whiskey.

“You’re drinking beer?” Vaughn asks me as I sit and sip my drink.

“Yeah, what’s wrong with that?” I ask.

“Tastes like piss water,” he answers as he takes a long pull from his own amber liquid.

“Have you had that much experience drinking piss water to know what it tastes like?” I counter, causing Benjamin to spit his drink all over the bartender who has just walked up.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry, man,” Ben says to man I can only assume is Ted of Ted’s bar.

“Don’t worry, happens more than you might think,” Ted answers.

I glance at his nametag…it does indeed say Ted.

“Yeah man, piss water. Beer—that’s what it smells like it would taste like,” Vaughn picks up where he left off like the bartender wasn’t just sprayed with Ben’s mouth liquor.

“Woohoo!” a cheer erupts from over at the dart game and we all turn to see Amelia annihilating Oliver at darts.

The few other wives and girlfriends of the players that are here have gathered to watch them play. Even the ladies belonging to the guys on the other team have joined in on the show.

I thought Amelia was supposed to be on Oliver’s team, but now it looks like they’re going head-to-head.

I continue to watch as they each take turns throwing three darts at the board. Amelia hasn’t hit the bullseye yet but has come far closer than Oliver to hitting it.

One of the wives has taken to keeping score. I ignore both Vaughn and Benjamin as Oliver lines up to throw his first dart of the round…his are blue, hers red.

He throws the first, holding a beer in his left hand as he does. It soars through the air and smacks the outer rim of the dartboard.

“Ohhh,” the crowd that has formed boos Oliver.

I can’t help but smile as I get up from the stool I’ve been sitting on and make my way over to watch. Half the bar is focusing on their game.

“Ten bucks on the bombshell,” one of the guys from the other team shouts to the man standing next to him.

“I’ll get in on that,” another man says, and before my eyes, money is being passed around.

Seems so silly to bet on a game of darts in a bar, but if these guys want to drink through the night, they have to make money somehow.

The bets usually start later in the night when some of the guys are running low on cash. Usually in the form of arm wrestling or hockey trivia…never this.

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