Page 68 of It's a Date (Again)

“Debbie!” I cross my arms over them.

“What? One day you’re gonna be tucking them into your waistband, wishing you had shown them off when they were perky and young.”

I snicker.

“Debbie’s right. Give them the glory days they deserve,” Maya says.

I unfold my arms and look down at myself, back at Debbie, and then Maya. “Fine, I’ll wear something a little low cut. Just a little.”

“And what about your date with Shawn?” Debbie asks.

“I think we’re going to a fancy restaurant because he texted me telling me to dress to impress.” I scrunch up my lips. “But I don’t know what to wear. I have a couple dresses, but I might have worn them on our previous dates since they’ve always been at nice restaurants.”

“Good thinking because you definitely wouldn’t want to show up in the same dress you already wore. That’s embarrassing,” Maya says.

Debbie purses her lips together. “I’m sure he’d understand with the amnesia and whatnot.”

“It’s already been decided.” Maya nods. “We’ll go shopping tomorrow for a new dress.”

I bump my shoulder against Maya’s. “This feels like an excuse for you to go shopping.”

“It is,” she says with a laugh.

CHAPTER12

I glance over my shoulder at Tyler. He’s leaned against the chicken wire fence wall behind me, the one that separates the axe-throwing area from the bar. My eyes skim over him. From his silky dark hair pulled back in a bun, to his broad shoulders, to his long, muscular legs. He’s dressed casually, blue jeans and a dark-green shirt that hugs his pecs and biceps tightly. He smiles. It’s warm and flirty.

“You got this,” Tyler says.

“I know,” I say, even though I don’t mean it.

Debbie told me to act confident even if I’m not because real men are drawn to confidence. She also told me to cross my arms under my chest to ensure my cleavage is at peak elevation. But I’m going to ignore that piece of advice.

I toss him a smile before turning back and focusing on the target. The axe-throwing area is covered in plywood with a large bull’s-eye painted on the wall about ten feet in front of me. A man to my side whips his axe. It hits the center of his target with a thud. He throws his arms up in the air and cheers. A group of people behind him clap and holler. I take a deep breath, make sure my toe is on the line where the employee showed us to stand, and bring the axe above my head, gripping it with two hands. I focus on the bull’s-eye. When I’m ready, I hurl the axe, letting it fly out of my hands. It spikes the plywood to the right of the center.

“I did it,” I squeal, clapping my hands.

Tyler wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me into him, practically picking me up off the floor. “I knew you would,” he says.

I grin and feel a whoosh of butterflies floating and flapping around in my stomach. “Your turn.”

His gaze lingers on me. I notice specks of yellow in his green irises, and I wonder if I noticed them before. Tyler lets his hand drop from my shoulder and puffs up his chest. I lean against the chicken wire fence. Now it’s my turn to watch him. His large hand grips the axe handle, and he rips it clean from the plywood with ease. Retaking his position, Tyler throws a smile over his shoulder before he hurls the axe. It hits the bull’s-eye right in the dead center.

I dash to him, giving a double high five. “Want me to pull the axe for you?” he asks.

“Yes, please.”

I slide my phone from my pocket and record him walking to the target and ripping the axe from it. It’s all very dramatic but I think he’s trying to impress me. It’s working because I am impressed. I quickly send the video to Maya with the text,Date is going well. Thought you’d enjoy this.

She immediately responds withI’m gonna need to take Anthony therefollowed by the red sweating-face emoji with the tongue out. I giggle and pocket my phone just as Tyler turns to walk back to me.

“Think you can hit the center this time?” he teases while handing the axe over. The corner of his lip perks up.

“Oh yes,” I say with a confident nod.

“Wanna bet on it?”

I tilt my head, looking up at him. “What do you have in mind?”

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