Page 123 of Before Now

I adjust the camera bag’s strap on my shoulder and shrug. “We got our nails done. And this is like a dude spa, right?”

“Sure. We’ll go with that,” she says. “Come on, let’s go watch our guys share a brain cell.”

She smiles and brings me with her toward the door. A normal one, which mismatches with the rest of the building, so it oddly fits in perfectly.

I went from a fan of Val to attached over the course of lunch. She grew up in Austin and danced for a ballet company. A stress fracture put her out of commission last year, so now she runs an online boutique and makes jewelry. She effortlessly matches Chase’s energy with sarcasm and doesn’t take shit, but she always has an underlying kindness and genuineness shining through.

She already knew about me and Foster when we met up. A certain version anyway. Chase apparently couldn’t even wait until Colton and I left their curb to tell her. Which I find incredibly cute.

He said we knew each other years ago, lost touch, and now Foster has a leash on his dick. I have a feeling she watered it down—other than the last part. It would make sense that Chase told her I disappeared on Foster without a word, and as his best friend, I’m sure Chase held opinions.

Foster assured me he wouldn’t mention the real reason, but letting him is on the list for maybe one day.

A guitar twang surrounds us once we walk inside. The space opens into a large room with the axe throwing at the back, a small arcade on one side, and a full bar on the other. Wooden stairs right in the middle lead up to another floor. A sign posted beside them hasRAGE AND SHINEburned into it along with an arrow pointing up.

Valeria leads the way to the throwing lanes. Wooden planks and metal lattice separate them, each with two bullseyes at the ends.

“Double or nothin’ you can’t hit that close a third time,” Colton says as we approach.

He grabs a hatchet off an overturned barrel and passes it off to Chase. His brother grabs the handle with a cocky smirk and adjusts his chair to line up before flinging the axe down the lane one-handed. It buries in the wooden target, not far from the center.

As Colton curses, Chase swings around, ready to gloat when he spots us and smiles, first at me, and then he stays on Val.

“Now you’re really fucked, little bro. My good luck charm just walked in.” He pulls her into his lap and kisses her, mumbling something about being “Lumber-jacked.”

Colton greets me with an eye roll once I reach him.

“What was the bet?” I ask.

“Everything.”

My forehead scrunches, and I look up at him. “Everything?”

“Yep.” He scratches his jaw, pursing his lips.

“How do you bet double or nothing on everything?”

He throws me a sideways glance, shrugging. “Fuck if I know. I wasn’t supposed to lose again.”

I laugh as he goes after the hatchet.

Felix and Christian are throwing in the next two lanes, so I watch them. They throw, retrieve, swap to larger axes, but the appeal is lost on me.

“It’s an art form,” Foster says from behind me.

Before I can look, his arm snakes around my waist, tugging me back against his chest. He moves my hair so he can nuzzle against my neck.

“Oh, is it?”

He hums an affirmative. “Watch Christian.”

I do.

The manager sorts through his options until he picks one up.

“See how he tests the weight, judges the movement?” When I nod, Foster sweeps his thumb over my rib cage and continues, “His face tells you he doesn’t like it.” Christian sets it down and grabs another with a longer handle and larger head. “Now with this one, you see his lips purse? The tiny nod of his head? You know he’s going to choose it.”

Christian turns around with the axe and saunters to the top of the lane.

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