Page 35 of Say Something
“What the heck, Jess?” Michael bellowed, coming up behind me.
I shook my head, I honestly didn’t know. It was no secret I was a dart hustler back in the day. Not here at The Bar because I wasn’t old enough to be here before I left town, but in our friends’ garages, basements, and game rooms. There wasn’t much to do in a small town so we had a lot of house parties. Most of us had dart boards and pool tables. The pool tables were always hogged by guysteachinggirls how to play, so I threw darts.
Evidently, I’d lost that skill.
And apparently I’d drawn an audience. Thank you, Michael.
I lined up again, hell bent on making this next shot. I felt Danny behind me, my body coming alive from his proximity.
“Just take it easy,” he said, his voice a whisper. “The dart is just an extension of your hand.”
I looked over my shoulder at him and sneered. “They teach you that in coach school?” I asked.
He laughed. A few people around us laughed, too. Probably thankful that Danny and I were in each others’ presence, and it wasn’t awkward. It was about damn time it wasn’t awkward. Things in Oak River might be okay after all, they probably all thought, secretly celebrating.
I pulled my arm back, threw the dart.
Bullseye!
I shrieked, bouncing and clapping my hands like I’d just won the lottery rather than gotten a one out of three on our fake little game. People around me cheered, excited simply because I was excited. I spun around, trying to find Danny.
He was there. He was alwaysrightthere. He wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me in the air, spinning us around in circles. It was an exaggerated celebration of nothing, but I reveled in the closeness. Mostly because it didn’t hurt. Being close to him like that didn’t hurt. It felt like old times, and I loved the nostalgia.
Danny let me down and released me. I felt his absence immediately, but was distracted by the high fives of our friends and neighbors. It was ridiculous, celebrating one lousy bullseye so emphatically, but it was more than that, I thought.
It was a reunion. A welcome home and a bid farewell. A celebration of new beginnings and old goodbyes. It was a genuinely good time. A Friday night in a small town.
I let myself wonder for a few moments...why was it I’d been so desperate to leave this place? Why didn’t I ever want to come back?
Oak River wasn’t so bad. I caught Danny’s eye across the room and he smiled—one of the smiles he reserved only for me. I felt my face flush, my body full of awareness. No, Oak River wasn’t so bad at all.
