Page 76 of Overtime
“Ladies first,” Jamal says, which is a mistake.
“Thank you.” I bat my eyelashes at him and accept the green darts from his hand, since they match my clothes.
Aran shouldn’t have sobered me up with his scorching look, either. Because I stand behind the line on the floor, push my hair behind my shoulders, and shoot.
And it’s a bullseye.
Silence reigns among the group.
I turn to Jamal, still smiling sweetly. “And now it’s your turn.”
“Dayum!”
“Girl! You weren’t kidding, huh?” Amber says.
My shoulders shake with a chuckle. “No, I wasn’t.”
Jamal’s okay. Certainly better than Mark. But I make such quick work of him that Aran and Amber step up to this board instead. On his way, Aran narrows his eyes at me, and I shrug.
“Are you a national darts champion, or something? Because that was amazing,” Mark says as I join them to watch who will end up winning between Christine and Archie.
“No, I was simply a very bored kid in her room,” I say without adding that I was also very lonely growing up as an outcast of society. That’s why I got into reading, writing, knitting—just anything I could do to pass the time without feeling like it was all a waste.
Funny how some of those skills now got me new friends, huh?
Finally, Archie pumps a fist in the air. “Yes, baby! That’s what I’m talking about!”
The Strikes groan, and the Bolts celebrate. But not for long, because Ryan steps up. “Now you’re against me, Archibald.”
“Bring it on, Ryan not Meg.”
I snort a laugh.
A particularly strong thwack diverts my attention. It must’ve come from Aran, since he’s at the line.
“Crap,” Amber says, frowning at the board. “Looks like Maddie wasn’t the only dark horse.”
They only have one dart left each. Seeing as how Amber throws the green ones, I check the board to see where the red ones are and… they’re so close to the bullseye there’s no way Amber’s revenge on men will succeed tonight.
Sure enough, Aran wins with the next throw, and the Bolts celebrate again.
“Where was all your big talk, Archie boy?” Ryan teases after the redhead Bolt throws a really bad shot.
Poor Archie’s face now matches his hair color. But he doesn’t let it get to him, unfortunately. After one more throw each, the clear winner is the Bolt.
As he celebrates by bumping his chest against Jamal’s, Ryan heads over and puts her hands on my shoulders. “All our hopes and dreams now rest on you, Berkley.”
On my right, Christine says, “You got this, Maddie.”
“That’s right.” On my left, Amber nods. “You’re amazing. Go get them, tigress.”
“Gee, no pressure, huh?”
“No, there’s pressure. You have to defeat the double-A battery for us.” Ryan shakes me a little. “Can you do this?”
“Uh, I don’t know, but I’ll try?”
“With a bit more certainty next time, girl. It’s called manifesting.”
