Page 9 of Cross Check My Heart
Paige crashes into my side, linking her arm with mine as she jumps up and down.
“Garrett is getting some change so we can play.” I laugh, glancing over to Garrett as the bartender slides him some change.
“Does the poor guy know he’s about to have his ass handed to him?” Paige grins back at me as she bounces on her toes.
“Nope!”
Garrett comes up behind us and passes Dominik a couple dollar bills and says he’ll be right back.
“So, are we playing guys versus girls, or should we couple up?” Garrett questions when he returns with a couple glasses of water.
“It’s you and me Gare-Bear. Apparently, these girls know how to bring the heat.” Dominik’s heated gaze trails over me, not even trying to hide the fact that he is checking me out. My cheeks flush, but instead of looking away, I wait for him to finish checking me out and meet his heavy gaze. I don’t give myself a moment to think anything through as I pull my arm from Paige and take a step toward Dominik.
“I should warn you… I won’t hold back.” The smile he gives me has my heart rate spiking as he takes a backward step toward the dart board.
“I wouldn’t want you to, Sunshine.”
“We’ll see if you’re still saying that after the first round.”
As predicted, we beat the guys without even breaking a sweat. Before we start the next game, Paige decides she needs another drink, grabbing Garrett by the hand to drag him along with her. Shooting me a devilish smile and a wink before turning and shouting over her shoulder.
“You two can play a round against each other while we grab drinks.”
Knowing Paige, she’s going to take her sweet time at the bar and keep Garrett distracted. Rolling my eyes, I turn back toward Dominik who is already watching me. With his full attention on me, I fight the urge to look away and motion to the machine.
“Well?” Dom lets out a low laugh and steps toward me, forcing me to tilt my head back to keep my eyes on him.
“Think you can beat me without your other half by your side?” I cross my arms over my chest, not missing the way his gaze shoots to the exposed skin. Smirking, I quirk an eyebrow.
“Is that a challenge?” His chuckle is enough to have me tightening my thighs. Is it normal to get turned on by a freaking laugh?
“If you want it to be. A challenge would mean that the winner gets something at the end of the game.” My heart stutters. At this point, I’m just accepting the fact that I have a permanent blush on my face from this man. Sucking in a breath, without letting myself think twice, I nod.
“Deal.” After putting a couple bills into the machine and grabbing the darts, Dominik turns back with a smile.
“Ladies first.” I reach out to take the darts from him but before I can grab them, he gently closes his hand around mine. With thedarts pressed lightly between our palms, I swallow my nerves and take a step forward, closing the small gap between us.
“And what are the prizes?” My voice sounds a bit breathy and so unlikeme,but I ignore it as I hold his gaze. His eyes take in every inch of my face as he thinks it over. The careful consideration he’s putting into this throws me off, considering I had been expecting a quick and dirty response.
“If I win, I get to take you to dinner tomorrow.” I can only blink in response.I wasn’t expecting that.I nod slowly, watching him closely.
“Dinner?” He only nods in response, his eyes shining with amusement.
“Okay then…ifyou win this round, we can go to dinner tomorrow.”
“And if you win…”
“If I win…” I pause, unsure of what to say. I glance over at Paige, who is leaning against the bar turned toward Garrett but watching me. She smiles when she catches me looking at her and I find myself wondering what Paige would say.
“If I win, I get your number.” He lets out a surprised laugh but agrees by gently squeezing my hand before letting go and stepping back. Leaning an elbow against the table, he waves a hand for me to start.
Eventually, we both stop staying out of each other’s way. I notice that his touches start lingering when he passes the darts to me after each move. When he went to move past me a couple of times, I would turn slightly so that his toned arms brush against my chest. It’s silly, and something that I would have done with a high school crush. Last week I had convinced myself that because I had gone so long in my last relationship without craving physical touch, that I would be perfectly fine on my own.
Yet now, I’m aching for a ridiculously hot man tograzeagainst me.
Dominik finishes his next turn and stalks up to me with the darts in his hand. He’s been doing better without Paige and Garret on our team and manages to keep up with me. We chose a basic round of who gets to zero first, and if I concentrate now, I could beat him in this turn.
I step up to the small, faded tape line on the floor, only this time, Dominik doesn’t return to the bartop table. Instead, he stays close enough that all I can focus on is the warmth radiating off him. I suck in a deep breath, attempting to ignore his presence as I pull my hand back to release the dart, Dominik closes the distance between us by stepping up behind me.
