Page 40 of Dichotomy

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“You’ve been practically vibrating with excitement since we walked in here, so yes, I’m sure.”

She grinned, and my heart skipped a beat. The dark blue jeans she wore hugged her ass as she bent over to examine her options. I dragged my eyes away before she noticed, then glared at a few frat boys a couple of lanes over. They were smarter than they looked, because their attention immediately went back to their own lane.

Evelyn chose a smaller axe for her first throw. She stepped up to the yellow line and lifted the axe to behind her ear. Stepping forward, she released the axe, and it sliced through the air before landing at the bottom of the board with a solidthunk.

“I did it!” Evelyn exclaimed, her eyes shining as she turned back to me.

“I never had any doubt,” I assured her, smiling when she blushed.

She retrieved the axe and placed it back on the table. “Your turn.” She gestured to the weapons.

I selected a larger axe and stepped up to the line. It had been quite a few years since I had gone to a place like this. The last time I went was with some military buddies when we were on leave. Hopefully, I wasn’t about to embarrass myself.

I pulled my arm back and released the axe as I stepped forward. I swung it a little harder than I needed to, and the top of the axe hit the bottom of the board and clattered to the floor.

“Damn it,” I cursed quietly.

Evelyn giggled, and I realized then and there that I would miss the board every time if I got to hear her make that soundall night. Evelyn rarely let go, and the last few weeks had been especially rough.

“Want to make it interesting?” she said after we each threw some practice throws.

“What are you proposing?” I raised an eyebrow at her. She wanted to bet?

She bit her lip, thinking for a moment. “How about for every hit to the center of the board, we get to ask the other person a question?”

There were definitely things I wanted to know about her, so I nodded. Plus, I had looked up what to do on a first date earlier today and playing twenty questions was one of the suggestions. Lame? Probably. But I hadn’t been on a date in years, and I didn’t want to screw this one up.

“Agreed.”

She stepped up to the throwing line, sticking with the smaller axe she had been practicing with. Her throw was good but just an inch too far to the left of bullseye. She frowned but stepped aside so I could throw.

Thud.

My axe hit dead center, and her eyebrows flew up. “Holding out on me, Stone, until there was a bet going?”

I chuckled. “Maybe. I’ve got to stay on my toes around you.”

She rolled her eyes but smiled. “What’s your question?” She took a deep breath, her smile faltering and her shoulders tightening, like she was preparing herself.

“What’s your favorite snack?” I asked.

Her brow furrowed as her shoulders relaxed. She must not have expected an easy question. I wanted to know everything about her. Every secret. But I also didn’t want to ruin what we were building. So I was going to try to be patient. Key word there wastry.

She blew out a breath. “Hmm, I don’t know if I have a favorite. I like cookies when I’m craving something sweet and trail mix when I’m craving something salty.”

I nodded. “I like pistachios,” I offered. “The little packets you can get on an airplane.”

She cocked her head like she hadn’t expected my answer. I wish I could read her like the others could. I would pay good money to know what she was thinking about our date so far.

“Your turn,” I said.

She stepped back up to the line. This time when she threw the axe, it sliced through the air, hitting almost dead center. She was a quick learner.

“What’s the most lawyerly thing you’ve ever done? Bonus points if someone rolled their eyes,” she asked with a smirk.

I laughed. “Someone, you mean, other than you?”