"That's generally how it works, yeah."
"I've never even held an axe."
"Perfect! Neither had I until last month." He shrugs off his hoodie, no skin flashing this time,thank god,and heads to a lane. "C'mon, it's fun. Very stress-relieving."
"This seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen."
"That's why we signed waivers online." He grins at my expression. "I forged your signature. Don't tell."
"Gavin!"
"Kidding! I sent you the link yesterday. You clicked it."
I did click it. Thought it was spam and deleted it immediately after. "This is insane."
"This is fun." He picks up an axe, testing its weight. "Plus, we can work on my list while we throw. Multitasking!"
"The wrist," I repeat, like I'm capable of processing information right now.
"Exactly. Ready?"
No. Not even a little bit. His cologne is mixing with beer and sawdust, and I want to lean back into him. Want to see what would happen if I just?—
"Doc?"
"Ready."
We move together, his hands guiding mine through the motion. The axe leaves my grip and… thunk, dead center.
"Holy shit!" I'm jumping before I realize it. "Did you see?—"
CRACK.
The top of my head connects with his chin. Hard.
"Ow, fuck!" We say it in unison, me grabbing my head, him rubbing his jaw.
"I'm so sorry!" I'm mortified, still somehow excited about the throw. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." He's laughing, working his jaw side to side. "Jesus, you have a hard head."
"You have a hard chin!"
"That's... not usually what people complain about." He's still rubbing it, grinning despite the impact. "Worth it though. Did you see your throw?"
My face is doing something embarrassing. Smiling. Definitely smiling.
He drops his hand from his chin, and there's a little red mark I want to touch. "Knew you'd be good at this."
"How could you possibly know that?"
"You're precise. Focused. Good at following instructions." His eyes drop to my mouth for a fraction of a second. "Very good at following instructions."
The air between us charges. This feels like… but it can't be…
"So!" I step back, nearly tripping over my own feet. "The list! We should do the list."
There’s a flicker across his face flickers across his face, but he nods. "Right. The list." He grabs another axe. "First word?"
