“Looks like I’m going to be making double today!” Dave hollered out, earning another round of laughter from the crowd. And then, without any fanfare or warmup, he sent the knife spinning straight into the heart of theXon the tree.
Fuck. Of course.
With everyone’s laughter ringing in my ears, I took the knife and tried to focus on my second shot. My muscles were tense with nerves, however, and I couldn’t regain my focus. When I had delayed enough, I sent the knife flying and scattering to the ground again, only barely hitting the trunk of the tree.
The next rounds went just like that, with everyone hooting and hollering and each of my throws landing with a disappointing and humiliating thump against the bark or the dirt. And Dave, so full of himself I thought he was about to burst, landed five throws in the center of theX.
“That’s what you get for going up against your betters, kid,” he said, slapping my back so hard it hurt. “Just make sure to bring that cash in when we start the next job up.”
I grabbed another cigarette, lighting it with shaky hands and trying to play the whole thing off. “You’re lucky you got me on an off day,” I said, but the crew was already dispersing, done with the entertainment of my defeat.
The work day finally ending, I was so mad I could have flipped a truck over. I hated being embarrassed like that and especially in front of a bunch of guys who already thought so little of me. I was the runt there, just like I was the gay embarrassment to my father, the good-for-nothing son. The more time I spent getting pushed around by guys like Dave, the more I needed to break free and prove that I was just as tough as any man out there.
Tossing the cigarette to the ground, I pulled out my phone. With the job done, we wouldn’t need to come back until Monday, which meant I actually had some free time to kill. I was planning to spend the long weekend hunting down bar jobs, but after losing a day’s pay and an ounce of pride, I realized I needed something else.
I clicked on Malcolm’s name in my phone, getting a little rush of happiness by thinking about the way he looked at me. It only rang once before he answered.
“Hi Malcolm,” I said. “Ready for that date?”
