Page 79 of Offside

“You don’t have to.” Griffin dropped his head into his hands. “I’ve watched you do this for three months. I know exactly what’s about to happen.”

“Could be worse,” I said. I found the board’s center on instinct, the same way I found the net. Peripheral, instinctive. The dart hit clean. Then the second. Then the third. “Could be Cole.”

“Hey,” Cole said.

“When did you last beat me?”

Cole took his time. “I beat you in October.”

“You didn’t.”

“I almost beat you in October.”

“Different thing.”

Cole pointed at me. “You’re bad at plenty of other things.”

I rolled the next dart between my fingers. I let my glance slide sideways. Just for a second, just to where Maren was sitting with her back mostly to us, far enough away that the bar noise covered everything. “I’m bad at plenty of things,” I agreed, and looked back at Cole, face neutral.

Cole’s eyes narrowed.

Griffin, oblivious, made a sound of deep personal grievance as my next dart hit the bullseye.

I played Theo after, which was a different experience. Theo approached the line with his weight already forward and his shoulders squared, the same as he did at a faceoff. Compressed, deliberate, like losing would be added to a mental ledger he’d been keeping since childhood. He was also excellent, which I hadn’t expected and was not going to say out loud.

“You’ve played before,” I said.

“I have not,” Theo said, and put a dart dead center.

“That’s a lie.”

“Prove it.” The second landed half an inch from the first.

We split the game, which satisfied neither of us and had Cole laughing loud enough that Dee gave him a look from behind the bar.

I came back to the table and checked my phone. Nothing urgent. I typed a message quickly.

Ryan: Theory: Theo has been playing darts since childhood and is actively lying about it

I watched her across the table. She picked up her phone, read it, pressed her lips together. Picked up her drink. Set it down. Picked up the phone again.

Maren: That is an extremely serious accusation

Maren: Do you have evidence

Ryan: His technique is too good. Nobody is that naturally precise

Maren: Maybe he’s just better than you

Ryan: I split the game with him

Maren: So he’s exactly as good as you

Ryan: No

Maren: You’re very competitive for someone who just tied

I glanced up. She was still looking at her phone, doing the thing where she tried to keep her expression neutral and was losing. I turned back to my drink.