Justin with water at the same time Row does. It does nothing. The men are maniacs. Justin keeps on, winning the game, while Walker tosses his gun down and leaps up, ready to kill me.
“Fuckin’ cheat,” he growls, tossing the yellow stuffed banana with dreads that the carny gave him at me.
“Me?” Backing away, I smile at him.
“Yeah.” He advances on me. “You.”
Taking a step back, I bump into someone, hard.
“Whoa,” the voice says, catching my shoulder while the other person sneers, “Watch it.”
Justin turns to Row and before I know it he’s off chasing her around while I’m left standing like an idiot, staring at the two people I just backed over.
For fuck’s sake. Why?
It’s Zac and Nadia .
Zac stares at me with narrowed eyes, his hand still on my shoulder. Nadia glares at me, annoyed. All I can do is stand like a fucking bump on a log, looking at them hand in hand. All the fun I was just having dies.
Looking between them and their entwined hands, I close my eyes briefly, steeling myself.
That should be my hand in his.
I want to tear her arm off and hit her with it.
Walker has no idea what’s going on. He’s still laughing, taunting me, while I’m stuck, rooted to the grass. Clueless, Walker scoops me up and shakes me around, laughing, before giving his attention to Zac.
“Walker,” he growls, trying to sound nice, but failing when he greets him. I can see it in Zac’s eyes that he’s not happy Walker’s hands are on me, and it makes me happy he’s unhappy.
Walker stops manhandling me and sets me down on my feet, but his hands linger longer than necessary, and Zac notices.
God, Zac looks good tonight. Even acting like an asshole, he’s handsome. Wearing cutoff, beat up Carhartts, muddy cork boots, and a greasy hickory shirt unzipped with a white one under it, he’s still the sexiest man in the world.
Justin’s dressed in the same getup, but it’s just not the same on him as it is on Zac.
Zac stares for a minute longer than he should, because Nadia jerks her hand from his and turns away, pulling her phone from her frilly little purse.
“You almost ready?” Zac asks Justin, his voice tight, irritated when he finally looks away from me.
“Yep.” Justin winks, pulling at his Stihl suspenders, letting them snap back against his chest.
“Good. See you out there.” Zac doesn’t say another word. No good-bye, and no good luck. He just turns and stomps off, Nadia hot on his heels, trying to keep up.
~~~~~~
“Who knew I’d be back at these old bleachers twice in three weeks,” I laugh, lingering by the railing.
“Everything happens here,” Walker says, patting the side of the old wood stadium. “Town’s too small to do this shit anywhere else.” That’s true.
A body occupies every seat in the place, not that I could sit through this anyways. I stand instead, nervously chewing on my once pretty nails, staring out onto the field, my eyes unblinking.
The football field is no longer being used for football. Tonight there are fallen trees propped up and held down by cables in one corner. In the other are rows of logs laid down, ready to be cut. A giant pool sits in the middle, ready for logrolling. It’s a spectacle.
I listen for a while as the announcers tease and taunt the audience. They read off the list of events and call out the names of the participants. They tell bad jokes and act like fools up in the booth, but everyone eats it up.
Through it all, I bite back the nerves. Ten years ago, someone fell to their death climbing one of those trees. A few years before that, someone lost a foot. And people get hurt every damn year. I know Zac and Justin do this shit every day at work, but watching it is a lot different than knowing it.
“Now, don’t go chewing off all your nails,” Walker laughs, slinging an arm over my shoulders.
“Shut up,” I warn him as I pull away, focusing intently on the guys.
I watch them chop, saw, and hack their way across the
“Fuckin’ cheat,” he growls, tossing the yellow stuffed banana with dreads that the carny gave him at me.
“Me?” Backing away, I smile at him.
“Yeah.” He advances on me. “You.”
Taking a step back, I bump into someone, hard.
“Whoa,” the voice says, catching my shoulder while the other person sneers, “Watch it.”
Justin turns to Row and before I know it he’s off chasing her around while I’m left standing like an idiot, staring at the two people I just backed over.
For fuck’s sake. Why?
It’s Zac and Nadia .
Zac stares at me with narrowed eyes, his hand still on my shoulder. Nadia glares at me, annoyed. All I can do is stand like a fucking bump on a log, looking at them hand in hand. All the fun I was just having dies.
Looking between them and their entwined hands, I close my eyes briefly, steeling myself.
That should be my hand in his.
I want to tear her arm off and hit her with it.
Walker has no idea what’s going on. He’s still laughing, taunting me, while I’m stuck, rooted to the grass. Clueless, Walker scoops me up and shakes me around, laughing, before giving his attention to Zac.
“Walker,” he growls, trying to sound nice, but failing when he greets him. I can see it in Zac’s eyes that he’s not happy Walker’s hands are on me, and it makes me happy he’s unhappy.
Walker stops manhandling me and sets me down on my feet, but his hands linger longer than necessary, and Zac notices.
God, Zac looks good tonight. Even acting like an asshole, he’s handsome. Wearing cutoff, beat up Carhartts, muddy cork boots, and a greasy hickory shirt unzipped with a white one under it, he’s still the sexiest man in the world.
Justin’s dressed in the same getup, but it’s just not the same on him as it is on Zac.
Zac stares for a minute longer than he should, because Nadia jerks her hand from his and turns away, pulling her phone from her frilly little purse.
“You almost ready?” Zac asks Justin, his voice tight, irritated when he finally looks away from me.
“Yep.” Justin winks, pulling at his Stihl suspenders, letting them snap back against his chest.
“Good. See you out there.” Zac doesn’t say another word. No good-bye, and no good luck. He just turns and stomps off, Nadia hot on his heels, trying to keep up.
~~~~~~
“Who knew I’d be back at these old bleachers twice in three weeks,” I laugh, lingering by the railing.
“Everything happens here,” Walker says, patting the side of the old wood stadium. “Town’s too small to do this shit anywhere else.” That’s true.
A body occupies every seat in the place, not that I could sit through this anyways. I stand instead, nervously chewing on my once pretty nails, staring out onto the field, my eyes unblinking.
The football field is no longer being used for football. Tonight there are fallen trees propped up and held down by cables in one corner. In the other are rows of logs laid down, ready to be cut. A giant pool sits in the middle, ready for logrolling. It’s a spectacle.
I listen for a while as the announcers tease and taunt the audience. They read off the list of events and call out the names of the participants. They tell bad jokes and act like fools up in the booth, but everyone eats it up.
Through it all, I bite back the nerves. Ten years ago, someone fell to their death climbing one of those trees. A few years before that, someone lost a foot. And people get hurt every damn year. I know Zac and Justin do this shit every day at work, but watching it is a lot different than knowing it.
“Now, don’t go chewing off all your nails,” Walker laughs, slinging an arm over my shoulders.
“Shut up,” I warn him as I pull away, focusing intently on the guys.
I watch them chop, saw, and hack their way across the
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