Chapter 31
DANNY
“Areyou sure this is a good idea?”
“Positive,” Isabella says, her eyes glued to the bull’s eye in front of us.
I watch as she chucks an axe at a bright red target painted onto a wooden wall. The axe lands just a few inches left of dead center.
I swallow and dart my gaze around Chuck It, an axe throwing spot in north Portland. A dozen massive targets take up the perimeter of the space, each one marked off with chain-link dividers. I kick at the concrete floor and glance up at the bar, which sits at the center of the space.
“I don’t know about this, Isabella.” I frown. “People come here to get drunk and throw axes? Seems kinda dangerous.”
She lets out a boisterous laugh that attracts the attention of every guy on this side of the bar. “Of course it’s dangerous. That’s the point.”
I watch as their gazes drop to the skin-tight jeans she’s wearing. They all zero in on her ass. She walks over to the bull’s eye, rips her axe from the wall, then returns to the throwing spot before chucking it once more, this time hitting the center. A chorus of cheers and whistles follow. Isabella beams, giving a cute little bow to her audience of admirers.
“I don’t know how the hell you do that.” I nod to the four-inch stilettos she’s wearing. “In heels, no less.”
“It’s a talent.” She winks at me before checking the clock on the wall. Just then the front door opens and in walks a guy who looks like he was an extra in “Vikings.” He’s a few inches taller than me and probably has about seventy pounds of pure muscle on me.
Isabella scurries over to me and pecks me on the lips. My eyes bulge before I blink and compose myself. I can feel Viking dude staring daggers at me as I slink my arms around Isabella’s waist. It takes a few seconds before the muscles in my body start to ease from their tension-knots. This is all cool—in fact, it’s going exactly to plan.
We prepped before our date so I know the setup: Isabella has just started seeing a new guy, Carl, who apparently gets off on getting jealous. He likes it when other guys get flirty with her, then he confronts them, there’s a bit of posturing, then Isabella and Carl go home together for a fun romp in bed.
Today I’m playing the role of “guy who flirts with Isabella to make Carl jealous.” Yeah, it’s not a common couples’ activity, but who cares? It seems like Isabella has figured out a way to satisfy her need for jealousy-fueled drama in a relatively safe way. This is way, way better than when we went on a date in front of her bartender ex. And I can definitely relate to how a bit of jealousy works to amp up attraction. Eden and I definitely played into that feeling our first time together.
And I’m not one to judge other people’s kinks—as long as it’s consensual, I fully support it. And I’m even getting paid for this one.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Carl scowling at us before he stomps up to the bar. Isabella leans her glossy red lips to my ear. “Grab my ass.”
She kisses the side of my neck before I do what she tells me. Even though we’re standing a dozen feet away from Carl, I can hear him growl.
Isabella grins wide and makes a giddy noise. “This is working out so well! Thank you, Danny!”
“No problem.” I can feel a cold sweat break out on the back of my neck. Yes, I know this is essentially an elaborate role play, but I can’t help the anxiety coursing through me. It’s my body’s natural response to be freaked out at the prospect of pissing off a muscled giant who could undoubtedly kick my ass.
But to my surprise and relief, Carl stays standing at the bar, leering at Isabella and me as we take turns throwing axes between cute touches and quick kisses.
“See? Told you, you had nothing to worry about.” Isabella pats my arm.
I throw my axe, wincing as it lands outside of the target.
“You could save yourself a few bucks and just chat up a random guy instead of hiring me,” I joke when I hand her the axe. She shakes her head.
“No way. We tried that before and that was a disaster. Too many guys tried to fight Carl over me. Carl kicked their asses, of course.”
I hazard a glance at him. He’s glaring at me over the rim of his glass.
“Best to hire a professional like you. You know exactly where this starts and ends.”
She leans her body against mine, her fingertips playing along the waistband of my jeans. Heavy footsteps stomp up to me. “Hands off my girl.”
I twist my head up at Carl and immediately step away from Isabella, my hands up in the air in surrender. “Sorry, man.”
I glance over at Isabella, who’s beaming up at Carl.
He sets his massive hand on her hip, pulls her against him, and leads her in a kiss that has the entire bar gawking.
“Meet me in the parking lot.”
With those grunted words, Carl is out the door. Isabella turns to me, that giddy smile on her face. “A little jealousy goes a long way in keeping things fun. And sexy. You should try it sometime.”
“I have actually.”
She pauses mid-way into putting on her jacket. “Really?”
I nod. “Remember that woman I kept looking at on our first date together?”
I explain how I took her advice and in my bout of jealousy went to Eden and confessed my feelings, and how it led to us finally being together.
Isabella’s eyes go wide as she grins at me. She shoves my shoulder playfully. “Aww, Danny! That’s so great! So happy for you.”
I grin.
“Look at you, smitten boy.”
“You’re right about that.”
She crosses her arms over her chest, her expression turning thoughtful. “I thought you looked a little different when I first saw you tonight.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You look happy. Giddy, even. And now I know why.”
I think back to the few weeks that Eden and I have officially been together. Isabella is right. Happy and giddy is exactly how I feel ever since getting together with Eden. Even when I was being an angsty and quiet jerk and shutting her out, we worked through it. It feels like a blip on our otherwise incredible time together.
Yeah, it’s still early—we’re still technically in the honeymoon phase of dating, the blissful beginning when it’s all sex and flirty chats. But I can’t remember feeling this way with anyone before.
Isabella smirks at me. “Completely and utterly smitten.” She starts to walk away, but then stops herself and turns back to me. “Oh! Before I forget, I’ll definitely be booking with you again, but I’ll probably start booking more dates with additional guys from Dream Guy. You know, to keep things spicy and exciting.”
I nod. “Makes sense.”
She pulls a small piece of paper from her pocket. “These are the various scenarios Carl and I want to try out. Can you recommend some of your coworkers?”
I skim the list as she shows it to me.
I smile. “I have definitely have some guys in mind.”