14. Zeth #4
The way Amby scrunched his face to refrain from smiling was a small step in the right direction.
He turned and readied a dart by holding it parallel to the floor while his arm moved back and forth to judge the distance.
I eyed his technique but got distracted by how well his tailored vest fit his solid chest and narrow waist. And those well-defined hips of his begged to be held.
I could imagine myself standing behind him and grabbing them to pull against me.
What a wonderful visual, so much that I forced my gaze higher to admire his open-collared shirt to calm myself down.
Seeing the faded love bites on his neck where my kisses claimed him only roused me more. He wasn’t hiding those. A feeling of pride blew through me at how Amby so boldly displayed my marks. He declared himself taken. Mine.
Only, he wasn’t mine, was he?
Amby’s dart pierced the outer edge of the board, and he sighed, his speech slow as he said, “Shit.”
“That’s alright,” I assured him, as a good teammate does. As friends do . “I’m sure you just aimed low to make me feel better.”
“Oh yeah? Let’s see if you can throw better than you can balance on a chicken coop.”
I chuckled at his joking, but my concern for our future as friends tallied up higher as I weighed the projectile in my hand. When I tossed it, I tried to look like I played a hundred times prior, but my dart flew straight to the floor. My hopes to impress went right along with it.
Amby snorted from behind before his hand gripped my shoulder. “That was amazing, loved every moment,” he said over the brothers’ jeering.
“I aim to please,” I bantered back, glad I’d somewhat eased the tension between us.
When Amby’s eyes lit up, I drank in the sight. He was far more intoxicating than liquor, and I knew he tasted even better.
Todd broke the moment by nudging my side. “I hope your aim in bed doesn’t match your skills in darts. You may end up like my brother here, with no wife or kids.”
“Hey, I’ve got my cap set for someone, thank you,” Arthur bantered back. Then he turned on me by tossing around a few one-liners about my bedroom skills, and Todd ruthlessly joined in.
My coworkers at the auction had told dirty jokes too, enough to give me a solid education, but I never felt welcome in their fold.
Always an outsider. Yet, tonight, the brother’s lighthearted ribbing had me laughing along, especially after Amby shot me a sympathetic glance. It felt good to be one of the guys.
“Ah, this brings back some memories of the three of us hanging out,” Arthur said with a pat to his broad chest. “We should do this more often. The Tremendous Trio!”
Amby shook his head. “You can’t… copy us.” His eyes flicked to mine. When I smiled, he averted his gaze and scratched the back of his neck.
“Yeah,” I agreed and stepped closer to Amby’s side. “We’ve been the Daring Duo since the early school days. It’s our thing.”
Todd paused mid-aim. “Wait! You two are the Daring Duo? Do you know how many times I’ve heard people complain about you growing up?”
“We know,” Amby and I said in unison. When we both eyed each other, something sparked between us.
“So, you two were responsible for the Thomas’ shed burning down… I helped put it out. That thing almost caused a fire in the field!”
“Uh…” Amby started, then he grabbed someone’s leftover mug of beer and took a big gulp to avoid answering. He looked guilty as sin as his throat bobbed from swallowing it down.
I shook my head at his antics. “Aye, I can tell you firsthand that jumping through a flaming hoop is harder than it appears. And we were justly punished for it. Right, Amby?”
Amby wiped his mouth before saying, “Right. My father didn’t let me see you for a whole month.”
Arthur tsked. “You two were so bad, I’m surprised the Field Witch didn’t get a hold of you.”
“Ain’t no Field Witch.” Todd shook his head as he removed the darts from the board. “I told you that’s just the old hag who lives out near the river who doesn’t like people.”
“Oh no, the Witch is real,” his brother countered. “I saw an actual monster in the field when walking home one night from the pub. She looks like a normal lady, until she unhinges her jaw wide enough to fit someone’s whole head in there.”
“I think you were drunk that night,” Amby slurred, smirking.
“ You’re drunk right now, what do you know?” Arthur tousled Amby’s hair, and Amby nudged him away with a faint smile before taking the darts from him.
The air relaxed around us, and I was grateful to my friend for stirring such memories, even if they were ones of Amby and I being troublemakers. It connected us, and that’s all I wanted.
“So tell us, Zeth,” Arthur piped up. “You looking to settle down?”
“Oh…” I turned to see Amby watching me curiously.
My mouth went dry at the thought of mentioning Anna in front of him.
“I returned to town with plans, aye. Marriage, kids, and the rest.” I raked a hand through my hair to avoid seeing Amby’s reaction to my words.
“I wouldn’t mind children someday. They’re pretty great to have around. Snotty, but fun.”
Amby stepped up beside me, his jaw clenching. “Right, Zeth here has decided to court Annabelle Winters.” He threw his next dart so aggressively that it splintered the wall.
“Goodness, that’s quite the endeavor,” Arthur said with something like bemused disbelief.
Todd nodded. “Yeah, best of luck to you.”
“With charm, who needs luck?” I assured Arthur brashly with a flirtatious wink. Both brothers snorted into their mugs at my joke.
“Yes, with charm, you can easily get whoever you want,” Amby said. I was about to tease him when he hesitated, looked from me to the floor, and said, “You know, actually… I think I’m done for tonight. I’m not feeling well. Sorry.” He turned, handing me his last dart as he staggered away.
Worry hit me hard as I realized Amby thought I had charmed him in the barn.
When I started after him, Arthur gripped my elbow to hold me back.
Arthur was right, Amby wasn’t my responsibility, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to tell him I didn’t consider him easily gotten. He was certainly hard to let go.
It was Todd who assisted Amby with retrieving his jacket, tugging it over his shoulders while Amby moved with jerky movements. He needed water, and a cold cloth to his head. I could—
“My brother’s cabin isn’t far from the Somerset estate,” Arthur interrupted my stray thoughts. “He sometimes walks home with Amby when we drink, since Amby went missing for a whole night once. No one knew where he was till late the next day.”
That made me worry more, but Arthur shrugged, his face softening. “I admit I worry about him. He’s become too withdrawn lately, but he’ll be fine tonight. Right as rain in the morning, I’m sure.”
Nodding, I watched Amby stumble down the doorstep. I wished I felt so sure.