35. Maxon
Thump.
Aspen’s axe digs into the wooden target, not a bullseye, but close enough that it makes me take an uneasy breath. “That’s one point.” I say.
He squints at the target. “I think it’s touching the two-point line.”
“No. It’s not.”
He casts me a dirty look. “You just don’t want me to win.” He laughs, because it’s true. If one thing can be said about Aspen and my friendship, it’s that one of our biggest challenges has been how competitive we both are.
“I don’t want you getting a big head before getting married. Poor Katie is the one that’ll have to put up with it.”
Aspen barks out a laugh. “It’s nice to know that you’re just looking out for my fiancée.” He says as he aims to throw his last axe.
I watch him for a moment, silently assessing my best friend as he focuses on the target. I’ve known him since we were four years old, and we’ve been by each other’s side through everything. Every broken bone, detention, business venture, and breakup. At one point I remember him and I swearing we’d be bachelors for the rest of our lives together. Like some weird version of the Odd Couple. Yet here we are, less than 24 hours away from his wedding and I’m trying to figure out how to tell him that I’m in love with his sister because there won’t be time after the wedding. Aspen and Katie are taking off straight from the reception for some Greek island that they’re going to spend a couple of weeks at for their honeymoon.
The idea of waiting until after they’re back had popped into my head, but I knew I couldn’t move forward with Paige without having talked to Aspen. It was one thing when it was simple flirting and proving that I still loved her, it’s completely different now that she seems to feel the same…
I’ve spent years hiding my feelings for Paige from Aspen, from everyone, and I’m not about to continue it.
Thump.
I just have to figure out how to do that without getting an axe thrown in my rear end.
When Aspen gets back to the table, axes in hand, he takes a drink from his beer as well and nods towards the doors. “When are the others joining?”
“Soon.” I say, picking up my own pair of axes from the table and starting toward the throwing line. “I asked them to wait a bit so I could talk to you about something.”
I can feel Aspen’s eyes on me as I throw my first axe and it thuds loudly against the board in the bottom right corner, gaining me an entire zero points.
“What’s up?” Aspen asks, hesitation evident in his voice. He knows as well as I do that we don’t usually hesitate to bring up a topic, that we’ve always had a very full-disclosure type of friendship. If one of us were acting like an idiot, we’d tell each other. So, my obvious pre-planning to have this conversation has set his guard on edge.
I test the axe’s weight in my hand before throwing it and it thuds about two inches to the left of the first one. “You know how when you first told me about Katie, I told you you were insane. And then we got into that argument about relationships and you said you weren’t going to take advice from me because mine never last longer than a month?”
From my peripheral, I catch him wincing slightly. “Yeah… I remember.”
“Well, you were right. My relationships don’t last. And the main reason is because I don’t want them too.” I hesitate to throw the third axe. “Because I’ve been hung up on the same girl since I was a kid.” I throw the axe and it thumps into the board for a grand total of one point, when I look to Aspen, his brows are pulled together in a frown, watching me like I’d just grown an extra head.
He’d probably take kinder to the extra head. “Since you were a kid? Who? Why haven’t you ever said anything?”
I start towards the board to pull my axes, grateful for the bit of distance it puts between us. “I never told you because it was a weird relationship, we never told anyone that we talked as much as we did, or that we even hung out. Really the only time there was a relationship was for a few weeks every summer. I didn’t really think you’d take too kindly to the idea of me dating this girl either.”
“Why?” His voice is at my shoulder and I spin around to find that he’d followed me down to the target.
It was now or never…
“Because I’m in love with Paige.” I blurt and can’t stop the flood of words that follow. “I think I’ve been in love with her since we were ten and I kissed her in the linen closet at your parent’s house. We used to see each other every time you guys were out of town, and sometimes we’d get together if you guys were busy with something. She brought her car to the shop I worked at a lot in high school and we would hang out while I worked.”
I stop and watch him for a moment while he studies me and I’m faintly aware that his axes are hanging loosely in his hand at his side. I probably should have asked him to put those down first…
He blinks. “You-you and Paige were a thing back in high school?”
“Kind of an off and on thing that I had no control over…” I say, my shoulders sagging slightly.
“And you didn’t tell me because…?” He asks, arching a brow at me.
“We didn’t want to make things weird. So Paige thought it’d be better that we just kept it to us hanging out while you guys weren’t around. Over the summers, during vacations, that type of thing. You always asked what I did over the summer, truth is I spent the entire time with her.” I take a deep breath and barrel through the next words. “Honestly I didn’t think you’d take me dating your sister that well.”
He pulls a face, then turns and hangs up his axes on a couple of pegs next to the target. “Yeah, well, you’d be about right.”
When Aspen turns back to me all I see is a fist flying towards my face.
I stumble back against the wall as a sharp pain shoots along my jaw.
He just punched me.
A metallic taste coats the inside of my mouth and although I’m pretty sure I only bit my tongue during the blow and it’s nothing too serious. I can’t say the same for Aspen who is cradling his hand though.
“Are you okay?” I say, straightening and stepping towards him and he shoots me a dirty look.
“I just punched you, you don’t get to ask if I’m the one that’s okay.” He spits back, then his body goes tense right before he launches at me, barreling me into the wall once again.
We wrestle there for a moment, and honestly, I don’t know how long we’re tousling even though I am fairly aware of the fact he isn’t throwing particularly hard punches, and I’m mainly just trying to get away. Suddenly, Aspen is hauled off of me and thrown against the other wall that brackets the axe throwing target. Theo and Aldis stand on either side of Aspen, holding onto his arms and trying to restrain him from going at me even more.
“You dated other girls while you were in school. While you were supposedly with Paige.” Aspen hisses as he struggles against his brother and cousin’s hold.
“She dated other guys too.” I shoot back, standing from the floor and dusting off my pants. “It was a weird and toxic situation that ended up confusing and hurting us a lot more than it angers you. I’m not saying that it makes it right, we were stupid kids and I should have told you. But that’s what I’m trying to do now because I am still in love with her and I’m trying my hardest to be good enough for her but I wasn’t going to make the same mistakes I made as a kid and not tell you.”
Aspen stops fighting against his holders, straightening slightly as he watches me. “You’re in love with Paige?”
I nod. “It’s always been Paige, Aspen. Always.”
He glances at his brother. “Did you know?”
Theo shrugs, sensing the decline in hostility in Aspen, and lets go of his brother’s arm. “Paige gave me a run down.” He cuts a glance at me. “And based off what she said, this is what she wants too.”
Something inside my chest springs to life at Theo’s words because, besides that last night in the cabin, Paige and I haven’t actually had any time to talk about us since I’d left. Hearing Theo say that this is what Paige wants though, that I’m what Paige wants, adds something entirely different to the equation… something that feels oddly like hope.
Aspen pulls his other arm from his cousin’s grasp. “And what if I don’t want you to date my sister?”
“I’m going to do it anyways. You just won’t like me anymore.”
He watches me, his eyes narrowed and when he speaks, he almost sounds indignant. “So, dating Paige is worth giving up everything?”
I sigh. “If I have Paige, then I have everything I need. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I wouldn’t have accepted any other answer.” He says and the corner of his mouth picks up as he takes a step towards me and holds out a hand. “Just don’t be an idiot.”
I laugh, taking his hand and we embrace each other quickly. “I’m trying really hard.”
Ben, Aspen’s other groomsman steps into our axe throwing lane then, cups and a pitcher of beer in his hands. “What’d I miss?”