“Score!” He tosses me back and I crash down on my bed. He turns and twirls the panties for a moment then stuffs them in the front pocket of his jeans.
I shake my head. “I swear, if you don’t give those back…”
“Nope. Mine. Get dressed, please. We have things to annihilate.” He whistles and heads out to the den.
Five minutes later, I find myself bemused as I ride in his vehicle down a one-lane gravel lane outside of town. We’re in deep farm country with no houses in sight. I’ve asked him questions about what is going on, but the man is a devil…
“Just so you know, I’m not killing anything. Not even a mouse.”
“We won’t be killing anything today. Just tagging.”
Oh, the black clothes… “Paintball.” Dread hits me like a brick wall. “Dillon, come on. I’ll embarrass you.”
“Nah.” He takes his eyes off the road to give me a searching look. “Never.”
“It’s about time,” Sawyer calls out a few minutes later as we park at a clearing where several players stand around. We get out of the Escalade.
“Pool Shark!” Sawyer says when he sees me. “I have a killer idea. How about you participating in some skee-ball next week with the girls—”
I put my hands on my hips. “Pool was a one-off.”
He laughs.
“You’re late and you have all the equipment,” Troy snips to Dillon as he jogs up. “We haven’t won in three years. This time, we almost lost by forfeit.” He flicks his eyes to me, surprised. “You brought a girl.”
“Serena,” I reply, arching a brow. “Right here.”
He blinks. “I know. You’re just the first girl to ever play with us.”
Ah…
“Cool your jets, Texas. Had to pick up our best player,” Dillon says.
I snort. “I’m here for comedic relief.”
Dillon hands out equipment to our team—helmets, guns, vests—and Troy hands out green glow sticks for our necks. I eye the other team, who are also dressed in camo and black. Their leader passes out red glow sticks. Okay, green versus red. There are two teams. I can do this.
“Why do we need vests?” I ask.
“Cause it’s gonna hurt like a bitch when you get hit,” Sawyer tells me. “Suit up.”
“Huddle!” Dillon yells, and we group around him. My vest feels restrictive and I tug at it while he looks at us individually, his eyes steely. Authority and confidence color his words. This is the way he captains his team, I think.
He claps his hands. “Alright, let’s beat these guys. Pair up, you know the drill…”
No, wait, I don’t…
He snaps out scenarios for our strategy with words like bunker, battle pack, hopper, basecamp… I get lost.
They whoop and fist-bump, and, of course, I miss Sawyer’s high-five.
We walk to the other team and shake hands with the defensive players; most are brawny and thick and look as if they weigh twice what I do.
Trash-talking commences.
“Quarterback thinks he can roll in late…bunch of scared pussies…”
“Gonna aim for your face, Zane,” Dillon shoots out.
“Trophy is ours!” calls Troy, adjusting his visor.
“I’m taking down the girl,” someone cackles.
My eyes widen. “Can’t I just watch, like from the sidelines?”
Dillon pats my helmet. “I’ll take care of you.”
“Uh-huh. I’m the only girl.”
“Because I like you.”
“I like you too, jersey chaser,” a burly player says before snapping his teeth at me. Linebacker. Jagger something. Big and mean.
“He’s just messing with your head,” Dillon murmurs as he hands me my paintball gun. “Don’t hold it like it’s a bomb. Come here.” He stands next to me and positions the weapon in my hands, showing me the trigger and safety. “When you see a red glow stick, aim and shoot. You’re good at pool, this’ll be easy.”
A bead of sweat drips down my back. “As long as I don’t see blood…”
He grins. “Just breathe.”
Fairy lights flicker on as if they were on a timer, illuminating paths deep into the woods.
“What are the rules?” I ask anxiously. “It kind of ran together in the huddle.” In other words, I don’t understand your jargon.
“The game is like a horror movie—kidding. It’s awesome, and you’ll get high on the adrenaline. See the paths? We’ll run on those, hide in the woods, and take out the red team. Barricades make for great hiding places. Friendly fire counts, so if you shoot one of your own team, they’re out. Each team has a base.” He points at a small fort next to a fence and a green flag. “That’s us. Their camp is on the other side of those woods with a red flag.”
“The dark woods?”
“Yeah.”
“And I have to run with a helmet, a gun, and a vest?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m going to kill you.”
He grins.
“Slowly. Maybe while you sleep. Or poison.”
He looks delighted. “You like to win, right?”
“Hell yeah.” Tension rolls off me.
“Badass girl—I knew you’d get it. The defense killed us last year, so we need your spunk. Two ways to win: either wipe out the players on the other side, or steal their flag and move it all the way back to our basecamp.”
He rubs black face paint on himself then on me.
“Defense has gone to their base,” Sawyer says to the group around us. I stare at his goggles. Fancy. He flashes me a smirk. “Out here they call me Bullseye because I never miss.”
Dillon smirks. “Bullseye was the last man standing last year and almost made it back with their flag before he was shot. This year he’s out for blood.”
Sawyer raises his gun and makes a shout.
“What’s up with the goggles?” I ask him.
He pulls them down over his eyes.
“Night vision. Army surplus.”
“Where are my night vision goggles?” I ask Dillon.
He throws an arm around me. “The rest of us just run around in the dark. More fun that way.”
So. Much. Fun.
I follow my team to our fort, counting nine of us as the guys touch the flag for luck. I dash for it, sending a prayer
