VOLKO

Chapter Thirty-Two

"Tough guy my ass, he's scared to throw a fucking axe." Benji muttered to himself but loud enough for everyone to hear.

To my surprise Dean began to laugh.

"The reason I'm good at what I do is because I don't let people goad me into action." He said, downing the last of the water in his cup.

"It'll be fun." I leaned towards Dean, enjoying how his eyes instantly went to my lips. "And you'll smash them all."

After a moment of thought Dean stood up, "You've got to play as well then."

"Yes, let's do this. Not crying ladies okay." Ryker playfully pushed past Kimi as he grabbed the axe laying by what looked like a freshly chopped pile of wood.

Josiah laid a stick on the floor and began to read off the rules, well rule. Don't step over the stick. He handed the axe to Dean who waited less than a second before throwing it. I half suspected he did it in hopes of going out early. If that was his plan, it didn't work. Instead the axe hits the target bang in the middle.

Josiah clapped Dean on the back who looked as though throwing an axe was a chore rather than a game.

Next up Tammie, barely landing it on the board.

"Hey, you're still in the game." Benji encouragingly said to Tammie, who just pushed the axe into his chest more forcefully than I was comfortable with. Benji on the other hand didn't mind.

Taking his sweet time, Benji swayed back and forth on his heels before finally releasing the axe, landing it straight into the bushes.

"That's one of your brave strong manly men down." Kimi bumped into Ryker who ignored his girlfriend's outright bragging. She then followed it up with a near perfect hit, with the axe touching just on the edge of the red circle. "Megan you're up."

The weight of the thing didn't surprise me, but the sudden pressure I felt did. I looked over to everyone, all watching my every movement. The need to prove myself not only to Dean's friends but the man himself, was definitely there.

How many times has Dean saved me now? This was my moment to show I had some skills. I could hit someone with an axe if I really needed to.

With the axe dangling in my hand, I wondered how I would even be able to lift the thing high enough let alone with enough power.

Two warm hands closed over mine, showing me exactly where to hold the axe. Dean's body pressed against me, I allowed myself to lean back into the solid wall of his chest. Our faces were inches apart, and throwing this axe was the last thing I wanted to do.

Abruptly Dean was pulled away.

"Wow, what are you doing? Step away from your girl. If she fails, she fails on her own." Dean growled at Ryker, who's hand still rested on his shoulder. Shrugging him off Dean turned to me, his annoyed expression softening.

"You got this."

Taking a deep breath, I pulled the axe above my head. Pulling it forward with all my might I watched disheartened as the axe fell halfway between myself and the target, on to the ground.

Everyone's silence told me all I needed to know. Turning humiliated , Dean stepped forward wrapping an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his body. Whilst Ryker gloated to Kimi, I felt bad, like I'd let the girls down in some way.

However, the rounds carried on and before I knew it Tammie joined the losing squad, much to Diego's enjoyment. Followed by Cory, a very ungracious loser. He kicked a chair over, proving his true manly ability.

Last to join was Diego who went out in the four round, Dean patted his back as he went to stand on the side-lines. I think everyone was impressed with how far the skinny guy had got, looking at him you'd wrongly believe he wouldn't be about to even lift the thing.