Hi!

Neither of us really understood how fast we fell…but fall we did. You can learn a lot about a man by taking him axe throwing on a first date. Even though I felt I could throw pretty well…I was nervous beyond words (and everyone knows I’m never lost for words lolol). I don’t remember what I was wearing. Maybe he can tell you. Something tells me leather? It was winter and that’s usually when I wear leather because Florida is too hot to wear it otherwise. “I’m very socially awkward and will be stopping for alcohol to help…just letting you know in case I’m late”, I texted him before I arrived. I honestly had thought about cancelling because I was so on edge. (I was late, if you ask him.) “Same, though I don’t drink much,” he replied. We met at Hector’s Hatchet House…my haunt as of then. Hekter and his girlfriend Kelcie had become family to me. I’d been throwing axes for years. I should’ve been in my zone. Yet I was a ball of nerves because of one redheaded man. James was so good looking. He wore a tight black shirt. He sported shaped up hair (courtesy of barber and our photographer, Victoria), beard, and tennis shoes. The first thing I noticed was how broad he was. Then I wondered how easy it would be to teach him how to throw. It’s usually harder to teach men who are in shape. They tend to think throwing harder will help sink the axe in the wood-it doesn’t. Axe throwing is a flirty dance. A balance. A game of boundaries. Stand too close or too far…throw too hard or too soft and you won’t stick the axe. Much like dating. He had natural talent from throwing before. He had never thrown those kinds of axes though (technically they were hatchets) so there was a little bit of a learning curve. He listened to me and respected me as a teacher. I knew he would be good for me right then and there. I could see the cogs turning in his head-calculating how far he needed to be away from the target. I advised him to soften his throw. He listened. He stuck the hatchets over and over. I was definitely in my zone (I love to teach) so I didn’t talk much otherwise. I noticed he had both northern and southern influences in the way he spoke and told him. We later joked about it because he couldn’t get that notion out of his head after lolol. The date went really well even though I admittedly drank too many adult beverages lolol. Well enough that we really haven’t left each other alone since. :)