“Sir, you have spent the better part of this party glowering at me.”
“As have you,” Nigel pointed out, edging still closer to his ball.
“And for another, I find it deeply unlikely you would crave my company, especially as you have made it abundantly clear that mine is not company you would enjoy,” Olivia continued as though Nigel had not said anything.
“In fairness, I have never said I would not enjoy your company,” Nigel found himself saying.What on Earth are you doing?
Olivia’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly. “It matters not whether you enjoy my company. Only that you are clearly trying to distract me from the matter at hand.”
“Which would be?” Nigel was within reach of his ball.
“Taking this shot.” Olivia lined her shot up once more.
“I would not dream of doing such a thing. I would never distract you in such a way.” Nigel subtly lined up his own shot.
“Indeed? That is no what you are doing at this very moment?” Olivia raised her mallet, preparing to strike.
“Dear Lady, you wound me. I am simply enjoying some casual banter at a garden party. I have no ulterior motive.” Nigel clutched a hand to his chest in mock hurt and used the action to adjust his shot.
“You, good sir, are a liar.” Olivia replied, but Nigel saw the smile on her face.
She brought her mallet down, striking her ball hard and true. At the same time, Nigel hit his. The two balls collided and tumbled to the ground, rolling in opposite directions. Nigel ran for his and hit it towards the alley, not bothering to take careful aim. He turned in time to see Olivia do the same.
Nigel sprinted towards the flash of blue ahead of him. He kept half an eye out for the telltale yellow of Olivia’s, but his priority was on his own. As soon as he reached the little blue object, he took aim and thwacked it with his mallet.
A metallic clang told him that he had hit the iron hoop rather than sent the ball through it. He cursed.
“Goodness, do you perhaps need your eyes checked?” Olivia called out as she sent her own ball gracefully through the iron hoop. “That is six points to me. One more and I win.”
“That is never going to happen.” Nigel shook his head.
“We shall see; we shall see!” Olivia laughed and moved towards the alley.
Nigel found his own ball not too far from the hoop and carefully sent it through. “Now we are tied.”
“Not for long!” Olivia was aiming her ball at the hoop.
I cannot let her win. I shall never hear the end of it.Nigel looked around wildly for his ball and spotted it.There is no way I willreach it in time.A dull thwack sounded followed by a crack. Nigel heard Olivia curse and looked up in time to see her ball collide with the brown ball Jane had chosen.
The yellow ball flew several yards away from the hoop whilst Jane’s brown one rolled through the hoop and towards Nigel. The opportunity was too good to resist.
Jane’s eyes met Nigel’s, and she shook her head. “If you knock that away, you will be playing right into my dearest Olivia’s hands.”
“And how exactly would I be doing that?” Nigel asked.
“Well, for one, it will force me to chase after my ball, and currently I am doing a rather excellent job of standing in her way.” Jane held her arms out, shifting so that she took up even more of the alley. “So you see, if you force me to move, then you really are going to give her exactly what she wants.”
“Well, I would hate to play so directly into your friend’s hand.” Nigel ran a hand through his hair. “Unfortunately, I have no doubt that at the first chance you get, you will betray me.”
Nigel kicked Jane’s ball away from the hoop and darted towards his own. Jane yelped and chased after hers. Olivia let out a triumphant cry until she saw Nigel lining up his shot. The two of them gazed at each other.
“Well, well. It seems it has all come down to this.” Nigel murmured, not breaking his gaze from Olivia’s. “The next shot will decide everything.”
Olivia nodded. For a moment, the world seemed frozen. All Nigel could see was the brown of Olivia’s eyes. Her gaze held him as if in a spell. Without looking, he struck his ball with his mallet. Together they turned, watching its slow roll away from them.
It rolled, the hoop drawing ever closer, but even as it rolled towards the hoop, Nigel could see it was already losing momentum. He took a step forward at the same time as Olivia.
“Come on,” he murmured under his breath. “Keep rolling. You can do it.”
