I rubbed my hand gently against Isla’s back, trying to give her some kind of comfort. She relaxed back into my lap, placing her hands on my chest as we both looked over at Josh.
A cocky grin stretched across my lips. “Aw, look, a mediocre soccer player thinks I care what he thinks,” I said, pretending to feel sorry for him. “And I don’t think any intelligent person would call it man-whoreish to kiss my beautiful girlfriend.”
He clenched his teeth, a vein twitching along his jaw, which only had my smile growing bigger.
“Just remember the fact that she was my girlfriend first,” he taunted.
Guys like Josh wanted to get others to lose control, to be as short fused as him, but I wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. If football had taught me anything, it was to stay in control of my emotions.
I kept my expression neutral. “That may be so, but she is withmenow.” I kissed Isla on her temple. “Which means I’m the winner. As usual.”
Josh scoffed. “Is that so? How about a game of pool, then?”
Was this guy so desperate to prove he was better than me that he was willing to do anything? I wanted so badly to put this punk in his place, and since I couldn’t outright punch him in the face, I could beat him at pool.
Isla leaned in and said under her breath, “He’s really good at pool.”
That might be true, but so was I. I wasn’t scared in the least.
“Isla and I would love to beat you in a game of pool.”
Josh’s loud and obnoxious laugh filled the room. “You andIsla? No. She doesn’t play.”
“I don’t play? Or you never let me?” Isla asked, her voice as cold as ice.
His look of annoyance mixed with guilt was all the proof I needed to know he’d been a controlling jerk of a boyfriend. When I didn’t think I could like him any less, I’d hear more about how awful he was to Isla. How had she stayed with him so long?
“It was always just the guys playing.” He lamely gave an excuse. “It’s not like I forbade you to play.”
She rolled her eyes in exasperation. “You just always told me to sit and look pretty. It was your way of telling me to not get in the way.”
I lifted Isla up and off my lap, settling her gently on her feet. “Let’s get this over with, Jack.”
“It’s Josh, and you know it.” His irritation was clearly audible.
“Oh, I know.” I grabbed a shorter pool stick that would be good for Isla. “Jack is my nickname for you. Short for jackass.”
A few people around us chuckled, and Josh’s face turned angry.
Grabbing a stick for myself, I chalked the tip.
Josh pretended to ignore my comment and racked the balls. “Are you sure you don’t want another partner? I don’t want you saying you lost because of a disadvantage.”
I set the chalk down. I didn’t know if Isla was good at pool or not. By the way Josh was talking, she’d never really played. That didn’t bother me, though. I was good enough for the both of us, but if we did end up losing, I couldn’t care less. I’d take pride in leaving with Isla on my arm, nowhere near her prick of an ex.
“My partner is perfect as she is,” I answered. “I’ll even let you break. That way you can’t accuse me of any advantages.”
“Fine,” he said, not even pretending not to take the huge advantage I was giving him. Most of the time you flipped a coin to see who got to go first, but Josh must have been too much of a pansy to give up a start.
He lined up his stick behind the white cue ball, pulling back and forward a few times before hitting the ball and sending it smacking into the triangular set of balls. The stripes and solids scattered across the green felt.
Two striped balls fell into the pockets.
“We’ll take stripes,” he said smugly.
I hadn’t even noticed the other guy he was playing with. I didn’t know who he was, but I was pretty sure he was on the soccer team too.
Josh lined up behind the fourteen ball, knocking that one in as well. I scanned the table looking for some good options for Isla and me.
