Josh missed his next play, and now it was our turn. Looking at Isla, I noticed she wore a strategic expression as she also analyzed the table.
“Do you want to go first?” I asked. I didn’t want her to feel like I cared more about winning than having her play. Since Josh had never let her, I wanted her to have her chance. Heck, I’d even sit out the entire game if she wanted me to. I might actually enjoy that more, watching her bend over to hit a ball in.
“Sure,” she said, having no clue what I’d been thinking.
She walked around the table, eyeing the three ball, the same move I would have gone for. Lining up her shot, she pulled back and hit the cue ball, sending the three into the corner pocket with a satisfying thud.
Her stoic expression didn’t change as she stood up, continuing to survey the remaining options. I smiled at her game face. The way she held the pool stick and had a strategic gleam in her eye had me guessing this wasn’t her first time playing the game, which made my smile grow. I wanted her to mop the floor with Josh’s arrogance and condescending demeanor.
“That was smart, letting her do the easy shot.”
Josh’s condescending words grated on me, taking an insane amount of self-control to not pick him up and throw him onto the table. But that would end up hurting me by putting football at risk, no matter how satisfying it would be.
Isla pretended she hadn’t heard him as she lined up for her next shot. The seven ball was in front of one of the side pockets, which had her hitting the cue ball off center to skim the side, the ball falling in the pocket like I’d expected.
What I hadn’t expected was for the cue ball to keep going with enough force to hit the side rail so it shot diagonally across the table, pocketing the five ball as well. And just like that we were tied.
“Yeah, baby!” I yelled, pumping my arm in the air, my smile stretching wide.
She wore a self-satisfied smile, and when she looked over at me with a flirty expression I could only explain as a “like what you see” look, I strode over to her. I picked her up, twirling her around in my excitement. I was more happy for her than I was about the fact we had caught up. She was sticking it to Josh, and I loved having a front row seat to watch it.
Her eyes looked at me in both gratitude and giddiness. It was a look I hoped I could see on her face again and again.
I wasn’t ready to let go of her yet. Seeing her like this and having her in my arms felt too good. A part of my brain knew we had an audience, which would help sell our story, but the part that had been daydreaming about feeling her lips against mine was overshadowing anything else.
Before another opportunity passed, I took her mouth with mine. She stiffened for a fraction of a second before melting into me. Her free hand slid its way up my torso, taking time to feel my pec before she settled it against the side of my neck. Pulling her closer to me, I moved my hand from her lower back, making a slow path up to cradle the back of her head. Her lips were warm and soft, and when I went to deepen the kiss, it was like she had anticipated my move, meeting me there.
When our tongues finally touched, it took all my self-control to not let out a moan. I hadn’t kissed anyone in a while. Actually, it had been the longest I’d gone in years. Is that what made this kiss feel different? Or was it because we were friends? Or was it possibly the fact that I’d been thinking about it all day?
No matter the reason, I didn’t want to stop. I’d had no idea Isla was this talented with her mouth. Which now had me wondering what else she could do with this talented mouth of hers.
“Hello, we’re trying to play a game here.” Hearing Josh’s voice was the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard as it broke through my lustful thoughts. “Or do you guys want to forfeit now instead of losing?”
Reluctantly I pulled back, breaking the kiss and opening my eyes to see that Isla had a beautifully dazed look on her face. Yeah, it had been one hell of a kiss. Pretend or not.
I was fine with forfeiting and leaving pathetic Josh to worry about who would be the winner, but this was more Isla’s moment. “What do you want to do?”
She glanced down at my lips, then over at Josh, and then back to me. “Let’s hurry and beat him so we can get out of here.”
I nodded and released her from my arms. If she wanted to have this moment and beat him at his own precious game, then we’d make sure she got it. I was having fun with Isla despite idiot Josh being around.
We got back to playing, and it didn’t take long until we ended up beating them by calling the corner pocket and sinking the black eight ball, while they had one striped ball left on the table, much to Josh’s dismay.
Isla was a total pool shark. She told me she had finally learned how to play once she went off to college and hadn’t had Josh standing in her way. She’d loved the game instantly and played a few days a week over the two years she’d been going to school there. One day she had hoped to surprise him with how good she was, but that day had never come. At least until today, under totally different circumstances than what she had pictured.
The thought of her working so hard to impress him and get him to include her made me sick. I tried not to stare at Josh like I wished I could burn holes in the side of his face just from my glare, but I wasn’t sure I pulled it off. How in the world had he ever gotten someone like Isla to date him for four years?
I put away our pool sticks, and then put my arm around Isla. “Thanks for the game,Jack. I’d say let’s do it again sometime, but I don’t like you.” And that was putting it nicely.
Josh scowled at me. “You tricked me.”
I let out a loud laugh at his ridiculous claim. “How do you figure?”
Gesturing at Isla, he said, “I didn’t know she could play pool.”
“Well, now you do,” I said before adding, “andnow you also know she can play it better than you.”
Josh’s face turned red before he stormed off, pushing people out of the way as he went.
