Sal wrinkled his brow. “Is that code for sex?”
Victor chuckled and pulled his bangs down to cover his face.
“No.” I elbowed Sal. It was none of his business.
He pulled at his shirt. “Oh, right, that’d be awkward to talk about in front of your sister. Sorry. Usually, my girlfriend digs her nails into my arm to tell me when I’m being an idiot.”
I frowned. Wouldn’t that hurt?
“Where is Janice?” Ash asked curtly, walking past the couple to set up her next shot.
Sal hugged the pool cue. “Out with friends.”
“Clubbing again?”
“Not ‘again.’ But yes.” He shrugged, then leaned on his cue, “She loves to dance.”
“Do you?” I asked.
His face wrinkled in exaggerated contemplation. “Not in public. I’ll jump around at concerts. But I am in a band.”
“That she barely acknowledges,” Ash added.
“Hey, she’s come to a few sets. Rock isn’t her jam,” he said.
I smiled, perhaps out of pity or perhaps for the pun. “Nice one.”
We tapped sticks. They clinked like swords or glasses, though most of our drinks were guarded by my brother at the nearby high-top table.
“You’re distracting my process,” Ash joked, waving at us and winding around the pool table to plot her next move.
“Sorry,” Sal said sarcastically.
Once she was out of earshot, I whispered, “Outside of work, she’s actually kind of fun.”
He nudged me and smirked. “We could say the same about you.”
Fun? Me? I tugged my cap down and smiled. Maybe I could be social once a month or something.
He rubbed the scruff on his chin. “You know, Ash also likes dancing. Mostly when she’s been drinking, but she’s also into coffee and feminist fantasy stuff, if that’s more your thing.”
Squirming, I accidentally rubbed his shoulder with mine. I liked some of that stuff, but we didn’t need to have everything in common to be friendly, did we?
“We could play a fantasy game. Multiplayer,” I suggested. That always brought out temperaments pretty quickly.
He pointed at his chest. “All of us? Or just you two?”
I shrugged. “Whoever. It’d be easier with more people, though.” Plus, I wanted to be inclusive of my brother’s new obsession.
He furrowed his brow. “Okay, um, I’ll create a channel for us, try to plot out a schedule.”
“We all work in retail. Our schedules are probably fucked,” I said.
“You’re right.” He laughed, then a mangled snap rang through the air.
“My process,” Ash complained, standing up straight.
“My bad. Do-over,” he said, hurrying to reset the pool balls.
