The atmosphere was quiet as they entered, but the few patrons gathered around the small tables looked in their direction as the door closed behind them. Cam went right up to the bar and ordered two bottles of beer, paid for them and carried them to an open pool table. Ria followed, not saying a word, but the look of wonder and awe on her face made him glad they’d come. He handed her a beer, clinked his bottle to hers in a silent toast and sipped the malty goodness. She took a sip, closed her eyes and sighed. “This is good stuff. I like it.”
“And a new beer drinker is born.” She giggled and it was all he could do not to press a kiss to her smiling lips. Instead, he put down his beer and busied himself racking the billiard balls into a beat-up wooden triangle.
“Do you already know how to play?” he asked.
“Nope. But you’ll teach me, right?”
“Sure thing.” He selected a cue stick for each of them. “Have you at least seen it played?”
“Yes. I saw a video, but the guy was an expert doing what they called trick shots.”
Cam nodded and explained in general terms how to play as he smacked the cue ball into the triangular group of billiards, spreading them all around the table. She watched carefully, hanging on every word he uttered.
Cam, ever alert to potential security threats, noticed a few people watching them. Ria bent over the table’s edge, stretching her stick to reach the cue ball. “Is this right?” she called over one shoulder.
He moved closer to bend over the table next to her and adjust her fingers. “Now try it.” She hit the cue ball perfectly. It clacked solidly into the six-ball and shot straight into the corner pocket without hitting either side rail.
She straightened and he moved with her. “I did it!” Ria turned to him with an expression he couldn’t ignore. “Did you see that?”
“I did,” Cam said, tapping her chin with his forefinger. “Good for you.”
She stared into his eyes with such an awestruck expression that he was mesmerized. He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her gently, retreating two seconds later from a deeper entanglement. He’d momentarily forgotten where they were, in public, in a biker bar, no less. And he wasn’t supposed to be kissing her anymore anyway.
Her lips flattened and she stared at his mouth for a moment. Was she about to kiss him harder? Maybe. No. She took one step back. “I want to keep playing. It’s still my turn, right?”
“Yep. Go ahead.” Cam forced a calmer demeanor than what rioted around inside his body right now. She was difficult to resist.
Ria rounded the corner to the other side of the table, lined up her shot, arranged her fingers on the stick like he showed her and popped the two-ball into a side pocket.
“You’re a pool shark, aren’t you?” he asked, wondering if she’d found some way to practice pool on Alpha-Prime before her arrival on Earth.
“No. I’m not. I wish.” Her infectious laugh sparked a warm spot in his chest. This girl was so special. In spite of his earlier concerns, he was glad they’d come inside to fulfill a few things on her wish list.
“Do you even know what pool shark means?”
“Yes, I do, thank you very much. I’m not a pool shark. I’ve never played before now. So this is strictly beginner’s luck.” Her expression was euphoric and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t falling for her just a little harder each moment they spent together. More danger to his heart and soul.
“Okay, hotshot. Go again.”
She carefully lined up the four-ball, but didn’t hit it with enough force. It stopped an inch from the corner pocket she’d attempted.
“Close, but no cigar, hotshot.”
“Drat,” she said with a good-natured smile. It seemed being close was good enough for her to be totally happy about what she was doing.
Cam walked around the table, bent over in front of her and shot the fourteen-ball into the corner pocket with a crack. Ria cleared her throat. When he looked over his shoulder, he noticed she was staring at his butt. Nice.
He moved to the left and tapped the ten-ball into the side pocket. It was a miracle he made the shot, since all he could think about was her staring at him…and his butt.
Cam moved to the far side of the table across from Ria. Right before he took his shot, she leaned down, showing an expansive amount of cleavage. He barely hit the cue ball with the point of his stick. The white ball meandered sideways at a weird limping crawl, hitting absolutely nothing on the table but green felt.
“You did that on purpose.” Cam straightened and was rewarded with an even better view down her shirt.
“Did what?” she asked, not hiding the effort to get her elbows to meet for maximum cleavage display. “Oh. I’m sorry. Am I distracting you?” She giggled again, abandoning her quest to make her already ample cleavage look even bigger, tilted her beer bottle seductively to her luscious lips and finished her beverage in one swallow. He cleared his throat and attempted to clear his mind, but had minimal success.Push through, buddy.
“Want another one?” he asked, gesturing with his bottle as he finished the last swig of his beer.
She nodded. “Yes. Please.” Cam signaled the bartender for two more bottles of brew even as he wondered how on earth he’d ever be able to let Ria out of his life in only ten more days. Ten centuries wouldn’t be enough time to spend laughing with her.
