“See, it’s fine,” the first blonde guy repeated.“Let’s go.”
Saving Leandra from having to refuse them, I turned from her, then headed back to the pool table that we had reserved.Used to ignoring everything that was going on around me, I grabbed three of the quarters that I had stacked on the edge earlier, then after inserting them into the coin slot, I smiled as the familiar sounds of billiards rolled down the rail, just waiting for me to set them up.
Now, if someone asked me why I liked pool so much, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to answer them.Maybe it was the focus and concentration that was needed, but almost anything worth doing required those two things, so that wasn’t anything special.So, maybe it was just that I was good at it, and that small achievement made me feel good about myself.I wasn’t too ashamed to admit that people complimenting me on my game had a way of making me smile
Pool was also something that you could play by yourself.If someone watched you play pool alone, it could automatically be assumed that you were just practicing or brushing up on your skills.They might even assume that you were teaching yourself the basics.Pool just had a way of making you feel just a little less like a loser when the popular kids were off doing something else.
At any rate, I was in my element as I racked the billiards, solids being my favorite.For whatever reason, I preferred them over stripes, but that was probably because they just appeared more dominant on the table, and I liked that.
Once I was finished, I reached for my beer, and one swallow later, it was empty, and I knew that I was going to need to slow down if I wanted to last until a respectable hour.Though I wasn’t feeling any of the alcoholic effects just yet, it was still early by Friday night standards, and Dalton was used to staying up late, surely to hold me here hostage until he was ready to go home.
Satisfied with the rack, I headed back towards the bar, and not being able to help myself, I looked over to check on Leandra, making sure that she was having a good time, and more importantly, was safe.When you were a peacemaker or a people-pleaser, it was easy to find yourself in over your head, and that wasn’t anything that I ever wanted Leandra to have to experience.While she wasn’t weak, she’d just rather avoid confrontation if she could.
So, glancing over at the crowd, I saw that she was smiling and having a good time, but that’s also when I noticed one of the guys looking my way, and my first instinct was to immediately turn my head.Pity was the worst, and what else would someone feel for me when comparing me to Leandra?Again, it wasn’t that I cared what other people thought of me, but I also wasn’t interested inexperiencingother people, if that made sense.
It was also no surprise that he was just as gorgeous as the rest of the group.He looked to be about the same height as Dalton, around six-foot-one, and he had black hair, light eyes, and looked to be in his mid-twenties.He was also dressed in a green Quicksilver that showed off his fit build, black jeans, and matching black sneakers.At first glance, he looked casual, but it didn’t take long to notice the whiff of money radiating off him in waves.In fact, the entire group looked like they came from money.
Satisfied that Leandra was doing just fine on her own, I turned from my friend, then kept making my way towards the bar.As a regular here, the exchange was going to be quick and sweet since Carlo already knew my choice of poison.Dalton, Leandra, and I had been coming here for quite some time already, so most of the bartenders knew our preferences.
“Just one?”Carlo asked as soon as he noticed me at the bar.
“For now,” I grinned.
“And when’s Dalton showing up?”
“He was supposed to already be here,” I answered.“But the guy does have a life.”
Carlo just grinned at that before going to get me a fresh beer.A couple of regulars nodded at me from the other side of the bar, and I nodded back, comfortable with the familiarity.If you asked me, bars often got a bad rap, which was entirely unfair.Most of the time, the people here just wanted to unwind after a long day, or else it was just too lonely at home.Not everyone was looking to get laid or roofie a girl, but I also hadn’t ever been roofied, so maybe I didn’t know as much as I thought that I did.
Once Carlo slid me my beer, I grabbed it, then headed back towards the pool table.This time, I didn’t bother looking over to check on Leandra again, satisfied that she was fine, and if she wasn’t, she knew where to find me.
Setting my beer on the small table against the west wall, I grabbed my pool cue, chalked it up, then forgot about everything else as I bent over to eye that number one yellow billiard, begging me to sink it on the first try.
Chapter 4
Koen~
