“Well,” Brody repeated, walking around the table and grabbing the balls.
“You’re back,” I added.
“I’m back. I told you I would be.”
I nodded, that annoying shyness making me feel unbearably lame. What even was this feeling? My stomach squirmed, and I hated it.
“So, I guess I’ll go home, since Aisha left.”
“Or we could play.” He racked the balls and then rubbed chalk on the end of his cue.
He leaned against the pool table and crossed his arms, only making my heart problem worse.
“What do you say, heathen? Will you play with me?”
I shrugged. “Maybe… I’m pretty tired.”
Brody raised an eyebrow and shrugged. Oh God, was he going to call me out on my pretense that I didn’t want to hang out with him?
“Whatever you want, Selena. Your call.”
I scoffed softly. “Unless it’s wearing an outfit you don’t like, or drinking something against the rules… right?”
Brody sighed and put his pool cue down. Then he rounded on me, backing me against the table and placing a hand on either side of my body, caging me in.
“To clarify, it’s not the outfit I don’t like. It’s another man’s name written across your back that I don’t like. And pool would never be against my rules. It’s good, clean fun, isn’t it?”
He was so close now, I tried not to stare. I focused on his lips instead.
“Do you want to have good, clean fun with me, sweetheart?”
Sweetheart again. My heart couldn’t take it. And was it just my imagination, or was he putting extra emphasis on the wordclean?
“Fine. But I’m bad at it, so if you make fun of me, I’ll stab you with a cue.”
“Noted. How about I give you a lesson?” he suggested and straightened up.
I shook my head. “Okay, calm down. I said I wasn’t great at it, not that I need your help.”
Brody nodded and gestured me forward. “Go ahead and break.”
“I think that you should, since you won your last game and all. I like to follow the rules,” I said.
Brody laughed as he bent over the table. “Just not mine, right?”
“Just take the shot,” I muttered and watched him break.
The balls flew in all directions, and somehow, he managed to sink two stripes in that first go.
“How’s that fair?” I muttered.
Brody chuckled and stepped back. “You take your turn.”
“Don’t you get another shot if you sink a ball? I don’t want special treatment.”
“Okay, fair enough. Very sportsmanlike.” He leaned over and took another shot. This one missed. I narrowed my eyes at him. “You better not have missed on purpose.”
“I’d never.” He stepped back to watch me as I took my shot.
