Alden chuckled as he lined up his shot to break. “Sounds like Chief Harding.” He pushed the stick forward and the balls scattered around the table, three of which sunk into the pockets.
“I take it you’re pretty good at this,” I laughed, hoping I could keep up with his skill.
He shrugged. “Had some practice. I got two solids and one stripe, so I’ll take solids.” He took another shot and sunk another solid.
“Somepractice?” I asked with a raised brow that made him grin. He shot again but missed, waving his hand to the table to signal my turn.
Rounding the table to go for a red striped one, I chalked the end of the stick and got into my stance. Porter walked up just as I hit the cue ball and it rocketed off my red stripe. It bounced around before falling into a corner pocket.
“Nice one,” Porter commented, handing me a beer.
“Woo!” I cheered, glad to see I wasn’t totally rusty, then took a swig of my beer. “Is that citrus I taste?” I asked him, looking at the beer bottle.
“Never had a Blue Moon?” Porter asked.
I shook my head. “Nope. But I like it. Thank you.”
He kissed my forehead then walked over and handed Alden his bottle while I took my next shot. I got two more balls in, laughing when Alden would silently curse each time.
“She’s gonna kick your ass,” Porter cackled, grinning from ear to ear.
“We’ll see,” Alden challenged amusedly.
Back and forth we went, both of us neck and neck in the game. I was about to take my turn again when Porter cursed, his tone dark.
I glanced up and saw him and Alden staring toward the bar area, both with looks of disdain on their faces. I followed their gazes to see Misty sitting at the bar with another girl, her usual too short skirt and ample amount of cleavage in full view.
Turning back to the guys, I pinched my brows in confusion. Sure, she was a mean person but their looks of hostility were a bit more exaggerated than I thought they’d be.
“I mean I don’t like her all that much after she slapped you Alden, but why do you both look ready to beat up a girl.”
Porter threw back his bottle and took a quick drink, then glanced at Alden. Alden stared back and they both seemed to be having a silent conversation.
“What?” I asked, impatient.
Alden was the one who ended up sighing and glanced at me. “Well, word on the street is Misty’s been going around telling anyone who will listen that you’re a firefly needing to be squashed.”
I snorted out a laugh. “Okay? How is that supposed to be insulting?”
Porter groaned and wiped a hand down his face before answering in an aggravated voice. “I hate the term, but a firefly in her case is what some firefighters call girls who are basically groupies to them. They just wanna sleep with firefighters then go brag about it.”
Alden and Porter watched my expression, waiting for whatever reaction I may have.
“Oh,” was the only response I had. It never bothered me what anyone said about me unless it was someone I cared about saying it.
I shrugged and went back to taking my turn.
“You’re not upset?” Alden questioned, clearly not understanding why I wasn’t pissed.
I missed my shot and laughed, resting my stick on the ground and folding my hands over the top as I turned to them.
“Why would I be? I mean minus the bragging about it or telling the whole world about it, it’s pretty much true. I do only sleep with firefighters.” I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively at Porter.
Beer spurted out of his mouth a bit when he laughed then slapped a hand over his mouth. He coughed a bit then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Dammit woman, warn a guy before you go saying stuff like that.”
“I’ll get some napkins,” Alden murmured, wiping some of the beer that had landed on him with a glare at Porter as he walked away.
I giggled at Alden’s reaction and sashayed over to Porter, placing a sweet kiss on his lips and giving him a serious look. “Misty can say whatever she wants about me. This isn’t just some fling to me. I will never feel ashamed for the way I feel about you. Besides, I like fireflies. They only know how to burn brighter the darker it gets.”
