500 Days (13 page)

Her attention now back on
me
,
she asked,
“What the hell are you doing?”

“
Having a conversation
with a beautiful young woman.” I winked at the redhead.

Alex tried to hide her disgust, but was
unsuccessful. Win number two. “I know it was you who said something
to the bartender.”

“
You’re underage Alex. You
shouldn’t be drinking. I’m just looking out for your best
interest,” I said in my most sincere tone, but she wasn’t buying
it. Instead of giving me one of her quirky comebacks she fixed me
with a warning glare and rejoined the child molester. She said
something to Mr. Grabby-hands, he smiled, and then they were off.
Where the hell were they going? He placed his hand on her lower
back and led her away to the back of the restaurant. Something in
me snapped and it took everything I had not to jump up and break
his hand for touching her. I looked up to the sign above the
archway they walked through. They were heading into the billiards
room. An idea popped into my head. “Would you like to play some
pool?”

“
I don’t know how to
play.”

“
Come on, I’ll teach you.”
I held out my hand for her, helping her off the chair and escorted
her through the entryway to the next room. Alex and the overgrown
man
-
child had
already claimed a table near the back right corner. Alex was
racking, stuffing each of the solid and striped colored balls
inside the triangle. I smiled wide as I escorted my date over to an
open table. “Why don’t you order us another drink and some shots
while I set up the table?”

Red signaled for the waitress who was making
the rounds and placed an order. Alex was too busy getting
manhandled to notice I even walked in. I made it a point to walk
right in front of her to grab a cue stick for my friend and
myself.

Her irritation of my arrival was clear from
the evil look she gave me. I had to pause by the wall so I could
control my laugh. I cleared my throat to try and remove the smug
smile from my face before I turned around. Alex stepped in front of
me blocking my path. “What are you doing?”

“
What does it look like
I’m doing?” I held up the cue sticks.

“
We both know the real
reason you’re back here. So I would like you to leave.”

I looked at her puzzled. “Why Alex, I do
believe you’re overthinking it or maybe it’s more, wishful
thinking,” I winked. She huffed and I bit the inside of my cheek to
keep from laughing. “And my intentions are to only entertain my new
guest.”

“
There’s an entire bar to
do that.”

“
Yes but I do really enjoy
a good game of pool.” On that last note, I left her there,
seething. This couldn’t have worked out better than if I planned it
myself. My plan wasn’t to ruin her night –
okay maybe a little
. I found
pleasure in getting under her skin and riling her up. Usually I
enjoyed getting girls off, not pissing them off, but for some
reason I just couldn’t help myself. Alex brought something out in
me I never knew existed. I’ll have to thank her for that
later.

By the time I was done racking, the waitress
had returned with our drinks. I took my shot, clinking glasses with
my new date. Then I walked her over to the game table and handed
her the cue stick. She bit her lip and gave me a sheepish look.
Smiling, I bent her forward and leaned over her to help her line up
the shot. She didn’t even make a dent in the stack. “Sorry,” she
said, biting her lip again.

“
It’s okay,” I ducked down
under the low, rectangular light and pressed my hands to the wooden
edges of the table. “Let me break and you can take the next one.” I
raised my stick, positioning it to take my shot when I caught a
glimpse of Alex out of the corner of my eye. Her body was pressed
low on the table, squishing her large breasts forward giving anyone
in five feet of her the perfect view. Her eyes were slightly
squinted as she reared back her cue stick, sinking the thirteen in
the corner pocket without a problem. She straightened, proud of her
shot. Opie came up behind her and gave her a high five. I rolled my
eyes and went back to my game.

My concentration was off and I over shot.
The ball cleared the table, hitting the opposite wall. “Oops,” I
laughed, trying to play it off. My mishap grabbed Alex’s attention.
I shrugged my shoulders at her making her pout.

I managed to keep the ball on the table this
time and then I gestured for Red to take her shot. “Could you help
me?”

I eyed the table for the easiest shot. “Go
for the two,” I told her. I positioned her over the table, aiming
the stick in the direction of where she needed to connect with the
ball. I looked up in time to see Alex’s face get bright red, eyes
narrowed into slits. I put my head back down and smiled. Red made
the shot and celebrated by giving me a kiss on the cheek. I watched
as Alex rubbed the chalk on the tip of her stick so hard dust
particles were flying everywhere. Tonight was turning out to be a
good night.

After the second game and fifth round of
shots, I no longer went out of my way to try and annoy Alex.
Apparently my presence alone was enough to make her claws come out.
Opie decided to make his move. His woman-like arms enclosed around
Alex’s waist while he boldly kissed her neck. I gripped the stick
so tight I thought it would break in my hand. For the first time
tonight Alex did not seem to enjoy dickhead’s advances. She smiled
at his embrace, but I could see in her eyes this was not what she
really wanted. I hated seeing him with his hands on her. The sleaze
let go of her to put some more money in the table.

An idea formed in my head and I took the
opportunity to weasel my way in. “How about a little friendly
competition?” I proposed.

Alex’s eyelashes fluttered up. Her eyes
tightened. “Why do I get the feeling you have ulterior
motives?”

“
Just thought we could
make this night a little more interesting.” Alex crossed her arms
over her chest. “You two against us two,” I threw a thumb over my
shoulder at my date.

“
What’s the catch?” She
asked, shifting her weight from one leg to the next.

“
No catch…just a small
wager.”

“
Fine,” she said, not
wasting anytime. “When we win, you and your side show act have to
leave.”

“
Okay, what do I get if I
win?”

“
You’re not going to win,”
she said with confidence.

“
Let’s just pretend for a
second that I do. So if I win,” I tapped my chin, pretending to
think it over. Alex let out an exaggerated breath, annoyed at me
for dragging it out. My grin widened as I came up with the perfect
plan. “You have to go home with me.”

She tensed for a second, showing her bluff.
Her arms fell by her side. “I’m not going to sleep with you,” she
scoffed. “What kind of a girl do you think I am?”

“
I never said anything
about sleeping with me. I said go home with me. Haven’t you ever
spent the night with a guy without sleeping with them? And you call
me the slut.” She looked appalled, not believing I took it there.
Alex crossed her arms defensively and then looked back over at the
guy she was with. The look on her face said she didn’t know if she
could win and she sure as hell didn’t know how good her partner
was. I had her right where I wanted her. Her head swiveled towards
the redhead. “Sorry, I’m not in to threesomes.”

“
Didn’t even consider that
an option, but I’ll keep it in mind.” She took the rack off the
table and placed it back in its proper position. “The deal is just
me and you.”

Alex picked up the blue chalk and rubbed it
roughly against the tip of the cue stick. That small movement was
more of a turn on then I ever would have expected. She placed the
chalk back on the table. Her confidence returned as she assessed my
partner. “Alright, deal. If by some off chance you would happen to
win, you have me for the night and if I win you have to leave me
alone. Not just for tonight though, forever.”

“
That’s kind of hard
considering I’m sure after tonight our two friends out there will
be inseparable. Not to mention my band plays at the club you work
at.”

“
Hard, but not impossible.
Just because we might be forced to see each other doesn’t mean I
have to endure your pathetic and tiring attempts to get me into
bed.”

I laughed. She didn’t know I had already
given up on that. Now I was just more interested in getting under
her skin. “Alright, deal.” I held out my hand. She hesitantly
raised hers and then placed it inside mine gripping firmly. Her
hand was soft, delicate. The placement of her hand fit perfectly in
mine and I suddenly didn’t want to let go. I met her fiery green
eyes and I saw them soften slightly. Then just as quickly the
sharpness returned and she dug her nails into my hand before
letting go. I didn’t question the shift in her mood. I was learning
she could go either way in the blink of an eye. I ran my hand over
the green felt table, smiling, and turned to the redhead.

“
You mind if we play a
quick game of doubles?”

She shook her head. “Just as long as I get
to be on your team,” she purred, dragging a finger down my freshly
tattooed arm. I could feel the burning before I even turned around.
I looked over my shoulder. Alex was drilling the chalk into the cue
stick so hard it was about to break apart.

This is going to be easier than I thought.
“How about we go introduce ourselves?” I extended my arm to my new
date and walked her over to our opponents. “Hi, I’m Casper.” I
extended my hand to Alex’s new friend.

“
Lincoln, Lincoln
Hawk.”

“
That’s a little over the
top, don’t you think,” I smirked. He didn’t get it, but I managed
to make Alex smile which was a victory in its own. “Your parents
Stallone fans?” The guy looked clueless and I noticed Alex tried to
hide her laugh. “Never mind.” I turned to my date. “This is –”
shit. I never got her name. This time Alex laughed out loud. I
tried to hide my annoyance.

“
Rachel,” she said. Mr.
Eighties kissed her hand making Alex and I both give him a dirty
look.

“
Alright, you wanna
break?” Alex offered, having enough of the show.

“
Ladies first.”

She broke, scattering balls everywhere and
knocked in two. She eyed the table, looking for her next shot. “The
seven, corner pocket.” She sunk it with ease. “Fifteen, off the
side.” Again, another shot. She called the next one but missed.

“
Wow, you’re really good,”
Lincoln said, putting his hand on Alex’s hip.

“
Beginner’s luck. I’ll
show you how a real player works.” I purposely walked in front of
them to take my shot so dickwad would have to move away from Alex.
That’s what I hoped he would do, but no, this guy maneuvers so he
can pull her on his lap, keeping an arm tight around her waist. I
sunk in three balls before I missed. Seeing the small worried look
on Alex’s face made it all that more appeasing.

Alex gave Lincoln advice on what ball to aim
for. He missed. He didn’t even call the pocket. “It’s okay. You’ll
get the next one.”

“
Maybe I’ll have to hit
you up for some lessons,” he winked.

Oh please, could this guy be any lamer. I
pulled Rachel over to the side of the table. I pointed to the ball
she should try to aim for. “Could you help me? I’m not very good.”
She batted her eyelashes at me and I noticed how clumped together
with mascara they were. Stuff like this never bothered me before,
but for some reason it was right now. I made myself look past it.
It was just makeup, easily washes off. I smiled at her and moved
in. I leaned over her and assisted her with the shot. I caught Alex
rolling her eyes. I patted Rachel on the behind and told her good
job, even though she missed. Alex’s turn was up. She pointed to the
top right corner pocket and bent down to line up her shot. Lincoln,
not so subtly, tilted his head to check out her ass. What I
wouldn’t give right now to sock this guy. I tried to reel my anger
in but it was getting harder to do with each shot Alex was making.
I’ll be damned if I lose this bet.

She missed her last shot
and now it was my turn.
Time to win
this.
I was just about to sink the
eight-ball when Mr. Hawk slid his hand over Alex’s ass. I fumbled
with my stick and missed the shot.
Damn
it
. If this idiot made the shot I was
screwed. Rachel slipped her hand in my back pocket and flashed me a
sexy smile. My muscles loosened, relaxing.

Hawk-man sunk the eight-ball. Son of a
bitch. “Well, look at that, we win.” Alex’s smile was prizewinning.
“Nice knowing ya, Casper.” She waved as if to say, ‘buh-bye’.

“
He didn’t call the shot,”
I said, grasping at straws. I couldn’t let them have this. I
couldn’t let her walk out of here with this guy. I may not want
her, but no way was I gonna let this guy try and take advantage of
her.

“
What are talking about?”
Alex asked annoyed.

“
He didn’t call his shot.
It doesn’t count.”

“
You’re really that much
of a sore loser?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“
You’re gonna stand there
and tell me if Rachel or I wouldn’t have called our shots you would
have let that pass.”

“
Yes.”

“
Bullshit.” I pressed my
palms down on the edge of the table. “One more game. You and me. No
bullshit.”