My eyes found themselves resting on his face. He was cute when he was concentrating. He pulled his arm back, preparing to take his shot. In the seconds before he took it, his eyes left the cue ball and settled on me. He gave me a slow, sly grin and winked at me, letting me know he was fully aware of the journey my eyes had taken over his body. His eyes stayed locked with mine as his arm shot forward, hitting the cue ball squarely and sending it rocketing forward to scatter the balls in all directions.
The sound of the crack when the cue ball made contact made me jump slightly, my breath hitching in my throat as our eyes were still locked together across the table. I felt the blood coursing through my body get a few degrees warmer and my face flush slightly under his gaze. He stood tall again, and said, "I guess I'm stripes."
I broke eye contact with him and looked at the scattered balls. He had gotten two striped ones into their pocket, making me solids. He lined up another shot, this time not making any balls fall into a hole. "Your turn," he said, brushing softly past me as we switched places. I felt an electric charge jump from him to me as we passed.
The waitress chose that moment to arrive with our drinks in hand. I was grateful. I hadn't expected this game to turn so sexually charged so fast. I took a hefty swallow as he tipped her, and tried to turn my attention to the table.
It was my turn to bend over the table and line up a shot. As I did, I could feel him giving me the same once-over I had given him. I smiled slightly to myself as I realized what he meant when he had said, "Your turn." He was only half talking about my turn to shoot pool. Instead of making me shy and nervous, the knowledge that he was getting the same enjoyment out of watching me turned me playful instead.
I could tell my best chance at a good shot was from where he was currently standing so I stood up and locked eyes with him. I slowly walked toward him, around the table, keeping my eyes on his until I got just a couple of inches away from him. To his credit, he never moved away, never gave an inch.
I came to a stop directly in front of him, within kissing distance. I looked down at his mouth, and back into his eyes, said "Excuse me," and pivoted on my toes to face the table. I bent over the table, and lined up my shot practically standing in his pocket. My hip pressed into his as I took a deep breath, pulled my arm back just so, and took my shot.
It was a solid hit, the balls rolled out of the way and toward the pockets as if they were being drawn to them. Surely at least one of the solids would drop into a pocket and make me look like I knew what I was doing. Nope. When everything came to a stop not a single ball was missing from the table.
I giggled and stood up, saying "I told you I was bad at this."
He responded, "Oh no. That was very, very good." He said it in a deep, amused tone that when matched with the hot look in his eyes told me he wasn't talking about the shot I had just taken.
I looked at him for a second, enjoying the effect my brazen playfulness had on him, cocked an eyebrow at him and said, "It seems to be your move."
His eyes darkened with sudden heat and he let out a quiet laugh. "Indeed."
Chapter 6
Loser
Roger soundly kicked my ass that first game, but we had a blast. When I would be across the table from him for a shot, I could feel his gaze linger on the teasing flashes he saw down my shirt.
Since there was only the two of us playing, there wasn't much down time. One of us was always shooting, and the angles were constantly changing so we were constantly passing each other, deliberately teasing each other by purposely passing by as close as we could without actually touching, even when walking the other way around the table to line up a shot was actually more convenient.
The drinks flowed freely, the teasing got more blatant and my playing did get a little better. I actually beat him on the third game. As we were racking the balls for game four, he said "How about we make this game a little more interesting?"
"All right, what do you have in mind?"
"Whoever misses a shot has to raise both hands into the air, jump up and down while rotating in a circle and chanting 'I'm a loser, I'm a loser, I'm a loser.'"
"Ha!" I laughed out loud at that and added, "Are you serious?"
"Yes. Are you up for a little embarrassment?"
"In the name of fun? You bet. I don't embarrass easily."
He actually approached me with his right hand extended. "We've got to shake on it, a deal is a deal."
"You don't believe I'll do it? My word is good." I said, shaking his hand anyway.
"Oh I believe you; I just wanted to hold your hand for a minute."
He held my hand for a few seconds longer than was strictly necessary, his eyes glowing with a sexy, teasing look. His touch made the butterflies in my stomach go crazy, but that look in his eyes as he smiled at me made me wish he would back me up against the pool table, lay me down on the green felt and have his way with me. I think he read my thoughts correctly because I watched similar thoughts flash through his eyes. He slowly ran his gaze to my mouth, lingering there before looking back into my eyes with naughty thoughts of his own showing on his face.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" He asked me, still teasing me with his eyes.
I wasn't sure if he was asking if I was ready for his mouth to be on mine, or if I was ready to hop and chant when I missed a shot, but I replied to both with, "Bring it on."
He smiled back at me, slowly released my hand and asked, "Want to break?"
Whoever went first and took the breaking shot would also be the first to have to jump and spin since neither one of us was good enough to run the table and get all the balls in, winning the game. He was gallantly offering me the choice of who would be the first to embarrass themselves in a busy, public pool hall.
I accepted the challenge in his voice and said, "Sure. I'm not scared."
I grabbed my pool cue and said, "Excuse me, pardon me," as I slid myself passed him. Instead of going around him on the outside, I slid through the small open space between him and the table, pressing against him as I passed through the opening. I felt the table edge against my backside as I brushed most of my front against his. We had been kissing-close quite a few times during our pool games, and I was thoroughly enjoying the chemistry between us as we teased.
Once past him I nervously lined up my shot, hoping to get at least one ball in a hole before I missed. I broke, the balls firing off in all directions. Two managed to find a hole, both of them stripes. I lined up my second shot and aimed the cue ball at another striped one. I missed; the ball bounced off the edge of the hole and came to rest in the middle of the table, mocking me.
I looked to Roger, who grinned in anticipation. I stood tall, placed my cue stick against the table and slowly raised my arms above my head. I grinned back at him, my face already getting pink at the thought of what I was preparing to do. I shook my head in an 'I can't believe I'm doing this' shake, took a deep breath and jumped up and down, turning in a circle, laughingly calling out "I'm a loser, I'm a loser."
I finished my chant, coming to a stop facing him once again. I started giggling as I looked around. Everyone at the tables around us was staring, but they looked amused. One guy started clapping and I laughed more, but took a bow and said, "Why thank you."
I turned my attention back to Roger saying, "Your turn."
He said, "I liked that. You should do that again."
I blushed some more and took a sip of my drink. I said, "I'm sure I will, but now it's your shot. Unless you're chicken."
"Chicken? Oh, now it's on." He grabbed his cue stick and circled the table.
He made his first two shots, but missed his third. He put his stick down and prepared to jump, but I said, "Hang on."
He watched me questioningly as I pulled a bar stool over and sat down on it, settling in for the show. He laughed and rolled his eyes at my preparations, but he gamely waited for me to settle in.
"Are you finished? We could call the waitress over and order popcorn, I'll
wait."
"No, no. I'm ready now. Go ahead."
I laughed as I watched a grown-ass Marine-turned-pilot complete his turn in our bizarre pool game. Whoever claimed a sense of humor was sexy was right on.
People nearby laughed and pointed us out to each other, but my attention was on Roger. I clapped for him as he made a full circle and came to a stop facing me.
"Liked that, did you?" He teased me as he walked toward me.
"Yeah, I really kinda did." I told him as he continued to move closer. My laughter slowed, morphing into a teasing grin as he came real close, standing directly in front of me, between my open legs as I sat on the high bar stool.
He rested a hand on each of my knees as he stood between them. Sitting on the stool brought my eyes almost even with his and I stared into their depths as I wondered if this was it. Was I finally going to get to taste him?
"Maybe you'll like this too." He said quietly as I felt his hands slide from their resting spot on my knees, glide up my thighs and settle in on my hips as his eyes closed and his mouth aimed for mine.
I could smell him a breath before I got to taste him. A heady smell of cologne, night air and sexy male skin. It was a soft, teasing kiss appropriate for a first kiss in a public bar, but hinting at more passion just under the calm, still surface. His hands stayed gripping my hips, and I raised my hands and pressed them to his chest, sliding them up to cup his face as he deepened the kiss.
When the kiss ended my hands were still on his face. My vision slowly came back into focus as he smiled down at me. He said, "Was that distracting enough? It is your turn and I'd like to watch you spin and bounce some more."
"I don't plan on doing the loser dance anymore tonight. I plan on running this table from here on out and kicking your ass."
He backed up and I slid down off the stool, legs wobbly from his kiss. I lined up and actually sunk my next two shots.
"So much for your distraction theory." I teased him.
"I guess I'll have to put more effort into it next time. Really put my back into it." He teased right back.
The thought of a next time sent pleasant shivers racing through me. I missed the next shot and dutifully did the loser dance. We both had to do it a few more times before the end of the game, but I found myself with a real shot at winning. I got my last stripe in the pocket, but I missed the eight-ball, shouting and giggling "I'm a loser" yet again.
The last two balls were sitting calmly on the table, Roger only had to knock his last solid in, then the eight, and he was lined up perfectly. I watched from behind him as he bent over in preparation to take his shot. I slid up beside him, and just as he was about to go I placed my hand on his back and then drew a line with my fingernail tracing down his back, over the curve of his ass and down the back of his thigh.
He missed his shot, making the cue ball jump and land back on the table with a loud thump. "Now that's what a distraction looks like." I told him, my eyes shining with female pride as he turned to face me. Thankfully he seemed to be amused and not pissed. Some people take that stuff too seriously and get bent out of shape, but he said, "Playing dirty. I may have to step up my game on this distraction stuff. Take a few lessons from you."
"I'm sorry," I said as I gave him my wide-eyed innocent look. "Did I neglect to mention I cheat?" I took his pool cue out of his hand, turned back to the table, knocked the eight ball in and won the game.
"That's two games apiece, Captain, and I do believe you still owe me a loser dance."
After he spun and chanted for the last time, he said, "As much as I would like to try out a few distraction techniques and see who gets best three out of five, it will have to wait for another night. We have to leave the score tied for now, we have a plane to catch."
Oh yeah. The pool hall looked like every other pool hall at home. In my enjoyment of him and our game I had forgotten we were on the river in San Antonio. We turned our balls back in and checked out.
It was getting late and most of the tourists had left the river walk. The lights were still on everywhere and with the reflection of them in the river our walk back to the rental was a beautiful and quiet one. He slipped his arm around my shoulders and I placed mine around his waist.
As we crossed over a bridge still headed for the car, he stopped and turned me toward him, kissing me above the river, surrounded by lights. One of the last boat tours of the night passed under us and when they saw us they erupted in whistles, shouts and cat-calls. We played to our audience for a few seconds, pulling each other tighter, then we separated a bit, holding hands and waving back at them.
We visited quietly on the short flight home and I thanked him for a wonderful time. He kissed me goodnight at my door and after I locked it behind him, I floated to bed, carried by the smell of him still in my nose and the taste of him still on my lips.
Chapter 7
Good Morning
I woke up before Roger, stretching sore muscles that until last night hadn't been used in a long time. I looked around at the cabin from my toasty spot next to Roger's still sleeping form. Last night's storm had passed and the sunlight glowed brightly in the cracks around the window curtains he'd pulled closed. The lantern was still burning, lighting up the interior of the cabin even more.
I had fallen asleep last night remembering the day we met and our romantic first date, and as I waited for Roger to wake I continued the story in my mind. Our second date didn't include an airplane ride, but it did include a thunderstorm that day as well, and was memorable in its own right.
It was the next weekend and one of the nearby counties was holding their County Fair. I had spoken to Roger on the phone earlier in the week and he asked if I would accompany him. I hadn't been to a fair in ages, and jumped at the chance.
When he picked me up he had a boat attached to the back of his truck. It wasn't a small fishing boat either, it looked like a ski boat but instead of a seating area up front, it had a cuddy cabin so you could go below deck to cool off or take a nap.
"Never a dull moment with you," I told him as we neared the truck. "I never know what I'm going to get. First date was roses and a plane ride to San Antonio. This time you bring me a boat, and it's not even my birthday."
He laughed and explained that it was his boat, but it needed some work done. He said the guy he uses is over by the fairgrounds but he wasn't available until later this afternoon. His plan was to spend the day at the fair and then to drop the boat off on the way home. His repair guy lives on a few acres and has a large barn out back where he works on boats as a side job, he'd be home later this evening and Roger could drop it off any time after six.
"So I don't get a boat? What kind of date is this? You get my hopes up and then nothing." I teased.
"Once the work is done, maybe we can take it out for a spin on the lake. The water is still a little cold, it's too early in the season to swim but we can fish or just anchor it and grill under the stars. Do you like fishing?"
"I do. My dad used to take me, but that was years ago."
"Then it's a date."
With the extra length he couldn't park in the fair parking lot, but he found a long space in a business lot just outside of the fairgrounds. He bought our tickets and we wandered around for hours. They had everything from pig races to craft booths and we saw it all. We stuffed ourselves with all kinds of fair food from fried butter to fried Twinkies.
We sat down at one of the tables surrounding the entertainment stage and watched the end of a little kids dance recital and then the beginning of a band war. While we sat we split the best cheese-steak sandwich I have ever had. There were cheese-steak booths everywhere, but Roger dragged us all over looking for one in particular, and it was totally worth it. He said they were here every year and they were the only booth who used pretzel bread, so that's how he knew when he found the right one. It was amazing.
As we ate he said, "A friend of mine wants to meet you."
"Oh yeah?" I asked with my mouth full.
"Yes. He said he has to meet the woman who was able to pull the wool over my eyes and give him the best belly-busting laugh he said he ever had."
"What are you talking about?"
"One of my best friends from the service grew up on a farm, and was an MP in the service. That's a Military Police officer. Anyway, once he got out he joined a police department as a horse mounted officer. They do the parades and stuff, I'm sure you've seen them."
I nodded that yes, I knew what he meant, but I still didn't know where this was going.
He continued saying, "So I repeated what you told me, about the horse plugs..."
"Oh shit. You did not." I interrupted, almost choking on my sandwich from laughter.
"Oh yeah. Yes I did. I don't think I've ever seen him laugh like that. Every time he slowed down he'd look at me and start right up again. He said that was by far the funniest thing he had ever heard and wanted to personally shake your hand. So, thanks for that."
I hid my face with my hands, trying not to laugh but it wasn't working. I imagined two Marines, one a farmer with horse experience, having that conversation and I couldn't control myself any longer.
"Yeah, he looked a lot like that. He laughed even harder than you are, but I think you might just roll off of your chair."
"I'm so sorry," I got the words out between gales of laughter. "Oh my god. I thought you knew I was kidding. I just made that up right then. I didn't think..."
"When you mentioned it, I wasn't sure you were serious, but then the waiter came and I forgot to ask. Then it bounced around in my brain and I thought it might have been true. It seemed like a good idea, and God knows weirder things are true, so I wasn't sure. He and I had gotten together for a few beers, and well, I just asked him."
I was still laughing, but I started to control myself. I apologized again, saying I didn't think he would take me seriously.
He said, "That's ok. It really was funny. I don't embarrass easy either, but I do believe we are now even."
Two Player Games: (Corrupted 5-8) Page 4