Now, I have never been in Side Pocket before and am pleasantly surprised. It’s dark like how I thought it would be, but surprisingly clean. There is a haze of cigarette smoke though that makes me sneeze. Jeremy walks up to the bar. “Hey Bubba, can I have my stick, there will be four of us playing.”
I turn to Eric and mouth, “Bubba?”
The big guy behind the bar hands over a box and then a rack of balls. “You can have table 12. No buying them beer Jeremy.”
“I would never,” he gasps sarcastically. “I will try and get Isabelle drunk later.”
“Jeremy, shut up!” I snap. He just wiggles his eyebrows at me and starts to walk to a table. When we get to table 12, Jeremy sets the balls down and the box. It is a long thin box. I pick it up and open it. There is a beautiful, dark blue pool stick inside. Furrowing my eyebrows, I ask, “Why is it in two pieces?”
“Because,” Jeremy replies, “You screw them together.” He takes the two pieces out and does just that. “Here, hold this.” I take it from him. Jeremy looks at Jack and Eric, “You two should pick out sticks. They are over on that wall.”
Frowning, I ask, “What about me?”
“Lift up my stick,” Jeremy instructs.
“That sounded dirty,” I giggle.
Now, the shocked look passes over Jeremy’s face. “ISABELLE, you do have a sassy mind, naughty girl!” I give him a huge grin. Shaking his head, Jeremy laughs, “My CUE STICK, pick that up. Is it heavy?”
I lift it into the air and reply, “No, why?”
“Then you will use my STICK,” Jeremy declares, winking at me at the same time.
That makes me blush and I look at the floor. When I look up, Eric is staring at me, so I blush even harder. He and Jack walk over to pick up their cues. I watch as Jeremy racks the balls. He is bending over in front of me and I can’t help but check him out. Then I squeeze my eyes shut. I need to stop doing that! He is just so…..hot. No, no, no, you can’t think that way. STOP IT!
“What in the world are you thinking about?” I suddenly hear.
Opening my eyes, I find Jeremy staring at me. “What do you mean?” I squeak.
“You have the most peculiar look on your face. I want to know what was going on in your head.”
“Nothing, absolutely nothing,” I mumble. “Here’s your pool stick.”
He takes it from me, but seems to watch me carefully. Finally, Jack and Eric make their way back. “Are we doing teams?” Eric asks.
“I have never even tried this, so I am going to watch,” I state, stepping back.
“Uh, uh,” Jeremy says, pulling me forward. “We will first teach you to play. Then I will kick their butts individually.”
Jack interjects, “Dude, Eric is really good at this.”
“I played almost every night growing up,” Eric states very calmly.
The look that passes over Jeremy’s face is suddenly very serious. “Well then, we will have to go toe to toe and see who comes out on top, but first, MY Isabelle needs to learn how to play. I will rack and break for you and then we will let you take a shot at it.”
“Okay,” I groan. “I am just going to embarrass myself.”
“No you won’t,” Eric replies. “It’s like geometry.”
Frowning, I say, “I hated geometry.”
“Trust me, don’t stress about it, or you will throw yourself off. Just relax, we are here to have fun.”
I smile at him. “Thanks for the advice.” We patiently wait while Jeremy sets up the table for me. When he breaks the balls, I groan. “Now, what I am supposed to do?”
“Come here,” Eric says. I walk up to the table with him. “This is the cue ball. You need to knock this into another ball and try to knock that ball into a pocket.”
“Oh, jeepers, that sounds easy,” I sigh.
“Here, just watch me. First, if you are right handed you put your right leg back and bend your left one. Then you put your left hand on the table and that is where you place your cue stick. Your right hand controls the momentum of the stick. So, come try it.”
Begrudgingly, I walk over to him. “Now what do I do?”
“Here,” I hear Jeremy say hotly. “I will show you.” He walks up directly behind me. “Someone needs to SHOW you.” Pressing us towards the table, he grabs my leg and brings it back. “Now, bend at the waist.” As I do that he follows with me, so our bodies are tight against each other. Dear Lord have mercy on me. “Now, let me show you where your arms go.” After those words, I don’t pay much attention to what he is saying, because I feel him all over me. The heat of his hands on top of mine is sending my nerves on fire. Finally, he barely whispers in my ear. “Are you paying attention to anything I am saying to you right now?”
Gulping, I whisper back, “Not really.”
“That’s what I thought,” his hot breath sweeps past my ear. My eyes actually close. “Isabelle, why aren’t you concentrating right now?”
“Why do you think?” I snort. “We are in a very compromising position, pressed up against each other, over the side of a table. It’s a little…….distracting.”
He places his lips on my neck. “I am not even going to comment back on that.”
“Just shut up, and teach me how to do this,” I growl playfully.
“I can teach you a few things,” he replies.
That makes me buckle and laugh. “Oh my gosh, we need to stop, this is ridiculous!”
Jeremy grabs ahold of me and presses me back down into position. “No, you are going to learn. Now, REALLY listen to me, or I will be so on top of you the rest of the night, your boy won’t think he has a prayer’s chance in hell.”
“Jeremy!” I hiss quietly.
“Now, listen to me young lady,” he chuckles. This time I do. We hit the ball and it actually makes it into a pocket. I jump up and wrap my arms around Jeremy. He just picks me up.
When I let go, I see Eric staring at me. I smile and he smirks back. I look back at Jeremy. “Okay, I did it once, now you guys play.”
“That’s it!” He exclaims. “You are going to do it once.”
“I think once is enough,” I mumble, with my eyes widening.
Laughing, Jeremy walks past me and whispers, “I love to make you blush.” He stops in front of Eric. “Are you ready for some real action?”
“I am game,” Eric replies. “You rack and I will break. Or unless you want a turn, you can break.”
My jaw hits the floor. Jeremy slowly turns and looks at him. “Pretty mouthy for a teenager. Want to put money on it?”
“Jeremy!” I snap. “Stop it!”
“Sure, how much are we talking?” Eric retorts.
“Eric!” I yell. “Both of you stop it.”
Jeremy opens his hands, “My cash flow is unlimited for the most part, so whatever a high schooler can handle.”
“Really Jeremy, don’t be rude!” I shout.
“He is fine,” Eric interjects. “Fifty.”
Again, my jaw drops. Jeremy nods his head. “It’s on then. You can break if you want.”
“I think I will,” Eric replies. I look at Jack and he kind of looks at me like we are all nuts. Eric bends over and sends the cue ball sailing. It breaks up the rest of the balls and a ball actually goes into a pocket. “You’re solids,” he says to Jeremy. Bending over, he shoots again, sending yet another ball into a side pocket.
This will be a quick game. I slowly move my gaze to Jeremy. He is actually glaring at the table. Why is he so dead set on beating Eric? When Eric actually misses a shot, Jeremy says, “Excellent.” He walks up to me and says, “A kiss for good luck.” His lips are instantly on mine, and it isn’t just a peck. It makes me falter a little bit. When Jeremy pulls away, he just smirks at me. I am in a kind of daze, as he takes his shot. He, of course, sinks it, and then the next three shots after that.
I bite my lip because I don’t know who I want to win. Isn’t that bad of me? Shouldn’t I want Eric to win? I watch as they go back and forth, gettin
g more and more serious as the game progresses. Then it dawns on me. This is actually thoroughly appealing. I have no idea why, but it’s kind of hot.
Finally, they are both down to one ball and the 8 ball. They take a minute and study the table. Jeremy looks at Eric. “You have one chance to do this. Remember its 50 dollars on the line.”
“Money isn’t a problem,” Eric retorts.
“We should up the ante then,” Jeremy responds. He turns and looks at me. “Isabelle, what could we possibly put in the pot?”
My anger instantly shoots up. “I have no idea,” I hiss.
“Well, you are a beautiful girl. I say we bet that the winner gets to take Isabelle out for the evening, on the other player’s dollar,” Jeremy chimes. Oh my gosh, I am going to kill him.
Eric nods his head. “Deal.”
My mouth drops open. “Huh?”
“Go ahead my young man,” Jeremy sighs. “Isabelle and I want to go out for the evening.”
Taking a deep breath, Eric bends over. He stares at the ball for a while, moves his pool stick back and forth and then takes the shot. He knocks his ball into the pocket. “Now what?” I ask.
“He has to hit the 8 ball into the same pocket,” Jack replies. “It’s a hard shot.”
With a very serious look, Eric takes the shot……and misses. Jeremy walks over to him and pats him on the back. “Good try. I hope there are no hard feelings.”
Jeremy bends over and takes his shot and sinks the ball. Standing up, he walks over to me. “What do you want to do tonight toots?”
“Jeremy,” I whine. “Don’t.”
He just smirks. “8 ball, corner pocket.” He bends down and totally nails the ball right into the pocket. “Sorry Eric.”
Eric just gives him a look and then smiles. “It’s all good, only a game.” He reaches for his wallet and takes out money. “Here you go.”
I snatch it and shove it back in his wallet. “We are not taking that. This is silly!”
“No, he won,” Eric says, “he gets the money.”
Shaking his head, Jeremy says, “I am not really going to take your money. It was fun. I will have to bring you out more often.”
Suddenly, I am picked up from behind and I hear, “MY ISABELLE!” yelled in my ear.
I instantly freeze. When I am set back down, I turn around to see…. “JOSH!” I leap into his arms and give him a hug. “What are you doing here!?”
“We actually just got here. This is Sam and my brother Luke,” Josh explains, pointing to two other guys.
“Hi,” I wave. “We went to the car show today, and I learned I like imports.”
Josh high fives me. “Awesome, I like you more every day.”
“Oh, these are my friends, Eric and Jack. They went to the car show, too.”
Jack and Eric wave and say, “Hello.”
“Hey, you are the brother that owns the nightclub,” I say. “Kent told me about you.”
“Yes, I own the nightclub. Have you been there?” Luke asks.
I shake my head. “No, not yet. Hopefully soon, though.”
“She isn’t 21,” Jack interjects.
Jeremy closes his eyes. “We know that Jack.”
Eric looks at his friend, “There is a night when they let people between the ages of 18-21 in the lower section of the club.”
“You are free advertisement,” Luke laughs. “You guys should come. You would have a good time.”
“I plan to dance with Isabelle,” Josh exclaims, picking me up off the ground.
Giggling, I smack him. “Put me down.”
“No,” he laughs. “Are you guys done playing or what?”
“We should do teams,” Jeremy says. “I will take Eric.”
Eric looks at him and gives him the most mischievous grin. I roll my eyes, and spend the rest of the night watching a whole lot of male bonding. They all buy me enough soda and then pizza to make myself sick. Finally, it’s late and I yawn. Jeremy comes walking over to me. “Are you tired babe?”
“Mmmhmmm,” I reply, sleepily. “I want to go home and crawl into bed.”
“Sounds good to me,” Jeremy grins in reply.
“ALONE,” I emphasize.
Jeremy grabs his chest. “Ouch, why the sudden change in heart?”
I look away. “There hasn’t been, but….we aren’t together….we shouldn’t be doing that. Eric has laughed it off this whole time, but what if he wanted to go on a date?” I whisper. “I couldn’t do that after spending two nights sleeping in your bed.”
“Since when do we care about what ANYONE thinks?” Jeremy asks quietly. “It’s you and me babe.”
The tightness forms in my chest. “It is not you and me Jeremy,” I sigh, looking into his eyes. “We aren’t together.”
He stands there for a second just staring at me. Then he brings his fingers up on the side of my face and slowly strokes them down. Jeremy’s mouth opens to say something, but suddenly Jack is beside us. “Dude, I realize I am 18, but it’s a Sunday and I need to be home soon.”
“We can go,” Jeremy says quickly, dropping his hand. I very much wish he kept it there. “Come on babe.” I hop down from my stool and follow him to the group.
Later we say our good nights to Eric and Jack when we drop them off at home. They both said they had a great time and would see me tomorrow. That made me happy.
When Jeremy and I get home, we are quiet. I go into my room and change into pajamas. Next, I go into the bathroom and start to wash my make-up off. Jeremy comes walking up next to me. He has no shirt on again. Why does he do this to me? I rinse my face and dry it on a towel. “Do you need to brush your teeth?” I ask.
He nods, reaching for his toothbrush. I get mine too and we brush our teeth in silence. When I am done, I look at him. “Thank you so much for today. I had so much fun and it was great to hang out with Eric and Jack.”
“Especially Eric,” Jeremy adds quietly.
“Yeah,” I reply. “I had a good time with you too.” I nudge him with my hip. “My day would not have been complete without you there.”
That seems to make him smile. “As long as I know that I am not totally losing you.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask.
“You and Eric. I see the way he looks at you Isabelle. It wouldn’t take much to get him to go out with you on a date. I just felt awkward. I had to hold myself back so much.”
Crossing my arms, I say, “You did NOT hold back much.”
“Oh, trust me, I did, a lot. I want whatever it is that you want and if you want Eric, then I will get you Eric,” Jeremy declares softly, not meeting me in the eyes.
Hesitantly, I say, “And if I wanted something else….”
“I would help you get that too,” Jeremy whispers. “We need to go to sleep. I have work and you have school.”
“Okay,” I sigh. Suddenly, I have a whole lot of weird feelings swirling around in me. We stop at the entrances to our rooms and look at each other. “Good night,” I whisper.
Jeremy bends over and kisses me ever so gently on the lips. “Good night Isabelle. You know where to find me, if you need me.” He lets go of me and walks into his room.
I turn and walk into mine. When I get into bed, I kind of lay there, staring at the ceiling. I go to sleep fighting the urge to go to Jeremy.
Chapter 21
The next week of school is great. I eat lunch with Eric and his friends every day. Jeremy finally teaches me how to parallel park. We even take out Cassandra’s car, so I can learn to drive an automatic. It is kind of weird, when you only have driven a manual.
Saturday morning comes around and I walk into the bathroom. Yawning, I turn on the light. Suddenly, I scream. Jeremy comes running into the bathroom. “WHAT’S WRONG!?!?!”
“My bruising, it’s gone!” I yell.
Jeremy grabs his chest, “Isabelle, dear Lord, you are going to be the death of me.”
“It’s gone, it’s gone, it’s gone,” I cheer, jumping u
p and down.
“That’s good baby. Does that mean we can go celebrate tonight?” He asks, with a mischievous grin.
Narrowing my eyes, I say, “What do you have in mind?”
“Clubbing….you…..me, the dance floor,” Jeremy murmurs, pressing up against me.
“You and a whole bunch of girls in mini-skirts,” I retort. “I won’t even be a blip on the radar.”
He wraps his arms around me. “You will always be more than a blip.”
“Is it MINOR night, as you guys call it?”
“It is,” Jeremy replies happily. “We are so going!”
With a laugh, I say, “Sounds good.”
We spend the day being lazy, but when 5 o’clock rolls around, Cassandra calls me. “What’s up?” I ask.
“So, we are going to the club tonight?” She inquires giddily.
“Yes,” I reply, with equal glee. “What should I wear?”
She snickers. “Tell Jeremy he needs to bring you to my place. Put the boots and that little black dress in your bag, but don’t let him see.”
“No,” I hiss quietly.
“YYYESSSS,” she draws out. “Either you tell him or I am going to call him.”
I sigh and look at Jeremy. “Cassandra wants you to bring me over to her place.”
“Why?” He retorts.
“I don’t know, to get ready, I guess.”
Jeremy groans, “Alright, let’s go.”
“I will be over in a bit,” I exclaim, probably too eagerly.
“AWESOME!” Cassandra replies. “Bring the dress!”
Rolling my eyes, I say, “Fine, whatever, see you soon.”
When I get up to go to my room, Jeremy asks, “What are you doing?”
“Getting my stuff,” I answer. “I have to wear something tonight, can’t go naked.”
“OH! I vote for naked!”
That makes me laugh. “You would!” I go into my room and grab my duffle bag. I carefully place the dress inside with the boots. I have never worn either, so nothing will get dirty.
About twenty minutes later, we arrive at Cassandra’s. As I open the door to get out of the car, I say, “See you in a little while.”
The Art of Life Page 38