I checked Boone out. He had a lanky frame, great looking lips, and messy hair that looked like it was styled by running his hands through it once or twice before giving up. Not a bad choice, not a bad choice at all. Theo nudged my side with his elbow. “He’ll be at Grady’s later too.” I nodded, but couldn’t help myself from looking over at West. He was flirting with a brunette whose boobs were barely contained by her top. Such a typical guy. A little flash of flesh, and they were goners. I tried to ignore the stab of disappointment that he was so susceptible.
Theo laughed. “C’mon.” He flung an arm around my shoulder and directed me toward the nearest pool table. “We’re up next.”
We watched Trevor and Dylan finish up their game. Trevor sank the eight ball, and Dylan claimed Trevor cheated the whole time. “Fuck that, dude, I won. Next round’s on you,” Trevor told him as they handed off their cue sticks and headed to the bar for shots, with Dylan continuing to give him shit as they walked away.
I knew the rules of pool, but I sucked. Theo took it easy on me and tried to give me pointers, but I was pretty much a lost cause. If I couldn’t find an easy ball to pocket, I tried to knock Theo’s balls out of position. Then I resorted to flat out trying to mess him up, bumping into his hip and knocking my cue against his as he positioned his shot. He joined in the corruption, tipping my elbow at the last second and bending close to blow in my ear. We were being goofy, and I was on my second cup of grog and feeling a little warm.
I tripped over my own feet and fell against the pool table, giggling when my elbow sent two balls rolling down the felt. Hearing Theo’s hoot of laughter behind me, I twisted and looked over my shoulder, and my eyes drifted past him to the bar again. This time, West was filling a glass with draft and looking in my direction. Was he checking out my ass as I bent over the pool table? His heated gaze traveled down my legs, then back up. I suppressed the urge to give a little wiggle. His eyes trapped mine, and I couldn’t look away. The crowd around us faded until all I could see was him.
A primal awareness of him settled deep within me and unfurled, sending tendrils of heat to lick at my core. His eyes darkened, turning more gray than blue, as if he knew what he was doing to me. Suddenly, he jerked his hand and mouthed a curse, looking down to see the beer overflowing and breaking the spell between us.
I pushed myself upright and tried to slow my pulse. Theo was talking behind me, and I forced myself to concentrate on his words. “Sadie, meet Boone. Boone, this is Sadie. She lifeguards over at the Edge with me.”
“Nice,” Boone drew out the word, making it seem twice as long. He raised his eyes from my rear to my eyes, making me wonder what exactly he was referring to. “You gonna be at Grady’s later?”
“Yeah.” His obvious interest flooded my cheeks with heat.
“Awesome.” He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck and looked around, as if trying to think of a way to prolong the conversation. “Wanna play foosball? I’ve got the table next.”
I wrinkled my nose and tilted my head side to side. “I’m more of an air hockey kind of girl.”
“I can work with that. I can definitely work with that.” He nodded. “I’ll be back for you in a few minutes.” He headed toward the air hockey table to make the arrangements.
Theo held up his first, and I bumped it. “Aw, yeah!” he whooped, proud of his wingman skills. I rolled my eyes at him and tried to stifle my mouth from kicking up at the corner. It probably wasn’t a good idea to encourage him.
Boone came back for me shortly after, and we decided on best two out of three. Theo came with me to cheer me on, and though I lost the first round pretty spectacularly, I squeaked out a narrow victory in game two. Kendra wandered back over for moral support when she saw what was happening. We were tied in game three and kept trading points back and forth, neither of us getting a lead on the other. Boone and I were flirting and talking shit to each other, Theo was making fun of me, and I could hardly stop laughing. We were posturing like it was life or death who won, and a small crowd had gathered around to watch. Wyatt moved in next to Boone and was trying to coach him, pointing out my weak spots. “The edges, man. She’s not guarding the edges.”
“Try me,” I shot back, bending at the knees and shifting my weight back and forth.
I was having a really great time for the first time in months, a perma-smile splitting my cheeks. It was the first night since the whole debacle with Asshole that I had felt like my old carefree self again. I looked around the table for Rue, wanting to share the moment with her, but I didn’t see her.
Boone took advantage of my distraction, and the puck slipped past me, putting him one up on me. Game point. I concentrated, and we went back and forth, the puck sliding furiously between us, ricocheting off the walls. Theo, Kendra, and Wyatt were egging us on. I’d almost scored twice, and I was flushed with excitement.
“You got this, Mullins!” Theo hollered from the corner.
Not to be outdone, Kendra chimed in. “Better watch my girl, Boone. She’s got skills.”
My mallet slipped a little in my hand, and I lost the rhythm. I tried to regain control, but I was off, chasing after the puck instead of connecting with it. A second later, I heard the hollow thunk as the puck slid into my goal. A shout went up on Boone’s side of the table, and a couple of the guys raised their arms in the air victoriously and chest bumped, spilling some beer on the floor. No one seemed to care. Boone worked his way around to my side and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, giving me a side hug. “You almost had me. A little more practice, and you might come out on top next time.”
“You just got lucky.”
“Not yet, but the night’s still young,” he grinned, pressing a kiss to the side of my head. I punched his arm, and he released me good-naturedly, saying he’d see me later at Grady’s, a hot promise in his eyes.
I pulled away from the crowd, still smiling, and passed the bar, moving toward the double doors to the deck so I could find Rue. Normally, she was the life of the party, laughing and joking alongside everyone else. It wasn’t like her to be so reclusive. I finally found her curled up on a bench in the corner of the deck, staring out over the marsh at a pelican perched on an abandoned dock piling. I sat down next to her, looking from her to the bird and back again. “He doesn’t seem like much of a conversationalist,” I pointed out.
She turned to me, her lips twisted and her eyes cloudy. She shook her head and focused on me.
“Hey,” I said softly, “Something wrong? We don’t have to go to Grady’s. We can just go home.”
“No! I’m fine. I’m fine,” she repeated with more force.
I raised my eyebrows. “You trying to convince me or yourself?”
She looked back at the bird and set her chin. “Maybe both. You ready to go? I saw Grady leave with Marissa awhile ago.”
“Who’s Marissa?”
Rue shrugged. “His flavor of the week, I guess. I don’t really know her. He stopped me to say hi and introduced us. She looks like an anime pixie, all big eyes and big boobs, with a tiny little body.”
I tried to contain my smile. “Jealous?”
Rue whipped her head back around to me. “Of her? Hell, no! Why would I be jealous? She’s just some chick passing through. No one will even remember her next week.” She waved her hand dismissively.
I sat there in silence, watching her with a mixture of concern and curiosity. Something about Grady seemed to get to Rue. And I’d never seen a guy get to Rue before. She had her jaw clenched and was avoiding eye contact. “Okay. I guess I’ll see you inside in a few minutes then.”