Page 76 of Sanctuary

Gabe shrugged, more concerned with proving to Shay that she could keep her eyes and hands off Lori while she draped herself all over a pool table. “Ask away.”

“Are you on the prowl tonight?”

Gabe laughed and leaned against the table. “Am I what?”

“You know… Are you hoping to hook up with someone?” Lori blushed slightly and glanced away.

“No,” she said though every bit of her wanted to ask if Lori would be irritated if that was her intention.

“What about Shay?” she asked, though this time, she glanced across at Rosie.

“It’s not very often Shay goes home alone on a night like this. Why?” Gabe thought she knew the answer, but she wanted it confirmed before she said anything to Shay.

Lori looked like she was stopping herself from saying something. “No reason. Will RB and Woody be looking for someone to go home with?”

Gabe racked up the balls and tucked the triangle back under the table. “You’d have to ask them. Are you hoping to hook up with someone?” she asked, half-joking and then wished she hadn’t opened her mouth at all. What if Lori said yes? What if she’d gotten super-comfortable in the friend zone and wasn’t even considering Gabe even if she had decided she was ready to get back into dating?

She took a breath and rolled the cue ball up the table. If and when Lori was ready, would that be the time for Gabe to tell her story and give Lori the chance to make her own mind up about culpability? And would she be able to continue to trust Gabe? That was the main issue here. The thought of losing Lori was just too much to contemplate. Would seeing her with some other woman be any more or less painful?

Lori joined her at the head of the table after picking up a cue from the rack on the wall. “I’m definitely not interested in hooking up with anyone,” she whispered. “Rosie and I just don’t want to be playing third wheels.”

“Ah, okay. That makes total sense,” she said, strangely relieved that Lori still wasn’t ready to jump back into the dating pool. That gave their friendship more time. “Do you want me to find out and let you know?”

“No, that’s okay.” Lori chalked her cue and gestured to the table. “You should probably break. I almost always sink the white ball when I do it.”

“Do you know how to hold this?” Gabe got into position and slid the cue slowly and deliberately between the thumb and forefinger of her left hand.

“Not properly, no,” Lori said and watched intently.

“Your left hand is just the guide. Hold it with your right hand about here but don’t grip it too tightly.”

“Got it.”

“Line the cue up to the center of the white ball but then look down the table at where you want it to hit. If you’re going to hit it hard and split everything, go for the very center of the first ball, yeah?”

Lori nodded. “But don’t look at the white ball again?”

“Nope. Think eye to target, like when you drive,” Gabe said, maintaining eye contact. “Once you know where the steering wheel is, you don’t keep looking at it, do you?”

“Huh, I guess not. I hadn’t thought of driving that way before.”

Lori’s smile held such a genuine openness that Gabe’s knees went weak, and she eased up so that she could lean against the table. Over Lori’s shoulder, Gabe could see Shay continuing to watch the unfolding scene with the interest of a nature photographer watching a safari hunt play out.

“Do you want to try?” Gabe asked.

“Sure.”

Lori approached the table, looking hesitant, and Gabe stepped to the side so she could concentrate on how Lori held the cue and see where she was looking. If she’d stayed where she was, her view would’ve been of Lori bending over the table, and she was pretty certain her resolve wasn’t strong enough for that temptation.

“That looks great,” Gabe said. “Now just relax, keep your eye on where you want to strike, and then shoot.”

The cue ball ricocheted off the pack, splitting them and sending balls all over the table…including the second ball into a middle pocket.

Lori jumped up and did a little happy dance. “Yay for me!”

Woody whistled as she approached with their drinks. “Looks like she’s hustling you, Gabe,” she said, giving her a beer and a mojito.

Gabe narrowed her eyes and passed Lori’s drink to her. “Is that what’s going on?” she asked and grinned, hoping that wasn’t the case; she needed her turn at the table to breathe between watching Lori take her shots.

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