Page 60 of Loathe at First Sight

“Then, maybe you two just need to hate fuck or something. I don’t know. Whatever it is, I just want you to know that I’m stepping back.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know.” He nods. “I want to. Besides, she’s not my type anyway.”

I find that hard to believe, but he’s already standing up, getting ready to walk out.

Before he leaves, he says, “Hey, we are all going to Andre’s Tavern tonight to play some pool. You want to come?”

I think for a moment, trying to think if I want to make up an excuse. But honestly, I have nothing else going on.

“Sure,” I answer. “Pool and a couple of drinks sounds like fun.”

“Don’t fuck this up,” Adam tells me as I line up the shot that could win us the game.

We are playing against Dylan and Jamie and so far have been wiping the floor with them.

Always a sore loser, Jamie says, “After this game, I’m probably going to head out.”

Of course, you are. If you were winning, you’d want to stay here all damn night.

Dylan rolls his eyes, knowing Jamie is the only reason they are losing. “Dude, coming out to play pool was your idea.”

“I can’t help it if I’m tired!” Jamie practically shrieks.

I take a deep breath and hit the 8 ball. It slowly rolls in, and we win. Adam and I high-five while Dylan curses and Jamie sulks.

True to his word, Jamie leaves within a couple of minutes, and we are left with just three.

Adam asks, “Should we do a little one-on-one, and then the winner plays the other one?”

“Sure,” Dylan and I both agree.

While I’m getting the table set up for the next round, Adam points to the bar, “Hey, Dylan, isn’t that one of your sisters?”

We both look up to see which sister he is referring to. But I should already know…because the universe has a sick sense of humor.

Liz is sitting by herself at the bar sipping on what looks like a rum and Coke.

“Did you know she was coming out tonight?” Adam asks Dylan.

“No. She doesn’t tell me much about her life. To be fair, I didn’t tell her I was coming out tonight either.”

Adam sips his beer. “How is it having her home?”

Dylan shrugs. “I don’t know. I don’t see her much, so honestly not too different—aside from the fact that everyone asks me a million questions about where she’s been and what happened to her.”

I still haven’t said much because I don’t know what more I can add to this conversation aside from telling Dylan that his sister is a giant pain in my ass.

Adam says, “She looks lonely, man. Do you think we should ask her if she wants to come over and hang out with us? We could use another for pool.”

I have to stifle my loud groan because Dylan is already walking over to get her.

So much for a nice, quiet night with the guys.

An hour later, we have already played a couple of rounds, and much to my surprise, Dylan and Liz have beat Adam and I both times. Even though I’m sure she’s a few drinks ahead of the rest of us, Liz isn’t bad at pool.

Mostly, we just make small talk and give each other shit. I try not to focus on how great her ass looks in the jeans she’s wearing or how when she bends over the table, her thong pokes out from the top of them.

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