Page 46 of Betting on Lizzie

“I helped him out.”

“You went into a burning building? Dad!”

“No. I just kicked the door in, and he came running out. It was no big deal.” Another lie? Wow, they were rolling off his tongue today. No sense in worrying her though.

“So why didn’t you shower last night?”

“I was exhausted.” Now he understood how people said one lie led to another. It was like he couldn’t stop.

She crooked her head to the side, studying him. “You’re acting weird.”

“That’s not a very nice thing to say.” He tried to pout, and she laughed.

“Whatever. I’m making coffee. We stayed up way too late watching movies.”

From there, she started a rambling play-by-play of what she and her friend had done all night. He listened over another cup of coffee, took a shower, and did some chores around the house. Try as hard as he might, he couldn’t get Lizzie off his mind. They’d barely spent any time together, and neither he nor Lizzie had very good track records with dating, but nothing could dampen his excitement.

Maya came out of her room for lunch and asked to go to the movies and spend the night with Bella.

“Fine,” he said. “I might go out with some friends tonight anyway.” More lies. Really, he just wanted to see Lizzie again.

“Going out? Dad, that’s great,” she said. “Just remember who you are. Make good choices. Call if you need a ride home.”

“All right,” he said. “I get it.”

Later that night, after Maya left to meet Bella, he stopped by The Tipsy Twist. It was past ten o’clock when he showed up. Lizzie was behind the bar, slinging drinks, but noticed him right away.

“Hey,” she greeted. “What’ll ya have?”

“The usual?”

She smiled and reached for the Don Julio. When he offered her money, she shook her head.

“This is the one I owe you,” she said.

He gave her a thumbs up. “It’s pretty busy. That’s good.”

“It’s actually dying down a little. The twenty-something die-hards are still at it, but the folks just out for dinner and a drink went home a while ago.”

She paid him no special attention, but he hadn’t expected her to. If they were going to keep this a secret, that’s the way it had to be.

Multiple TVs played a variety of games. He sat where he could watch a college basketball game and nursed his tequila. Close to eleven o’clock, she approached him. “A pool table opened up. You wanna play?”

“I thought we were keeping this on the down low,” he said.

“I promise not to touch you,” she said with a wink.

He grabbed what was left of his second drink and followed her to the table.

“Care to make it interesting?” she said confidently, racking the balls.

“Sure. Loser buys dinner next time we go out?” He didn’t care who won, but he also didn’t mention that he was a decent pool player.

Ten minutes into the game, after he sunk three balls in a row, she crossed her arms. “Hey,” she said. “Are you hustling me? In my own bar?”

He shrugged innocently. “There used to be a pool table at the firehouse. I guess I did get pretty proficient.”

“Proficient? Pft. You should add pool shark to your internet dating profile.”

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