Page 17 of Chasing Sunrise

“Not right now. Don’t worry, I took an Uber from the airport, so I’m not driving.”

Darcy left out the back door instead of going through the club. Kasey emerged from behind the bar as the music faded and then swelled into a fast country song. Dre and Quinn hurried away from one of the tables leaving Amanda by herself. He started toward her. Two people stopped him, wanting to take pictures. He took them quickly and excused himself.

Amanda stood and slid her purse on her shoulder by the time he got to her.

“Thank you for the food. I needed it.”

“You’re welcome.” She smiled.

He pointed to her purse. “Are you leaving?”

“No, I’ll wait around until closing time in case anyone needs a ride.”

“How about a game of pool?”

“Will your ego be able to handle it if I beat you?” she asked.

“Beat me?”

She shrugged.

“My ego will be fine.”

They moved through the crowd to an open table.

“Eight-ball?” He picked up two sticks and held one out to her.

“Sure.” She accepted the stick and set her purse down on a nearby pub table. She took a cue ball off the shelf and handed it to him before she grasped the one on the table. “Lag you for the break.”

He loved that she knew the rules.

Standing side by side, they softly hit their cue balls. Both hit the opposite rail and came back. Kasey’s hit his just the slightest bit too hard and it bounced off the rail. Amanda’s stopped an inch from the rail.

“Very nice.” He racked the balls as she put the extra cue ball back on the shelf.

She used a powder pouch on the stick and chalked the tip. She struck the cue ball like a pro and it smashed into the colored balls, sounding like a bullet discharging from a gun. One striped ball fell into the side pocket.

Impressed, Kasey raised his brows.

Amanda swiftly pocketed four striped balls and lined up the fifth. She was running the table on him. He might not even have a chance to take a shot.

She walked around and surveyed the table. Returning to the cue ball, she made a beautiful combination shot, sinking two balls.

The eight ball sat directly behind one of his balls.

Her concentration never strayed from the table. With a calculated expression, she studied the balls from every angle and took her stance. She raised her stick until it was perpendicular to the table and hit down on the cue ball. It jumped over his ball and landed half on the eight, just enough to send it crawling into the pocket.

A roar of excitement sounded behind him. He turned to find a crowd watching. Amanda shyly stored her stick. Was she embarrassed? He wasn’t. He had respect for anyone who possessed exceptional skill and could do something so well. “I didn’t realize you’d cause a crowd to gather.”

“You’d think they have more to do than watch us play pool.”

“They couldn’t help themselves. Neither could I. You play masterfully. I couldn’t take my eyes off of you.” He set his stick on the table. “Who taught you?”

“My dad and some of his friends.”

“They taught you well.”

She frowned, like she wasn’t very proud of that fact.

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