Page 15 of Black Widow's Bite

It was easy for me to forget that she was still in the present, and this was all still very new and strange for her.

Chapter 17

Addison

Iwent back to my apartment the next day, and the day after that, before I finally just started calling the police department instead and saving myself the trip. I don’t know if there was some kind of conspiracy against me, or if the people working this case were just impressively slow, but it seemed like I would be homeless until at least the end of the week.

Cain, thankfully, had stopped actively trying to force me out of the house and appeared resigned to the fact that I would be here for a while. To make it up to him, I went out and picked up a couple of things to make dinner for everyone that night. I wasn’t the world’s greatest cook by any means, but I knew my way around a kitchen. Since none of the guys seemed to care about what they put into their mouths, I opted for spaghetti and meatballs, which was a universal crowd-pleaser.

I was still trying to pin down everyone’s schedules, which had no discernible pattern as far as I could tell, so I just aimed for dinner to be in the evening, when I assumed at least one of them would be available. I managed to catch Cain and Wyatt and lure them to the table at the same time, and they dug into the food like it was the first time they’d eaten in weeks. Honestly, it might’ve been judging by the state of their fridge.

“Would Austin like any?” I asked Wyatt between bites. I hadn’t seen him this afternoon, and I wasn’t sure if he was in the studio or upstairs in his room.

“Austin doesn’t really eat much,” he replied, shrugging, but I noticed the look he shot Cain, so there must be a little more to that than he was willing to share. There were plenty of leftovers in the fridge anyway, if he did feel like eating later on.

Midway through the meal, Piper breezed in and looked surprised to see us at the table. He looked quite pleased with himself, walking over and snagging a bite off my plate. I smacked him with my fork, pointing to the stove. “There’s plenty. Go get your own,” I told him. He gave me a cheeky wink and sauntered over to grab a plate. Wyatt was watching him, one eyebrow raised.

“What did you get up to today?” Wyatt asked him, and Cain checked him out as well.

“I went to the bar on campus,” Piper smirked, and both guys perked up with noticeable interest.

“And?” Cain prompted, but Piper was clearly enjoying himself and chose to dish up and return to the table before answering.

“And-“ Piper stuck a hand in his back pocket and pulled out a large wad of bills, which he dropped on the table with a satisfying thud. If I had to guess, there was at least $600 in his little stack. Wyatt’s jaw dropped, and he slapped Piper on the back. Cain reached out and grabbed the bills, counting through them.

“Wow Piper, this must be your best haul yet,” Cain mused, looking proud of him. Piper looked pretty proud of himself as well, leaning back in his chair and shooting me a wink. It was almost unnerving when Piper was this coherent. He had a devilish look in his eyes, which were sharper and more clear than I’d ever seen them.

“Sorry, were you bartending?” I asked, and the guys laughed. Well, forgive me for assuming Piper might’ve had a normal job.

“No one would ever hire Piper to be responsible for booze,” Cain told me, smirking at Piper. “No, he’s a pool shark. He cons the college kids into pool games, pretending he’s drunk. They bet big and he collects.” Oh, well, that does make more sense than him bartending. I imagine that he’d forget he was working pretty quickly and start drinking right from the bottles behind the bar.

“I thought people only bet on that kind of thing in the movies.” I mused, grabbing my plate and sticking it in the sink. “Do all of you know how to play?”

Cain and Wyatt both nodded. “Austin is the best at it. Then it goes Cain, Piper when he’s sober, Me, and Piper when he’s drunk.” Wyatt laughed, and Piper shook his head indignantly, his mouth full of pasta.

“I’m better than both of you, drunk or sober.” he protested. “Austin is the best, but he can’t bluff for shit, so he’s useless as a pool shark.” He sighed like this was a personal tragedy.

“Have you ever played?” Wyatt asked me, clearing his and Cain’s plates and sticking them in the sink as well.

I shook my head. “Not really. I might’ve played once or twice in my life, that’s it.” I shrugged.

“Let’s play a round,” Cain suggested, catching all of us off guard. “We’ve got the table downstairs. And then I can prove to this idiot that I’m better.” He smirked at Piper, who stood up and puffed out his chest.

“Challenge accepted.” he announced, grabbing his plate and walking downstairs with it. I laughed and followed after him, the other boys at my heels.

Cain and Wyatt pulled the table out from the wall and started setting up while Piper and I got some drinks from the bar. I’d picked up some plastic cups so those of us so inclined to civility could drink from something other than the bottle. Piper poured me some rum, taking the bottle for himself with a grin. The otherguys stuck with beers, and I watched them argue over breaking and who was on who’s team.

“I’ll take Addy,” Piper announced, and I gave him an incredulous look. “Don’t worry, love, I’ve got this,” he smirked, taking a swig from the bottle. He started us off terribly by losing the coin toss, so Cain got to break. I took a sip of my drink, trying to recall every pool scene I’d watched in movies, but most wouldn’t help me unless I needed to beat one of them to death with a pool cue.

Cain sunk a couple on the break, and he sunk one more before it was our turn. Piper took it first, sinking three in a row before Wyatt could go. He was feeling very cocky, putting his arm around my waist as he took another drink, watching Wyatt fumble and swear, kicking the wall behind him. My turn now, I guess. I grabbed the cue from Piper, trying to mimic their stances and balancing the stick on my knuckles awkwardly.

“Here, love, try angling just a bit this way,” Piper murmured in my ear. He was leaning over me, his hip pressing me against the table, moving my hands into a better position. It was such a cliche I had to bite my cheek to not laugh, but I had to admit, something about Piper’s confidence was giving me butterflies. I hit the ball, sending it flying into the one I’d been aiming for, but because of the angle, it bounced right and caught a second one, landing them both in the corner pocket.

“Ha!” I exclaimed, and Wyatt pretended to pout. We were winning now - I think - and Cain took a few minutes, considering the table with a scowl. Piper slipped his hand around me again, moving it lower this time to give my ass a rough squeeze. I smacked his chest playfully, but the look in his eyes made my face hot. Hand still gripping my ass, he pulled me against him, just holding me close for a moment before Cain took his turn and it was ours again. I swear, sometimes Piper looked at me with such a familiar gaze it was like he’d known me for years.

Piper sank two more, leaving us with only the 8-ball left. I was not in a good position to hit it without knocking at least one other ball into the pocket. I studied the table for a minute before setting myself up in an awkward position, the pool cue forced into my left hand in order to get it at the right angle.

“There’s a trick to this one,” Piper smiled. He put his hands on my hips and lifted me up so I was sitting on the edge of the pool table. “Now hold it behind your back like this,” he instructed, pressing between my legs and wrapping his arms around me, positioning the cue the way he wanted. My face felt hot, and the grin he shot me told me he knew exactly what he was doing. I narrowed my eyes at him, putting my focus on hitting the stupid ball. He was right though, it looked silly, but it did allow me a better angle, and I sunk the 8-ball with a small cry of victory. Wyatt laughed as Cain swore, tossing the pool cue aside.

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