Page 11 of Shifting Gears

Eleanor knows the rules (after a covert and frantic Google search while Dani set the balls up) and it’s not like it’s a terribly physical activity. It’s hitting things with a stick. Analyzing speed and trajectories. Physics, at its basic level, and a bit of hand-eye coordination. It’s not rocket science.

“So you’re new in town, huh?” Dani asks, breaking the triangle of balls and sending them scattering across the felt. Two solid colours sink into the holes. Eleanor takes quiet note of Dani’s posture, the way she holds the pool cue, and adjusts her own position.

“Is that everyone’s first question?”

“Riverwalk is a pretty small place. When someone new comes along, people get curious. And most people here don’t see a lot of Porsches,” Dani says, sinking yet another shot. Her third misses, though, and Dani concedes the turn to Eleanor gracefully.

Eleanor laughs despite herself as she surveys the table. “I guess I stand out.”

“In more ways than one.”

Eleanor can’t stop the nervous laugh that erupts at the unexpected compliment. She knows she’s blushing, but thankfully Dani is mostly looking at the pool table.

“When you brought your car in, I figured you were just passing through,” Dani continues, blessedly changing the subject as Eleanor lines up her first shot. “We don’t get a lot of long-term stays.”

“I’m renting a place on the bay.” Eleanor hits the ball she’s aiming for but slightly too hard and at the wrong angle. It knocks into her intended target crookedly and ends up far away from where it needs to be.

She frowns as Dani lines up a new shot, mentally adjusting her technique for next time.

“Down by the island?” Dani says, whistling low and hitting another good shot. She’s confident with it, quick and practiced. “Pricey. Although I’m saying this to the woman with the nicest car in town, so I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Dani doesn’t look put off, or even jealous. She looks impressed. And she looks even more impressed after her next miss, when Eleanor snaps her cue and, with devastating precision, sends a striped ball falling into place down the pot.

Dani’s eyebrows raise. The approval Eleanor sees in her bright blue eyes as she sinks another before missing again is invigorating.

“I didn’t realize I was playing a pro!” Dani lines up a simpler shot. Eleanor can’t take her eyes away from the arch of Dani’s back as she leans over the table, the way she chews on her lip as she concentrates. The skin comes away red and a little wet, and Eleanor has a sudden and overwhelming urge to bite at it herself.

“Would you believe me if I told you I’ve never played before?” Eleanor asks, swallowing that impulse down. She tries to distract herself by staring at the action on the table, but said action skids to a halt at her words.

“No!” Dani says incredulously. She straightens and leans on her pool cue, shaking her head. “Is this seriously your first time?”

“I prefer chess.”

Dani laughs, lining up another shot. “Well, your talents are wasted there. You could clean up at a pool tournament.”

Dani takes her shot as she says it. She winces when the ball bounces off at a bad angle, spinning across the table and nudging one of Eleanor’s instead. “Shoot. Looks like you’re up.”

A few minutes later Dani is removing her hat in respect as Eleanor sinks her final ball with a flourish while one ofDani’s remains on the table. The ponytail underneath the hat is messy and endearing. She looks like she’s about to congratulate Eleanor on the win, but she’s interrupted by her friends.

“She kicked your ass, Cooper!” Owen crows, clapping loudly and startling Eleanor out of the Dani-bubble she’s been suspended in for the whole game. She’d completely forgotten that there were other people in the bar until just now.

“I don’t know who you are, Nora, but if you can keep beating her winning streak, I hope you come back every night,” Ryan says, clapping Eleanor on the shoulder. His hand slides off soon after, but Eleanor’s usual urge to shrug off the physical contact is strangely absent in the company of Dani’s friends. Ryan is clearly a few steps past intoxicated, but the invitation is flattering all the same.

The rest of the night passes pleasantly. Eleanor stays for one drink, contributing as often as seems polite, but most of her time is spent looking at Dani. How her smile makes her eyes crinkle at the corners. The softness of her lips, which she tends to chew at like a fidget when she isn’t talking. The way she always manages to catch Eleanor’s eye and wink whenever Eleanor’s starting to feel a little lost in the conversation.

It’s all a little absurd. Eleanor doesn’t daydream. She doesn’t pine. Physical attraction is something she either ignores or deals with through a mutually beneficial casual arrangement. But the idea of asking Dani for something like that when they hardly know each other doesn’t feel right, given the circumstances.

Dani leaves around 10 p.m., citing work in the morning, and Eleanor ducks out with her despite the protests of the table that the night isn’t over. While Dani’s friends have been exceedingly nice to her so far, staying after Dani has left isn’t what she came here for.

Her decision is validated when Dani opens the door to let Eleanor through first and Eleanor glances back to see that afew other people have joined the table. The jukebox volume has been cranked up, and Ryan is being hoisted up onto Owen’s shoulders. His head comes worryingly close to intersecting with a ceiling fan.

“Sorry they’re so crazy,” Dani says as Eleanor passes her, letting the door shut behind them. She rubs the back of her neck under her ponytail. She almost looks nervous, which seems completely implausible to Eleanor. “They can be a lot, but they’re good people.”

“I had a great time,” Eleanor assures her. “I’m grateful you’ve all been so kind to me.”

They take simultaneous deep breaths as they meander across the parking lot. Eleanor is used to the smells of the city—car exhaust, hot pavement, a hundred different restaurants all cooking at once. Riverwalk is so different. It’s all running water and cut grass and a hint of distant woodsmoke. Cool and fresh.

Dani catches her eye on the exhale and chuckles.

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