Page 57 of Gabriel's Album

It doesn’t take much convincing for Sebastian to get Harrison and Heather to agree to play pool after that. In reality, we all enjoy the game and we just like teasing Sebastian. We order a car, and while we’re waiting for it to come around to the front of the hotel, Sebastian finds out the name of a pool bar near the hotel that we can go to.

We arrive at the pool hall and get out of the car, heading inside as a group. I have my arm around Ariana’s waist as we enter the place, and Sebastian goes to the counter to get us a table.

The staff member who serves him turns out to be a fan, and after organizing our table, he asks Sebastian for an autograph before turning to Hayden, who’s the next closest, and asking him for his autograph as well.

Ariana takes a tiny step away from me as soon as the man asks Sebastian for an autograph, and I sigh quietly. Even though we’ve been together for months, Ariana still hasn’t been photographed with me in public. It’s caused more than a few issues, and I feel the rejection intensely every time she doesn’t want to be seen with me.

I know her reasoning behind it. I know that she has literal panic attacks over it. But that doesn’t stop the hurt I feel over the fact that my girlfriend doesn’t want to be seen with me. I’m constantly dodging questions about my personal life, made worse by the fact that the fans aren’t stupid, and they’ve caught on to Ariana’s existence. I don’t want to lie when I’m asked outright, but I can’t tell the truth either.

I think about our future together frequently. Well, I try to. It’s hard to envisage because I don’t know what it could possibly look like. I’m beginning to think that Ariana might never get over this phobia of living her life publicly with me, and I don’t know if that’s a life I can live permanently.

I push the thought away as I step forward to sign my autograph for the fan, smiling at him as I do.

“Thank yousomuch, Gabriel!” he exclaims.

“You’re welcome. Thanks for being a fan.”

It’s a Thursday night, so it’s not too busy in the pool hall, and Sebastian asks if we can be placed down the back of the room. There are a couple of tables in use up front, and a few of the patrons watch us as we pass, but none of them bothers our group.

As Sebastian begins racking up, Ariana takes a seat on one of the chairs near the table. I move to stand behind her, resting my hands on her shoulders and massaging them gently. I can feel the tension easing out of her as I do this.

“You want to play?” Sebastian asks me.

“No, I’m fine. I’ll play the winner, though,” I say as I continue to massage Ariana’s shoulders.

“So you’ll play me, then,” Sebastian says with a cocky grin.

“That’s what you think!” Hayden grumbles at him, grabbing a pool cue and preparing to break.

Hayden manages to sink two balls on his first shot, but those are the only two balls he gets down during their match, and Sebastian beats him easily. Harrison goes back to the counter during their game and gets beers for us and vodka mixers for the ladies. Ariana sighs quietly when I finish massaging her shoulders, and I take my place at the pool table to challenge Sebastian.

“You’ve got a good man,” I hear Heather say from behind me.

“I know,” Ariana says.

I smile to myself, feeling pleased at this exchange, and bend over to take the first shot of the game.

“He’s got a great ass,” Ariana adds.

I’m shocked by Ariana being so bold, and it causes me to fumble the shot; I hit the white ball to the side of the table with barely any force.

“Want to take that shot again?” Sebastian offers with a smirk on his face.

“I think I will,” I respond, then say sternly in Ariana’s direction, “Just as long as your apparent accomplice stops distracting me!”

Ariana smiles innocently at me and then winks at Sebastian. I growl in frustration at my mishap, then hit the white ball with so much force that the rest of the triangle scatters when it's hit, and I manage to sink three balls—two of them solid and one striped.

“Which one are you choosing?” Sebastian asks.

“Solids, of course,” I say, and proceed to take my next turn, feeling satisfied when I sink another ball.

“Nice shot,” Hayden says.

“Kick his ass!” Heather adds.

Sebastian pouts. “You’re so mean to me, Heather. Nobody ever roots for me to win.”

“Because we don’t need to,” Heather tells him.

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