Page 7 of Zen's Crash

I sit down at a small table in the back of the alcove, waiting for Evan to set the balls up and help Kayla choose a cue. Zen holds one out to me without so much as looking at me. My anxiety clicks down again because he isn’t eyeing me up like aprime side of beef, doling out fake compliments, or coming on to me. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all? Things are going okay. I’ve done my job by saving Kayla from herself at least once.

Zen breaks the balls apart in one powerful shot that sends them flying all around the table. He takes several shots, and when he misses, Evan steps up to take his shot. When he misses, they tell me that it’s my turn. We are clearly playing couples, and I’ve been paired with Zen by default because Evan and Kayla are on an actual date.

Zen still isn’t focused on me, so I get up and take my shot, dropping two balls before I miss.

“Great effort,” he says casually as Kayla walks up to the pool table to take her turn. I almost smile at how casual and laid-back Zen is. Then it hits me like a ton of bricks, that this is probably exactly how he got his club name—he’s likely the kind of guy who doesn’t let anything ruffle his feathers. Feeling secure that he isn’t going to pop off with something rude or demanding, helps me let go of any lingering doubts I have about coming to the clubhouse. Everyone here has been nothing but nice to me so far.

When our game is over, Evan and Kayla go out to dance to a slow song.

Zen asks, “Want to shoot another game of pool?”

I nod, happy he didn’t ask me to dance with him. “Yeah, that would be great.”

He sets the balls up for us and in the middle of sorting them, he looks over his shoulder and says, “You look really nice tonight as the Dark Maven.”

Before I can respond, he turns around and keeps on sorting the balls.

I stammer, “I- I feel a bit out of place, I didn’t mean to dress up. Kayla didn’t tell me where we were going exactly. She said we were going to a bar where everyone dressed in black. I assumed it was a techno bar. They sometimes dress up on Friday nights.”

“Oh, I see,” he mumbles. “I still think you look nice. Ain’t nobody in the clubhouse cares how women dress.”

Glancing around, I see all the pleather miniskirts and glittering tube tops. “Yeah, I can see that.”

When he pulls back, he’s got a cute smile on his handsome face. “You wanna take the first shot?”

Stepping up to the pool table again, I feel all my anxiety melt away. I break the balls apart but obviously not with the power Zen did.

When I walk by him, he’s smiling again, so I risk asking a question. “Do you and Evan hang out a lot?”

He shakes his head, “Not really. He’s a prospect and came to me to learn about my role in the club.”

My eyes fly up to his. “What do you do here?”

He shrugs. “I’m their IT specialist.”

I perk up immediately because now I’m all kinds of interested to learn more about him.

“How about you?” he asks. “What do you do for a living?”

“I have an inheritance from my dad and do online gigs to keep myself busy.”

“That’s cool. Do you mind if I ask how you met Kayla? You two don’t seem like you have a lot in common. Do you spend a lot of time with her?”

I shake my head. “No. She’s my best friend’s little sister. She’s a little socially awkward and wanted a wingman. I agreed to be her emotional support animal for the night because her sister was busy.”

“That’s real sweet of you. She can put her foot in her mouth at times.”

“Yeah, we all do that from time to time,” I respond trying to drive the point home that there is nothing wrong with my best friend’s little sister.

“Ain’t that the truth, beautiful.” His voice is low and masculine. I don’t know if he’s trying to flirt or not. Most likely his voice is just that way naturally. If so, he probably isn’t doing it intentionally.

Part of me is thrilled at getting what sounds like a genuine compliment from a hot guy, but all the other parts of me warn me not to get too excited. Guys don’t want to hook up with former psychiatric patients or women whose fathers were brutally murdered before their very eyes, especially when the killer is still on the loose.

At that thought, I take a deep breath and remind myself what the police told me. It was a home invasion gone wrong. Okay, they haven’t caught the guy, but there’s no reason to believe he’d come after me. Focusing on the moment, I try and forget my recent past. We drink our sodas and play several games of pool. I don’t win, but that’s no surprise since I’ve rarely played a game in my entire life.

I can clearly see Kayla and Evan on the dance floor and, therefore, will be in a position to assure my friend that everything went well for the younger sister she’s so protective of. They would both be thrilled. But really, she hadn’t needed me here at all.

Zen and I eventually get tired of playing pool and decide to chill out a while before I approach Kayla about calling it a night. We chat about the World of Wonders game. Zen has some extremely good insights on the more complex parts of the game, things that I would never even think about in a million years.

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