Page 28 of Handy

He turns his attention back on me and I straighten up a little under his gaze. I’m even more pathetic than I previously thought, but goddamn do I want to earn every second of his eyes on me. He tilts his head towards the pool table.

“It’s your shot,” he reminds me.

“Oh.” I look at the table for the first time in what feels like an hour, but it’s probably more like fifteen minutes since my last turn.

They have two balls left, but all of ours are cleared. Which means all I have to do is sink the eight to win it.

“Finish this and I’ll let you drive me home,” he says, quietly enough that I doubt anyone else hears, with a suggestive edge in his voice and a promise in his smoldering smile that says loud and clear that he’s not just looking for a lift. I swallow hard and that needy ache in my belly expands. I grunt again and nod.

Heat prickles along the back of my neck as I chalk up my cue and then lean over to line up the shot. It’s not a particularly difficult one, but my hands tremble slightly. I take a steadying breath, aim, and sink it.

A grin jumps to my lips, twisting them awkwardly into a shape my face isn’t used to. Like my rusty, disused laugh, my muscles aren’t quite familiar with this particular command these days. I exhale sharply and nod with pride as I straighten myself back up.

“Whoa, no need for such an over-the-top reaction, big guy,” Stone says with a wink while Ledger full-out cheers behind me,jumping up and down and waving his arms like we just won at an Olympic level instead of a friendly forty-dollar wager in a dingy Wisconsin bar.

“I think we’ve been had.” West gives us a crooked grin that says he’s not actually mad about it.

“Tell you what, I’ll entertain the idea of a rematch sometime,” Ledger offers, then glances over at me. “If Griff is up for being my partner again, of course.”

My heart pounds and I feel like all eyes are on me, even though in reality everyone outside of our little group is too busy with their own drinks and games to take any interest. Is Ledger saying he wants to come back to Wooley’s with me? Or is he just being his usual friendly self? I could easily fall into a spiral wondering why he would want to waste a Friday or Saturday night with me grunting through basic conversation when he could be anywhere with anyone. Instead, I just nod. If he wants to come back and play another few rounds, I sure as shit won’t have anything better to do.

“You’re on,” Stone agrees, tossing his half of the losses onto the table for Ledger to eagerly snatch up.

He stuffs the winnings into his pocket and bumps his shoulder against mine.

“I’m going to let Jericho know he doesn’t need to worry about driving me home and then we can take off. Unless you wanted to hang around for another drink first?”

I shake my head. I already stuck around longer than I planned to, and I’m sure longer than the guys expected me to. Besides, there isn’t a drink in the world more interesting than finding out what exactly Ledger was promising with that dirty grin.

“No, let’s go.” I hang my cue back on the wall and roll my shoulders. “I’ll meet you out by my truck?”

It’s not that I don’t want the guys to see us leaving together, and fuck knows they’re smart enough and nosy enough to put two and two together anyway, even if they don’t see us literally walk out hand in hand, but I’d rather minimize the speculation if I can. If I don’t confirm anything now, I won’t have to make some big, awkward announcement later when it’s over.

“Cool.” Ledger ghosts his fingers over my forearm, then slips away to talk to Jericho while I put my head down and make a quiet exit.

LEDGER

“Jericho said you were going to think I was a total stalker creep for showing up at Wooley’s,” I say conversationally, the roar of the truck engine vibrating through me as we head towards home.

Griff grunts and then chuckles, the sound low and gravelly in his throat.

“Why did you?” he asks, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye, his hand twitching on the gear shift like maybe he’s thinking about reaching for me.

“Hang out.” I shrug and scoot a little closer on the bench seat. It’s so much more chill than what I want to say, which is, ‘because I’m obsessed with you, you adorable doofus.’

Slow and steady, Ledgie.I may be stubborn, but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn from my past mistakes. Jericho might be convinced that the flaw in my dating strategy is the guys I pick, but I think the problem is that I’ve always wanted too much too fast. I feel like I can see the bricks in the wall around Griff cracking, I just need to be patient enough to wait for them to come down instead of relying on my usual strategy of bringing in a wrecking ball. That’s only ever made guys build their walls up stronger and higher.

We pull into his driveway, and he switches the engine off but doesn’t make a move to get out right away.

“Sorry, should I have taken you right to your place?” He frowns and makes a move like he’s going to put the keys back into the ignition.

I laugh and put my hand out to stop him.

“I’m sure I can walk the twenty steps to my back door from here,” I assure him, wrapping my hand around his and slipping his keys out of his grasp. I lick my lips and meet his eyes, letting a slow, suggestive grin spread over my lips. “Eventually.”

His throat bobs with a swallow and he nods. We both climb out of his truck and I hit the fob to lock it, even though this isn’t the kind of neighborhood where leaving your car unlocked is an issue. Griff doesn’t say anything as I saunter up to the front door with his keys dangling from my index finger and unlock it like I own the place.

He flips on the light in the entryway and we both slip our shoes off.

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