Page 13 of To the Moon and Back

Carly studied Lauren in the midst of their lesson. “And how do Imake sure it remains centrally located?”

“Easy. You have to connect with the ball in front by tapping thecue ball righthere.”Lauren pointed at a spot on the cue ball just above the center point. “If youraim is off, you’re going to have a rogue cue ball and probably miss an easyside pocket sink. Why don’t you give it a try?” Lauren cleared the area.

“All right.” With cue in hand, Carly lowered her body and surveyedthe table, focusing on what Lauren told her was key: the sweet spot on the cueball. “Like this? Am I doing it right, Ms. Shark?”

“I prefer Madame. But, oh…” Lauren laughed quietly. “Your stanceis off.”

Carly straightened. “What do you mean? I’ve always been told Ihave a great stance.”

“Because they’re probably looking at your ass.”

“Were you?” Carly asked playfully. Okay, she was also half seriousbecause the combination of alcohol, the perfume, and the way Lauren had cutloose tonight had her in the friendly land of lust. She loved it in Lust Land,where she could frolic with anticipation, hope, and longing. God, if onlyLauren would join her there, they could have a little fun while she was intown. Ride a few of the rides.

“Checking out your ass?” Lauren paused before answering, meetingCarly’s gaze. A ball of tension coiled tight and wonderful in Carly’s stomach,and she felt the slightest tingle between her legs. “Unfortunately, no. My mindwas on the break shot.” She fluttered her eyelashes, which told Carly she leftroom for fibbing. “Now, about that stance.” Carly, always one to help, took upthe position once again. “See your back arm?” Lauren asked. “It’s angled wrong,and it’s screwing up your shot line. Here.”

And before Carly could screamHotdamn!Lauren’s body was at her back and Lauren’s arms came aroundhers. “Well, hello,” she said to Lauren quietly.

“Hi,” Lauren said back. “Pay attention.”

“Trust me. I’m riveted.”

Lauren let that one go, too. “Level this back arm out so you candraw a perfect line between the cue ball and the front ball. That red onethere, see?”

Carly nodded but was in no rush to take the shot, not with Laurenthis close, turning Carly the hell on with the warmth from her body. She hadn’tbeen wrong about Lauren having a killer body. She could see it in her mind’seye, the way it pressed against hers. The tingle from earlier was now a full-onthrob, and she relished it.

“Ready?” Lauren asked quietly in her ear. Her breath tickledwonderfully.

“Ready,” Carly said. Lauren stepped back and allowed Carly to takethe shot, which in the end came off perfectly. She nailed the front ball, sankanother in the side pocket, and watched as the cue ball hung in the center ofthe table, just like Lauren had promised it would.

“Well, now who’s a shark?” Lauren asked, as Carly tossed her handsin the air and held them there. The room broke into applause, and that’s whenCarly realized that the crowd had nearly tripled in size, and all eyes were onher…in addition to five or six cell phones. That meant someone had likelytweeted or Instagrammed her location. It happened often, actually. She smiledand nodded to their onlookers as she passed by to retrieve her drink. Sheremained hyperaware of Lauren’s location in the room, however. She sipped slowly,posed for a few photos, signed the back of a guy’s jean jacket, and watched asLauren seemed to grow more and more unsteady. Carly got the feeling that shedidn’t go out much, and maybe the night had gotten away from her. She was usingthe backs of chairs to maneuver the space, and that was Carly’s signal to checkin and make sure she was okay.

She touched Lauren’s shoulder. “Hey, you. Are you a little drunkright now? Because you’re looking a little unsteady.”

“No,” Lauren shouted over the music and grinned. Totally was.

“Okay,” Carly said with what was probably a disbelieving smile.

“I’m alotdrunk right now.” She followed that up with the most adorable laugh. “I need toget an Uber so I can…” She trailed off the way drunk people sometimes do andinstead stared glassy-eyed at the grooves on the tall wooden table next tothem.

“Tell you what. Why don’t I take you home?”

Lauren blinked and raised a drunk eyebrow. “I’m not going homewith you. You’re not going home with me, I mean. Not that kind of thing. You’rean actress, ma’am, and I haven’t forgotten.”

“And you’re a stage manager. Ma’am,” she added for good measure.“We have our jobs all sorted out, so let’s get you home safe. I’m in goodshape.”

“Okay,” Lauren said, her eyes now looking heavy. “Listen, I’m inno condition to argue, even though we probably would argue real, real good.”

“Real, real?” Carly couldn’t help but wonder ifarguewas a euphemism.She decided it was. “I have a feeling you’re right.”

Six minutes later, they were in an Uber on the way to Lauren’s,where Carly would get her situated, then do the gentlewomanly thing and headback to the apartment the theater had rented for her.

“We have arrived,” Lauren said. She stumbled out of the car. “Iwonder if Rocky can make me another martini.”

“Oh.” A long pause. “Rocky is your…boyfriend?” Carly closed oneeye as she awaited that little piece of unfortunate news. She imagined amuscle-bound ex-football player appearing on the front porch any moment,looking for his girlfriend. If sexy Lauren was taken, who was she going to havefun with while she was here?

“Rocky is not my boyfriend. He’s tiny.” She held her hand justslightly above the pavement. “He’s complicated, means well, and is verysnuggly. I miss him.” Lauren sighed wistfully.

Aha. An undefined love interest who was apparently very small.This was complicated, indeed. Lauren was right.

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