Page 64 of Changeling
“I guess that’s the game,” Nathan said neutrally.
“I guess it is.” Pete’s voice was flat.
“Well thanks for the fun, guys.” Nathan moved to replace his pool cue.
“Don’t figure we’re done yet,” Pete growled out.
“Hn. Okay. I guess I’ve got time for one more.” Nathan tried hard not to sigh. He knew where this was going. If he wasn’t careful, things could get ugly. He couldn’t afford to lose the next game, but he’d have to, to appease the locals.
“Joe! Why don’t you get our new buddy here a beer?” Pete directed.
“Ah…I’m okay, actually,” Nathan broke in, trying to stop Joe from heading for the bar.
“No really, I insist,” Pete said.
Joe, another of the local men at the pool tables, and another of the ones Nathan had beaten, nodded. Nathan was perfectly aware that there was an unspoken understanding between the two men.
After racking up the balls for them, Joe headed for the bar. Pete and Nathan had laid their bets on the edge of the table. Pete broke and started to sink a few balls. Nathan leaned back on the wall to wait for him to miss a shot, which he would beforetoo long since it was pretty obvious Pete wasn’t the local champ because of his skill.
Joe returned with beers for all three of them. Handing one to Nathan, he set Pete’s down on the edge of the pool table. Joe came to stand beside Nathan and clinked their bottles together.
“Bottoms up.” Joe tilted his beer back and took a long chug.
“Nathan,” Walter’s voice chimed urgently through the din of the bar. Nathan was used to his Spirit Guide’s sudden arrivals, especially now that he could only appear when Jim was a good distance away, so he did his best not to react outwardly when Walter said, “You cannot drink that, Nathan. They mean to drug you.”
Shit. Nathan had been afraid of something like that. He tried to cast Walter a glance that said he knew what he was doing before he tilted the bottle back and took the smallest drink he felt he could get away with. Unfortunately, Joe had other ideas and was watching him like a hawk.
“We not good enough for you to drink with?” Joe’s voice was suddenly a bit less friendly.
Nathan smiled, clinked his bottle with Joe’s again, and tipped the beer back. Joe grinned and returned his attention to the pool table.
“Nathan…you're still weak from Sasha feeding earlier.”
Nathan cleared his throat and hissed out an, “I know,” to Walter, but he didn’t have any way around playing along. He just had to be careful and hope he could still get out of there in one piece.
It wasn’t long before Pete missed a shot and it was Nathan’s turn. He went to set his beer down beside Pete’s, but before he could, Pete clinked bottles with him and forced Nathan to chug back another good bit of his beer.
After sinking three shots, Nathan stood back up and suddenly felt dizzy. He could feel sweat trickling down his face and back.He shook it off and leaned in for the next shot. He made that one but missed the next.
Pete moved back to the table, picking up his beer and taking another long drink. He looked at Nathan, obviously waiting for him to do likewise. Nathan did, but he was grateful for the wall to lean against. He knew he was going to lose by more than he’d intended, but he should still come away with enough money to be worth it.
Walter remained visible nearby, watching the game with a furrowed blond brow. He repeatedly made comments about the intentions these men had, that Nathan needed to be careful, that he was in danger, but Nathan had no intention of running for it. He’d stood up against more fae than he could count now, including one immortal asshole—much as that hadn’t always worked out in his favor. But still; he could handle a couple humans.
Pete sank a few more balls before missing again. Nathan pushed up off the wall and took an unsteady step before regaining his balance. The game was almost finished though. He just hoped that whatever they’d spiked his drink with would hold off long enough for him to get out of there.
The crowd around the table had thinned out as it was getting late. Candy was hanging off of Joe now. Joe might not have been her first choice that night, but it was obvious she had no intention of going home alone.
Nathan quickly sank a couple more balls and set the table up to make it easy for Pete to clear it. Pete stepped up to the table and tipped his beer up to finish it. Nathan tried not to grimace as he finished his own. Pete smiled as Nathan almost missed the side of the pool table with his empty bottle. This time as Nathan made his way back to the wall, he was pretty sure most of his steps were unsteady.
Pete managed to sink the remaining balls fairly quickly, although he did give Nathan a short moment of panic when he almost missed a dead easy shot. Finally, it was over.
“Good game,” Nathan said as Pete sank the last ball. “Guess I was pretty lucky before.”
“Yeah,” Pete drawled. Suddenly he was in Nathan’s personal space. The room was spinning, and Nathan was finding it a bit hard to breathe. “Seems like maybe you used up all of your luck.”
“Hey, just a friendly game, right?” Nathan had checked his snark at the door. Jim would deny that Nathan ever held his tongue, but he did know when to keep his mouth shut—occasionally. He was pretty sure this was a lost cause though. He figured he might have a chance to get out with a few bruises. It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that most of the money was going to be staying in Pete’s pocket. Nathan smirked a little at the thought of the money he’d had the foresight to stash in his boot when he went to the bathroom earlier.
Smirking was not a good idea. Pete suddenly pushed Nathan hard up against the wall, leaning into his face. “You think you can just walk into our bar and try to hustle us? You fucking pervert. Don’t think we don’t know what you are,” Pete ground out, disgust dripping from his voice.
