Page 227 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 9
“Go be more assertive,” Kristen said. “You can’t let her walk all over you just because she’s taller, blonder, and tanner than you.”
I felt myself shrinking into my stool. Was that supposed to be an ego boost?
“Speaking of gorgeous people, I think I just found something I like.” She was staring at some guy across the bar. “I’ll catch up with you later.” She squeezed my arm without really even looking at me and walked away.
Bye, Kristen?I watched her walk over to the guy and start talking to him. They immediately started laughing and he stepped closer to her. She made it look so easy. I had never been good at stuff like that. Aiden had been my only serious boyfriend ever, and my dating skills felt like they’d been stomped on and thrown to sea.
I heard someone cheering and looked back at the pool table. Apparently they’d won the game. My lifeguard high-fived the girl one last time and then walked back over to me.
"You two make a good team,” I said. Better to push them together than pretend I ever had a chance. It was for the best anyway.
"Me and Abby? No." He laughed. "She kind of sucks at pool. I thought she was going to make me lose."
Maybe he didn't realize that she liked him. "I don't know. She definitely likes you."
He shrugged his shoulders. "We're just friends.”
Huh. I hadn’t expected that. My ego started to re-inflate.
“Did you want to play something?" he asked.
"Ping pong?" I had seen that there was a table on the other side of the bar. It was the only thing here that I was any good at. My ego would be huge again in no time once I whooped his ass.
"Sure."
We walked over to the table. There were two people already playing so we waited in line. I leaned against the wall and he stood in front of me. I looked up into his eyes. It was easy to get lost in them, even when I tried to tell myself I shouldn’t.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he finally asked.
"I'm not looking at you in any way."Am I?
"Yes, you are." He laughed.
"Has anyone ever told you that your eyes are the same color as the ocean?"
He smiled. "I can't say that anyone has."
"Oh. Well. It's true." I felt a little buzzed.
“Is your friend still coming?” he asked.
“Yeah…she’s…” I looked around the bar but didn’t see her. “She’s somewhere. She got here while you were playing pool and wandered off.”
He looked around too. For a second I thought maybe he didn’t believe me. Like he thought I’d made up a friend and was a total loser.
“Her name’s Kristen,” I added quickly. God, it sounded like I was making her up by the second. “I swear she’s here somewhere.”
He nodded, although it was hard to tell if he believed me.
"Are you hungry?" he asked.
"Starving actually." And so grateful for the change of topic.
"Okay, how about the loser buys a pizza?"
"It is not your lucky day, because I'm like, really, really good at ping pong."
"Really, really good, huh? I guess I'm in trouble. I'm going to go place our order now so it's ready when we're done. What kind do you like?"
