Page 52 of Meet You in the Waves
I followed Nick to the counter and ordered the beer on tap. I’d liked it the last time we’d been here and, more importantly, the drinks were safely in my affordability range. Of course, Nick immediately assumed he was going to pay but he’d bought me more than enough drinks in the past two weeks already.
“It’s my turn,” I said, whipping out my phone.
“Put that thing away,” Nick replied while the bartender watched us with amusement on his face.
“Nick, let me pay. Please?” I returned, holding his eye to make sure he could see how much I meant it. Nick studied me, his head cocked to the side.
“Okay,” he finally relented and I smiled.
The bartender rolled his eyes at us but I could see the smile on his face as he held out the machine to me.
“Enjoy, boys,” he said, winking at Nick. Nick grabbed me by the elbow and we made our way back towards the sofa where we had sat last time. Nick, of course, stopped to exchange greetings with half the pub and I was holding back a smile by the time we made it to the sofa where Rob and Mateo were waiting.
“Tassie,” Rob greeted, holding his fist out to me.
“Hey,” I replied generally, not sure how I was supposed to greet Mateo when he was eyeing me the way he currently was. I may have been completely blind to the way I had been feeling towards Nick but I recognised hostility when it was directed my way. I also knew I wasn’t going to touch that particular issue with a ten foot pole.
The four of us ended up playing pool on the table nearby. I was put in a team with Rob who was apparently quite the pool shark, the other three probably assuming I didn’t know how to play. That wasn’t entirely true.
“You played eight-ball before?” Rob asked, chalking up his pool cue.
“We had a pool table at the boarding house where I used to live last year. I’m not great but I can play okay,” I told him.
“Good. You gotta watch these two though,” he said, head knocked towards where Nick and Mateo talked strategy on the other side of the table. “They can be sneaky.”
My eyes followed Rob’s to where Nick and Mateo were engaged in a close discussion on strategy, golden heads bent together and looking like the most heartbreakingly gorgeous pair of guys I’d ever seen. My heart hurt a little at the sight. Nick looked up at me then, holding my eye as he sent me one of his grins.
“You’re going down,” he joked, clearly unaware where my thoughts had just gone. I could only laugh, the sound a little half-hearted to my ears.
Nick broke and the balls scattered across the table, a couple falling into the pockets.
“Stripes,” Nick called. Mateo took the next shot, easily pocketing two more balls with the one shot. Nick cheered when they both dropped in but Mateo barely batted an eyelid.
Rob turned out to be the shark the others had claimed him to be but I at least didn’t embarrass myself entirely, managing to pocket a few balls of my own. The game progressed and I found myself having fun although my glass seemed to magically refill itself each time I sat back down on the sofa for a break. My eyes lifted to Nick who smiled back at me innocently and I wondered how he had managed to stealthily move back and forth to the bar without me noticing.
We shared pizzas from the woodfire which were surprisingly good for a place called Paddy’s and played more pool, the afternoon melding into the evening.
I hadn’t realised how seriously these three took their competitiveness until I was right in the mix of it. The pool games were tied at four apiece when it all came down to the eight ball on the last game. Unfortunately, I was up next. If it had been Rob’s turn we would have had this championship in the bag and I nervously chalked up my cue as Rob whispered in my ear, giving me some tips. If I missed, Nick would have a clear shot on the eight ball so I knew I had to sink it.
I stepped up to the table, Rob still at my side as we looked for the best angle. Nick took it upon himself to try to distract me and I realised what Rob had meant about their sneaky tactics. Mateo was right beside him, a little handsy for my liking as they talked their own team tactics and I tried to ignore the way Mateo’s hand looked on Nick’s shoulder.
This next shot I took was for pride. And maybe just a little to reclaim the rights to touch Nick’s shoulder. I blocked the others out of my mind, ignoring Nick as he leaned both his elbows on the table, right in my line of sight, Mateo’s hand still resting where it shouldn’t be.
“You got this,” Rob urged in my ear.
My eyes locked with Nick’s and I nearly faltered as he sucked on his lower lip in the most blatant attempt at seduction I’d ever seen. I blocked that image out of my head, leaned down onto the table and knocked that eight ball straight into the pocket, right in front of Nick’s gorgeous face.
“Yes, Tassie!” Rob yelped, pulling me into a full body hug as he fist pumped the air. I couldn’t hide the grin from my face as I looked up at Nick only to find him looking back at me with a hint of pride in his eyes. He took the loss like someone of his good nature would, laughing it off and shaking both our hands. Mateo, well, I had no idea how he took the loss because he didn’t react at all, just like the way he had played the entire game. I didn’t get a handshake from him either, though that was probably for the best.
Rob and Mateo headed home afterwards and Nick and I walked outside the pub, hovering on the pavement. I wasn’t in any hurry to return home to where Kira awaited me. I wasn’t in any hurry for this day with Nick to end either.
“Feel like an ice cream?” Nick asked.
“Sure. Winner pays?” I returned, nudging him with my shoulder.
“Nah, loser definitely pays,” he grinned back at me. “There’s got to be some reward for that amazing last shot.”
“How many drinks did you just buy me back at the pub?” I asked, turning to face him with my serious eyes. “Be honest.”
