Page 24 of Begin Again
“Sure about that?” I ask with a lot more confidence than I feel on the inside.
“You seem very confident for someone who can’t even remember his own name.”
Damn, that stings a bit. That is her favorite thing to use against me. Whenever I get a little too comfortable, she has to remind me that I’m still the town freak who can’t remember a damn thing about himself.
Grabbing two pool sticks, I hand one over to her. “Are you in or not?”
Charlie’s gaze narrows, but I see the fire ignite in them. She’s intrigued and wants to know what game I’m playing. When she reaches out to take the stick, she lets her fingers ghost over mine before wrapping her hand around the shaft and sauntering to the other side of the table. “Your break or mine?”
“You go ahead. I’ll give you a head start.”
Charlie rolls her eyes but lines herself up at the opposite end of the table, bending over the edge again, and I push down any thoughts that might distract me from the game. Her tongue pokes out the side of her mouth as she sends the stick straight into the center of the white ball, breaking the rack and sending one ball into a pocket. It’s a stripe.
She looks up from the table with a raised brow. She doesn’t think I’m serious about the stipulations. I prove her wrong by shrugging the leather jacket off my shoulders and hanging it on the back of a nearby chair.
Charlie lands another ball in a corner pocket, and I remove my long-sleeve Henley, leaving me in a white T-shirt. I watch her throat swell as she swallows before dropping her gaze to the green felt.
She lines up to make another shot, but it’s a scratch, landing the cue ball in a side pocket. She tries not to react, but the corners of her mouth fall for half a second before she fixes her face. She’s disappointed.
With a smirk, I pull the cue ball from the pocket, setting it at the end of the table. Finding the easiest ball to pocket, I line up the shot and sink it. “You wanna tell me that secret now or later?”
By now, a small crowd has gathered to watch the show, including Katy and Jackson.
“My first kiss was in the back of this bar,” Charlie grumbles.
“Classy.” I smirk, lining up another shot and sinking it again.
The process repeats until there are only two balls left. Each secret she has shared so far reveals a little more about her, but none tell me what I really want to know.
“With this next one, I get to ask you a question and you have to tell me the truth. Deal?”
“Better hope you make it, then.”
I smirk, sinking the ball into the corner pocket without looking. That earns the biggest eye roll of the evening. “Why were you so scared for Jackson to talk to me earlier?”
“I wasn’t.”
“You and Katy about lost your minds seeing us talking.” My weight shifts onto the pool stick as I lean down toward her. “Scared he might say something he’s not supposed to?”
Charlie doesn’t back down. Instead, she stands up taller.
“Ticktock, Char.”
“That’snoneof your business,” she hisses.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Katy silently reprimanding her boyfriend with a stern look. He wasn’t supposed to be talking with me earlier. He knows something, and whatever it is (it’s not too hard to figure out), they worry he’ll let it slip. But that’s a secret Charlie won’t let go easily; it will take more than a wager on a billiards game to make that happen.
I shrug, taking a step back from her. “Rules of the game, Charlie.”
Charlie’s mouth opens and closes twice as she tries to think of the answer to give me. And before she offers it up, there’s a loud commotion behind us.
“Where’s the birthday girl?” a voice booms and the crowd parts like the Red Sea, where a monster of a man stands. He’s at least six foot one, maybe taller with a mesomorph physique. Broad shoulders give way to thick biceps that strain underneath the black T-shirt. Blonde hair has been cropped close to his scalp. His overall image exudes dominance and power, but the kind of power that gets you into trouble. I glance at Charlie, but she’s too busy staring at the newcomer, and she looks pissed.
“There you are!” He wraps Charlie in a tight hug, sweeping her off her feet and swinging her to-and-fro, even when she tries to push him away. “I’ve been looking all over for ya, baby.”
“Get off, Coop!” Charlie scolds.
Shit.I sigh. I thought we were going to get lucky and go a whole night without him showing up.
