Page 30 of Cheater and the Saint
“Sure.”
Chase motioned to Mike, a silent request. Mike disappeared in the crowd the way we’d just come.
“Okay, first thing you gotta do in pool is pick your stick,” Chase explained, walking us over to the rack in the corner. He then tilted his head my way and smirked. “You like sticks. Don’t you, Saint?”
His question was highly suggestive, and even with that mixed drink in my system, I didn’t miss it.
“Sorry,” he said before flashing me a charming smile. One that I’d dreamed of for two years. “That was a bit forward of me. I just like you, and I guess I say stupid shit when I’m nervous.”
He was nervous aroundme? That was unexpected.
“It’s okay.” I returned his smile. I’d come out that year—junior year—so it wasn’t a secret, and I refused to be ashamed of it. Chase was too kind, not wanting to offend me. “Is there a special trick to choosing one? Or does the stick choose the player?”
Yeah, I was laying it on thick and being a tad flirty by giving him my best crooked smile and mischievous eyes. But it was freaking Chase Walker, and he hadn’t been that sly about his flirting earlier, either.
He was known for dating all the pretty girls, but maybe he was curious.
“Are you a wizard, Saint?” Chase asked, playing along. He stepped forward and closed the very small distance between us. “Because maybe you can showmea thing or two.”
I forgot about the bustling party in the house, forgot about the other people in the room we were in. All I knew was the quickening of my pulse and the ache in my pants. His eyes were so blue it looked like he had the ocean in their depths. He smelled so good, a hint of his cologne but something minty, as well.
Mike interrupted us, “Here ya go. The house special.”
Chase smirked at his friend before taking the two red cups. “Thanks. Now go.”
Mike turned and left without another word.
I didn’t find it weird that Mike did everything he was told. Chase wasn’t just charming, beautiful, and popular. He wasthemost popular guy in school. The other guys looked up to him and maybe even feared him a little.
“Cheers,” Chase said, holding up his drink.
We drank at the same time, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. The drink was a mix of coke and some kind of whiskey. It wasn’t the best taste in the world, but I hid my disgust because I was having too great of a time.
The effects of the drink were great, though, loosening me up to where I wasn’t as quiet as I normally was in social settings.
I wasn’t a quiet person. I was a bit eccentric and kind of crazy at times, but my social anxiety made me an introvert. Drinking helped remove that barrier and allowed me to be who I really was.
Chase told me more about the rules of pool, and I half-listened, half-checked him out. The guy was seriously flirting with me. When he showed me how to hold the stick and aim, he got behind me, placing his hands over mine on the stick and leaning down with me over the table.
“You have to get really low. Like this,” he said, shifting his hips closer behind me. Shit. It was a turn-on. I bit the inside of my cheek to help distract me from the tent I was about to pitch. “When you see your shot, line it up with the hole.” He moved closer, pressing more against me. “And then take it.”
I wondered if that was a double meaning.
I did as he said and ended up making the ball in the pocket. With a smile, I stood back up and faced him. “You know a lot about making it into holes, huh, Chase?”
He stepped closer, gripping the side of my neck. “Maybe I can show you sometime.”
I didn’t fear him like the other guys did. Someone with eyes as kind as his couldn’t be bad. It should’ve been strange that he’d never shown interest in guys before, yet, he was openly flirting with me at a house party in front of everyone at our school, plus some kids from the surrounding schools.
After I first came out, it took me weeks to feel comfortable even talking to a guy in front of other people, even if he was just a friend, but Chase stood chest to chest with me, smoothing his thumb up and down the side of my neck, as though he didn’t have a care in the world of who saw.
I was a fool. A dumb, gullible fool who was about to be taught a lesson I’d never forget.
***
I was hot. Too hot. The sweaty kind of hot. Before I opened my eyes that morning, I groaned and tried to shove the heavy blanket off me. When the blanket groaned in response, I gave a little yelp as my eyes shot open.
Yeah… definitely not a blanket, but rather a very sleepy—and probably very hungover—Leo.
