Page 21 of Wolf Fated
Drake, who had been quiet all this time, whistled low through his teeth.
"What?" I asked, not caring since I was going to get an expensive ticket to the other side of the world. Brian would be so excited to see me. No way could I ever afford to go on my waitress salary. If my timing was right, I might even get there before his son turned four years old. I'd have to find out what kind of toys he liked to play with too. Well, it didn’t matter about him kissing me, 'cause I was going to win regardless.
"Here ya go." Nathan handed me one of the bottles. "You bet against Axel? He's the most competitive of us three. Hope you didn't bet your life or anything." Then he gave a beer to Axel and Drake, keeping one for himself.
"Just a date." I line up my next shot but missed on purpose. It was no fun if I was the only one playing. And for a while, I could pretend that I wanted to be here. That I hadn't been practically sold for me and Stephen to get money. So what if I lost and had to go on a date with Axel? I had twenty days to finish with these three. At the end of this trial, we were going to be rich. Then Stephen and I could go to Australia together. Either way, I got what I wanted.
"I'm next." Drake took a swig of his beer, then set it on the tall table next to Axel. His first shot sank the orange ball, but he missed his second.
Relaxing, I drank my beer while Nathan scratched his ball on the table. Damn, that was fast. It was my turn again. I took a long drink before setting my drink down.
In quick succession, I put two balls in pockets and only had two more to go, then the eight-ball.
"We should've bet on Brook too against Axel." Drake clinked his beer bottle against Nathan's.
"Fuck, yeah."
"Don't get too cocky, bastards." Axel took a sip of his beer, hiking up his ankle over his knee. "She looks a bit rusty to me."
Axel was the one who needed to be taken down a notch. I'd seen both Drake and Nathan play and they were average. Axel couldn't be that much better than them. I'd known rich types like these three growing up. Often, they paid for expensive toys like this, then got bored with them after a little while. Even though there was no dust on any of the equipment didn't mean anything. They probably had maids come and clean weekly for them.
"I'm playing just fine. Thank you."
"Care to up the wager then?" Axel raised his eyebrow and a ghost of a smile passed over his lips.
"Why not?" I laughed. Maybe the beer was making more tipsy than I thought. "A ticket to Hawaii too if I win." God, wasn't Stephen going to be surprised when I got us all this money and trips to Australia and Hawaii. Of course, I'd up the stakes once Axel and I were going head-to-head and get an extra ticket for each.
Man, I could practically taste the pineapple and see the kangaroos and koalas.
"Good." Axel stood and stretched. "If I win, you have to spend a whole day with each of us."
All kinds of images twirled in my mind at his words, but it didn't matter. I was going to win. "It's a bet."
I finished the game with Drake and Nathan, both of them patting me on the back.
"Next time take it easy on us," Nathan whispered.
They didn't know the half of it. I could've wiped them off the table and they'd never have gotten a second shot.
Axel took his time picking a cue stick. Weighing them with one hand and checking the balance. Another coin in the scale showing that these guys hadn't played in a while and tipping in my favor. Drake and Nathan set up the balls again before Drake left to go grab more beers.
"You want to pick a different stick?" Axel asked me.
"Nah." I chalked up the end to get ready. It had been lucky for me so far and I never liked to switch poles like that. Find what works and stick to it was my motto. "So that it's fair, let's flip a coin to decide who breaks."
"Got one right here." Nathan fished out a coin and set it on the edge of the pool table between us.
The gold coin glinted in the light. Of course, it was something fancy rather than a simple quarter. But since I wasn't a fool, I picked it up, tossing it a few times to make sure it wasn't one of those trick ones that only landed on heads or tails all the time. It seemed normal, so I nodded, but kept it in my fist.
"Heads I go first, Tails you?" I asked in an innocent voice, then took a sip of my new beer Drake handed me. Must be the alcohol making me so relaxed with three sexy men staring at me like they'd nothing more than to strip me out of my clothes and lay me across this table to have their way with me. Heat flooded my face, but I cleared my throat.
"Ladies choice," Axel said with a touch of his New York accent coming through.
How had these three ever become friends? I mean they fit together now, but I couldn't imagine a cowboy, a New Yorker, and a laidback master chef becoming friends. Was I missing something?
I flipped the coin, letting it spin across the pool table. It landed heads up and I beamed. Axel did a mock bow, and I broke the balls. But this time, I didn't sink any of them.That's okay. I'll get more next time.
Axel took his shot and sank a stripped ball. Then he did the same with two more balls.Fuck. Maybe I shouldn't have drunk any beers until after I had beaten him.Finally, the cue ball went into one of the pockets after a fourth ball, scratching.
