Page 25 of Naive in Love

“Go ahead.” Preston challenges his cousin with a cocky grin.

As soon as he breaks, I know Lena and I won’t be doing much because the boys have the game all by themselves. Ethan bends over the table, lining up the cue stick, nodding his head in the direction of a corner pocket and calling the shot before he takes it. I am so distracted by his ass in those jeans, it takes Lena bumping me slightly to divert my attention back to the game.

He makes another shot before missing, giving Preston his turn. Preston gets a couple shots in before my turn. I look around the table, not seeing an easy shot. Ethan comes up behind me placing his hands on my hips and moving me slightly to the right.

“I’ll lead you through this shot. You are going to go for the green stripe, banking it there, and it will come back to the corner.” He points at the different locations on the table.

I turn around, smiling. “You sure do have a lot of faith in my ability.”

“Bend over and focus,” he says, smirking. I do as he says, lining up the cue stick on the white ball and paying attention to the angle he wants me to take. “Now I need you to hit the ball with some force, but don’t wail on it… Go.”

All I can focus on are his hands lingering on my hips. I bring my mind back to the game and take the shot. I make it! I jump up and down like an idiot. Not thinking, I wrap my arms around Ethan’s neck pulling him down to kiss his cheek, thanking him.

I realize my arms are still around his neck when Preston asks, “Really, Sof?”

I quickly let go, stepping back while my face heats up. “Oops, sorry… I got too excited, huh?”.

“It’s adorable. Come on, let’s take your next shot.” One word—adorable—and I’m brought back to the reality of my cute status.

We finish the game just as his drummer walks to the table and announces their next set.

The lead singer tells the crowd there is a special lady in the audience. The band starts a rock version of “Happy Birthday,” and this time I know Ethan is looking directly at me and smiling. I can’t stop the smile that takes over my face. The band finishes my birthday serenade and begins their set.

I reach into my purse for my lip gloss when I feel my phone vibrate. I pull it out and see Caleb’s name on the screen. I answer the phone, asking him to hold while I walk out to the patio so I can hear better.

“Hey, babe, what’s up?”

“What the hell are you up to?” His anger is radiating through the phone.

“What are you talking about?”

“Really? The picture of y’all where some asshole is holding on to you, then you have a picture of that same guy holding on to you while you shoot pool. What the fuck are you doing with this guy?”

“That’s Ethan, Preston’s cousin. We took a picture, and we were playing pool. That’s it.”

“Fuck, Sophia. If you don’t want to be with me, then tell me. I’ll be glad to walk away.”

I panic at the thought. He chose me, and here I am screwing everything up. “No, I do want you. Really, nothing is going on. Please don’t be mad.” I can’t help the tears that start to fall. Maybe this birthday weekend was a bad idea.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Come over when you wake up,” he orders.

“I’ll be there.”

I stay outside, thankful everyone is inside watching the band. I must look like a fool standing outside a bar crying. I contemplate walking home but don’t know how I would explain it to everyone. I open up my socials to find the pictures posted. Paige, the queen of attention, has posted and tagged all of us in a couple of carousels of our night. She’s been doing this for so long, I never pay attention when she’s taking pictures anymore. She loves to post and delete a few days later. I compose myself, hoping my mascara hasn’t smeared. I dash through the crowd toward the restroom before going back to the table.

I hear the song end and the jukebox music begin as I’m wiping the mascara from under my eyes. I’m confused because they just started this set. I finish fixing my face and walk out into the hallway leading back out to the bar, only to find Ethan leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

“What happened?” His voice is full of concern.

“Nothing, why?”

He shakes his head at me, moving closer standing right in front of me cupping my face in his large, strong hands. “Please don’t say it’s nothing. When your friends saw you walk in, they were all ready to jump up and follow you. Preston won out, but we finished the song, and I came. I asked Preston to let me talk to you. Now…what’s wrong?” His touch is gentle, and I want nothing more than to fall into his chest.

“It’s nothing you need to be concerned about. Everything’s fine.”

“Try again. I’m going to continue asking until you tell me.”

“Caleb’s mad. He saw pictures of you and me that Paige posted.”

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