“Heads you break, tails I break,” William said, flipping a quarter. “Heads.”
I glanced at Kelly and grabbed a cue for myself. “Are you good at breaking?”
“I could be better. You go first, hon.” He grabbed a cue too, and he threw the blue chalk my way.
“Dad!” we heard Aurora holler. “Wait for me!”
Judging by the small bag from Sephora she was carrying, I assumed she’d been at the mall with a friend.
Soon, everyone had joined us, and Mason had made Aurora blush by saying she took after her “beautiful mother.”
I may have beamed a little.
“All right, show us what you’re made of, Lis,” William said.
“I do like to break balls,” I mused.
Kelly and William chuckled.
“She makes that joke every time,” Brady informed everyone.
“Oh, shut up.” I pushed up the sleeves of my hoodie and got in position along the short end of the table. Mason and Brady had gotten comfortable at one of the tables lining the wall, and they stood up and scarfed down some pizza while I made the first shot. The balls scattered and bounced across the table, and I smirked. I’d managed to block two pockets with the seven and eight balls.
“Remember the rules, princess?” William asked Aurora.
“Yeah.” She concentrated and studied the table. “Okay, my turn?”
He nodded and dipped down to whisper something to her.
I shifted my gaze to Mason and found him watching me.
That was going to get distracting very quickly.
“He won’t get that one, will he?” Kelly asked me quietly.
I shook my head. “Impossible.” We were huddled together in one corner, with William studying the angle of his shot from the other side of the table. “I think he’s gonna try to block the corner pocket.” We waited to learn I was right, and I chewed on my lip. The six ball was going to be difficult to sink. “You’re gonna have to shoot it off the rail so it comes back. Otherwise, it’s gonna knock the nine.”
Kelly stood slightly behind me and clapped me on my shoulders. “Sounds like a great task for you.”
I laughed and conceded. Fair enough. He was sharp as hell for straight shots, but he could use some practice for the angles.
That was where William was the champion. He had a good eye for seeing the exact spot where the white object ball would hit.
“Damn you, Lis,” William said. “I can read your mind. You’re going with the middle pocket.”
I chuckled and chalked my cue. For this, I had to bring out my A game, though. And the bulkiness of my hoodie was annoying, so I rested the cue against the table before I shed the garment. My T-shirt was a size or two too small, but I couldn’t be assed to give a shit. I’d promised Kelly we were going to defeat William.
“Mom, I like to win.” Aurora threw that out there.
“Pick my team next time, then,” I replied.
“Oh-ho!” Brady—and Mason too—burst out in laughter.
“Middle pocket.” I tapped it with the end of my cue before I bent over the table and hoped for two good shots. The first one being a good shot of my ass in profile, something for Mason to enjoy. The second one being…this. I shot the object ball right at the six ball, sending it bouncing against the rail, then straight back into the middle pocket.
Fuck yes!
Aurora groaned.
“Goddamn,” Kelly exclaimed.
I straightened and pointed at the seven for him. It was a simple shot, and then I could take the eight ball.
“You can do it, Kelly,” William encouraged him. “And if you can’t, that’s okay too.”
“No mind games,” I accused.
“I would never.” William looked properly offended, which I knew was bullshit. He may not be competitive, but he was no sucker.
Thankfully, Kelly sank the seven, and then I pocketed the eight ball.
It left us with a single nine ball, and Kelly gestured for me to take it.
It was a simple shot, and we were declared the winners of this game a few beats later.
“In my defense, your mother has practiced,” William defended to our irritated daughter. “Let’s get some pizza, princess.”
I glanced over at Kelly. “You know this doesn’t mean anything, right? Behind closed doors, he’ll blame their loss on Aurora.”
He sighed heavily. “Yeah. I guess I’ll have to bring him down here more often.”
Although, when our game against Brady and Mason started, it became clear that Kelly and I were about to get slaughtered. Winning against William no longer carried any weight, even to Kelly, who watched with a what-the-fuck face as Mason broke the formation and immediately sank the first and second ball.
I swallowed hard as Brady pocketed the third, and then Mason took care of the fourth too, before Brady missed the fifth.
Kelly and I exchanged a look.
Yeah, we were screwed.
“No one ever cared to ask me who taught me to shoot pool,” William mentioned with mild amusement. “Perhaps make that a lesson.”
Kelly huffed.
I narrowed my eyes at Mason, who stood there with a smug little smirk and chalked his cue.
“You just made my shit list,” I told him.
He grinned. “Exciting. Should I expect some form of punishment?”
Well, I hadn’t thought that far, maybe. Brady snorted and said my idea of punishment entailed an evening of scowls before I surrendered. And when William said there wasn’t an ounce of wrath in me, everyone was in agreement.
“I can be scary!” I argued.
They all laughed.
Motherfuckers.
The frustration festered as the sore loser in me took the wheel, and though I managed to sink the fifth—and Kelly sank the sixth—I failed miserably on the seventh. It wasn’t going to be a long game. Mason shot an amazing curve ball to pocket the seventh, after which Brady nailed the eighth.
“This game fucking sucks,” I exclaimed.
William and Aurora were laughing their asses off at my expense, and I’d fucking had it.
“Watch this, darlin’.” Mason got into position to pocket the last ball,
