“Do you know how to play?”
“Yeah, I used to play with my dad when I was little,” I explained. “But I haven’t really played since my parents got divorced.”
Wesley gazed at me for a moment and then said “Oh.” He looked back at the table and lifted the triangle from the felt. “You wanna break?”
I shook my head and Wesley lined up his shot. He sank a solid and then two more before he missed. I looked over the table and found an easy shot. I lined it up and Wesley corrected my aim.
“Why don’t you just figure out the angles? Sine and cosine and shit?” he said with a laugh.
“I’m not too good in math. Algebra is okay, but trig and calc are pretty much a mystery to me,” I said and took my shot. It went wide.
“I’m okay in math. If I study. Hey, maybe there’s something I can help you with.” I smiled and Wesley stepped closer to me. “Wanna make this interesting? If I win, I get a kiss in the parking lot. A good kiss.”
He stepped back and took his shot; a solid dropped in the corner pocket. I didn’t stand a chance. I looked around at people at other pool tables. I hoped it would be dark out before we left, because I was sure Wesley intended to collect on his bet.
I lost the first game with four balls still on the table. “Best two out of three?”
Wesley moved close to me and leaned in. “All right, but I get two kisses then.”
Wesley racked the balls with a grin on his face. Some kids called out to him and waved. He lifted his chin in greeting and waved back. I figured he came here a lot from the number of people who waved to him or stopped to say hi. The man at the counter knew him by name. Wesley was leaning over the table when a blond girl came running up and hugged him.
“Wes! Where have you been? I haven’t seen you in so long! What’s going on, lover?”
Wesley hugged her briefly and looked at me over her shoulder. He stepped back and flashed his smile. A shorthaired brunet girl stood behind her blond friend and looked at me.
“Hey, Kate. How ya doin’?” he asked casually and then looked at the other girl. “Hey, Lissa.”
Kate put her hands on her hips and furrowed her perfectly plucked eyebrows. “Seriously, I haven’t seen you in forever. Where have you been?”
“I’ve been around,” Wesley answered, glancing at me. Kate followed his eyes to me.
“Who’s this cutie?” she asked, spreading her crimson lips into a smile. I looked around shyly and Wesley chuckled.
“This is Toren. Toren, this is Kate and Lissa.” He pointed at each girl as he said her name.
“Hi. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Ooh! He’s so polite too!” Kate squealed with a hand over her mouth. I looked to the side and resisted rolling my eyes. I hated it when people were condescending. Lissa looked at me and smiled, but it was an understanding smile—an “I get it” smile. Kate returned her attentions to Wesley and looked at the pool table. “So can we join you?”
“Uh—”
“Me and Wes against Lissa and Toren. Can I break?” she said quickly, taking the cue stick from Wesley’s hand. Wesley looked at me again and shrugged.
We played four games; Wesley and Kate won all but one. Lissa was pretty good but she had to pick up my slack. After an hour or so, we turned in the pool balls and Kate and Lissa followed us into the parking lot. I hoped Wesley had forgotten our bet on the first game.
“Well, we gotta take off. It was good seeing you,” Wesley said as we neared his car.
“Yeah. We should do this again soon,” Kate answered, stepping up and hugging Wesley. She looked at me and smiled. “You too.”
“It… it was nice meeting you,” I said. Wesley already had the driver-side door open.
“Yeah, we’ll see ya around, Toren. Bye, Wes,” Lissa said, making eye contact with me.
Wesley started the car, and we watched Kate and Lissa walk back into Cue. He peeled out of the parking lot and drove me home. He idled in front of my building and I started to say good night, but he interrupted me.
“Wait a sec. You didn’t forget about our bet, did you? Good thing I didn’t specify which parking lot.”
He leaned in and kissed me, pushing his tongue between my lips and ruffling my hair with his fingers. It was dark out and the car’s interior lights weren’t on, so I felt pretty safe that we wouldn’t be seen.
“See you later,” Wesley said, pulling back and sinking into the driver’s seat.
“Good night.”
I waved before I got to the stairs and Wesley waited until I was up to the third floor before he drove away. I couldn’t help but let a shy smile steal across my face. It kinda felt like we were on a date, and it was a good feeling.
Chapter 8
WESLEY WAS waiting for me at my locker before history class. He looked really cute in his ripped jeans and an unbuttoned plaid, short-sleeved shirt over a white T-shirt. My stomach tingled a little when I saw him and I immediately blushed.
“What’s going on?” he asked, leaning against the lockers with his book bag over his shoulder.
“Nothing. How are you?” I asked, pulling out my history book.
He complained about not being able to eat lunch with me because our lunch hours were consecutive. He talked and I listened, nodding and smiling, until class started.
Mr. Hannity told us about the exam on Friday and that we should catch up on any reading since the test would cover chapters thirteen, fourteen, and seventeen. He glanced at Wesley a few
