Recommended Soundtrack: Andy, You're a Star / The Killers
CPOV
"Wow," I said, leaning back in my seat and dropping my fork onto the plate where my salad had been. "I did not expect to get full with just this salad."
Nik grinned, grabbing another fry and popping it into his mouth. I reached over and grabbed one. They were really good- all crispy on the outside and soft and flaky on the inside.
Nik wasn't as protective of his fries as he was of his burger. I had to hold back the laughter that threatened to bubble out of me every time he took a bite. You'd think he was going through a religious experience by how reverently he cherished each bite.
"I thought you were full."
"I can make space for a few fries," I said, grabbing another one. He chuckled.
Once we had finished, Nik waved April over.
"Would you like some dessert?" Nik asked before April arrived. I thought about it, and thought about all the seductive things I could do with dessert.
But then decided against it. I had plans for the pool tables and I wouldn't be able to execute them while feeling like a rolly-polly.
"No, thank you," I said and Nik nodded. April came then, clearing our plates and producing the check. Nik handed her his credit card and she left to ring him up. She was back less than a minute later, returning Nik's card.
"Have a nice evening," she said brightly and I smiled at her.
"Would you like to hang out for a little while or do you want to go home?"
The word home pulled me out of my thoughts. It was strange to have a place to call home, no matter how temporary it was. Nik calling his own house home made sense- it was his home. It wasn't really my home. I stopped trying to read into it and decided to respond.
"Can we hang out? I want to play pool."
He nodded with a smirk. "Sure," he stood, offering his hand to me. Not that I needed help standing up from my chair or anything, but I took his hand either way. I had noticed that Nik was a gentleman, very chivalrous.
We passed by Camille and Marcel on our way to the pool tables and Nik slid has hand out of mine and to the small of my back.
There was one table open and Nik instructed me to stand by it while he went to get the balls, a rack and two cues.
There was a chair by the wall right next to the table, so I removed my dark maroon jacket and hung it over the back. I was wearing a sleeveless black top with a deep v-neck, dark skinny jeans that made my ass look like a millions bucks, and leather boots. I had bought everything this week while on my outings with Nik. He had insisted on paying for everything, and since I couldn't really pay for anything because I had no money at the time, I had let him. But I was keeping track of all the money I owed him. I would definitely be paying him back before I left, whether he liked it or not.
Thinking about money made me think about the other day when he called me into his office to give me my first check. I knew the moment he handed me the envelope what it would be, and I had tried to suppress the feeling of cheapness that nagged at the back of my head.
I knew it had been tense, and I had momentarily violated my It's only awkward if you make it awkward mantra. But it was just weird. I would have to just suppress my feeling the next time. Next time I would be prepared.
Nik was coming back, his hands full with everything we would need to play. He reached me, setting the cues against the table and then setting up the balls in the rack.
"Do you know how to play?" He asked while arranging the balls. He was taking a little longer than I had expected, so I assumed that it was because there was a method to it that I didn't know about.
"No," I said,shaking my head and reaching for one of the cues, checking its weight.
He glanced up at me, his eyes narrowing. "You aren't going to con me, are you?"
"No!" I laughed.
"Okayyyy," he dragged out the last syllable. "Because you seem like the type of girl who would know how to play pool."
"Well, I know the basics. But I promise I won't pull out amazing pool skills all of a sudden."
"What do you know?" He asked, sliding the rack to the center of the table and picking up his own cue. He began rubbing a little cube with some type of blue thing at the end of it.
"I know that you use this," I held up my cue. "To hit the white ball. You aim to get the white ball to hit another ball, and you want to get more balls into the holes than your opponent."
"And what happens if the white ball goes into one of the pockets?"
"You lose your turn."
Nik nodded. "Good, so you do know the basics."
"Told you," I replied smugly, taking the cube thing from him and repeating his actions. The blue stuff looked like chalk. Why would chalk make a difference in hitting the ball?
"Okay," he removed the rack and set it aside, taking position on the other end of the table. "What I'm about to do is called breaking," he said, looking at me. I nodded.
He placed the white ball on a point on the table and then grabbed his cue, taking aim, and giving the cue a powerful push. There was a crack when the cue hit the white ball, and it propelled forward until it hit the nine ball right at the tip of the triangle of balls.
The balls started rolling everywhere, hitting the sides of the table and bouncing off, going in another direction, some sinking into pockets. I watched as they moved.
Nik then walked around the table, surveying the pockets.
"Alright, I got two stripes in and one solid," he said. When he saw that I had no idea what he was talking about, he chuckled. He pointed at the ten ball right in front of me. It was blue with white stripes. "Stripes," he said. Then he pointed at the three ball, which was red with no stripes. "Solid."
I gave one nod. "Gotcha."
Another chuckle. "So that makes me stripes and you solid. That means that I can only sink the stripes and you can only sink the solids. If I had sunk one stripe and one solid on the break, then I would have gotten to pick."
I nodded along to what he was saying. "So what if I accidentally sink I stripe?"
He smirked. "Then I get the point."
"Alright, I won't accidentally sink a stripe," I said seriously and he laughed. "Is it my turn?" I asked.
"No," he shakes his head, turning his attention back to the table. "I get to keep going as long as I keep sinking balls, same goes for you when it's your turn."
"Alrighty," I said. Pool wasn't that hard.
Nik looked over the table for a couple more seconds, his eyes darting back and forth, calculating his next move. He moved to the other side of the table, bending down, looking at the white ball from different angles before setting up his cue and striking once again.
The white ball flew across the table, hitting the solid four ball which hit the striped thirteen, sending it into a corner pocket.
I looked up at Nik. His face was composed, focused.
He sunk two more stripes- the twelve and the fourteen ball. On his fourth try, attempting to get the ten ball in the side pocket, it bounced of the rail and missing the pocket by meer inches.
I huffed, as he came by to stand next to me.
"You're good," I grumbled. I hadn't expected him to suck, but I hadn't expected him to be that good.
"I'm okay," he said.
I snorted. "Oh, puh-lease! You're a stud and you know it," I poked an accusatory finger at his chest.
He chuckled, shaking his head. "Alright, I'm good." He wrapped an arm around my waist and leaned in to place a kiss on my cheek. It was a perfectly normal boyfriend reaction, and I did my best not to tense up.
"I played a lot during college. There are usually pool tables in bars."
"And you spent a lot of time in bars," I said. "One bar in specific, I'm assuming." I was referring to the bar he and Camille had met in.
"Yeah," he nodded, suddenly looking a little grim. I hadn't expected that reaction from him.
It's only awkward if you make it awkward.
"Alright," I said, turning away from him to survey to table. "You are totally annihilating me and I haven't even shot yet." He let out a little breath and I stepped away from him, looking at my options much as he had.
I could see a couple of shots I could take. I decided on one and positioned myself at the end of the table. I leaned down, mimicking Nik's actions. He was stepping around the table to stand near me, but I ignored him and focused on my shot.
Before I could push the cue forward to hit the white ball, I felt Nik's warm hand wrap around my right hand.
"Hold it here," he said, gently moving my hand up a little bit on the cue stick.
I felt him lean down and his other hand reached out, helping me position my fingers on the table so that I could hold the cue stick more comfortably.
"You can either wrap your index finger around the stick," he said right next to my left ear, sliding my left index finger so it was wrapped around the end of the cue. His other hand was still on my right hand behind me, and he gave the cue a gentle push so that it slid between my thumb and index finger, resting on my middle finger.
"Or you could rest it on your thumb," he moved adjust my fingers, positioning the cue so that it was resting on my thumb, my other four fingers offering support. "Like this," he slid the cue back and forth once more.
"Which one do you prefer?"
"Uh," I started, thinking. "The first one," I said.
I felt him give a small nod, his cheek rubbing against my hair. I moved my fingers into position like he showed me and pushed the cue back and forth, testing out the weight.
"Which ball do you want to hit?" He asked, his voice was a low, deep sound in his throat. I swallowed.
"The sex- SIX! The six ball!" His hand gripped mine a little tighter and I closed my eyes. Damn my fucking hormones. I knew I was turning red, and I was glad he couldn't see my face or chest because my blush would be so visible right now.
"The six ball it is," he said, his voice light and amused. I was glad I at least hadn't made him uncomfortable. "Aim where you want the white ball to go, and then it's just a matter of hitting it."
"Okay," I said, letting out a breath.
"Relax," he coached. "Focus."
It was really freaking hard to relax and focus with Nik pressed up against me, whispering into my ear. I could smell him all around me- all musky and masculine and piney. Damn, him.
But I managed to push that out of my mind for a few seconds and just push the cue forward, hitting the white ball. It moved with incredible speed, hitting the green six (not sex) ball at just the right angle, sending it into the side pocket.
I stared for a second.
"You did it, love," Nik said right next to me and I shot up.
"I did it," I started, looking from him to the pocket where the six ball had disappeared. He was staring at me, trying to hold back a smile but his lips kept twitching. "I did it!"
I launched myself into his arms without thinking because hey, I'm his pretend girlfriend and I can surprise attack him with a hug if I wanted to.
His arms wrapped around my middle and he laughed into my hair.
"And you said you wouldn't pull out any amazing pool skills." He turned his face, his cheek rubbing against mine as he tried to kiss my cheek but I wiggled away from him before he could. "What's wrong?" He pulled away, holding my hips as he looked down at me questioningly.
"Your face tickles," I said, reaching up and rubbing my fingers through the light stubble that ran over his cheeks, chin and top lip.
"Sorry, I must have forgotten to shave this morning," he said, genuinely apologetic and looking a little lost.
"Don't be sorry," I replied. "I like it," I said, placing both hands on his cheeks and pulling him in for a short kiss.
"Really?" He asked when we pulled apart.
"Oh, yeah," I replied, giving his stubble a gentle scratch. "You should grow it out more often. It gives you character."
He laughs as I pull away.
"I go again, right?"
I swear I meant for this chapter to include everything else I mentioned in the A/N in Chapter 11 but I didn't expect the Klaroline billiards scene to last that long and I didn't want to leave you guys without an update for more days.
Also, the whole sex/six thing came out of a pure typo! (I meant to write six and ended up writing sex and I decided it was perfect lol)
Anyways, leave me reviews!
