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Chapter 3" Are they dating? " John asks as he turns his head back towards Michael.
" No, they're just friends, I'm pretty sure Ron would like more than that, but Nat's made it perfectly clear that she can't and won't go down that road again." Michael said as he watches Nat walking towards them. Nat smiles at Michael and walks passed them and over to the pool table.
Natalie noticed them the minute she walked in the door. She figured he'd be here meeting Michael, this was his favorite place in town, it had been their favorite place in town, she remembered. As she chalked up her pool stick she thought about the time he rented the place for them, for them to have a private game of pool, a private dance. Without even realizing it she started smiling to herself. She was still smiling when Ron walked over to her with two beers in his hands. Natalie thanked him for the beer when he handed it to her and they began to play pool. She was having a very hard time concentrating on the game cause she just couldn't help but wonder what John and Michael were talking about, and if it was about her.
John talked to Michael some more but couldn't remember a word of what he was saying. Michael decided he didn't want to tell John the rest of Nat's story and he thought John probably didn't need to know the rest right now. John understood the important parts of what happened and that was all the answers he needed for now.
Michael continued to talk and John continued to act interested but he was much more interested in the game going on at the pool table behind Michael. Much more interested in the players, playing pool. One beautiful red haired player, playing pool. He watched her and she seemed to be off her game. She almost lost, almost lost to Ron Walsh; Ron Walsh of all people, that guy couldn't play pool to save his own life. He noticed Ron got a phone call and then Ron kissed Nat's cheek and he left Rodi's. Natalie continued to play pool and John excused himself from Michael who was still talking when John approached Nat at the pool table, she was leaning over her stick lining up her shot when John walked over to her. Her eyes looked up at him before she took the shot.
" What do you want John? " Natalie asked as her eyes went back to her lined up shot and she took it.
"You" He said softly
Natalie could have sworn he said her but it was so soft and low, maybe her ears were hearing things. Maybe her ears but not her eye's. Her eye's found his and they looked like he wanted to devour her.
" What?" Natalie asked
" Pool, I ...want to play pool" John replied horribly since he realized his mistake of telling her the truth the first time.
Natalie took her last shot and went over by him and attempted to hand him her stick.
"The tables all yours" she said as he didn't reach for the stick. She put the stick down by her side and held it.
" I meant .. Do you wanna play a game? Like old times? " John asked a little unraveled that she didn't know he meant he wanted to play a game with her.
Natalie knew exactly what John meant the first time. But she just didn't want to make things easy for him. She purposely paused for a few minutes like she was trying to decide if she should when she saw him smile.
"You know you wanna, you just want to give me a hard time with things. Come on, I bet you haven't been challenged in a long time. Definitely not by that Ron Walsh guy." John said grinning trying to get her to say that she'd play pool with him.
"Alright, one game. But, don't use Ron as an excuse he challenges me just fine." Natalie said with her own smirk and then a wink when she said Ron's name. John went to the rack of sticks on the wall and got one. He couldn't help but replay what she just said in his head, and the wink. He was becoming jealous, very jealous.
Nat and John ended up playing several games when Nat looked at her watch and realized the time.
" I've got to go Pick Lauren up at my mom's, thanks for the game. It was really nice to be challenged again, at pool that is. See ya. " Natalie said as she started walking towards the door not waiting for his response.
" It felt good to play again, it.. Felt good to just have fun didn't it? Can we do it again? Play pool again or maybe talk? It's been a long time Nat, please? " John said as he followed behind her to the door, when she heard him ask if maybe they could talk she turned and faced him. She wanted to talk to him so bad. He had been her best friend among other things all those years ago when she loved him, she had missed talking to him so much when she found out about the lie but then as the years went by it got easier and easier to not have him to talk to.
"I don't think so John. I don't think there's anything we need to talk about." Nat said not giving in.
"Then pool, we can play more pool. " John asked not wanting to give up
Natalie didn't say a word she just shook her head telling him No when her cell phone rang. She saw it was her mom on the caller ID and answered it.
" Mom, is everything alright I was just coming for Lauren."
" She's asleep already? Was she feeling all right? It's not like her to fall asleep so early. Did Chris ever call? " Nat asked her mom on the phone.
" How did she take it? All right, I'll pick her up in the morning. Thank you, goodnight" Nat ended her conversation with her mom and John was still standing next to her. Nat was caught up in her thoughts when he asked her a few questions.
"Is she alright? " He asked
" My mom said she was just really tired, that she seemed fine." Nat answered while still caught up in thoughts
" I guess her dad didn't call" John said softly and before Nat even realized it she started to tell him, to talk to him.
" Yeah, he didn't call, he makes this huge deal about wanting to talk to her every Friday night at five. He makes it there special time on the phone cause he never seems to have time to see her and then she looks forward to it every week and then the Jerk turns around and doesn't call. I know she's only three but she's very smart and she's very sensitive when it comes to him and it's like he does--" Natalie said all of that before she even realized she was talking to John. She had no intentions of letting him back into her business but talking to him, being with him, it just seemed so natural to her. She stopped when she realized what she was doing.
" You don't have to stop, you know, talking that is. We were friends before anything else back then, weren't we? " John asked