Max smiled sweetly at the new challenger. "Max," she said flirtatiously, shaking his hand.
"Toby," he replied.
Max saw a movement out of the corner of her eye. She followed it and saw Alec sitting at the bar, watching her intently, with a look on his face she'd never seen before. A flattering look she kind of liked. Her eyes seemed to say hello to Alec.
Alec looked to his Rocket Fuel. He took a small gulp and smiled at Max again. She returned to the game, racking up. He felt compelled to watch her every move.
"You break," she said to Toby.
Toby was some random frat-boy townie. Alec knew the instant he saw him that Max would be walking away with his cash. He couldn't wait for the game to begin so Max could prove him right. A sense of pride filled him as he watched her dupe the man out of his hard-earned dollars.
On her first shot, Max sunk a ball in the corner pocket and saw Alec smiling in her direction. She positioned her next shot so she was facing Alec, the neck of her top sagging a little. Alec could almost make out the outline of her breasts in the darkness.
What the hell am I doing? he thought, then stared into his drink. Maybe this rocket fuel was working. Was it just the drink making him see stuff? Like the way she chalked the top of the pool cue while staring him down, then gently blew at the residual blue dust? Like the way she seemed to line up her shots to have her very limber rear pointed his direction, or her face to his, shooting occasional smiles his way?
Alec wasn't sure if it was the drink or not, but just in case, he pounded the brown muck again, turning to Dave, who was already ready with another. When he turned back to Max, drink in hand, he saw her drinking the same brown muck. A shiver ran through his body.
For four more challengers and wins, Max and Alec continued the mutual smiling and drinking. He was certain that Rocket Fuel was kicking in. As the games had gone on, Max winning each one, the bar got less and less crowded, and the potential challengers dwindled near exponentially.
Alec was feeling tipsy. And if he was feeling tipsy, Max was probably feeling it too. He finally got up from his seat, sauntered over toward her with two drinks in hand as the pool hall winded down, no longer interested in her hustling.
"Whaddaya say, Maxie? Your daddy outta town?" Alec stood pretty close to her, offering one of the two drinks to her, which she accepted with a smile.
She immediately took a drink, staring up into his hazel eyes. His breath hitched as he was struck by her melting pools of chocolaty-brown eyes searching his. She swallowed hard as Alec looked down to meet her gaze.
Max had been drawn to him all night. She knew it wasn't her heat. Maybe she was just horny. Or maybe there was something to this drink Mole had made for the bar. When Alec had walked in to come see what the commotion was about, she had noticed him immediately. The way his shirt clung perfectly to his muscles made her knees weak. There was just nothing wrong with a plain black tee and jeans – not on him. She blushed, thinking about what he would look like underneath.
Finally, she spoke. "No one seems to want to play anymore," she almost whined with a faux pout.
"Could you find some time to play with me?" he asked, the trademark grin working itself onto his face.
Oh, he knows what he's doing, she thought. He was a shameless maker of innuendo. And this time, it was hot as hell. Oh, how she could play with him.
Max handed him her drink. "I'll rack, you break." When she turned to rack 'em, she carefully constructed each movement, creating slow Alec-torture. Or at least she hoped. She leaned over the table like she had eight other times to rack each game, and felt Alec's eyes burning into every inch of her. Just the thought of it seemed to incinerate her inside out.
Alec gulped another mouthful of Rocket Fuel as he watched her set it up. His heart began racing a little when she leaned over at the other end of the pool table to line up the cue ball. She stared into his eyes with a wicked smile, daring him to take his eyes off her. His pupils dilated with desire – it was nearly palpable.
Max grabbed the pool cues and swayed back over to Alec. They exchanged her drink for his cue and then she said, "Alright. Let's see what you got!" She took a long swig of her muddy drink.
Alec leaned over the table, bringing his line of vision almost parallel to the cue, glanced momentarily up at Max, then returned his look to the green felt and took his shot. He stood confidently, the cue ball successfully breaking up the previously collected triangle of balls.
A slight gasp escaped Max. Why would she find it sexy that he could hit a couple of balls around? She'd seen it a thousand times before in a thousand different games, but when he did it, it was exciting. She knew with their transgenic hearing he would have heard her. He smiled at her and stood up straighter, proud. Max felt her insides shiver. She took another drink. Alec did, too.
"Where'd this stuff come from?" he asked.
"Mole made it," she said, allowing their arms to touch when she walked by him. Max set her drink down. She chalked the tip of her pool cue and blew the loose residue from it.
Did everything she did have to be so sexy? Alec felt his jeans get just a little tighter.
"What's the bet, Max?" he asked, resting his free arm on a nearby chair.
Max thought about it. The mucky drink had been working. She was beginning to feel a little more than buzzed, and she couldn't wait to feel drunk for the first time. Ever since she's left Manticore, she'd felt the need to control every aspect of her life. Now all she wanted was to spend a couple of carefree hours just living. She drank the remainder of her glass and tiptoed her way to Alec. She set her glass down on the table and took the drink out of his hand. "What did you have in mind?"
Max brought his glass to her lips and took a sip, except to Alec it looked like she kissed the rim. He almost lost all control right there. Was she about to hustle him? He collected himself and cleared his throat, which did not go unnoticed by Max. She handed his glass back to him and bit her lower lip, waiting for his response.
He couldn't think. He said the first thing that came to mind. Well, the first safe thing that came to mind. "If I win, you buy all my drinks from tonight," he offered. Lame, he thought. Why couldn't it have been some sexy innuendo?
Max smiled. "And if I win, you owe me a favor, for me to collect whenever and wherever I want, no questions asked."
Alec swallowed hard. She probably meant something like crawling around in the sewer on a weeknight looking for some lost transgenic and being chased by White, but that didn't stop his eyes from rolling up into the back of his head in ecstasy, thinking about other favors she might call on him to fulfill.
What the hell is going on? he thought again. He looked to the drink in his hand, then back to Max. "Deal," he managed to grunt out.
Max returned to the table and nearly lost her balance. She regained her composure and studied the table for her next move. She leaned down and lined up a shot. When she looked up at Alec, his eyes were closed and he was smiling. She wondered what he was thinking about that would bring such a sexy smile to his face. Maybe he's thinking about me. Maybe he's thinking about the sound of the wall as he crashes me up against it, devouring every inch of my body. In the split second of wondering, she took her shot without realigning, and missed.
She frowned to herself. Having Alec owe her a favor was something she really wanted, but she knew he wouldn't miss any shots – besides transgenic genes that made him the perfectly lean and toned statuesque man before her, he seem to have a natural talent for pool. She would probably lose all the pool money on their drinks tonight. Alec opened his eyes. "You missed?"
"Your turn," she said, again brushing up against him a little as they passed one another.
Alec took the last couple of gulps of Rocket Fuel. He could taste her cherry lip glass on the rim, and it threatened to make the less-visible lower parts of him very visible. He set the glass on the edge of the pool table. He looked around the green playing field, appearing to consider all the angles and options before deciding which strategy to use. He leaned down toward the table and looked to Max. She was blushing, and he heard something else… a vibration? He hadn't brought his cell.
His heart sped up as he realized the sound was emanating from her. She was growling, he thought, eyebrows moving close in concern. No, not a growl. A purr. Alec retreated into his thoughts for a moment. She's fucking purring! Instantly, he was hit with an array of mental images: Max rubbing up against him; Max slinking into a room, the pale moonlight accenting her olive skin as she tore off her shirt and straddled him on the bed; Max's face twisted in erotic pleasure that he himself had caused. Stand down, soldier, he told himself.
Alec took a deep breath and focused on the shot. On his exhale, the tip of his pool cue struck the cue ball and it flew across the table with impressive speed. It seemed to knock a couple of balls around the table before hitting the eight ball.
Alec held his breath as he watched the white cue and black eight balls head in opposite directions across the green felt toward the corner pockets. His posture sank as both the cue and eight balls fell in.
Max's eyes widened in surprise.
"I can't believe I just did that," he said. "Scratching on the eight. I've never done that."
Max smiled triumphantly. "Looks like you owe me a favor!"
Alec grinned, knowing she believed his scratch to be an accident.
Max and Alec returned to the bar, ordering a couple of shots each of the Rocket Fuel. As Dave poured for them, he said, "Come around to the other side – there are a ton of people over there, and as much as I love you guys, you tip shitty."
They laughed at Dave's honesty. Max held up both shots in a toast. "What shall we shoot to?"
"Getting drunk!" Alec said. They clanked all the shot glasses and double-fisted their shots before returning to the club side to sit at the bar.
"Two more each," Max said, holding up a wiggling two fingers.
Dave obliged.
"Wait for me," Max said, rushing toward the ladies' room.
Alec looked over to Dave. "You gotta tell me what's in that," he said smiling.
"Ah, then you admit it's working," Dave replied.
"Yeah, I think so. I don't have a clue how much I owe you."
"Night's not over."
Alec looked around. It was dark and there were tons of people still on the dance floor, all trying to make a connection, all rubbing up against one another, trying to find that one person who rubbed back, that one person whose scent flipped the sensual switch in their brains.
He thought about Max. Why did she come out to his bar? Why tonight? She could have gone to Crash to hang out with Sketchy and O.C. He shrugged. Maybe she just felt bad about taking her friend's money and preferred the guilt-free conscience that came with taking a stranger's money. He chuckled to himself. Yeah, that sounds like her.
Dave produced a tumbler of scotch, "on the house."
Alec swirled the liquid in the glass and looked around. What was taking her so long? He turned his body, mid-drink, and saw Max, eyebrows raised, standing behind him. She tugged at his arm, trying to get him standing. Alec set his drink down and allowed her to pull him out to the dance floor. She didn't even ask, just demanded, that he lead her. Was this the favor? he thought. God, I hope not.
They immersed themselves into the crowd of dancers, a slow song already bumping out of the speakers lazily. Alec twirled her in place, ducking into her twirl and bringing her hand to his neck, leaving it resting on his barcode. He pulled her close to him and they began a slow swaying.
"Let me guess," Max said, "there was a class for this at Manticore." She brought up her other hand to rest on Alec's chest, sending electricity through it. He thought about her hands roaming freely over his whole body and shuddered.
God, it's hard to think with her body pressed up against me, smelling like that.
Max felt heady, almost dizzy, but not really. With Alec's hands on her hips, she felt a tingle deep inside her body; this was the best twinge, she thought, undulating against him like the tide lapping against the shore. She could feel his erection at her navel. Hard as a fuckin' rock, soldier. Max pulled him a little closer.
As Max continued gyrating against him, Alec knew she could feel his arousal, but she wasn't moving away. This would either be the greatest night of his life, or the greatest set of blue balls of his life.
Max turned to face away from him, rubbing her backside against him as she swayed side to side. Alec slipped one hand around her waist, her hand moving instinctively up to his. She raised her other arm up over her head and raked it through his hair, pulling his face closer to hers by the scruff of his neck.
If she gyrates any harder or faster or slower or softer, I'm gonna come right in my jeans in the middle of the dance floor in the middle of Seven Minutes and in front of these nice patrons, Dave, and God. He couldn't decide if Max would be disgusted or turned on by that.
Thankfully, the song ended. Well, not that he was complaining but he needed a distraction to calm down. Their faces were inches apart, and his heart felt as though it were about to burst through his throat. "How about those shots?" he asked, standing statue-still.
Max's eyes opened slowly. No, she thought, I don't want this to end right now. But Alec hadn't really given her a choice. He turned her around and led her by the hand back to the bar. She immediately shot her first shot, Alec following suit.
"How about a game?" Max asked, mischievously arching an eyebrow.
Alec smiled. "What game?"