Chapter Four #4
“I saw that! Damn things.” I shake my head in joking disapproval, earning me a smile from Cass.
Raven sets the pot down on the table, barely leaving enough room for the sandwich tray. She takes it from me and begins to rearrange the table to better accommodate the array of snacks. The pot she carried is now in front of me and I see that it’s filled to the brim with a cheese dip.
While I observe the rest of the table, Cass grabs my arm to get my attention.
“Hi,” he beams.
“Hi,” I say, my voice sweet and soft.
“Come here often?” The one line he uses all the time still makes my smile widen every time he asks.
“Nope. Not here.”
“How about over there?” He points to the pool tables.
“Nope. Not over there either, but I have come on a pool table before.” I nudge him lightly with my elbow. His tongue slides across his bottom lip before he pulls it back into his mouth.
“Mmm, yes you have.”
“Speaking of pool tables…” I trail off, a grin on my face at the defeated expression on Cass’s.
“About that. We were talking to Micah, and he said the best pool tables in town are right here and they’re free.”
“Sounds perfect to me. Let’s flip for the break.”
“No, no, no. How about we lag for the break?” he asks, his eyebrows arched.
I look at him, confused. “What’s that?”
“It’s where we both take a cue ball and shoot it down the table. Whoever can make it bounce off that rail and roll back toward them, getting as close to the rail they shot from without hitting it, wins. Look, I’ll show you,” he says, already in route to grab a cue off the wall.
He gets down to shoot, aims the cue ball straight at the rail opposite him, and shoots. The ball rolls at a low to average speed as it connects with the rail and begins rolling back toward him. It stops at the third diamond from the rail he started with.
“See, if you would’ve shot and your ball would’ve gotten closer to the rail than mine, then you break, and I rack. Get it?” he asks.
My gears are turning in my head, wondering how I’m going to beat him at his own game.
I nod in understanding and grab the cue ball from a nearby table.
I sift through the pool cues on the wall and opt for the heaviest one they have.
I meet Cass at the head of the table. I kiss him on the cheek before I set up on the cue to shoot.
“Good luck,” I grin.
He smirks at me. “You too, baby.”
We both get down on our cues and Cass counts.
“One...Two...Three.” On three, we both tap the ball.
Mine is traveling slightly faster than Cass’s but I hope that’s a good thing.
My cue hits the rail first and comes barreling toward us.
There’s no way it’s going to stop before it hits the rail.
I curse under my breath when it bounces off the rail just as Cass’s stops between the first diamond and the rail that I wasn’t supposed to hit.
“Rack ‘em, rack girl.”
Cass and I have barely finished one game before we have an audience. Clayton, Micah, Raven, and Linc stand by looking on. I’m not sure when Linc got here or if he’s been here the whole time and I just didn’t notice.
We’re on the second game now. Cass has just broke and made a solid, so now he’s working on knocking them in.
I wait patiently as he makes one ball after the other.
Finally, he shoots his last solid too hard because he put too much English on it in an attempt to gain more control over where the cue ball would stop.
He leaves the cue ball in the perfect spot, and I see the run before I ever step up to the table.
Our audience is silent, intently watching the game.
The only sound in the room is the music playing in the background and the sound of my heart hammering in my ear.
I want this win, and I want it bad, but I’m nervous and my track record shows that when I’m nervous, I generally fuck up.
I take my first shot slow and easy and knock the nine-ball in the side pocket. From here, I pick off the stripes with ease until my last shot.
“You might be in trouble, son,” Clayton pipes up from the nearest table that he’s leaned against.
“Told you, she’s a good shot.” Cass’s voice isn’t laced with sarcasm, it sounds genuine.
I almost have the game in the bag until now. I sink the last stripe on the table and the cue ball stops on the other side of Cass’s last ball, making that six-ball the only thing between me and winning this game.
“Fuck,” I breathe, examining my handiwork.
The only way I’m going to get remotely close to that eight ball is to come off the rail and bank it, and banks aren’t my forte. I sigh as I line up the kick-shot, knowing it’s do or die. If I miss, and I likely will, then Cass has the game won.
My competitive side is rearing its ugly head, and I focus intently on making the shot. I lean down on my cue again, point to the corner pocket I intend to make the eight in, and shoot.
The cue ball bounces off the rail and hits the eight-ball dead on, sending it spiraling toward the corner pocket I called.
“Holy shit!” Cass watches the table in awe.
Just as I am starting to feel victorious, the eight balls stops. Dead stops. In the center of the pocket without falling in.
“You gotta be fucking kidding me!” I sigh, exasperated. I laugh out loud at the irony.
“Damn, girl. I don’t know how that didn’t go,” Clayton says, scratching his head in confusion.
Cass approaches the table and taps the six-ball in, then lines up on the eight. It goes in easily and he comes off the rail to ensure that he won’t scratch, but the look on his face is not victorious. He looks more frustrated than I am that I had lost.
“Sorry, love.”
“It’s okay. Even though I lost, that was still a damn good shot, so I’m good with it,” I offer him a smile.
“I agree,” Raven says.
“Me too,” Micah chimes in.
I smile as I set my cue down. “Always got to kick my ass, don’t you?
” I ask, wrapping my arms around Cass’s neck.
I resist the urge to press my body flush against his, but I do press my lips to his for only a moment.
I’m still reeling from the interruption at the beach earlier, my body still aching for his touch to guide me to the island of pleasure that I was so close to making it to.
“Not always, just as often as I can,” he smiles, lightly pressing his lips to mine before letting go of me and turning back to the pool table.
“I’ll take a whack at it,” Clayton challenges, eyeing Cass.
“Rack ‘em then, old man,” Cass teases.
Clayton racks then selects a cue off the wall while I stand by Raven, watching the scene unfold.
“Girl, I didn’t know you could shoot that damn good!”
“Ha, yeah. It’s a thing I learned from bartending in small bars. When it’s slow, there’s only so much cleaning you can do then there’s pool, darts, or boredom. I chose pool,” I shrug.
“No shit! You bartend? So do I!”
“I knew I liked you for a reason,” I elbow her with a grin on my face.
“Me too. Bartending is not for the weak.”
“Ain’t that the damn truth.”
Raven smiles before Micah calls her over.
I watch the two of them interact and it makes me happy to witness just how happy the two of them are together.
They sort of act the way that Cass and I do.
I watch Micah as he leans down and kisses Raven, who smiles so big during the kiss that she breaks it before walking off to do whatever it is he asked of her.
“All of y’all are fucking mushy,” Linc’s voice sounds behind me. I turn to see a scowl on his face.
I giggle at his outburst. “What’s wrong? Missing our girl?” I ask.
“Yeah. This fucking sucks. I wish she was here, but instead she’s back home working while those fucktards are still out there trying to stir up shit.”
His energy changes and I can feel him making himself uneasy. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay. We’re going to be going home in a few days. Besides, she’s being protected. You know that.” I do my best at reassuring him, but his scowl remains.
“I know, but still. I just…I’d be a lot more comfortable if I were there with her.”
“You will be soon, Linc.”
Cass hollers a loud “fuck”, gaining him the attention of everyone in the room.
I whip my head in his direction and take a few steps toward him to see what it was that got him so agitated.
I inspect the table and hear it before I see it.
The cue ball is coming out of the designated slot and there are no stripes left on the table and seven solids.
“You aren’t supposed to scratch on that one,” I tell him.
“Yeah, I know. Damnit!’
Clayton stands with his arms crossed in the same spot he had while he was watching Cass and I play, with a smug grin on his face. Cass sets his cue on the table.
“Good game, old man.” He offers his hand to his father who accepts and shakes his hand.
“Still not taking your time when it comes to closing out your game, I see.”
“Old habits die hard,” Cass chuckles.
“Lilly, I think you’re up,” Cass says, walking toward the door that leads down the hallway.
Clayton and I play a few games, all of which result in him beating me. If I thought Cass shot a good game of pool, I ain’t seen nothing ‘til Clayton had started shooting. No wonder he got to be such a good shot, he learned from a professional.
Linc stands by the island for the duration of our time in the game room and I can’t help but notice that he doesn’t seem himself.
Probably has to do with all the bullshit going on back home.
He’s already confirmed that he has a lot on his mind, but I still worry about him.
I’ll have to get Cass to check on him later.
He would be more apt to open up to a member, and that’s fine with me.
As the night carries on, Highway Sinners and Tattered Saints begin filling the room and I’ve given up the table and am now standing around the island with some of the guys.
They brought ice chests of beer back here but there’s still liquor at the bar in the front if anyone’s choosing a mixed drink.
I downed two of my regulars already and am working on my third when I hear it.
The sound is eerie, sending chills up the back of my neck.
The sound of Linc, screaming. The sound is a mixture of anger and agony.
My head whips toward him and I spot him holding his phone in his hand.
At first I think someone had swung on him, but now that I’m looking at him, it isn’t anything of that nature.
Cass is at his side immediately with Clayton right there with them.
The look on Cass’s face falls as he looks at Linc’s phone screen.
Clayton wears a look of sympathy as he hangs his head.
The falter in Cass’s guard is gone just as quickly as it had appeared and is replaced by anger.
He’s livid and I know what that means. Someone is going to pay for whatever it is that had just happened and I don’t want to be around to watch it.
Cass motions for Micah and his guys to follow him down the long hallway that leads to what I assume is their meeting room.
All patches and Linc go inside, leaving Raven and myself standing in the game room, clueless and unaware of whatever it is that’s going on.
I can only assume it’s the worst. Something happened back home.
I want to know what it is so badly because now my stomach is twisted in knots as I sit at the bar in the main room of the club house, waiting for them to emerge from their private conversation.
Raven pours me another drink and sets it down in front of me.
“Got a smoke?” I ask, realizing I’d left mine on the bike and I’m not in the mood to walk outside and get them.
“Yes ma’am, I do.” Raven pulls one from a green pack behind the bar and hands it to me.
I light it and exhale slowly, letting the nicotine touch all those parts of my soul that need soothing before I take another sip of my drink.
“What do you think happened?” Raven asks, the concern in her eyes making my heart twist.
“I’m not sure, but whatever it is…it certainly can’t be good,” I sigh and take another pull from my cigarette.