Celeste
I watched the faces of Nitro and Pyro. They appeared very sure of themselves.
Maybe I should feel bad about hustling them.
However, when I came up and said it had been a while, and it might not be fair, I hadn’t lied.
The last time I picked up a cue was a year ago.
Their natural assumption was that the unfairness would be how easy it would be to beat Hulk and me.
My dad and brother had been huge pool players.
And wanting to emulate my big brother and dad had me trying to play before I was big enough to see over the edge of the table.
While I waited for that day to come, they hadn’t ignored my fascination.
They taught me the rules and how to hold a stick, and bought me a miniature table to practice on. And they taught me strategies.
By the time I was thirteen, I was a teen champion.
By eighteen, I was at a professional level with adults.
But after Ambrose and Chelsea died, there was no time to practice or compete.
So I became a casual, infrequent player.
When I did play, it was mostly against Capri.
She’d learned at her daddy’s knee like I’d been taught.
Mom had never wanted to play, but she loved watching us and cheering on her family. When Chelsea started dating my brother, she was soon immersed in that world. Seeing a pool table made me feel equal parts happy and sad. However, tonight I'll do my best to win this with my man.
Capri came over to watch. She subtly winked at me.
I was so damn happy to see her having a good time and smiling.
She and Aliya had been sitting with the women, mostly listening, but occasionally throwing out a comment or asking a question.
Seeing how relaxed she was made me realize we would be going home tomorrow.
Maybe I should think seriously about Hulk’s remark about us moving to the compound, though that had to wait. Right now, I need my head in the game.
Nitro’s break was decent. He got a solid in the pocket, making stripes our balls.
He made another one. His third shot missed the mark, so it was our turn.
I waved Hulk to go first. I saw Pyro and Nitro exchange amused glances.
I let them. My man smirked and took up his position.
He studied the table before deciding which to try for.
It went in the pocket. He ended up sinking three in total.
That left us four more and the eight ball. They had five plus one.
Pyro made me wonder for a moment when he sank three before missing.
I had to finish this, or they’d have a good chance of running the table and winning the first round.
My turn to show what I had. The entire time so far, there had been a buzz around the table.
It wasn’t just from players teasing each other.
It came from the spectators. None of that bothered me, but I noticed it quieted when it came to my turn.
Studying the table from all four sides, I pictured the geometry at play and watched the scene unfold in my head.
Confident in my approach. I positioned myself.
Sliding the stick back and forth between my fingers to get a smooth rhythm going, on the third slide, I hit the cue ball.
It perfectly drove two balls into the far left pocket the way I wanted. I heard someone groan.
Moving myself around for the next shot, which was like what I had pictured, I hit the ball—another score. I was down to one more striped ball and the eight ball.
“There’s no way she’ll get both. Look at how those balls are spaced. She’s just having beginner’s luck,” Pyro muttered.
“Agreed,” Nitro replied.
Keeping a straight face, I hit the last striped, and it sailed to the far left pocket. Without missing a beat, I aimed at the eight ball and sent it flying. There were loud gasps, mutters, and deep groans when I made it after banking the ball off two different rails. I straightened.
“That’s the game, guys. Ready for round two?” I asked sweetly.
“How the hell did you do that?” Nitro asked.
“Rusty my ass,” Pyro muttered.
“Do you want to call it and admit defeat?” I prodded.
I knew their male pride would never allow them to do that.
I was right. They adamantly denied it. In round two, Hulk racked the balls and broke.
I discovered that my man was more than a decent player.
He knew how to study the table and use it to his advantage.
It was another quick game with the other two squeaking out a win by one ball.
The heat was on. We had to win this last round.
Technically, it should be Pyro’s turn to break, but he insisted I do it.
I chalked the tip of my cue stick and made my mental calculations.
Capri had risen and came to stand closer.
Taking and releasing a deep breath, I broke.
The shouts of disbelief were loud as three balls of the same kind went into different pockets.
And just like that, I felt myself sink into the zone.
All sounds faded away. It was just me and the game. I ran the table, sinking ball after ball without a single miss. When the eight ball joined them, the silence that had descended erupted. There was booming laughter, shouts of outrage and surprise, questions, and more.
Hulk came and lifted me off my feet. I wrapped my arms around his neck and sealed my mouth to his. We stopped when Nitro shouted for quiet.
“Alright, I see we’ve been hustled. How the fuck did you do that? You must practice constantly.” There was deep respect in his tone.
“I don’t. The last time I played was a year ago. But in my youth, yes, I played a lot. My dad and brother taught me,” I admitted.
“She’s being modest. Yes, my dad and grandpa taught her, but Aunt Celeste excelled at it.
At eighteen, she was pro-level and could’ve competed, but she had started college and wanted to settle into it first. By the time she was ready, my parents died, so that ended that.
We play together when we get time,” Capri revealed.
“Do you play the same as she does?” Guardian asked her.
“I’m not quite to her level, but I can hold my own,” Capri admitted.
“Now, who’s being modest? My brother started teaching her early, the same way he and Dad taught me. She can be a shark, so you’ve been warned,” I told them.
“Well, shit, if the club ever needs money, we’ll have to send these two out to hustle,” Lethal joked.
There was more chatter and questions. By the time they were through, I was ready for a break and a drink. Our game held up the children from going to their playroom. With it over with, their sleepy selves were taken there. Capri excused herself again to join Aliya, Arif, and Tana to sit with them.
“Troublemaker seems to be the perfect nickname for you. You blew my mind. I love being your partner in everything,” Hulk told me. His arm was wrapped around me as we went to the bar.
“I love that name you gave me. And I feel the same way about the partnership. And you aren’t anyone to dismiss when it comes to a pool game.”
“I do fine, but I’ll have to have you teach me more. Okay, what will you have to drink? Do you want Leon to duplicate the hurricane drink Soren made last night? Or we can ask him to do it?” Hulk asked.
I debated a moment, then shook my head. “Those are amazing, but tonight, I think I’ll settle for a beer. As long as it’s in a bottle and not light, I’m good with whatever brand I get.” They had a variety of them.
“Alright, hey Leon, can we get two of my beers, please?”
“Sure thing, Hulk. By the way, Celeste, if you do want those hurricanes again, Soren will gladly make them. He likes mixing and concocting drinks. I can do it, but they don’t turn out as good as his,” Leon told me.
“Thank you, Leon. So I have a question. How long have you been prospecting, and how did they find you? Or is that a secret?”
He chuckled. “No, it’s not a secret. I’ve been here fourteen months.
They found me because I was hired by Alfred, Blythe’s old boss, as a bodyguard for her while she was at work.
She had trouble when she came here, and that was one of the safety measures put in place.
I was a Marine who had gotten out. I was looking for my place.
I found it here. Thanks to a Marine buddy of mine, Gio, who’s a Dark Patriot, he vouched for me.
Bones sponsored me. I’m thankful as hell I found them. ”
His story was inspiring, and I told him that.
We remained there chatting with him. We’d pause whenever someone needed something.
Otherwise, we continued. It wasn’t long before Soren and Thoryn joined us.
They told me how they came to be there and how long.
They’d exceeded two years. I wondered how much longer they’d have to wait, but I decided not to mention it to them.
After about twenty minutes, we had to let them go.
“Guys, we’ll let you get back to work. But thank you for sharing all that. I enjoy getting to know everyone here,” I told them.
“Hey, anytime, and we’re glad you and Capri are part of the family,” Leon said. The other two echoed his sentiments.
I waited until we were out of earshot to ask Hulk my question about prospects.
“You said that you make prospects work for two years unless they do something to get kicked out early or they quit. Thoryn and Soren passed that two-year mark over two months ago. Is there a reason they’re still prospects?
I think they’re great, but obviously I’ve only met them. ”
“They’ve done wonderfully. And yes, they’ll earn their patches. We did run them over, but things have been a little hectic. And we decided, though it makes them wait, to do it on New Year’s Eve, but they don’t know that.”
“Why New Year’s Eve?”
“It happens to be their birthday and the start of a new year, so we thought it only fitting that they get a double gift,” he explained.