Chapter 4
Koen~
Her name was Leandra, and I could see why Teddy was interested in her.
She was around five-five, had silvery blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and there was no way to miss those curves in that tight purple shirt and skirt that she was wearing.
In short, she was stunning, even if she did have a tad too much makeup on.
Granted, it was a Friday night, so maybe I was being a bit too harsh.
At any rate, the second that Leandra and her friend had walked into the bar, Teddy and Joseph had immediately taken notice, and now they were vying for whichever one was going to be lucky enough to take her home.
Now, if you asked me, they were both behaving a bit presumptuous, but it was hardly any of my business how other adults chose to enjoy themselves.
Besides, I was here to celebrate with Ivan and Netti, not police Teddy and Joseph.
Nonetheless, when the two women had walked into the bar, I couldn’t help but notice her friend, which made me no better than Teddy and Joseph, truth be told.
She looked to be in her mid-twenties, around five-three, and while I couldn’t see the color of her eyes from this far away, her hair was a deep auburn that shimmered whenever she moved her head.
She was also dressed in a simple black t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and a pair of black sandals.
For it being a Friday night, it appeared as if she hadn’t put in much of an effort, but I liked that.
I liked women that were confident enough to ditch the complicated hairstyles and pound of makeup.
She had a fresh face, and she was incredibly pretty in my opinion.
It was also apparent that she liked to play pool, because from where I was sitting, her aim was on-point, and she was sinking the balls like a professional.
She was also making me uncomfortable downstairs every time that she bent over.
The girl had some meat on her bones, which gave her a very tantalizing set of hips and an ass that made my palms itch.
However, it was her hair that was really doing it for me.
It was up in a simple ponytail, the straight strands hanging down to the middle of her shoulder blades, but the shade was just something else.
I’d never seen it on anyone else before, and it really was eye-catching.
It wasn’t brown, nor was it red, but somewhere in between, and it was just crazy how it shimmered the way that it did.
It wasn’t until she began racking another set of billiards that I finally got the nerve to approach her.
Since her friend was already hanging out with us, it wouldn’t be weird for me to introduce myself, right?
It also wouldn’t be crazy to invite her over, would it?
I mean, it was actually weirder that she was playing pool by herself, instead of drinking with us.
Bracing myself, I grabbed my beer, then headed towards the pool table area. I also didn’t tell my friends where I was going because they all had eyes that worked perfectly fine. Besides, it wasn’t like they were ones to meddle, and I was a big boy.
When I finally approached the table, I said, “Looks like you know what you’re doing.”
She stopped chalking up her cue stick, then looked over at me. “Well, while I’d like to hope that I do, I could still use a bit of practice.”
“I’m Koen,” I said, introducing myself. “Koen Wilder.”
Her brows furrowed over what I could now see were green eyes as she muttered, “Why does that name sound familiar?”
While I didn’t want to do it, I figured that she’d find out soon enough.
Plus, with social media being what it was these days, it was hard to hide who anyone was.
“My father is Ashford Wilder,” I admitted.
“You might have heard his name or...or our names in the media before. He owns Wilder Technologies.”
Her lips rolled inward, and it was too easy to see that my little confession had made her uncomfortable. Still, instead of making things awkward, she said, “I’m Rya Harlow.”
I grinned, hoping that it’d undo whatever my last name had just done. “It’s nice to meet you, Rya.”
“Do you play pool?” she asked, moving on from the subject of my family’s last name.
“Not since college,” I admitted. “And even then, I sucked at it.”
“It’s not for everyone,” she graciously replied.
“Are you on a league or something?” I asked as I got comfortable on the bench next to the pool table. “I mean, I’ve been watching you for a while, and you seem really good.”
“I’m not on a league, but I like to play a lot,” she answered, her cheeks a little pink, and I wanted to believe that she was blushing because I had admitted to watching her. “Even if you don’t have anyone to play with, it’s good practice if you enjoy it.”
“I’d totally offer to play, but I really do suck,” I chuckled. “Embarrassingly so.”
Rya laughed, and the sound hit me square in the chest. It was a lyrical wave that didn’t sound manufactured at all, and even after finding out who my family was, she wasn’t trying to flirt with me or anything like that. She was simply making conversation, and it was a welcomed experience.
“Well, I actually have a friend that’s going to meet us here, and if ever there was someone that should go pro, it’s him,” she stated proudly.
“He’s good without even trying, but he’s not much for the professionalism of it all.
He says it’s only fun if he’s doing it for fun.
Once it becomes a job, it’s an obligation that he can do without. ”
Did it suck to hear that she had a male friend that shared her interests?
Yep, it sure did. However, she had referred to him as her friend, not boyfriend, so there was still some hope for me yet.
Of course, I didn’t know anything about the guy to know if he was looking for something more or not, and in this day and age, they could very well be friends-with-benefits, which would suck big time.
Forgetting about the ‘friend’, I jerked my head towards her near-empty glass, then asked, “Would you like another beer?”
She looked surprised as she glanced at her drink, almost as if she hadn’t realized that it was almost empty again. “Oh, uhm...no, that’s fine...uhm, thank you.”
“Are you sure?” I lifted my empty beer bottle to ease the sting. “I’m about to go get another one myself.”
Before she could answer, out of nowhere, Teddy was slinging his arm around my shoulder.
Even though we’d only been here for about an hour, it was easy to see that the effects of the alcohol already had him in its crosshairs.
Theodore Sawmy the Third was an up-and-coming small-town councilman, so he had to act on point most of the time.
However, every now and again, when he found an excuse to let loose, he really went for the gold because it didn’t happen often.
“That’s my boy,” he cackled loudly. “Taking one for the team, so that everyone has a good time.”
My head immediately snapped his way, beyond offended that he’d say such a thing. Now, while I’d always known that Teddy could be a bit of an asshole, this was the first time that I had ever witnessed him being cruel and callous, and it was not sitting well with me at fucking all.
“I’m sorry, but what the fuck did you just say?” I asked, standing up to dislodge him.
“Oh, c’mon,” he snorted, patting me on the chest. “We’ve all been there, man.”
Before I could deck the fuck out of him, another voice joined our group. “Are you seriously trying to one-up me by practicing before I got here?”
Forgetting about Teddy, I turned to see a guy about my height looking pointedly at Rya, and she looked like she’d just been caught with a bloody knife in her hand while standing next to a dead body.
In fact, she didn’t even look like she was upset over what Teddy had said.
She looked like she was trying to come up with a convincing lie to tell the guy.
It was also hard not to size him up. Though we were both the same height, that was all that we had in common.
While I had black hair, grey eyes, and kept in shape, this guy had dark brown hair and eyes, and not only did he look like he worked out regularly, he was tatted from neck to everywhere else that was visible, and he also looked like he’d slit your throat, then calmly have a sandwich afterwards.
“Uhm...it’s not what it looks like,” she lied.
“Oh, really,” he deadpanned.
Just then, Teddy patted my chest again as he said, “See, she’s taken.”
Before I could say anything to that, he was making his way to the bar, leaving me with my thumb stuck up my ass, not knowing what to do.
While there was no way that she couldn’t have heard what he’d said, if I apologized for him, I might make things awkward when they didn’t need to be.
Rya didn’t seem upset at all, so I really wasn’t sure what to do.
“I was just...uhm...uhm, giving Koen over there a few pointers,” Rya stammered, and the look on the guy’s face was a clear indication that he didn’t believe her. “He sucks at pool and was impressed by how skilled I appeared.”
The guy just snorted. “You’re such a shit liar, Rya.”
I watched in complete stupefaction as she grinned at him. “Well, that’s what you get for being late. I mean, what else was I supposed to do?”
The guy shook his head, then shot me a look. “See what I have to put up with? If she wasn’t the best person on the planet, I would have placed a restraining order on her years ago.”
Rya laughed again, and all it did was piss me off.
Teddy really was a fucking asshole.