Page 58 of On Broken Wings

“Wait. Where are you going?” He slid forward and reached for me.

“To get my phone. It doesn’t look like you have much to eat and its dinner time. I’m starving.” My stomach grumbled right at that moment, backing me up.

“How about we go out? I hear there are some pretty good specials going on at the bar and you can give me some billiards lessons.” Evan stood and grabbed his keys.

“I don’t know about lessons, but I can sure kick your ass.” I lifted one shoulder as Evan opened the door.

“Yeah, yeah.” He rolled his eyes. “I’ll make you deal. If I win, you come back here tonight and I’ll give you a real apology.”

“Guess I’m sleeping at home then because you won’t beat me.” I laughed.

“We’ll see,” he mused as headed for his car. Yep, we would see.

Chapter 26

Jenni

We’ve been at The Rusty Nail for most of the evening. My brother was working the door when we arrived and gave a knowing look when he saw us walk in. It was a weeknight, so it wasn’t as busy as usual. There wasn’t live music and most of the crowd was around the bar.

Evan and I had talked to a few people before we’d claimed a table in the back. After polishing off an entire order of wings by myself, I was now kicking his butt in pool.

“You really aren’t going to let me win, are you?” Evan pouted.

“Why would I do that?” I grinned as I circled the end of the table. I was on a roll and currently looking for my next shot. I only needed to sink two more balls before I went for the eight.

“I thought maybe you’d want to come back to my place.” He shrugged as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. It was comical and cute at the same time.

“I used to be an elite gymnast. I was on track to compete at the college level at one point. I don’t let anyone win. You have to earn it.” I glanced over to see Evan staring back at me in total shock. “What?” I leaned down to take my shot.

“Jenni, that’s awesome. I didn’t know it was that serious.” He grinned as he moved closer. I’d sunk the ball, but he didn’t seem to care anymore.

“It’s still my turn.” I furrowed my brow.

“I know.” He shrugged as he leaned his cue stick against the table. “How come you never told me this?”

“I don’t tell most people. It kinda slipped out. You do that to me; make me say stuff out loud.” I shook my head and glanced away from him. If I dropped the eight ball in this next shot, I was going to win.

“You don’t rattle easy, do you?” He stepped up behind me.

“Nope.” I leaned to down to take my shot as Evan ran his palm over my ass. He paused right below the cheek and then leaned right next to my ear.

“I had big plans for later. Too bad I’m gonna lose.” He sighed.

I could make this shot with my eyes closed. It was that easy. Every instinct I had said to nail it, but Evan made me want to miss. He made me want to do a lot of things I never had before. He made me feel and at the moment I wanted to feel him.

“I don’t lose,” I muttered as I pulled back my cue and sunk the ball. I stood up and grinned as Evan’s face fell.

“I thought you might actually miss. You ever thought about becoming a cop? You definitely have the nerves of steel part down.” He shook his head and sighed.

I threw my head back in laughter. “Join the boys club? I don’t think so. Rematch?” I reached down in the pocket in front of me and began tossing balls back up on the table.

“Fine. One more game; then I need to stop before you completely humiliate me.” Evan helped me rack the balls and then stepped back. “You break this game. I always break and it always seems to set me up to lose.”

“Sure. If you really think that’ll help.” I giggled as I moved to the end of the table.

The game didn’t last long. I won, again, and Evan sulked, again. My brother came over for a few minutes to rub in the fact that I’d won four games. I let him because, let’s face it, Evan deserved it.

When we left the bar, I asked Evan to take me home. As much as I was enjoying spending time with him, I wasn’t ready to jump back in bed with him. We were starting over and I felt like I needed to take my time. I might be kicking myself later, but right now I needed to remember that I had all the time in the world and Evan wasn’t going anywhere. We’d get to know each other better and then take that next step. Evan seemed to be ok with it, but made me promise to meet him in the morning. We’re going to work out together, something I haven’t really done since high school.

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