Page 12 of To the Moon and Back

It wasn’t, though. She and TJ cleared the table on the other duoin under six minutes. Losers bought drinks, and to slow her roll so the nightwould last, Carly opted for a dressed Dos Equis she could sip slowly.

“Who’s taking us on next?” TJ asked. “Where are the brave souls?Step right up. That’s right.”

“I’m out,” Kirby said. “Gotta call Joe. He waits up to say goodnight. He’s a doll.”

“I’ll partner with Trip,” a voice from behind said. Carly turned,and her beer went still on the way to her lips. Lauren.

Trip walked to her and offered a high five. “All right, Lala. Youand me. Let’s do this.”

“Lauren, do you know the rules?” Carly asked with a small smile.“I can explain them.”

“I was hoping to figure them out as I went,” she said with ahopeful wince. “Think that might work?”

Carly laughed. “Let’s give it a try and see.”

But she was a damn liar, because after just sixty seconds she’dmade quick work of three-fourths of the table.

Carly blinked as Lauren sank another, like the secret pro she apparentlywas. “What in hell?”

Lauren straightened and admired the results of her own shot beforeraising her gaze to Carly. “Wow. It turns out I’m a quick study.”

Trip laughed. He, of course, would know all about Lauren’s prowesswith a cue. “I think the shark just got out-sharked.” Lauren shrugged at Carlyand touched her glass to Trip’s in reverence. Carly spent the next few momentswith her jaw on the floor as Lauren took them to school.

The end result? Carly had to buy Lauren another drink. Not thatawful a prospect. When she delivered it, she caught the soft scent of herperfume. Hints of vanilla and maybe lavender. Subtle, but very effective.

“I’d love a rematch,” Carly said. “Now that I know who I’m dealingwith, I’ll be sure to focus fully.”

“Oh, you weren’t before?” Lauren asked in a teasing voice.“Because it looked like you were trying extra hard. It was sweet.”

The drinks were working. Lauren had relaxed, stepped away from heralways-put-together demeanor, and was just…a person. A really witty one, too.It had Carly on a high, and she wanted to soak up every minute until the guardwent back up again. What was it about Lauren that had her all hot, bothered,intrigued, and willing to take her clothes off? Part of the fun was notknowing.

“If you don’t want to go again, we don’t have to,” Carly said witha grin. She turned to TJ. “We’ll just chalk it up to a fluke.” He nodded andtouched his longneck to hers. “Everyone gets lucky once in a blue moon.”

Lauren also turned to TJ. “Rack ’em.”

And it was on.

As “Cherry Pie” pulsed over the speakers, Lauren studied the tablefrom one angle, then another, before sinking three balls in a row. Carly and TJrallied, Trip barely made a difference, but it was Lauren who once again ownedthe table. While Carly had paid more attention to her own shots this go-round,thought them through, and taken her time, that hadn’t been the reason she’dasked for a second round. No, she’d wanted to watch Lauren, who was clearly inher element. She was something to behold, too. Her eyes shone bright when shespotted her shot and then darkened as she concentrated. Her lips, shiny withgloss, parted slightly just before she delivered her shot, andsigh, the cleavage sheglimpsed each and every time Lauren leaned over the table…Do not get me started.As competitive as she was, she’d agree to lose a thousand times over to havethat multifaceted sense-inspiring experience again and again.

“So, what’s your secret?” she asked Lauren after the secondtrouncing. “Do you have a secret pool hall below the theater that you sneakaway to and practice through the night?”

Lauren met her gaze with a smug smile. “If I told you my secret,then you wouldn’t sit up and think all night about what it could be.” She tooka delicate sip from her martini that did something wonderfully uncomfortable toCarly’s midsection. The skin of Lauren’s shoulder called out to her, and shenoticed how ridiculously smooth it was. She wanted to run her forefinger acrossthe curve and follow up with her tongue. Yeah, it was that kind of night.

“Then the least you can do is teach me how to break like you do.”

Lauren straightened. “I can help if you want.”

Carly reached behind Lauren and grabbed a cue, inhaling thevanilla lavender scent once again. That perfume flirted with her all on itsown. Who’d invented this stuff? She met Lauren’s gaze. “Oh, I want.”

Lauren followed her to an empty table and racked the balls.“Secret number one. Make sure the rack is tight.” Carly blinked and held hertongue, but the insinuation was not lost on Lauren, who blushed. She made arewind gesture. “Taking that back. Just heard how that sounds.”

“You don’t have to on my account,” Carly said with a playful winkand joined Lauren on her side of the table. She made it a point to lose theshenanigans for the rest of her lesson. “What’s step one?”

“You want to make sure the cue ball remains in the center of thetable.” She placed it on the felt and pointed to the corner pocket. “If itbreaks off and bounces back over here? You’re in bad shape.”

“And I won’t be able to clean the table like you just did, whichis now all I want to do in life. Well, almost.”

Lauren inhaled and blinked. She seemed to decide to plow forward.“Exactly. It’s all about that initial positioning after the break.”

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