Page 6 of Little Bunny

Fine. Don’t answer your door. Let the games begin, Elijah. Next to Elijah’s name was a purple-faced demon with a sinister smile.

Shit. That spiraled. Hopefully Trent was just being petty and didn’t actually mean he was going to do something stupid.

He glanced up. Santiago was talking with some guy. Percy was perched on a stool, frowning into his empty martini glass like he couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t instantly refilling on its own.

Elijah’s gaze flicked to Matias, who stood there watching him. The man’s brows knitted slightly, as if he could read the panic in Elijah’s eyes. He glanced down at his phone, at the clear threat staring back at him, his breathing growing shallow.

Trent was a petty bitch on his best days. It would’ve taken Elijah the rest of the night to list everything he’d done to prove it. But Trent had never outright threatened him before.

What games? What did he plan on doing? Now, Elijah stood there wondering if he should send him a quick text to appease him. It was what Elijah had done countless times in the past when Trent had become upset with him.

But the thought of groveling to a pretentious jerk made him grind his teeth. Call it pride. Call it stubbornness, but Elijah would rather slam back a dozen bourbons than kowtow to the bastard.

Tucking his phone away, Elijah headed to the bar, taking a seat next to Percy. “I’ll buy you another drink, honey.” Elijah bumped shoulders with him, determined not to let Trent ruin his evening. “We’re here to have fun, right?”

Percy slid the glass across the scarred countertop. “Damn right.” His dimples appeared. His voice lowered. “Boy, I felt the heat coming off that hunk when he was crouching in front of you.” He leaned in, his lips close to Elijah’s ear. “Give in to a night of danger, Elijah. You only live once. Best way to get over Treacherous Trent, right?”

“When has sleeping with one guy to get over another ever worked in the history of man?” Elijah chuckled but felt uneasy at how quickly Percy’s suggestion had taken root, already trying to blossom even as Elijah actively tried to stop it from spreading through his entire lust-soaked brain.

* * * *

Elijah had never played pool in his life, and it showed. Every time he tried to make a shot, the tip of his pool cue either scraped the green felt or shot in a wayward direction. One time, he hit the ball so hard half the people in the room flinched while the others actually ducked down.

The three Cosmo hadn’t helped Elijah’s coordination. Percy was just as tipsy, hugging his pool cue like it would grow legs and escape the moment he let it go.

The two other tables were occupied, but a few onlookers had drifted over to theirs. Apparently watching two guys play the worst pool game in history was entertaining to them. Elijah had even seen a couple of them exchanging money. They were betting, but he wasn’t sure what they were betting against. Bodily injury by a flying pool ball or who missed the most shots?

To make matters exponentially worse, Matias had drifted into the back room about twenty minutes ago and hadn’t stopped staring Elijah’s way. With the guy’s laser focus, Elijah’s lack of skills had gotten worse, causing him to embarrass himself.

Forcing himself to ignore Matias, Elijah made his shot. His ball barely moved in inch, but his pool cue shot across the table and hit the floor with a clatter.

Crap.

Santiago picked it up and handed it back to Elijah but was kind enough not to laugh right in his face.

“By the way, Percy has solids.” Santiago’s eyes sparkled with amusement.

Glaring at him, Elijah held a hand up. “How do you know I wasn’t using his balls strategically, hmm?”

Percy erupted into a fit of laughter, his arm sinking onto the edge of the table for support. “Honey, leave my balls out of this.”

Even Matias was grinning from where he leaned against the wall behind Santiago.

Elijah’s scowled at all of them. “This is our game.” His finger swung unsteadily between Percy and himself. “If I want to use his balls to score, you can’t stop me.” He smirked at Percy, who swayed where he stood. “Whoever knocks the most balls inside the table wins.”

“Pockets,” Santiago groaned. “Whoever pockets the most balls wins. Ay dios mío.” He threw his hands up while rolling his eyes.

Elijah swiped his drink from the table close to him, ready to finish it, but Matias gently took it from his hand and set it aside. Elijah watched, feeling helpless to stop it.

“Care to learn the proper way to hold your pool cue?”

Elijah’s head was buzzing too loudly to handle Mr. Seductive right now. Matias’s presence commanded a room, and Elijah’s personal space too. His energy wrapped around Elijah, sliding into kinky places.

What? His brain made no sense at the moment.

“Sure,” Elijah said with sarcasm with a smug smile. “Impress me, Obi-Wan.”

Matias stepped to him, curling his large hand around the top of the stick, and stared Elijah right in the eye. “Puedo darle un mejor uso a esa boca inteligente, conejito.” I can put that smart mouth to better use, bunny.

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