Page 72 of Call My Bluff
Parker, however, had no problem meeting Noah’s hard stare. “What’s the deal, man? If you want one, go find one for yourself.”
“I thought this was a guy’s night,” Noah pointed out. “We said no dates.”
“Yeah, wesaidthat, but look around you, man! This place is packed with girls coming off that spring break Panama City Beach high. They’ve got to go to class in the morning, but they want one more night of fun before it happens. Why not help a lady out?”
Noah glanced around the room and saw that the crowd was, in fact, mostly female—which was odd, since the Hawk’s Nest tended to be a male-dominated hole-in-the-wall.
“The odds are in your favor, Campbell. Go use them,” Parker urged with a roll of his eyes. But then his expression shifted to one of clear interest. “Unless you’re still with Warrior Princess. Is that a thing now?”
Noah felt his chest tighten at the question.
Yes?
No.
Sort of?
He decided to go with yes. Manifest destiny and all that, right?
“Yeah, it is,” he said. It wasn’t really a lie—he and Oliviawerea “thing”; he just wasn’t totally sure what the thing was.
Parker leaned back and raised a bottle to his lips, an unreadable expression on his face. Then he pointed the drink toward Noah. “Then you’d better leave or get her down here, because this is not a safe place for a taken man to be.”
Charlotte came back at that moment and sidled past Noah’s chair before sliding back into her spot beside Parker. Noah’s friend gave him one final nod, a clear “see you later,” before giving the girl at his side his full attention.
Noah understood the dismissal; he’d given it himself a time or two. He didn’t take it personally, but he also wasn’t pleased. He’d worked most of the day, had worked all week while his friends were off having fun, and he’d been hoping to shoot the breeze and blow off steam with the guys before classes started back up. But, then again, he couldn’t exactly blame them.
He rose from his chair and put it back at the table he’d stolen it from. Then he headed toward the pool tables, at least hoping to snag a game from someone. Music thumped in his ears as he drew closer to the pool hall’s ancient jukebox, and he turned sideways to squeeze past a couple who were rocking out to Ozzy’s “Crazy Train.”
Maybe heshouldget Olivia down here. Maybe she’d dance with him the same way. Maybe he could pull her into a quieter corner and tell her what had been on his mind all week. Maybe it would be easier if they weren’t all alone.
He stepped into an empty pocket of space and pulled out his phone before firing off a quick message.
Noah:I’m at the Hawk’s Nest, and it’s insane down here. I think everyone in town decided to come dance tonight.
He realized after he sent it that it wasn’t actually an invitation, but for some reason he left it that way. Part of him wanted to see if she’d come anyway, just to seek him out. If she did, maybe that would mean she wanted to be with him, too.
Putting his phone away, he looked up and saw his friend Carson racking a set of pool balls on the nearest table. Both cue sticks leaned against his leg, which either meant he already had a partner or he was being choosy about who claimed it. Noah decided to throw his hat in the ring.
“Hey, man!” he called as he came closer. “You playing with someone?”
“You, if you want it,” Carson called back. He lifted the second stick from the floor and held it out to Noah, who took it and retrieved a cube of chalk from the corner of the table. He rubbed the block against the tip of the stick while Carson finished prepping the balls. Then, he nodded toward his friend.
“You break,” he said.
The game went back and forth for nearly an hour, progress frequently impeded by the press of people on all sides. Finally, Carson sank his last stripe and the eight ball in one swift move, and Noah conceded defeat.
“Good game, man,” he shouted over the music. Carson nodded, and Noah felt a tap on his shoulder. A guy he didn’t recognize was claiming the next game, and Noah handed over his cue stick without complaint. Then, he checked his phone. Disappointmentwashed over him when there were no new messages. Maybe Olivia was busy. Her own friends were probably back in town, after all; he wasn’t her only option anymore—which probably answered all his questions for him.
He was heading back toward the restaurant side of the room when a small body crashed into his side. “Oh, sorry,” he said, though it hadn’t actually been his fault. He reached out to steady the girl before she fell, and it took him a moment to realize it was Misty from the bakery, wearing more makeup and less fabric than he’d ever seen on her before. In one swift assessment, he decided she was several drinks south of sober.
Misty smiled and tightened her hand around his arm. “Hi, Noah!” she gushed, a little too excited. “You wanna dance?”
With Misty? No.
A group of rowdy frat boys jostled past, and Noah instinctively guided her toward the wall of the pool room, where a cubbyhole beside the water fountain allowed them space to stand without being trampled. She swayed on the spot, and he kept hold of her arms in case she toppled over.
“Misty? Do you have a ride?” he asked, shouting over the music.
