Page 64 of That Moment
I shake my head, smirking, keeping my voice even. “Fuck off.”
“Come on, man. Don’t tell me nothing’s going on. You’ve been walking around with that dumb half-smile all week. One of your regulars back in your life, or did you two finally hold hands?”
Tyler grins. “Yeah, did you make it past first base yet?”
I tip my beer back, letting the cold bite drown whatever smart-ass comeback I might’ve had. “Y’all need new hobbies.”
“Maybe,” Decker says, deadpan, “but you have to admit, you are so full of shit. There’s something different with you this time.”
“Yeah? You guys want to braid our hair and talk about our feelings, or focus on playing pool?”
They laugh again, and for a minute, the noise swallows the tension in my chest. This is familiar, the teasing, the back and forth bullshit, banter. But under it, I can feel it: the way Adrienne’s laugh still echoes in my head, the sound she made when she came apart in my arms, the way she looked at me like maybe I was more than just another mistake she’d learn from. They can see it too… because it is different this time.
I grip the neck of my beer harder, forcing a smile I don’t feel.
Ranger leans on his cue. “You know what’s funny, though? Thought I saw Adrienne’s car the other night. Late. Parked in your drive.”
The clack of Decker’s break shot fills the silence that follows. At first, I think he’s joking, and it’s a coincidence that Adrienne was at my place the other night, but when I look at him, I know damn well he really did see her car there. My pulse spikes, but I keep my face blank. “You need your eyes checked.”
Tyler raises a brow. “That so?”
“Yup.” I set my bottle down. “It was probably a car I’m working on. Or hell, a stray cat. Y’all see what you want to see.”
Decker glances up, smirking. “Pretty sure a BMW’s hard to mistake for a stray cat.”
Before I can answer, a familiar voice cuts in from behind Ranger. “Well, that’s interesting.”
Shit. Axel.
He’s got a beer in one hand and a serious expression on his face.
“Didn’t mean to interrupt story time,” he says, sliding up beside me. “But did I just hear my sister was at your house… late?”
Ranger mutters, “Shit,” under his breath, suddenly fascinated by the pool table.
I take another slow drink, playing it cool even though every muscle in my body’s gone tight. “You might’ve.”
Axel tilts his head, eyes glinting. “Well, don’t let me stop you. Go on.”
Tyler clears his throat. “We were just talking about how Scotty’s been looking real… content lately.”
“Yeah,” Decker adds, tone dry. “Must be the weather.”
Axel looks from them to me, amusement flickering under the surface. “Huh. Funny. Because the last time I saw Adrienne, she was smiling the same way.”
Ranger coughs into his beer. “I’m gonna go play darts.”
The guys scatter like cowards, leaving me and Axel by the table.
I lean on my cue, forcing a smirk. “You done fishing?”
He grins. “Not yet. I’m just getting started.”
Axel plays it cool at first, like he’s just here to shoot a round and drink a beer. He grabs a cue, spins it in his hand, and leans over the table. “You know,” he says, eyes on the cue ball, “none of this really shocks me. You and Adrienne, I mean, you’ve been doing this forever.”
I lift a brow. “Doing what?”
He smirks. “Come on, man. You two have always been tight. Friends, sure, but there’s always been something underneath.She’s had a crush on you since middle school. You knew it, too. Hell, you’ve more than encouraged over the years, feeding into it.”
