Read Online Ryan Hunter by Piper Shelly - Free Book Online Page B

“What’s your problem, Justin? Afraid, your Mama’s going to find out you’re playing for money?” I leaned forward, focusing on the black ball, measuring my final shot.
    “My Mama doesn’t give a damn. But I really, really need this Spiderman comic. It’s an original.”
    Ah right. If it wasn’t about BMXing or girls, with Justin it was always comics. He hoarded them like squirrels hoarded nuts, and I couldn’t believe how much he was willing to spend on those books when his pocket money for a year was what I got in a month.
    He had me feeling bad for him…almost . Heck, this was a guy-thing, and I couldn’t lose, just to make a friend happy. When you were eighteen, it was all about rep.
    I positioned the cue in a perfect line to the white ball and the black eight. Then I moved the cue subtly back, getting ready to knock the ball into the pocket. I was so close to winning this game. Only, I made the mistake to look up for a second and froze.
    For an immeasurable moment, I forgot to breathe. How dare she come in here and ruin this game for me? Ah God , how dare she look so good, dammit? It only took a second for the others to realize something went wrong, and they all turned to find my personal downfall standing in the doorway.
    Liza grimaced and played uncomfortably with the hem of her top. “Is something wrong?”
    Everything was wrong . It always was with me when this girl was anywhere near. The day I had first seen Liza Matthews, I had tripped over the soccer ball and landed face first in the dirt. She always made me forget about anything else around me. And now, she’d cost me a fair sum if she didn’t turn around and walk out so I could get my head back in the game.
    No such luck. Justin made sure of that. He rushed to her side, the grin of victory sitting fat on his face. “You just saved my life, hun.”
    Liza seemed a little surprised when Justin laid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her farther into the room where the warm light from above played out the various shades of brown in her hair. For one, I wanted to kick my best friend’s ass at this moment, because he knew I’d screw up with Liza in this room and he just used that to his advantage. And secondly I wanted to kick is ass, because he simply dared to lay his fucking arm around my girl. He was going to pay for both later.
    “Ah… yes,” Liza said and looked from Justin to me. “And how so?”
    She had no idea. That was one of the things I liked about her most—that she always was so sweetly unaware of everything. Especially of the crap that was just about to fall on my head.
    “He can’t play when someone is watching him ,” Justin stated the obvious. “Totally screws up then.”
    Her brows knitted together. “But you all are watching him.”
    The way she spoke to everybody else but looked only at me made me grin.
    “Yeah, but we’re not girls.” That was Alex from the back of the room, and he certainly enjoyed selling me out. Bloody bastards. Were they all against me tonight?
    It probably was time so say something in my defense, to save my honor, but all I did was fix Liza with a salacious stare as I straightened and chalked the tip of my cue.
    “Sorry,” she croaked. “I’ll leave you guys alone then.”
    Justin didn’t let her slip away . “Uh-uh, no way, hun! You’re my insurance to get that comic book. You stay.”
    His arm around her got mightily on my nerves, even though he made Liza smile. And heck, she had the prettiest smile in all Grover Beach. That kind where the upper lip slipped back a little and revealed perfect, white teeth that touched her soft, rosy bottom lip. A smile that conjured sweet dimples on her cheeks and made her pretty apple-colored eyes crinkle. One that made me lick my bottom lip, wanting nothing more than to kiss her.
    And because she still only gazed at me and no one else when she smiled, I couldn’t help that one corner of my mouth tilted up right now. I was in serious trouble.