Erin thinks they just escaped for a romantic weekend.”
“And you never told her anything different.”
“No. And I won’t,” he sternly says to me. “She doesn’t need that on her conscience. She doesn’t need to grow resentment for them trying to protect her. From me trying to protect her. I’d rather she spend the rest of her life thinking our parents were as perfect as she remembers them. About a week before they left to see the specialist, my mom had pulled me aside, made me promise to take care of them if anything happened to her.”
“Them?”
“Maxx and Logan. Dad. She said, they’d all need me if they didn’t have her. And that taking care of them would fulfill something inside of me that only caring for others could. I guess it wasn’t that big of a shock now that I think about it. I was the one who bandaged Erin’s knees when she fell off her bike. Cleaned the scrapes when she fell off the neighbor boy’s skateboard. Gave her Barbie’s casts when they fell down the stairs of their dream house—”
“Why’d they fall down the stairs?”
“Have you met my sister?”
I give a light chuckle while trying to fight the sting in my chest. I clear my throat and break the balls sinking a solid colored one. “Guess I’m solids.” The solemn look is still on his face so I try to drag him out of it, “Which means you get rid of that solid color shirt of yours.”
Luke shakes his head fighting his own grin and pulls it over his head revealing a sight that forces my jaw to drop.
Holy mother of God. Those are painted on right?
Distracted I do my best to shake off the sight as I position myself to shoot again. “Yellow ball corner pocket.”
To my surprise Luke plants both his hands on the edge of the table right above where my shot is supposed to go. “Oh here?”
My stick hits the ball but misses causing a short muffled curse out of me.
“My turn,” Luke says proudly.
“You know that was a cheap move?”
He innocently shrugs.
“Ask away. I’m an open book.”
Unless you’re from my hometown. Then you think I’m someone completely different.
“When’s the last time you had a boyfriend?”
My face twitches at his choice of question. “About 33 weeks ago.”
The day will live forever in infamy.
With an impressed look Luke states, “Precise.”
He wouldn’t forget it either if it was the day he tried to switch teams under the influence because he’d convinced himself it would just be easier.
“Accurate.”
“Red ball,” he claims his own before taking the shot, missing again. “Damn it.”
“Last time you had sex before me?”
Luke’s face turns that soft crimson I’m becoming accustomed too. “Uh...couple of years.”
“Lucky me.” I lean over to take my turn. “Blue ball. Side pocket.” The ball smoothly slides across the table and into the hole. Looking up I point. “I’ll have mercy...you can remove your belt.”
“I don’t need your mercy.”
“Oh yes you do.” I lean back down to take another shot. “Orange ball. Corner pocket.”
When the ball sinks into the location he huffs. “Am I being hustled?”
“I grew up with a pool table in my basement. C.J. and I spent many hours playing and tricking people out of their weekend play cash, so...yeah. Definitely being hustled. Now, since you were snippy about the belt you can drop pants this time.”
Luke’s jaw tenses but he follows the instructions, taking his time with each motion I’m sure to distract me.
Damn him for the fact it’s fucking working.
“Where’d you grow up anyway?”
“It’s not your turn.” I wag a playful finger as I circulate the table. “But I’ll give you a pass. Bontassa, Maryland, right around the corner from C.J. A small place where the money is old and the judgment even older,” I mutter the last line. “Green ball. Side pocket.” When it sinks in, I wiggle my eyebrows at him.
He looks like those fucking fitness model ads you see on Facebook. Trust
“And you never told her anything different.”
“No. And I won’t,” he sternly says to me. “She doesn’t need that on her conscience. She doesn’t need to grow resentment for them trying to protect her. From me trying to protect her. I’d rather she spend the rest of her life thinking our parents were as perfect as she remembers them. About a week before they left to see the specialist, my mom had pulled me aside, made me promise to take care of them if anything happened to her.”
“Them?”
“Maxx and Logan. Dad. She said, they’d all need me if they didn’t have her. And that taking care of them would fulfill something inside of me that only caring for others could. I guess it wasn’t that big of a shock now that I think about it. I was the one who bandaged Erin’s knees when she fell off her bike. Cleaned the scrapes when she fell off the neighbor boy’s skateboard. Gave her Barbie’s casts when they fell down the stairs of their dream house—”
“Why’d they fall down the stairs?”
“Have you met my sister?”
I give a light chuckle while trying to fight the sting in my chest. I clear my throat and break the balls sinking a solid colored one. “Guess I’m solids.” The solemn look is still on his face so I try to drag him out of it, “Which means you get rid of that solid color shirt of yours.”
Luke shakes his head fighting his own grin and pulls it over his head revealing a sight that forces my jaw to drop.
Holy mother of God. Those are painted on right?
Distracted I do my best to shake off the sight as I position myself to shoot again. “Yellow ball corner pocket.”
To my surprise Luke plants both his hands on the edge of the table right above where my shot is supposed to go. “Oh here?”
My stick hits the ball but misses causing a short muffled curse out of me.
“My turn,” Luke says proudly.
“You know that was a cheap move?”
He innocently shrugs.
“Ask away. I’m an open book.”
Unless you’re from my hometown. Then you think I’m someone completely different.
“When’s the last time you had a boyfriend?”
My face twitches at his choice of question. “About 33 weeks ago.”
The day will live forever in infamy.
With an impressed look Luke states, “Precise.”
He wouldn’t forget it either if it was the day he tried to switch teams under the influence because he’d convinced himself it would just be easier.
“Accurate.”
“Red ball,” he claims his own before taking the shot, missing again. “Damn it.”
“Last time you had sex before me?”
Luke’s face turns that soft crimson I’m becoming accustomed too. “Uh...couple of years.”
“Lucky me.” I lean over to take my turn. “Blue ball. Side pocket.” The ball smoothly slides across the table and into the hole. Looking up I point. “I’ll have mercy...you can remove your belt.”
“I don’t need your mercy.”
“Oh yes you do.” I lean back down to take another shot. “Orange ball. Corner pocket.”
When the ball sinks into the location he huffs. “Am I being hustled?”
“I grew up with a pool table in my basement. C.J. and I spent many hours playing and tricking people out of their weekend play cash, so...yeah. Definitely being hustled. Now, since you were snippy about the belt you can drop pants this time.”
Luke’s jaw tenses but he follows the instructions, taking his time with each motion I’m sure to distract me.
Damn him for the fact it’s fucking working.
“Where’d you grow up anyway?”
“It’s not your turn.” I wag a playful finger as I circulate the table. “But I’ll give you a pass. Bontassa, Maryland, right around the corner from C.J. A small place where the money is old and the judgment even older,” I mutter the last line. “Green ball. Side pocket.” When it sinks in, I wiggle my eyebrows at him.
He looks like those fucking fitness model ads you see on Facebook. Trust
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