I think of every straight rom-com I’ve ever watched with a pool-hall scene. Usually going to play pool is the guy’s suggestion, because:
he can show off his skills.
and
he can get up close and personal with the girl under the guise of showing her proper technique.
I reset the rack. “Here, let me show you,” I say. I stand right next to him, lean over the table and demonstrate the proper hold.
He tries again. This time the cue ball does hit the rack, but with so little force the balls barely even move.
I slap my hand over my mouth to cover my laugh.
This time after I reset the rack, I scoot around the table, lean over and put my arm on top of his so I can adjust his hold.
He turns his head. Suddenly his face （and lips） are just right there.
“Thanks for helping me,” he says.
“You’re welcome,” I say back.
His eyes drop to my lips and stay there.
“The sign outside says Wilshire Billiards, not Wilshire Make Out,” says a voice—Julio—from somewhere behind us.
I practically leap away from X. “I was just teaching him how to play.”
X stays where he is, laughing down into his outstretched arm.
Julio smiles and shakes his head. “Call it what you want, but keep it PG-13 in here for me. I know your dad, for Jesus’s sake,” he says as he walks away.
X just laughs some more.
I poke him with my cue and tell him to be quiet.
“All right, let me see if I got this,” he says, looking back down at the table. Suddenly, his body transforms itself. His stance goes from sloppy to perfect. He’s holding the cue exactly right, and his head is lined up perfectly.
He breaks with a loud smack and sinks one solid. Then he proceeds to sink four more in a row before just missing the sixth. He turns around, catches my eye and gives me the cockiest grin I’ve ever seen.
“Guess you were right about there being nothing to do in Lake Elizabeth,” he says.
I’ve. Been. Had.
I thump my cue on the ground. “Why’d you pretend you didn’t know how to play?”
“Maybe I wanted you to teach me,” he says with a wink. “Or maybe it’s because you made fun of my hometown. Let’s see what you got, city girl.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Oh, you’re going down, country boy,” I say. I shoot the nine but miss. I’m still flustered by his trickery and by how good he is. I don’t get another shot to win, because he sinks his remaining solid and then the eight ball to win.
I swear louder than I should and he just laughs at me. “I like this side of you,” he says.
“Don’t try to distract me.” I pretend-scowl at him, but I’m actually happy that he’s as good as he is. Pool is a lot more fun when you have actual competition.
I win the next two games, but he wins the fourth and fifth. I take the sixth when he misses an easy bank for the eight ball. We’re tied at three games all.
“Should we just leave it tied?” he asks.
“Why? Are you afraid to lose?”
“Yeah, don’t say I didn’t give you a chance to get out of this with your dignity,” he says.
I roll my eyes. “You let me worry about my dignity,” I say. “But can we eat something first? I’m starving, and their burgers are really good.”
We order at the bar and then sit at one of the small tables up front.
X takes a look around. It’s more crowded now than when we first got here. One of the old-timers is at the jukebox, no doubt putting on a country-western song from sometime in the last century. I look over at Julio, who laugh-shrugs at me. He’s been promising to get better songs for the jukebox for years.
“So you and your dad used to come here?” X asks.
“Every Sunday morning. He and Julio would trade off giving me lessons, and then we’d just play for hours.”
“Man, your dad sounds great,” he says before remembering that I don’t think he’s so great. “Sorry, I forgot about—”
“No, it’s okay,” I say. “I mean, I used to think he was great too. Honestly, it’s part of why this whole thing sucks so much. It’s one thing that he cheated on Mom, but I feel like he betrayed my idea of him too. And now he’s getting remarried and there’s no going back to the way it was before. I dunno. I’m not making sense.”
“Shit, Evie, I didn’t realize he was getting married again.” He puts his hand on top of mine for a few seconds. “I get what you’re saying, though. It’s like he’s not who you thought he was.”