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NINETEEN
gavin
THERE WAS NO doubt in my mind where Daire had been headed when he left Luxe. He would’ve gone underground, beaten up a few guys, and come home in the early-morning hours with bruised knuckles.
After that epic confrontation with his mother—something I was still reeling from witnessing—it was understandable Daire would want to blow off some steam. I couldn’t even blame him for wanting to hit something, so I took him somewhere he could do just that.
He brought what was left of his cigarette to his lips and stared up at the sign over the door we’d stopped in front of. Shaking his head, he blew out a stream of smoke, but all I could focus on was his mouth—the way it pursed as the clouds of smoke curled up and into the night, and the way his tongue dipped out to wet his lips.
“A pool hall?Thisis where you wanna blow off steam?” he said.
“And kick some ass. Don’t forget that part.”
As I pulled open the door, Daire stayed right where he was, like he was debating whether to go in or tell me to screw off. Butthen he sighed and put out his cigarette on the bottom of his boot before heading inside the busy pool hall.
This wasn’t the kind of place Daire went to often, that was for sure. I’d been to most of them throughout the city, though I’d had to change up the locations often. Regulars weren’t fond of pool sharks.
“We already know how this is gonna end,” Daire said as we both scoped out the scene.
I smirked. “Admitting defeat already?”
“This is the only place you can kick my ass, and you know it.”
“True. But I don’t plan to kick yours tonight.” When Daire lifted a brow in question, I nodded toward a table of two guys already playing. “We’ll be kickingtheirs.”
Daire followed my stare, and as we watched them take their shots, I filed away what I could see as our future opponents’ strengths and weaknesses. Although once they got a look at me, I doubted they’d see me as a threat. For some reason, most didn’t until it was too late. Donovan called it my “angel effect,” that because I had what he deemed a sweet innocence about me, it was easy to catch others off guard. So I did what anyone in my position would—I played into it. And won a shit-ton of money every time I did.
“A couple of beers,” I told the bartender, and had to put my hand over Daire’s mouth before he could protest.
Once the bartender walked off to grab our order, I lowered my hand, and Daire cursed.
“A beer? You don’t even drink those.”
“I don’t?” He was right, but it was the fact that he’d noticed that sent a flutter through my chest.
“No. You don’t. And neither do I.”
“We do tonight. Trust me.”
As the bartender dropped off our beers and uncapped them, I slid some cash across the bar.
Daire was looking at the bottle as though it were full of piss. “Care to fill me in on whatever’s goin’ on in your head?”
I forced myself to take a sip of the beer without making a face. “First, we’ve both already had a few drinks, and we don’t need to get sloppy. Second, holding a beer makes us nonthreatening—” I stopped and realized whom I was talking to. “Well, makesmeless of a threat, and you need all the help you can get, you scary bastard.”
I swore I almost saw Daire crack a smile at that, but if he had, it was gone quickly.
“Once they see you make your first shot, they’ll be onto you.”
“Maybe. Or maybe I’ll just have some help from a better player.” I shrugged. “Someone to show me the ropes. I might just have beginner’s luck.”
Daire snorted and shook his head. “Never would’ve taken you for a hustler.”
“I guess there’s a lot we don’t know about each other,” I said, twisting to face him. Part of me stirred at getting to show Daire a side of me he hadn’t seen, showing him something I was good at. All he’d seen me as lately was a victim, and that’s not who I was. Not by a long shot.
Another reason I didn’t need another, stronger drink? Because I wasn’t sure I’d be able to resist trying for another kiss if I had more alcohol in me. Right now, we just needed to reset our friendship and have a good time. Not the easiest thing to do when all I seemed to notice now was how dangerously attractive Daire was. How had I never noticed it before?
Oh, right. The perpetual scowl that warned everyone off, not to mention his oh-so-friendly demeanor. But I’d gotten a glimpse of what lay behind the mask, and it was too intriguing to forget.
