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10:55 p.m. Me: Okay. Then I will just head over now.
10:56 p.m. Cassie: See you soon.
Good thing I texted her, if I had shown up without contacting her there would be hell to pay. I went to the back to let Mike know that I was heading out and that I’d meet them there. He nodded and then continued cleaning the grill. Jennifer asked if she could come along. Apparently she was in dire need of a drink and fast. I agreed with a smile. Then we walked out to my car.
The bartender smiled and waved as we walked in. I had been coming here a lot lately, so she recognized me right away. Jennifer walked up to get a drink, and I searched for Cassie. I heard my name and noticed someone was waving me over. Cassie was sitting with Rebecca. I smiled and took a seat.
“Hey.” “I love this place , very rustic,” Rebecca said, sipping her umbrella drink. I smirked, and then looked at Cassie.
“How have you been?” I asked and looked around for Jen.
“Good,” Cassie replied. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, I was just looking for my friend. I left her at the bar. I’ll be right back,” I said and got up.
When I returned to the table with Jennifer, all the seats were filled. Charlie, Trevor and Nick had joined them. I stared at the sea of smiling faces. Wasn’t expecting to see Nick with the crowd tonight.
“Hey ,” Charlie said over the music. “Grab a chair.” I turned and asked the group of girls behind us if I could steal a chair. Jennifer and I shared the seat.
“Did you want to play pool ? There are two tables left,” I asked, thumbing over my shoulder.
“Sure,” Nick replied with a thin smile. I got the feeling that Nick also didn’t know that I was going to be here.
“I’ll pay for the tables. You go sit over there before someone else does,” I said and got up, walking away.
From my peripheral vision, I watched as they made their way over to the two empty pool tables. My nerves calmed knowing Cassie wasn’t up to anything. However, seeing Nick was a little nerve racking. Once I paid for the table the bartender handed me the rack and balls. I carried the two sets over to the tables. Ten minutes later Mike, Sam and Kelly walked in. I spotted them first and walked to greet them by the bar, then walked back to the tables.
“Mike, Sam, Kelly, this is my best friend, Cassie; her boyfriend, Charlie and their friends Rebecca, Trevor and Nick.” I pointed to them individually. Everyone nodded and shook hands, chatted a moment before grabbing a cue to start playing.
We mixed up the teams this time—Cassie’s idea.
“Okay—me and Kelly.” Cassie smiled at her. “Charlie and Mike.” Both guys nodded. “That takes care of this table. What’s your name again, Hun?” Cassie asked, pointing to Jennifer.
“Jennifer.” she drew her name out. Her head turned, and she looked at me. I shrugged, screwing my lips bashfully. Cassie was awfully bossy tonight.
“Right, you and Trevor, Nick and Lauren.” I smiled thinly, then walked over to the bar stool and took a seat. That explains why she wanted to set the teams. It had nothing to do with getting to know my new friends.
“You can break first,” I said to Jennifer and Trevor. Nick stood next to me but didn’t say anything. I couldn’t tell if he was nervous about being around me or if he just didn’t care anymore. I had been a bit jaded since the whole Mason debacle. Nick heard me mutter curses under my breath as I scolded myself for thinking about Mason again. “Are you talking to yourself?” He chuckled.
“No.” I laughed, gulping. “Just thinking out loud, I guess.”
“Okay then.” He smirked, taking a sip of his beer. I watched as his lips wrapped around the bottle. The muscles in his jaw tighten as he swallowed and then Trevor called out that it was Nick’s turn breaking me out of my little trance. I turned my head, looking anywhere but at Nick. I watched as he took a shot, along with the next three.
“Nice job, partner,” I said, holding out my hand. He gently slapped it, and then stood next to me, discussing what I should do next.
Jennifer chuckled, and I looked at Nick with an arched brow.
“Oh, by the way, Lauren is a lot better than she lets on,” Mike said, pointing over at me. Trevor laughed. Mike added, “Seriously, our first night playing pool, she almost cleared the entire table on first break.” Then Trevor stopped laughing and turned to look at me. I shrugged, smiling.
“Glad you’re on my team,” Nick said smirking and craned his neck to look at me, then gave me a playful nudge. I couldn’t help but smile.
We played pool until last call. T hat’s when Cassie and Charlie left to dance. Kelly and Sam followed moments later. Mike grabbed a round of drinks for everyone before it was too late. Trevor and Rebecca disappeared not too long after that. I sat listening to Nick and Mike, who were getting along real well surprisingly. They were talking about boats. Apparently, Mike inherited one from his grandfather, and according to Nick he knew everything there was to know about boats. I listened to them banter back and forth, and then make a brief agreement about getting together to fish. I wasn’t sure if Nick was agreeing to this because he was drunk or if he was serious. Then after exchanging numbers, Mike was interrupted by some guy. The two of them took a walk, leaving Nick and I alone.
“Do you really like fishing?” I asked Nick when he was close enough.
“Absolutely. When I was a kid my father took me all the time,” he said, rubbing his hand down his jaw.
“Really?” I replied. He nodded and drank the rest of his beer. Just then the DJ made an announcement that the last song of the night was dedicated to all those in love out there. The song that followed sent chills up my spine.
