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Paige raced upstairs. She'd left her clean laundry laid out on the bed. She shimmied into her trusty skirt. It was made out of simple jersey knit material and fit her like a glove; it was the most comfortable thing she owned. She pulled on a tight long sleeved shirt and tucked it in, slipped on her new sandals, and was ready to go. She grabbed her purse on her way out the door and slung the strap across her body. She skipped down the stairs and met Parker in the entryway. He had his hat back on his head again and was jingling his car keys. He smiled at her.
“We’re just going to play pool,” he told her, looking over her outfit.
“What? I’m not exactly dressed up, it's just a skirt. It’s comfy. Do I look too dressed up?” she asked, suddenly self-conscious. Parker had never really commented on the way she looked before, except for last night. She suddenly felt silly.
“No, no, not at all. Forget I said anything, you look great. Let’s get out of here,” he said with a laugh, opening the door.
During the drive, the thunder and lightning started up again. Paige squirmed in her seat and Parker laughed at her. She resisted the urge to glare. His funk was starting to invade her good mood and she'd been determined to have a good time. She folded her arms and stared out her window.
He took her to a pretty decent sized place. There was a stage in the back for bands and shows, and a bar ran most of the length of one wall. Past the bar, the room opened up to accommodate three pool tables. Parker made his way back towards them and Paige followed. All three were occupied, but Parker spoke to someone at the front most table and secured them a turn.
“Wow, it’s kinda busy,” Paige commented, pulling herself onto a stool at the very end of the bar. Parker nodded, folding his arms and standing close to her.
“Yeah, it’s a Saturday night and Joey said that football conference is going on until Monday. I bet a lot of these guys are part of that.'
Paige looked around and nodded. Parker was a big guy, but a lot of the guys around the bar werehuge– they just looked like linebackers. Many of them had gaggles of girls crowding around them. Life must be good for a young man with a football scholarship.
They finally got their turn at the pool table. Paige ordered herself a beer, but was surprised when Parker just got some water. Feeling awkward again, she just sipped her drink while they set up the table to play.
Parker hadn’t been lying, she wasn’t the world’s best pool player. But she had fun, and even got Parker to laugh a couple times. He won the first game, and since no one else had asked to play, they set up for another game. Paige lost that one, as well. After that, a guy asked to play winner, so Paige gave him her spot. She went back to her seat at the end of the bar, watching while Parker played and chatted with the guy. After sitting alone for maybe half an hour, a man wandered up next to her.
“You here all by yourself?” he asked pleasantly. She shook her head.
“No, I came with my friend, he’s playing pool,” she replied, nodding towards Parker.
“Your friend, or your boyfriend?” new guy asked for clarification, smiling teasingly. She laughed.
“Let’s just say I came with him and I plan on leaving with him, how about that,” she offered.
“Okay, just wanted to get that out of the way. My name is Carl,” he introduced himself, holding out his hand. Paige took it in hers and they shook hands.
“Paige,” she replied, smiling at him.
It was then Parker caught her eye. He was standing next to the pool table, holding a pool cue upright in one hand, his other arm folded over his chest. But he wasn’t watching the game. He was staring at her. The brim of his hat was so low, she couldn’t really see his eyes, but his head was turned towards her and there was decidedly tense look to his jaw.
“You sure he’s not your boyfriend?” Carl laughed. Paige swallowed and nodded.
“I’m very sure. He’s just in a bad mood,” she explained, scowling back at Parker.
“Well, maybehe’snot so sure. It was nice meeting you, Paige,” Carl chuckled before walking off. Paige managed to smile a goodbye at him before looking back over at the pool tables. Parker was looking at the game again, smiling at whatever his opponent was saying. Paige hopped off her stool and stomped over to him.
“What was that about?” she demanded, slapping him in the arm. Parker looked down at her.
“What are you talking about?” he asked, rubbing at the spot she hit.
“That!The death glare from across the room!” she hissed. He looked at her like she was crazy.
“I don’t know what you're talking about, I was just looking to see what was going on,” he replied. She shook her head.
“No, no, you looked at him like you were gonna chew on his head,” she told him. Parker laughed.
“Chew on his head? You say the craziest stuff. No more drinks,” he chuckled. Her blood boiled.
“Excuse me!? I've had one beer – no,halfa beer. Don’t talk to me like that,” she snapped. He lifted his eyebrows.
“Talk to you like what? Paige, you’re freaking out over nothing,” he told her.
Paige spun around and walked away quickly. One more sentence, and she knew he’d say the dreaded words “calm down”, and then she would have to kill him. She would just have to kill him. She stomped into the bathroom and stormed into a stall, slamming the door shut. She needed to cool down.
