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.He shook his finger at me.“Better watch it.My Nana says your face will get stuck like that,” he warned.“Your Nana was mean to me,” I said.“She said I was trying to trap you into marriage.”“Guess she was wrong about that,” he replied.Awkward silence.“So how’s the construction business?” I asked.“Better than working on an oil rig, and if this economy improves a little it might just pay more,” he said.“Yeah, it’s been a tough couple of years,” I agreed.“I lost a lot of private gigs when the market nose-dived.”We placed our orders and continued to make small talk.He was into the business side of contracting.He had quite a few ideas about how to improve and streamline the operations.I had never seen this side of him before.In high school it had always been about football and getting into the best college.We talked about my music career and he complimented me on my Facebook fans.“You’ve got a lot of people that come out to see you,” he said.“I’ve been playing around here for five years so I’ve developed a decent following.It helps pay the bills.” I toyed with my glass of wine and looked out the window.“I’d love to come see you play,” he said with genuine interest.“That would be great,” I said rather noncommittally.I wasn’t sure where this was going and didn’t want to encourage future contact until I was sure.He leaned over and took my fidgeting hand.“Relax, enjoy the night.Let’s just see what happens,” he said.He had piercing dark eyes and it had always seemed that he could look right through me.I looked away first.He leaned back.“Second thoughts on this date?” he asked.I shook my head no.“I’m worried about getting stuck in the past.I don’t want the same relationship we had in high school.If that’s how it’s going to be, then I’m not interested.”“Me neither,” he said emphatically.“I want the woman that you’ve become—the talented, sexy, sassy, slightly less clumsy woman.Not the girl I knew in high school.”I relaxed a little and gave him a smile.“I don’t know if this is going to work out.”“Let’s just give it a try and see what happens,” he said putting his hand over mine.I smiled.“Hey, Rick, when was the last time you lost at pool?” I asked changing the subject.He squinted his eyes and furrowed his brow.“Must’ve been twelve years ago to a skinny blond with an amazing bank shot.”“I’ve still got that bank shot,” I said.“I don’t doubt it,” he said.“But I spent six years on an oil rig with a bunch of guys with nothing better to do than play pool and watch TV.”“I think I can give you a run for your money.” And I meant it.I was good in high school, but having spent years working in bars for a living I had played more games of pool than I cared to count.“Is that a challenge?” he asked.I nodded.“How about strip pool?”I made a face.“No such thing!”“Winner takes all—when we get back to your place.” He laughed.I rolled my eyes.“Do you always work so hard to get your dates naked?” I asked.“Well, technically I had you naked night before last, so it shouldn’t be so hard a second time,” he said smugly.Thirty minutes later we were on our way down to Dock Street to a little tavern called Brown’s.No one remembered why it was called Brown’s.The current owner, Debbie, had bought the bar from Mr.Turner, who had no idea where the name came from either.It was a dive bar with a capital D.The faint smell of cigarette smoke still clung to the low ceilings and ripped black vinyl stools despite the decade long smoking ban.It was so dark you could hardly see the floor—not that you would want to.It had a U-shaped bar in the middle and pool tables and a shuffle board in the back.I had played here a couple of times, but it wasn’t my crowd and the pay wasn’t great.It was almost nine and the place was starting to get busy for a Thursday night.All the regulars had staked out their bar stools earlier in the day.“Hey, there stranger,” Debbie called from behind the bar.“Long time no see.Oh, looks like you’ve brought Mr.Tall, Dark, and Hot with you.” I rolled my eyes.“You’re going to give him a big head, Debbie,” I said [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]