Chapter 34

Hunter

Jamie was being weird.

The girl was a freaking genius when it came to playing pool. Both Hayden and I had watched her pot every damn ball, leaving every single one of her opponents on the table, so watching her muff up a shot had me grinning and then pausing. She didn't look pissed when I moved around the table and the absence of trash talking was definitely a change, but… Was she staring at me?

I may or may not have popped my biceps a little when I made my shot, not even caring if the ball went in if that's what it took for her to run those pretty eyes over me, but I was elated when it did. I'd started taunting her, expecting some grumbling, not this blank-faced, hot-eyed stare. Jamie seemed to realise what she was doing, blinking before telling me it was my shot.

I knew that, but as I moved around the table, I wasn't looking at the balls, but her. Who was she seeing? I wondered. Girls got me and Hayden mixed up all the time, but usually it was them assuming my twin was me, not the other way around. The idea that she might be seeing Hayden right now, remembering what had happened earlier today made every muscle lock down, my suspicions confirmed when her cheeks flushed.

So it was like that, was it?

I leaned over, the movement more like the sinuous ones I made on a board, not over a pool table, every muscle stretching as I leaned over to take my next shot. I drew the cue back, practising the stroke, conscious I had her full attention and then made the shot. Balls cracked off of each other, hitting the cushion, but didn't go in, so I straightened up, conscious that her eyes were following me.

"Your shot," I prompted as she just stared.

"Right… right…"

Yeah, something was definitely off. The old Jamie would've been moving before I even made the shot, knowing somehow that it wouldn't sink a ball, but instead, she forced her eyes down and studied the table as if she'd never seen it before.

Interesting.

"Bit slow tonight, Kingston?" I asked. "What did my twin do that's got you so distracted?"

A sharp look up, her searching eyes, I met them with a grin as the cogs in her head started to whirr, wondering exactly what Hayden had told me. Not much, but she didn't need to know that. She shook her head and leaned down, ready to take the shot, and on a whim, I tried a dirty trick us guys often used when playing pool. Getting in a bloke's line of sight and propping your balls up on the shoulder while still clothed was a time honoured way to put off the player, and while I didn't go quite that far, I did make sure that when she was leaning down, it was me she saw, not the ball. My dick punched against my zipper, eager to show her exactly what we were packing, and as I leaned into the table, forcing the denim of my jeans to stretch tight, her cue struck wild, just making the white spin rather than hit any of the balls.

"Two shots," I said in jubilation, moving around the table to take them.

"Did you just…?" She looked me over as I took one shot, but the red ball hit the edge of the pocket instead of falling in.

"Did I just what?" I asked, all innocence.

"Did you just try to psych me out?"

I took a long sip of my beer and then smiled.

"Psych you out how?" Her jaw flexed, making me think her teeth were now grinding together. She didn't answer me, though, seeming to realise what that would mean. I took my next shot, sinking the red ball successfully this time, but the white ball went with it, making me curse under my breath. "Two shots for you."

"You…"

She was fighting a war now, between wanting to dominate the table and deal with me, and I admit, I liked that she was struggling. It meant she was right there with me, not knowing how to deal with this combination of familiarity and attraction.

And I wanted to tip the scales towards the latter.

When she had the ball lined up and was priming her cue, I slapped my hands down on the table opposite to her, watching her aim stutter, even if she managed to pull her cue back at the last minute.

"That." She rose up and poked her finger in my direction.

"What?" I feigned innocence. "I'm just standing here. I didn't say anything, do anything. Unless my mere presence is a distraction to you?"

Jamie went to answer, stopped herself, started again, and instead took a big gulp of her drink.

"Is this what we're doing?" she said, making clear she'd seen through everything. The cue was leant against our table and then she did something criminal. She was wearing a simple, black blouse but right then she flicked open one of the top buttons, revealing all the creamy cleavage I'd dreamt about. I swallowed so damn hard I was shocked when my tongue didn't go with it, and to top it off, she tugged her shirt down further. I may or may not have let out a dog-like whine of a sound, something that just got worse when she leaned over and took her shot. Jamie the pool shark was back in effect, and while a girl who played a table like she owned it was always hot, the view I got right now damn near stopped my heart.

I'd spent way too long surreptitiously checking out those breasts, fantasising about burying my face between them, then my dick. My hands twitched, needing to cup each mound, to find those pert little nipples that pressed through that thin fabric and tease them to hardness. Would she gasp, then moan against me as I sucked on each one? It was only an awkward little splutter on my part as I swallowed my own spit that broke the spell I was under. Just in time to see Jamie smack the white ball, sending not one, but two balls into their requisite pockets, moving before they even rattled down into the depths of the table to take her next shot.

Fuck, she was so damn hot.

I ached in more ways than one, the pain in my balls a faint counterpoint to this. I'd fucked things up before I even started, rushed her, and that had her running away from me. The apology got us back where we were, her making mincemeat of me on the pool table, sinking ball after ball, and me just watching her, wanting so much more. But her look when she stood up, her eyes shining, that was worth the indignity of losing. This was my girl in her element, feeling confident–no, cocky–as she grinned.

"Pretty sure that was worth a bathroom cabinet install," she told me.

"I did install a bathroom cabinet for Millie!"

Jamie just shrugged.

"She's changing the decor?—"

"Of course." I gritted my teeth. "After we fucked around all that time installing a floating bathroom sink." I dragged the balls towards me and racked them again in preparation for another game. "So, what are we playing for next? A new deck? A pergola? A tiny house installed in the bottom of her garden for the two of you to sit and plan yet more DIY nightmares?"

"Ooh, I like that idea," she said, her grin utterly merciless. "So I'll break?"

"The fuck you will," I said, stepping up and doing just that, watching the balls scatter, but not one of them hit a pocket.

"Fine." She surveyed the spread of balls and then went to take her shot. "I'll let Millie know she can order the materials for that tiny house."

That cocky look, it drove me mad and made me want to knock her off her perch every damn time, so I moved closer, propping my arse against the edge of the table right next to her shoulder. The way she paused, looking up at me warily, yeah, that made me smile.

"Maybe." I held her gaze. "Or maybe I'll win."

She tried to rally, a smile forming, but it faded quickly.

"And what do you want?" Jamie asked the question, but she knew. "If you manage to actually win."

"A do-over."

She snorted at that.

"Like when we played handball at school?"

"Like me acknowledging that everything about the other night was a misstep," I said. "Like me learning from my mistakes and getting a second chance to prove I'm not a complete waste of space." My hand slid across the shoulder, and she watched it get closer and closer to hers. "Like you walking into another date with me, knowing it's real for me, at least, and seeing how that pans out."

Jamie stared intently, her eyes seeming to take every part of my face in before meeting my gaze. That smile was back again, and it was a relief to see it.

"You'd need to win first," she said and then bent over the table, going to work.