Gabe

The bar is almost empty. I don’t care, I’m just glad to get out of that other place. One Hutchinson is all I can take, and that’s only because it’s Eloise. When Eloise said her sister was there, I nearly walked away and went home. All I could think of was my father, drunk, ranting about how he wanted them all to die. But the memory of the way Eloise responded to my touch forced its way to the front of my mind and made me stay.

I order a Coke for me, Diet Coke for Eloise.

“No beer?” she asks.

“We’re both going to want to be sober tonight,” I say and wink.

Holding the drinks in one hand, I hook my other arm around Eloise and we weave through the tables to get to the pool table.

It might be my imagination, but she finally seems to be relaxing. I only hope she’s having as much fun as I am.

The fact that she clams up any time I mention a next time hasn’t been lost on me. I trust any hang-ups she has about me will be forgotten after I get off her clothes. And I trust I’ll forget my hang-ups about the Hutchinsons after I make her quiver and moan.

I’m not even sure why I need there to be a next time so badly. Half my brain is telling me to fuck her and walk away. The other half is jumping up and down the way I did in grade school. I was determined to make her mine then, and feel the same way now. As long as I can suppress the part of me that is warning me off getting involved with a Hutchinson.

The pool table is in a back room and separated from the rest of the bar by saloon doors. I can’t help picturing Eloise bent over it, her skirt flicked up and me pounding into her from behind.

But I have to stick to the plan.

I feed the coins into the table, releasing the balls. Eloise listens carefully as I explain the rules while I set up the table. When I finish setting up the balls, I glance up at her.

Even though I’ve been with her all evening, she makes my breath stop. She’s beautiful.

Her lips are parted, and I can’t help thinking about how soft they were when I kissed her earlier. I clear my throat and turn away from the table.

“This is a cue.” I take a cue from the rack on the wall, and hold it out to her.

Eloise takes it from me, and examines it clinically. I move behind her, and take her hands in mine. I slide her right hand toward the back of the cue, and lay the top of the cue on the base of her left thumb.

“You rest it in the base of your thumb and slide it back and forth with your right hand.”

With my body pressed up against hers, I lean her over the table and move the cue back and forth a few times, letting her get the feel of it.

Not wanting away from her, I keep on moving the cue.

“I think I get the picture,” she says.

“Just making sure.”

Eloise throws her head back in a silent laugh, exposing her long neck. My mouth is close, and I long to sink my teeth into it. My dick twitches and I step away before it turns into a full-on erection.

“I’ll break,” I say.

I blast the white ball down the table, and the colored balls scatter and bounce over the green felt.

“Your turn. Aim at any ball you want.”

“I think I need your help.”

Willing my dick to behave, I position myself behind her. I hold her hand again, showing her how to guide the cue.

“Got it?” I ask.

“I’m not sure, maybe a few more.”

Fuck. Having her this close to me is impossible. No man can resist this kind of temptation.

“Ready to take your shot? It doesn’t matter if you miss.”

“I think I’m ready. Which ball do I aim at?”

“Any of them except the black, but this yellow solid looks like the easiest shot.”

Eloise looks at me, fighting a grin. Her eyes twinkle and I can’t figure out what’s up with her.

She sets her hand on the table and takes aim. With confidence, she snaps her arm back, and hits the white ball with her cue. The ball smacks into the yellow ball, which rolls down the table and into the corner pocket.

“You sure hit that ball with force for someone who’s never played before.” She’s obviously played before.

“Must be my teacher. What I do now, do I keep going?”

“The table’s yours.”

“Can you show me how to hold the cue again?”

“Are you sure you need my help?”

Eloise steps closer to me, and rests her hand on my chest. She looks straight into my eyes, and says, “I definitely need your help. That’s why I’m here, remember?”

“I haven’t forgotten.”

She turns, and holds the cue out in front of her. I position myself behind her, leaving a gap so she doesn’t notice my hard cock.

“Like this, nice and smooth.”

“Nice and smooth,” she repeats, leaning her head back to mine, her hair catching in my stubble.

Unable to see this ending the way I’d planned, I step away from her. I take a drink of my Coke, wishing I’d ordered some Jack to go with it.

Eloise takes aim and sinks the blue ball in the side pocket. Without looking at me, she threads the white ball between two stripes and sinks the green ball.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I say, laughing.

“Like I said, you’re a real good teacher.”

“Why’d you do it to me, Eloise? What did I do to deserve this?” I’m joking, but I say it in a serious tone to be funny.

Her brow furrows, and she stands straight, with a distant look in her eye. I wait for her to laugh, or respond, or anything, but she remains lost in thought.

“I was just joking. I’m glad you know how to play, that makes things much more fun.”

Falling back against the pool table, she says, “I just remembered something. You said that to me before. Exactly that. I’d totally forgotten.”

“I did?” I ask, confused.

“In seventh grade, right before you moved away. It’s all coming back to me now. You said it was all my fault that you had to move away. That everything was my fault.”

“I don’t remember that.”

But of course I remember it. I blamed Eloise for everything. She was my easiest target. The nearest Hutchinson to take out my anger on.

“What was my fault?”

“I don’t know. Who cares what I said when I was twelve. You probably splashed mud on my shoes or something.”

Eloise quirks her eyebrow. “You cared about getting mud on your shoes?”

I shrug. “I don’t know, maybe they were new.”

“Why did you move away, anyway?”

These are questions I don’t want to answer.

“My parents split.” It’s half true, at least.

“And you moved away because of that?”

“We moved to Pittsburgh to be near my mother’s family. Any more questions before I start whooping your ass at this game?”

To my relief, Eloise laughs, and says, “In your dreams.”

She takes a tricky shot at the side pocket but hits one of my stripe balls first.

“My turn,” I say, chalking my cue.

I sink four stripes before missing a bank shot. We go back and forth, and are pretty evenly matched players. Amazing, considering I spent most of my teenage years in pool halls.

In the end, Eloise wins the first game. We play three more, I win the next two and Eloise wins the last. The entire time we’re playing, we laugh and joke. She’s definitely loosened up from when I picked her up from her apartment.

“That’s two each. Tiebreaker?” she asks.

“Next time,” I say to see how she’ll react.

She throws her head back chuckling, and says, “I’ll be prepared next time. You’ll be lucky to win one game.”

Next time. That’s all I needed to hear. She’s mine, even before I bring her to her knees.

I set my cue on the pool table and quickly move towards her. For the first time tonight, I don’t fight my desires.

Planting my hands on the small of her back, I pull her tight against me.