“Why don’t you rack ‘em while I grab us a couple of beers?” Lucas says to me.

“Yep, and don’t forget, it’s my quarter, so I go first.”

He mocks me, mumbling under his breath, “It’s my quarter, so I go first,” as he walks away, bobbing his head from side to side.

I rack the balls on the green felt that’s worn down to almost nothing. Everything about this table is original, which is why it’s one of the few that are still only a quarter. It has to be at least 25 years old, but it serves its purpose.

“Here,” he sets down a tall glass filled with foamy amber-colored liquid.

Taking a swig, I let the ice cold beer quench my thirst before I set it on the ledge behind the pool table so I can break. I sink the orange five and call solids.

“Come on, Mason,” he says after I sink two more balls. “Scratch and give me a turn.”

“You don’t like it when I run the table?” I laugh at him.

“No, I don’t like it when you take my money,” he counters.

My winning streak is up when I accidentally sink the eight-ball. “Fuck! You win,” I say, knocking back the rest of my beer. “I’ll go buy the next round while you rack and break.”

“That’s more like it,” he says.

Flipping him off, I walk over to the bar to buy us another round of beers. The barkeep is cute, but she’s not really our type.

Yes, I said our type. Lucas and I share everything.

Everything.

From cars, jobs, friends, and women, we share everything. The only thing we don’t share is a bank account.

I summon the bartender by holding a $20 bill up in the air. “Another round of beers for my buddy and me, please?”

She pours two draft beers, and I tell her to keep the change before taking them back to the pool table. Lucas breaks but doesn’t sink any balls.

“You’re up,” he says, taking a drink from his cup. “You know, there’s something that makes a beer taste better when someone else buys it.”

Rolling my eyes at him, I lean over the pool table to take my shot, and in walks the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen. Her legs practically go clear up to her neck in her black jeans that look like they’re painted onto her round, bubbly ass. She’s wearing a low-cut blouse that lays perfectly over her breasts, showing just enough cleavage to leave a little—very little—to the imagination.

Lucas and I look at each other, and we’re clearly thinking the same thing. He grins at me and nods toward the same woman.

“Now, that’s hot,” he says.

“Yeah, she is.” I can’t take my eyes off of her, she’s absolutely gorgeous. “You ever seen her before?”

We come to The Impulse pretty regularly when we’re in town, which is often since my family lives here and we do a lot of construction work in the area.

“Nope,” he steps next to me. “Can’t say that I have, but now that I’ve laid eyes on her, I’d like to see a lot more of her,” he says.

“Make that two of us,” I agree with him.

Our pool game comes to a halt as we watch her take a seat at the bar and order a drink. Lucas and I like to observe women before making our first move, so we continue watching her until after the barkeep serves her a pink girly drink.

Resting my chin on the pool stick, I say to Lucas, “Think she’s here alone?”

“Maybe. She’s awfully dressed up, and I don’t see a man with her.” He takes the next shot and sinks a striped ball. “Stripes,” he calls.

Keeping my eye on the girl, I take note of her long blonde hair and her perfect skin. She’s definitely here alone. There’s no way any man would let a woman like her go out to the bar by herself.

No fucking way.

“You’re up,” he says, smacking my leg with his pool stick.

“Ow! You fucker! What was that for?” I rub my leg.

“Gawking and taking too long,” he says, leaning against the ledge as he drinks his beer.

He might’ve given me shit for looking at her, but he’s staring, too. As I’m taking my shot, I decide to sink the eight ball on purpose. I want to go talk her before he does and the loser always buys the beer.

“Come on,” he says. “What’d you do that for?”

“It was an accident,” I shrug. “I’ll go grab us another round of beers while you rack and break,” I say.

Leaving Lucas standing at the pool table holding his stick, I walk over to the bar and stand next to her. It only takes a second or two before she notices me standing there when she looks up and smiles.

“Hi,” she says, her voice soft and smooth.

“Can I buy you a drink?” I ask.

She laughs at me, her cheeks turning slightly rosy as she shakes her head.

“You just cut straight to it, don’t you?”

Leaning against the bar, I prop myself up with my elbow as I drink in her beauty. This woman’s body screams pure sex, yet she doesn’t seem the slutty type.

“My name’s Mason,” I say, extending my hand. She doesn’t take it right away, so I say, “And you are?”

A giggle escapes her perfect lips. “Penny. My name is Penny.”

She tries to shake my hand, but that’s not why I gave it to her. I grab hold of her hand and pull it to my lips, planting a kiss on the back of her hand. Slowly, she pulls away from me, but I can tell that she’s not entirely sure that she wants to.

“It’s nice to meet you, Penny. What are you drinking tonight?”

She looks down at her drink and grins. “A cosmopolitan.”

“Bartender?” I raise my voice to catch her attention. “Two more drafts and a cosmopolitan for my friend here.” She nods and walks away to make the drinks.

“Your friend?” Penny asks. “You’re awfully presumptuous.”

“Do you like to play pool, Penny?” I nod at Lucas who’s watching the two of us like a hawk.

“I suck at pool,” she says.

“That’s my friend Lucas,” I say, nodding toward the pool table. We’re both used to this game, so right on queue, he waves at us. “Come play a game with us.”

She shakes her head. “Nah, I don’t think so.”

“Why? Are you here with someone?” I look around. I know she’s not; she’s just nervous, but we’ll get her loosened up—in more ways than one.

“No,” she says. “But I already told you, I suck at pool.”

“Ahh,” I wave my hand, dismissing her excuse. The bartender sets our drinks on the counter, so I pay. “That’s no excuse not to have fun. Come on, Penny. Play with us. I bought you a drink, so you owe me,” I give her a playful wink.

She draws in a deep breath and sighs. “All right. I’ll play, but no making fun of me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I say, grabbing the beers off the counter. “As a matter of fact, we’ll help you.”

She follows me over to the pool table where I introduce her to Lucas.

“Nice to meet you,” she says. “Now, your friend Mason invited me to play even though I told him I suck at it, but he promised the two of you will help me.”

“Absolutely,” Lucas says to her. “You’re in good hands here. We’ll show you all the moves.”

Lucas and I grin at each other as she chalks up the end of her pool stick. She has no clue what kind of hands she’s in, but he didn’t lie. We are good—at everything. Judging by the look of her body, I’d say she’s good at a few things herself.

“So,” she says, sweeping her hair away from her face. “Who goes first?”

“Ladies first,” Lucas says.

“Yes, ladies first,” I agree with him. “Ladies always cum first.”

My comment goes over her head, but Lucas gets it, and we both laugh.

“I’m not an idiot, I caught that,” she says.

“Well, it’s true. When a woman’s with us, we always make sure she cums first.”