A Challenger Approaches
Sam hit the cue ball, sending it ricocheting off the side, where it nudged one of Sebastian’s solids into the back right pocket.
“Man, I don’t even have to play to beat you,” Sebastian remarked.
“You should have listened to Abigail,” said a voice from the doorway.
Oh no, not her.
“Al, you made it! Wanna play against me after Sam loses in a few minutes?”
“She’s not going to play winner?” Sam butted in.
“She’s not going to play the reigning champ first; we’re not hazing her,” Abigail retorted. Al laughed, her eyes closing as she did so. Sebastian took that moment to shoot Abigail a look, but she looked at the ceiling instead. Did she invite the new girl before, or after their talk the other day?
“How long has Sebastian gone undefeated?” He tensed for a moment at the sound of his name in a voice not yet familiar.
“We still haven’t beat him. I can beat Sam handily, but Seb’s on another level.”
“Well now I have to get good at this game,” Al said, a glint in her eyes.
“Is that so?” Sebastian asked, taking her smirk as a challenge.
“Count your days numbered, Emo Boi,” she answered, staring directly into his eyes.
“You’re gonna eat those words, New Girl,” he said as he took his shot, pocketing the four-ball.
-
Sebastian pretended to be more interested in his conversation with Sam than he was in observing Al. For all her big talk, she had only actually played pool a few times before. As Abigail and Al’s game went on, and as her drink emptied, she grew more comfortable, and louder. She laughed at some of her mistakes, and cursed at the cue ball other times. It was difficult to believe that this was the same meek girl he had met at the beginning of the week.
Their pool game was nearing its end. Al was taking off her flannel. Sam was asking a question. Al was tying her flannel around her waistband. Sam's voice was going off again. Al was bending forward to take her shot. Sam’s fingers were snapping in front of Sebastian’s face.
“Get your hand out of my face, Sam.”
“Sebastian,” was all Sam said back, but the look on his face said enough; he had caught Sebastian staring.
“I need a cigarette,” he muttered, getting up. Any excuse to get out of that room. He could feel Al’s eyes on him as he left.
Sebastian rolled down his sleeves to protect him from the night’s chill as he stepped out from the saloon.
Get a hold of yourself.
He put a cigarette between his lips and lit it. The heat from the lighter was a welcome feeling. Since when did he stare at girls? He knew the answer to that, but he didn’t want to think about her. He didn’t want to think about the new ‘her’ either, for that matter.
--
It was a close game, but in the end Al lost.
“Not bad, for a newbie,” Abigail told her.
“Thanks, I’m gonna need more practice if I want to beat the champ, though,” Al replied, walking over to the pool cue rack.
“I’ll try to teach you, but like I said, I still haven’t beaten him myself.”
“Prepare to get beaten again, then,” Sebastian said, walking back in from his cigarette break. He grabbed his pool cue from the rack, where Al was still standing. She blushed lightly at the proximity, but he didn’t look at her for even half a second. That doesn’t mean anything; he didn’t have a reason to look at me, Al told herself.
Al stayed by the table as she watched the game between Abigail and Sebastian unfold. Abigail wasn’t losing quite as pathetically as Sam had, but she was definitely losing. Al studied how the two played, trying to learn tricks to use next time. Sebastian was about to take his shot at the eight-ball when he looked up at Al and said, “Enjoying the show?”
He had not looked at her once since he came back inside, and the sudden eye contact sent chills down Al’s spine. “I’m just looking for your weakness,” she replied, cheeks burning, trying to sound more confident than she felt. Cocky bastard.
“I think I’ve figured out what his weakness is,” Sam said from the couch. Sebastian shot him a look that could kill. Al looked at Abigail, but she looked just as confused as Al felt.
-
There was just enough time left in the night for Al to play against Sam. Abigail switched to giving Al advice, giving up on Sam. Al realized during the last game that Sam and Abigail both had a way of making her feel like she already had friends, but a concern still nagged at her about her standing with Sebastian. She had noticed that he was more relaxed before she had joined them, and the times he spoke were much more often to the two people he already knew than to her.
As the four of them left the saloon for the night, Al looked over at Sebastian. She wanted to say something, in some vain hope to fully become a part of their group. The other two had seemed to take to her immediately, but she still couldn’t figure this one out.
“Um... need something?”
Shit, I stared too long again.
“I’m going to find that weakness of yours, even if Sam won’t share.”
Did I just threaten him??
“Have fun with that,” he replied sarcastically. Something was off, though. Was he nervous? “Night guys. I’ve got more work to do this weekend,” he said, mainly to Abigail and Sam, before heading in the direction of the mountains.
“This is going to be entertaining as hell,” Sam said once Sebastian was out of earshot.
“You’re gonna drive me crazy by not telling me,” Al said, almost pleading.
“You aren’t the only one being driven crazy,” he replied.
“What does that mean?!”