“I didn’t mean to disturb you then.” Luca tried not to stare at Vic’s smooth chest and lost.
“Well, you came here for a reason.” Vic cocked his mouth to the side and leaned against the doorframe.
“I just want to know if…” Luca waved a hand in the direction of the bar. “If that offer to go shoot pool was still open.”
“Absolutely. Give me five minutes.” Vic disappeared back inside, and Luca shoved his hands in his pockets. A man drove up in a pickup truck. A woman herded her five kids from a room on the corner into an ancient sedan with more Bondo than actual metal.
Vic stumbled out his room, hopping on one foot and fighting to cram the other one into a black tennis shoe. “Okay, I’m ready.” He grinned, and Luca smiled too.
They walked over to the bar. Vic held open the door.
Country music grated the air. Women in jean shorts and revealing tops served people at both tables and the bar. On one side of the large room a dance floor and a live band. On the other, more tables and a doorway into a neighboring room.
Pool balls clacked. Somehow the sound mixed smoothly with the music.
“C’mon.” Vic led the way.
There was a table open over in the corner. Luca picked up a pool stick. “You play here a lot?”
“Not really. When I do, it’s usually by myself. Otherwise, I get hustled.”
“Why would someone do that?”
Vic laughed. “Because they’re bored, because they can, who knows?” He racked the balls. “You want to break?”
“No, you go first.” Luca had seen pool played on TV, and he’d played it online. But he’d never held a cue stick.
Vic positioned the balls and removed the rack. He chalked the end of his stick, then aimed for the cue ball. One hard hit sent it careening into the triangle of object balls. One with a green stripe rolled into a side pocket.
“Guess I’m stripes.” Vic made another shot and sank another ball.
“I thought you said you were bad at this game.”
“Maybe you’re a good luck charm.” He took the shot, and the ball clipped the corner.
“Sorry to disappoint.” Luca stepped up to the table. He lined up his stick and drove the cue ball into a solid orange. It spun off to the side and by some chance made it into a side pocket.
Vic arched an eyebrow. “You’re not hustling me, are you?”
“What? No. I’ve never even played. I mean, not real pool. I’ve played it on a console.” Luca snapped his mouth shut before something even more pathetic fell out.
“Your shot.”
Luca sank another ball.
“I’m starting to doubt you.”
“It’s beginners’ luck, I swear.” Luca smacked the cue ball. It popped up and over the edge.
Vic caught it.
Luca put the stick aside. “Sorry.”
“You did that on purpose.” Vic laughed.
“No, I swear, it was a total accident.”
Vic walked over and positioned the cue ball. “Do you mind if I ask where you’re from?”