She blushes and looks down at the beer in her hands.
"Hailey's never really been a drinker," Remy says, oblivious to the tension in her sister's shoulders. "Although, it was fun seeing you let loose the other night with Lucy. Why'd you drink then but not before?"
Hailey's smile is tight, and I wonder how Remy can't see it for what it is. "You know me, I act older than I am. The belligerently drunk and stupid phase never appealed to me."
Remy just shrugs and takes another swig of her beer. "I always thought those stupid days were fun."
"Howwasthe other night?" I ask instead, trying to move us to a safer topic. "Did you have fun?"
Hailey shines a grateful smile at me. "It was a lot of fun. Drinks were good, music was good, and Lucy was fun too, until she found her booty for the night."
I chuckle, knowing the crazy game Lucy has with women. I'm not surprised at all that she ditched girls' night for some action.
"Speak of the devil," Remy mutters, fixated on her phone. She looks up at us with an apology already written in her eyes. "I have to go. Lucy's got some kind of lady crisis. Can we raincheck? I really do want to have a night with just the three of us."
I wave her away and reach for my beer. "Just go. We'll do it another time."
She shoots her sister a guilty look, but Hailey smiles and tells her, "We're fine. Go."
Remy sighs but eventually gives us a nod and walks out of the bar.
I turn to Hailey, a grin slowly stretching across my face. "So," I start, "it's just you and me, baby girl. What're we doing tonight?"
She gives me a smile that I haven't seen in so long.God, I missed her smile. I missed seeing her happy.
"I have an idea," she says with a mischievous sparkle in her eye.
* * *
"Okay, at this point, I feel like I should get a Mulligan or something," I grumble, glaring at the pool table that has yet to give me a win against this math genius of a woman.
Hailey's tinkling laugh rings across the bar. Several men turn to look at her, but it only takes one glare from me before they know to stop looking. She's too damn pretty for her own good. And the worst part is, she doesn't even realize the effect she has on people.
"Just admit you suck at pool." She chuckles, leaning forward onto the pool stick.
I shake my head in defiance. "I do not. You just... keep getting lucky." I shake my head again, this time in confusion. "Okay, seriously, how did you get so good? You were the one that sucked the last time we played."
"After you and Remy left for college, I spent all my time at the Bensons’, playing pool with Katie. It was the only thing that made me feel better about missing you guys. And at least then I actually got a turn." She glares pointedly at me, at which I chuckle and hold my hands up in surrender.
"That was your sister's fault, not mine. I'll bet she was competitive even as a toddler, taking all the toys from the kids and keeping them for her own evil games. Blame her for never getting a turn. I had nothing to do with it." I look around the bar for a game I might actually have a shot at winning. I might not be as competitive as Remy, but I'm not exactly happy about losing four straight games of pool.
My eyes land on the dart board. "Let's play a game of darts. Surely, they didn't remind you of us?" I tease with a grin.
Hailey shudders and finishes the rest of her beer. "Not unless you almost take my toes out like Remy that one year. I don't think I've played since."
I nod. "Good. Darts it is, then."
Hailey rolls her eyes, but I see a smile teasing her lips. A feeling of satisfaction washes over me at the sight. She looks so much better now than she did even two weeks ago. She seems... like herself. It feels like I'm watching her come into her own again.
I wave our waitress down and order two more beers, then make my way over to the dart board. Thankfully, there's no one around us because Hailey's right: we're all notorious for sucking at this game.
I hand her the red darts as I line up for a practice throw. "So how is everything?" I ask casually. Though I know she knows exactly what I'm gearing up for.
She sighs, but I think even that is a happy sigh. "Things are great," she answers. "I feel bad moving in on Remy's space, but it's nice to be living with her again. I feel like I can finally breathe. Even school is going better lately."
"I'm glad to hear that," I comment, eyeing the three blue darts that are on opposite ends of the board and as far away from the bull's-eye as can be.At least they made it on the board?"I know you were worried about this semester because of that statistics class. Let me know if you need any help; either Tristan or I could go over it with you."
She shakes her head with a small smile. "It's still so weird to think of Tristan as a brainiac. I never would've guessed."