tomorrow.”
Jennifer swung her arm
around Alicia, leaning a little. “For someone who’s rumoured to
have an army doing her bidding you seem incredibly short
staffed.”
“ Yeah, my
entourage of one – she’s so good they should clone her or
something.”
Carl almost choked on his
beer. “I don’t think the world can cope with more than one.” He
clapped his hands together to demonstrate a collision. “She’s a
whirlwind, there’s no stopping her when she sets her mind to
something. It’ll be fun tomorrow, that’s for sure. Dougie’s got a
crush on her.”
The first assistant
director was usually the senior member of the film crew and pretty
scary by most people’s standards. He was putty in Sarah’s
hands.
“ Hey, Alicia,
we’re having a game of pool, do you want in?” Tim shouted across to
them.
“ I’m in.” She
sent an apologetic look to Carl and Jennifer.
“ Watch her,
she’s a hustler,” Carl shouted across.
“ Do you want
in too?”
He pulled Jennifer by the
arm, giving her no choice. “I’m on Al’s team.”
Brad fell into step
behind her, listening intently to the noise on his
two-way.
The time it took to
choose the teams was long enough for an actual game. Carl was the
only one who knew about the hours Alicia had spent in Gray’s game
room. She’d been taught by a pro. Still, it was a surprise when
they appointed her captain of the first team. Tim was chosen to
captain the second, mainly because everyone else
refused.
Brad agreed with some
reluctance to even the teams out. He was on the opposing side, and
it became a two-man match, though Alicia reluctantly accepted that
he was playing a little better than she was. It wasn’t easy to claw
it back.
“ You’re
toast, Morgan,” she teased when they came to the deciding
match.
Brad grinned at her,
enjoying a little healthy competition. “Game on.”
He watched her move
around the table as she prepared to break. He was impressed by her
skills, the way she controlled the cue with quiet competency. It
had been a surprising challenge to play against her. He wanted to
prolong the game just so he could see the laughter in her face –
watch it light up when she made the shot.
But she surprised him
again. From the first thwack of the cue ball he began to suspect
he’d been duped. She let out a whoop when a striped ball shot into
the top-right pocket exactly where she’d intended it to go. A few
others joined it.
“ Ah, oh,”
Carl said, making a sign of the cross. “Unless she misses, my
friend, you can kiss the game goodbye.”
Brad looked at the table
and saw immediately he’d been right – this was her party trick. He
didn’t doubt she could do it. Her confidence was evident in the way
she was leaning on the cue, calculating the best angle for her next
shot. The slight nod to punctuate an internal discussion was
incredibly sexy.
She knew he was watching
her before she turned in his direction. She always knew.
When their eyes met, she
felt an excitement that had nothing to do with her love of the
game. For a split second, his expression was open and in it, she
could see the unbanked desire. Then it was gone, trapped behind the
shutters of his self-control.
She dropped her eyes to
the table, feeling a tug of disappointment. There were six shots
left, including black. She usually savoured this part, milked it a
little, but Brad was putting her nerves on edge. The last thing she
needed was to overthink the shot.
She shut out the sounds
around her and lined up the cue. The angle of the ball was perfect.
No doubt about it, it was going in. The rest followed one after the
other, earning a cheer from the crowd.
“ Yes!” Carl
came forward to reward her with a high-five. She gave him a victory
hug instead.
“ Great game,
everyone,” she said, giving Brad a sheepish look.
“ Let’s rack
em up for another round.” Tim was already digging for
change.
Alicia shook her head.
“You guys play. That’s all the
Jennifer swung her arm
around Alicia, leaning a little. “For someone who’s rumoured to
have an army doing her bidding you seem incredibly short
staffed.”
“ Yeah, my
entourage of one – she’s so good they should clone her or
something.”
Carl almost choked on his
beer. “I don’t think the world can cope with more than one.” He
clapped his hands together to demonstrate a collision. “She’s a
whirlwind, there’s no stopping her when she sets her mind to
something. It’ll be fun tomorrow, that’s for sure. Dougie’s got a
crush on her.”
The first assistant
director was usually the senior member of the film crew and pretty
scary by most people’s standards. He was putty in Sarah’s
hands.
“ Hey, Alicia,
we’re having a game of pool, do you want in?” Tim shouted across to
them.
“ I’m in.” She
sent an apologetic look to Carl and Jennifer.
“ Watch her,
she’s a hustler,” Carl shouted across.
“ Do you want
in too?”
He pulled Jennifer by the
arm, giving her no choice. “I’m on Al’s team.”
Brad fell into step
behind her, listening intently to the noise on his
two-way.
The time it took to
choose the teams was long enough for an actual game. Carl was the
only one who knew about the hours Alicia had spent in Gray’s game
room. She’d been taught by a pro. Still, it was a surprise when
they appointed her captain of the first team. Tim was chosen to
captain the second, mainly because everyone else
refused.
Brad agreed with some
reluctance to even the teams out. He was on the opposing side, and
it became a two-man match, though Alicia reluctantly accepted that
he was playing a little better than she was. It wasn’t easy to claw
it back.
“ You’re
toast, Morgan,” she teased when they came to the deciding
match.
Brad grinned at her,
enjoying a little healthy competition. “Game on.”
He watched her move
around the table as she prepared to break. He was impressed by her
skills, the way she controlled the cue with quiet competency. It
had been a surprising challenge to play against her. He wanted to
prolong the game just so he could see the laughter in her face –
watch it light up when she made the shot.
But she surprised him
again. From the first thwack of the cue ball he began to suspect
he’d been duped. She let out a whoop when a striped ball shot into
the top-right pocket exactly where she’d intended it to go. A few
others joined it.
“ Ah, oh,”
Carl said, making a sign of the cross. “Unless she misses, my
friend, you can kiss the game goodbye.”
Brad looked at the table
and saw immediately he’d been right – this was her party trick. He
didn’t doubt she could do it. Her confidence was evident in the way
she was leaning on the cue, calculating the best angle for her next
shot. The slight nod to punctuate an internal discussion was
incredibly sexy.
She knew he was watching
her before she turned in his direction. She always knew.
When their eyes met, she
felt an excitement that had nothing to do with her love of the
game. For a split second, his expression was open and in it, she
could see the unbanked desire. Then it was gone, trapped behind the
shutters of his self-control.
She dropped her eyes to
the table, feeling a tug of disappointment. There were six shots
left, including black. She usually savoured this part, milked it a
little, but Brad was putting her nerves on edge. The last thing she
needed was to overthink the shot.
She shut out the sounds
around her and lined up the cue. The angle of the ball was perfect.
No doubt about it, it was going in. The rest followed one after the
other, earning a cheer from the crowd.
“ Yes!” Carl
came forward to reward her with a high-five. She gave him a victory
hug instead.
“ Great game,
everyone,” she said, giving Brad a sheepish look.
“ Let’s rack
em up for another round.” Tim was already digging for
change.
Alicia shook her head.
“You guys play. That’s all the
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