Playing With Fire

The Pool Hall

It was early, I always woke up early. My head was hazy but nothing too bad for drinking freely with Zoe. I sat at my dresser and brushed my hair, putting a braid in the front of it, but allowing the rest to fall in loose waves. I applied makeup to cover the slight bruising around my lip and cheek. I pulled my black skinny jeans out of the cupboard and a purple vest top that clung to my stomach. I grabbed my purple flats out of my wardrobe and checked myself in my full-length mirror.

Downstairs I quickly ate some toast and some orange juice, I changed from my clutch handbag from last night to my big black handbag. I checked I had everything phone, purse, perfume, keys, makeup case- just in case I need to reapply- and my scissor pouch. I was ready to go.

Liam stumbled his way around the kitchen, his dark blonde hair was messy and his normally bright blue eyes were weary and closed as he yawned.

"I hate 7:15 on a Saturday morning." He said as he grabbed his car keys, and we both left the house. We walked to his little mini which was parked in the garages around the back of the cul-de-sac. I sat in the front with him. Every Saturday someone always went to the bar to start the clean-up from a Friday ready for a Saturday today's turn was Liam, my lovable cousin. He has lived with us since his mum died when he was three months, she had cancer. Aaron was only a year ahead of me, and I considered him my brother.

We drove silently with only the music that he had in the car. Liam was not a morning person. The total opposite to me. He murmured a goodbye as he dropped me off outside of the salon.

I loved where I worked. Hair by Gail was a salon that is well known in the town. I was a stylist, nearly completing my final year. This salon used to house a team of ten stylists. But, as many salons times changed, people moved on but it meant I was trained faster to keep up with the clients.

I stood in the cold salon, holding a hot mug of coffee looking over the busy Saturday diary as the door swung open.

"Good Morning!" Chris sang as he walked in and walked over to the desk standing beside me to look at his column.

"Damn, busy again I wanted an hour to get my nails done," he laughed, as he walked into the staff room and I heard him make himself a cuppa. "And whoever put that perm in with me is going to have to feel the wrath of Christian Payne if I don't get out of here on time because it takes me that long to wind the buggers!" I couldn't help but laugh at his ranting. "Did you and Zoe have a goodnight last night?" He walked back out and stood next to the heater near the centre wall.

"Yeah, it was good until I bumped into Ryan bloody Miller." I sipped my mug looking at him.

"Oh, what did that little Prick have to say for himself?" Chris rolled his eyes. Chris was one of the voices that told me Ryan Miller was no good. A voice I didn't listen to.

"Not a lot," I shrugged as I turned and looked down at the book.

"Yeah, but his fists did!" He said as he walked over to me and put his perfectly manicured hand on my face and looked at my face he had me sussed.

"Oh, baby girl," he tutted."What did he do to you?" his eyes were hard and angry, but I didn't say anything I didn't need to. "Well, he's going to feel the reason he shouldn't mess with a hairdresser." I watched as Chris reached into his hip pouch and pulled out his expensive pair of scissors.

"Chris," I moaned, he put the scissors away. "It got sorted, he hit me once, and was interrupted by these guys Adam and Damien," I explained, he raised an eyebrow.

"As in Adam Anderson and Damien Johnston." He pressed.

Suddenly Adam Anderson, as in Anderson family. I had heard of them, his father owns the club, Escape.

"They saw Ryan hit you, and they rescued you?" He asked.

"I suppose," I shrugged, he looked confused but then smiled. "Look Chris don't tell Zoe she will freak out this happened when I told her I was meeting Marc," I explained.

"Okay, your secret is safe." He winked as the phone rang and I answered it with a frantic Mrs Dunham on the phone saying how she had to have her cat put to sleep and she had to cancel her appointment.

"Well Mr Payne," I said as I put down the phone, and looked at him."Your perm has cancelled." He dropped to this knees and raised up his hands.

"There is a hairdressing god!" He cried out as he looked up at the ceiling.

"And she has rebooked on Friday and I have put her in with me as I know how much you hate perming." I laughed as I rubbed out Mrs Dunham's appointment today, He jumped up and cuddled me.

"Ha-ha, you are a hairdressing angel!" He beamed as Zoe and her mum Gail walked into the salon. Zoe looked rough.

"Good morning guys!" Gail beamed as she walked over the appointment book and Zoe wandered off to the staffroom. "Ah nice and busy everybody." She said as the door opened as Laura our apprentice walked in with Alana our new Saturday girl following her. "Just Lizzy left to come in at nine," Gail said as she walked off to the staffroom to put her bag away.

The salon was in full swing by 10 am, I had been busy since 8 am. Lizzy was in and the whole team were working hard, including a hungover Zoe. The salon was always busy on a Saturday and everyone knew everyone which made the conversations and gossip so interesting.

It was 12 o clock and even though I didn't have a scheduled lunch I had managed to work faster than normal to squeeze half an hour in. I sat with a pasta I had gotten Alana to get for me. One of my clients Christine was sitting with colour on her head and I sat reading a magazine.

"Did you get home okay last night?" Zoe asked as she walked in and put a colour bowl in the sink and opened the fridge to pull out her sandwich and sat beside me.

"Fine, how was the rest of your night?" I asked before I took a bite of my pasta.

"Fab, actually I met a guy his name is Danny and he worked in that club." she smiled as she spoke, Zoe blushing over a guy this was new.

My phone vibrated as she spoke of how he was the guy behind the bar and the pair hit it off. It was a text message from Ethan.

"Who's that?" Zoe asked me, I smiled at the message."Ah, Ethan?"

She guessed right, my best friend and a close friend to Zoe herself.

"Yeah he's in the area this weekend wants to know if we want to go and play pool after work," I said Zoe nodded as she put her sandwich in her mouth.

"Did I hear the words pool and Ethan?" Chris sang as he walked into the room and went to his bag and pulled out a salad.

"Yeah, he wants to play pool if you're up for it," I said to him just before I called for Laura the junior to take my client to get shampooed at the basin.

"Of course I'm up for it, I love pool!" He beamed. I smiled at the thought of some of the gang back together again, even though most worked away, or had family young or at university.

The rest of the day flew by very quickly, colours went on, colours came off and cuts were done just as fast as Alana and Laura were shampooing.

The last of the clients left the salon just before 4 pm and I began to pack up getting ready to head straight to the pool hall. My phone sang to let me know of a text from Ethan.

"Hey, I have a table waiting, and drinks all round." I smiled at the thought of seeing Ethan again.

"Come on Sophie let's play some pool." Zoe beamed excitedly as we headed towards her car.

Zach's pool hall was above an Indian restaurant, it was beyond the centre of town, and beyond the street of bars and more refined restaurants. We climbed the staircase to the pool hall. There were about fifteen pool tables, to the far right was a scattering of tables and chairs with a TV in the corner with sports channels on constantly. To the left was a bar manned by Zach himself. A couple of the tables had a couple of men some familiar some not so.

"Sophie!" Ethan waved from one of the stools beside a table ready for the break, I ran up to him as he got off the stool and hugged me. Then he greeted the others in pretty much the same way.

"Oh hell no!" Zach shouted from the bar as he looked at the group. "Ethan I said yes to booze, but if I had known Star was coming in I would have said no."

He said as he brought over a tray of drinks anyway. He put the tray on the high table to greeted me with a friendly hug.

"Long time no see Star how you been?" He asked me using my nickname, I smiled and nodded.

"I'm fine, just been busy," I replied, he laughed and walked to the bar where a lad wanted serving. Ethan handed out the drinks, he gave Chris a Gin and Tonic Zoe got her Vodka and coke after she explained we would get buses home and she goes back for her car tomorrow.

"Do you drink something a little bit more refined?" Ethan asked as he handed me a bottle of Lager, I laughed as I took the drink.

"I'm in a rundown pool hall, above an Indian restaurant this is about as refined as I get." I laughed, and we clinked our bottles together. We split into two teams Chris and Zoe and me and Ethan.

"It doesn't matter who's playing if you're on Star's team you're sure of a win." Zach laughed as Ethan coin tossed between himself and Chris, Chris won and played the break and I followed managing to pot a stripe ball followed by a second and then missed potting a third.

We were getting rowdier as the drinks kept flowing and the pool room began to play against me and Ethan.

"The golden duo are back." Zoe nudged me as Ethan took a shot at potting a ball leaving only the black left for us to pot.

I leaned over and took my final shot and won it, like all the other games. Leaving the guys who had challenged us defeated. I high fived Ethan who was pleased to be back with us.

"Well played." I heard a familiar voice behind me, I turned to see his sparkling emerald eyes looking at me and something inside me churned as I faced Adam Anderson again.