Crossfire

Chapter 3

The light-blonde haired boy c****d an eyebrow as his blue eyes trailed down my body and then back up again to my face. A corner of his mouth lifted up in a lopsided grin and he rubbed the bottom of his chin with one hand as if he was inspecting me. I thought it was odd and honestly quite rude.

"Is that so?" Cason asked and returned his gaze to Xander. "He's a good looking one."

Xander grinned and slung an arm around my shoulder, lazily leaning into me. I stumbled a bit to the side and regained my balance as I supported his weight.

"That's right," Xander said and I looked around at the rest of his friends who came over once they realized who had returned.

Many of them sported grins and welcoming smiles for the friend they hadn't seen since high school. I guessed it must've been bittersweet for Xander to see them again but I couldn't relate. High school had been a miserable time for me.

"How's your daughter?" Cason asked as he stood up, tipping his beer down his throat.

Xander removed his arm and shrugged his shoulders.

"She's great," he replied and turned his attention to the game of pool that was being played by a few of his buddies. I followed him to the table and Cason did too.

Cason was a good-looking guy if I was being completely honest and he hadn't really stopped smiling since we got here. I assumed that the two must've been close in high school by the way Cason seemed incapable of removing his eyes from Xander.

Anyway, when the three of us reached the table, the game being played ended and we were handed pool sticks. Xander looked at us and said, "Let's play doubles. Losers pay for drinks."

"Deal," Cason replied and I silently agreed. I still wasn't feeling too comfortable but Xander stood by my side and I relaxed a little.

Xander called over one of his buddies to join us and we made teams.

Somehow, however, I ended up on the opposite team as my boyfriend.

And Cason ended up on the same team as him.

I sighed and introduced myself to Xander's other friend who was on my team and he told me his name was Rocco. He was a lanky fellow with dark hair and freckles and had a pleasant personality from what I could tell from the brief conversation we shared. I told him I wasn't great at pool and we would probably be the ones to buy drinks but he giggled and told me he wasn't skilled either.

It was decided that Rocco would break and he slowly positioned his stick in the direction he wanted to and carefully aimed. He released with force and the balls broke with a loud clank, a solid colored ball falling into a hole first.

"Solids," Rocco told me and took his turn again. I quietly praised him as I felt I should and waited for Xander to take his turn.

He got eye-level with the table and observed his best option for where he should strike. Cason laughed at him and said, "Quit pretending you're some kind of pro, Xander. We both know you're not good."

"Shut up," Xander joked and placed the stick between his two fingers. Cason looked over at his finger positioning and shook his head in disapproval.

"Not like that," Cason said and pushed Xander's palm flat on the edge of the table. He lifted Xander's thumb lightly and placed the stick in between Xander's thumb and pointer finger. I watched the close proximity the two were in and as much as I want to say it didn't bother me, it did.

"Try that," Cason said and took a step back. Xander listened and with Cason's tip, he was able to land a striped-colored ball into a hole. He smiled and gave Cason a high five and I breathed out before it was my turn to attempt to hit a ball.

I knew I wasn't going to be able to make one in so my only goal was to at least make contact with a solid-colored ball. I copied the way Cason had told Xander to hold the stick and pointed it at the cue ball.

I pulled it back and then pushed it forward but I hit the side of the cue ball and it rolled away from the ball I had wanted it to.

It didn't even hit any ball for that matter. I cursed but felt a light pat on my back from Rocco who offered a grin and said, "Don't worry about it."

I wasn't worried about it, though. I was uneasy about something else but I didn't like feeling paranoid so I pushed the thoughts away and continued the match.

It was a short game because soon enough, Cason had hit the eight ball in and Rocco and I lost.

As a result, we had to pay for Xander and Cason's drinks.

I bought my own as well and the four of us joined the group once again. We all sat around and I listened to the stories they told, unable to share any of my own. I couldn't relate to them but I enjoyed hearing about how Xander was in high school.

They said he was quieter and a little shy which I had trouble believing. He was at the top of his class and always spent his time studying like Drey does now, and was there for anyone who needed him. The stories were interesting and I laughed at the ones they told about Rocco. He was an interesting guy and reminded me of Drey.

But then, someone said something that caused a breath to catch in my throat and Xander shook his head.

"I always thought Cason and Xander would've ended up together."