*A Friends to Enemies to Lovers Romance*
Madalynn Reese never expected to see Liam Tucker again. Not after all of these years, and not after he broke all of their promises. But when she heads off to her dream college and runs into her ex-childhood b...
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"7 ball, corner pocket." I slid the stick slowly back and forth through my fingers until I was ready to make the shot. Pulling back, I hit the solid 4 which slammed into the solid 7 with a loud crack, landing it in the corner pocket.
I stood up, leaning some of my weight on my cue stick, and smiled. So far, the game was close to even. Except I had landed two more of my balls in than Liam had. But I knew my lead wouldn't last long. I hated to admit it, but he was really good.
He raised an eyebrow at me, holding on to his stick with one hand and leaning on the table with the other, causing his shirt sleeve to rise up over his bicep where his half-sleeved tattoo showed. I had been eyeing it most of the game.
His tattoo.
Not his bicep.
Yep.
It was an intricate black and white design of a child climbing a set of stairs that led up to a broken clock. It was beautiful, yet heartbreaking. I found myself struggling to not reach out and trace it.
He didn't say anything except his next called shot as he surveyed the remaining balls. We weren't playing until one of us missed, instead just taking turns either way. He made, not one, but two of his striped balls, managing to call both.
"What's the matter? Realizing you're going to lose to a Neanderthal? How exactly does that feel?"
Ignoring his comment momentarily, I called my shot. Bending down to take it, I realized I needed a better angle. I walked the table, pushing Liam out of the way with my side. He moved over but only slightly as he looked down on me lining up my shot, leaning partially down with his hand placed next to my arm.
His closeness created every nerve in my body to crackle with this weird energy as if they were shooting off sparks and burning me in the process. I tried my best to ignore the feeling and focused on my determination to beat him. Unfortunately, I missed my shot.
I stood up, only inches from him now. His lips were pulled in a smug grin as if he had already won.
"I'll let you know if that ever happens. Game's not over yet, Caveman."
His eyes continued to bore into me as he wore that cocky smirk of his. So far, our pool game consisted of called shots, narrowed stares, and insults. Actual conversation was apparently unheard of to Liam.
I looked over to the wall where Aaron stood talking to Kenzie and another guy I recognized from campus. Kenzie was leaning up and whispering something in his ear while him and Aaron laughed. I looked back to Liam who had picked up his beer bottle sitting on the side of the pool table and took a swig.
"Looks like your girlfriend is keeping herself entertained."
He chose not to follow my gaze, and instead, brought the beer back to his lips, holding my stare over the top of the bottle as he took a drink, before placing it down next to my hand. I tried not to notice the glistening of his lips from the drink he just took, as I forced myself to focus on his eyes.
