Choosing Happy

Chapter Eight

We wander around the mall longer than we need to. Our shopping is done and we've made two complete circuits when I finally lead Joey back out toward my truck. "You ready to head back?"

"Not really." His sweet smile and bright blue eyes remind me of Caleb and I want to protect him even more. Joey knows we could be walking into a time bomb once we get back to my house. The end of the weekend means the beginning of a potentially deadly reality.

"You got anything in mind?" I nudge his shoulder as we walk, careful not to touch his wounds.

"Can you play pool?" he asks.

"I can." I eye him suspiciously. "You?"

He just shrugs and tries to keep his lips from pulling up in the corners. Okay, this kid has a terrible poker face. At least I know he can't lie.

"Pool it is."

I drive us straight to Ray's. It's early but they open for lunch on the weekend so there're a handful of people inside and Caleb is behind the bar.

"Hey, big guy." Caleb nods to me. "Don't usually see you in here during the day."

"Hey, kid. Rach is covering for me this weekend." I look toward Joey. "You want a beer?"

"A Coke would be good."

Looking back to Caleb, I order two Cokes and point toward the tables in the back. "We'll be playing."

Caleb nods and grabs a few glasses. "I'll bring 'em out in a minute."

I lead Joey to the back room and grab a stick. He stretches his arms over his head then leans to each side like he's preparing for a double axel or something. "You got some acrobatic moves I should know about?" I can't wipe the stupid grin off my face even though I know I look like an idiot.

"Eh." He does a little leg bend stretch that makes me laugh out loud. Now I'm not sure if he's seriously this adorable or just trying to mess with me. "I can shoot."

"Tease." Shit, did I say that out loud?

He stills for just a second in front of the rack then chuckles. "You wanna break, big guy?" He says the last part in a high pitched voice like he's mocking Caleb but his grin doesn't shrink. In fact, it seems to get a little bigger as my eyebrow pops up. Is that jealousy he's hinting at?

I wave toward the racked balls. "By all means, show me what you've got, scratch."

Joey leans over the table and lines up his shot. In my mind, I can see his bare ass on display for me to ravish. He releases the stick and every ball moves except the cue ball, which rolls about an inch back and stops while every fucking ball finds a hole to land in. My jaw is slack and Joey looks like he's about to pass out.

"Damn, boy. That was pretty fucking impressive." I hear Caleb slow clapping behind me but I don't even look back. My eyes are locked on Joey's as he takes in his perfect break.

"Did you see that?" he whispers. "You did see that, right?" He looks to me for confirmation that his eyes aren't playing tricks on him.

Okay, maybe he is that damn adorable. "I saw it, little duck."

His grin is the widest I've seen yet and the two dimples he's been hiding finally make an appearance. "I've never done that before."

"Let's see if you can do it again." I reach for one of the Cokes Caleb set on the table behind me and take a drink. "Winner racks."

He quickly gathers all the balls and gets set up for our next game. This time I break first and drop three stripes. Good enough.

That first shot wasn't pure luck. He's actually really good with a stick. I can't help smirking when I imagine him with my stick... Head out of the gutter, old man. This is supposed to be a fun day.