Page 40 of Homewrecker


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When Rhett leaves to get another round of beers for the table, I allow myself to twist in my seat and look over at Seth again. He's leaning on his pool stick, watching his friend set up for a shot. He's with a guy I've never seen before, someone slightly shorter and fairer than Seth, and handsome in a more conventional way. There's a woman playing pool with him, too, and I'm pretty sure she's the one I saw getting out of the ambulance the other day.

I stare at Seth's side profile, which allows me to see that his nose is too big, his face is too long and he's not attractive after all. In fact, there's nothing to like about him, not even those broad shoulders and that nice, full bottom lip that's begging to be bitten. I bite my own lip instead as a reminder that I need to repress such thoughts. Down, girl.

He's brooding about something, as usual, although maybe that's just his permanent pensive expression. He lifts his beer bottle to his lips, turns his face to the side, and we make eye contact again. I suck in my breath and force myself not to look away. There's no reason to be embarrassed. He's the one who came here tonight, knowing I'd be here with Rhett.

Before I think it through, I'm on my feet, crossing the room toward the pool tables, my eyes still connected to his. My legs feel shaky and numb after sitting on that high barstool for so long or maybe it's the intensity of his gaze that's causing this reaction. He's got one hand in his pocket and the other on the pool cue, watching me with a completely unreadable expression.

"Wow, funny seeing you here." I force my face to relax because I'm fairly sure my eyeballs are popping out and my mouth is snarling. I am coming unhinged. I'm glad I wore sandals with a heel because it puts me closer to his eye level, although he still has about five inches on me.

"Not especially," he says. "There are only a few bars in this town. And I already told you I was meeting up with friends here."

"No, you didn't say you would be at Ricky's. Do you hang out here frequently or just when you know I'm going to be here?"

I sound ridiculous—he did say he had plans tonight—but I can't stop myself. In the immortal words of Ozzy Osborne, I'm going off the rails on a crazy train.

Seth narrows his eyes. "You think I came here tonight because I knew you'd be here?"

"Obviously."

He turns to his female friend.

"Jenny, when do we meet here to play pool?"

She leans on her pool stick and looks back and forth between us, like she isn't sure what answer he wants her to give.

"Pretty much every Saturday night."

"Seth knew I'd be here tonight," I tell her. "And it's funny he didn't mention he would be here, too. Especially when my dad asked him to give me a ride over here."

"And you turned down that ride," Seth reminds me.

The guy playing pool with them tells Jenny it's her turn at the table, then sticks his hand out to me.

"I'm Eli."

Eli has dirty blond hair, green eyes and a charming smile.

"Hey, I'm Andie. Seth's future stepsister."

Eli gives Seth a confused look, then turns back to me. "Nice to meet you, Andie."

Seth shakes his head. "We're not related."

I lean back on the pool table and attempt to look at him in a casual way. "But we will be when Renata and Dad get married."

"Not really," Seth says. "Because Renata isn't my biological mother, but whatever."

Jenny rejoins us after taking her shot and nods at the table. "You wanna play pool with us?"

Seth glances at her with surprise, like he can't believe she issued me an invitation. Clearly, he just wants to glower at me from afar. I smile slowly, relishing this opportunity to kick his ass.

"Sure, I'd love to. As long as I'm not on Seth's team. We don't play nicely together."

Jenny and Eli laugh, but Seth doesn't. He's the only one who knows I'm dead serious.

"You and I can be a team," Jenny says. "If you don't mind having me as a partner. I'm not good."

"Shouldn't you get back to your date though?" Seth says through gritted teeth.