Break, p.30
Break, page 30
“That’s good,” Max says, his voice low and rough, apparently just as affected by the vision of her as I am.
My cock is fully erect at this point, so I give her hands a light squeeze before stepping away. “Try hitting the cue ball so that it travels straight. You want it to go in the same direction as your pool cue. Aim for this part of the ball.” I point to the side of the cue to show her what I’m talking about.
“Okay. Lemme try.” My brow lifts when I hear the slight slur of her words. I eyeball her drink, wondering if the bartender made it stronger than he should have.
Moving to her side, I lean my hip against the table and watch her concentrate, still sliding that damn stick between her fingers slowly. Biting her bottom lip, she slams the tip as hard as she can into the side of the cue ball. It slides off the side and only serves to make the ball spin and roll slightly to the left.
Picking it up, I set it back in front of her. “This time, try to slow it down a bit. You don’t have to hit it as hard as you can. The goal is to give it a solid strike.”
She doesn’t move anything except her head, nodding that she hears me. Lining up her shot, she tries again. She eases up on strength, but the pool cue is shaky and uncontrolled.
Both Vincent and Max give her small pieces of advice to help her adjust, but I can see that she’s getting frustrated that she can’t quite get a handle on it. After she messes up a dozen tries, she jerks up from the table and frowns at it with her hands on her hips. “This is ridiculous. How is it this difficult to whack a ball with a stick?”
Grinning like a loon, Vincent brings her drink with him as he moves to her other side. Snatching it from his hand, she drinks while he studies the table. “You’ll get it. Honestly, once you have the feel, it’ll quickly become second nature. It’s just finding the right position for you that works.”
Mina glares at the pool table, silently drinking until her glass is empty. Finally, she turns to look up at Vincent, whose eyebrows are in his hairline, lips curled into a devious smile. “What?” she asks, taken aback by whatever she’s reading on his face.
“You’re an angry little thing right now. I fucking like it. Just don’t go starting any fights.”
He’s only teasing her, but she looks absolutely affronted. “I would never fight with someone!” Looking up at me, she looks for backup. “I swear, I wouldn’t ever pick a fight with anyone. Am I really acting angry? I’m not angry at all. I’m just frustrated that I’m terrible at pool.”
“Hush, you’re fine,” I reassure her, glaring at Vince. “Can I show you how to do it?”
She looks worried, chewing on that puffy bottom lip I want to suck into my mouth, glancing at Vince like she’s fucked up. “Do you mind? I really want to get it right.”
“Not at all. I’m going to get close, though. Are you okay with that?” I know I was close to her before, but I feel she should know that I’m going to get closer.
Smiling up at me, she blushes and nods her head, giving me permission. So, waving Vince away, I move behind her once again. Leaning down, I press my lips against her ear. “I’m going to move your body. Just relax and let me show you.”
Breathing out a gusty breath, she agrees. “Please, Ethan.”
Placing my hand in the center of her back, between her shoulder blades, I put pressure on her to lean her forward. Her feet immediately widen like I taught her, and I hold back my urge to praise her for listening. Laying against her back, I thread my fingers around hers where they hold the base of the pool cue and then wrap my left hand around hers to rest the stick there. “Keep your fingers loose but controlled. I’m going to do this for you, so you know how it feels.” Because of my size, I’m still able to speak against her head. It gives me the ability to line up the shot with my cheek pressed against hers.
Gripping her right hand a little more firmly, I pull the stick back a few times to make sure my aim is true. Together, our arms snap forward. I smile, reveling in the clack of the tip striking the cue. She jolts slightly from the force, but since I’m practically laying on her, she isn’t able to move far.
I can’t bring myself to move away from her, our breathing and bodies moving together as one. “Did you feel that?”
A tremor runs through her body, and she turns to face me, bringing our lips only an inch apart. “I did… It felt good.”
Normally, I pride myself on the control I have over my body’s reactions, but with her breath fanning over my lips, I can’t hold back.
I only have to move slightly before I’m pressing my lips against hers and kissing her. Her mouth falls open immediately, allowing me access as I slip my tongue alongside hers.
Jesus. My lips are on Mina’s, and nothing has ever felt more right.
Chapter 41
Let’s go
Max
Fuck me. Ethan is making out with Mina while I sit here like a peeping Tom with my mouth hanging open in surprise.
Shooting a quick glance at Vincent to see what he thinks about this, I find I’m not surprised at the way he’s hyper-focused on the two of them. There’s a look of interest and heat written all over him. More importantly, he doesn’t seem bothered that Ethan is kissing her.
I want to keep watching because fuck, it’s hot. I ignore the fact that watching a woman I’m interested in locking lips with someone else is a turn-on, and instead glance around the bar. No one seems to see what’s happening in our little corner of the bar, so I refocus on the pair of them, only to be disappointed when Ethan pulls away.
Mina’s eyes are closed, and it takes her a moment to come back down to earth. When she does, her eyes study Ethan’s expression, then she looks over at Vincent, then me, and they widen almost comically.
Her pool cue clatters to the floor, and her body jerks from the noise. Bending over, she picks it up quickly, and is unsteady as she straightens back upright. Her hands are trembling slightly as she grips it, the tip of the cue dancing in the air from how tightly she’s holding it.
Ethan reaches out to her but drops his hand when she takes a step away from him. She bumps into a stool, then moves again. “Mina? Are you okay?” he asks her, concern growing as she looks unsure and ready to bolt.
“No!” Her cry of panic dissolves any remaining lust I felt watching them, and I sit up straighter. Vincent moves closer to her but stays far enough away so she doesn’t feel cornered.
“Sweetheart.” Cooing at her, Vincent gives her a soft smile and holds his hands out to his sides. “You don’t need to be embarrassed about kissing him in front of us. We didn’t mind.”
Her eyes narrow on him, and I bite my lip to hold back my laugh when Vincent realizes he said the wrong thing. “I’m not embarrassed that it was in front of you.”
“Oh… umm, that’s good! Then…” He trails off and looks between me and Ethan before turning back to her. “Is it because you’re still married? Because you shouldn’t feel bad about that either. Danny is a fuc-”
She interrupts him; her scowl deepening. “I stopped being his wife the moment he put his hands on me. I couldn’t care less that we still have a piece of paper saying otherwise.”
“What’s got you upset, Mina?” I ask, preventing Vincent from aggravating her further.
She stays facing Vincent, but her eyes slide over to me. “It’s because it’s you.”
My head rears back, the insult washing over me and sinking into my chest like a heavy weight. Have I been misreading things between us?
“Wh-” I start to ask, but she groans and covers her face.
“That’s not what I meant,” comes out garbled through her hands before she looks at me apologetically. “I don’t mean you you, like not you specifically. It’s all of you. It’s the fact that you are friends with him.”
“Were. We were friends with him, and now we aren’t,” Vincent declares this as fact and doesn’t leave his statement open for argument.
Wincing, she looks away from me and to the floor. I don’t like that. I want her to stay focused on us and not retreat to her natural response of avoiding conflict. I want her to feel like she can voice her opinions and concerns.
“Keep going, Mina,” I urge her, keeping my voice void of any emotion until I hear the rest of what she has to say. Ethan is staying quiet, but he hasn’t moved away from her yet.
Taking a few slow breaths, she looks back at me. “There are three of you.” Her face turns red after she says this, but she powers through her embarrassment. “I’ve… I’ve kissed three of you… That can’t be the right thing to do. I-I shouldn’t have done that. We aren’t even friends!”
Vincent’s mouth drops open, offended and shocked. “We absolutely are friends!” He looks at Ethan and then at me to back him up.
Ethan’s response is to huff out a grunt in disagreement, but still says nothing.
“Vincent,” she calls his name, pleading for him to hear her. I swear to God, he’s fucking pouting when he finally looks at her, and her face falls briefly before she hardens herself. “I appreciate everything you all have done for me, taking me in and keeping me safe, but it’s only out of a sense of duty for you guys. If Danny hadn’t…” She trails off, squeezing her eyes shut against her memories, and takes a breath. “If Danny hadn’t hurt me and if I hadn’t left, we wouldn’t be here. You all wouldn’t feel this misplaced sense of obligation.”
“Don’t say that,” Ethan growls. “You’re not a goddamn obligation.”
Mina looks surprised by his reaction but shakes her head to deny him. “This is a strange situation we’re all in, and emotions are running high. The three of you couldn’t stand me for years. I wasn’t oblivious to how you all felt about me, how I was an annoyance every time I came around.” She looks at me when she delivers her next blow.
“You all took every chance you could to remind me that I was a pest. You all stood back and let your girlfriends take their shots at me and even took joy in watching it happen. You blamed me for things that I had no control over and laughed when I was mocked.” Her eyes fill with tears, but she refuses to let them fall. “I couldn’t even walk home from school without having things thrown at me or get covered with mud or have insults screamed through the windows. You guys were popular there and with our classmates. They saw your behavior and they thought it was okay.”
I have so much I want to say, but my tongue stays glued to the roof of my mouth as I remember sitting in the back of one of their cars in high school, staring through the window and watching Mina fight against a wave of dirty street water as rain poured down on her. I remember the sound of Danny’s laughter. I remember the bruises on her legs. I remember I didn’t say a word the entire time.
She takes a steadying breath and lets it out in a rush. Her body slumps, and she looks defeated. “You all had a good time, and I was the butt of all the jokes. You’re only here to protect me because you feel guilty. I don’t know what all this kissing means, but I don’t want you to lie to me and say it’s anything else.”
Vincent takes a step toward her, but she doesn’t notice. She’s staring at her empty glass filled with melting ice like it’s her worst enemy. “I probably shouldn’t be allowed to drink. I think it makes me rude.”
“It makes you honest,” I croak out. “Dove… we-” I stop talking when her eyes shoot to me, but I don’t apologize for letting the name slip out.
“Baby, can I-” Vincent starts, and her eyes fly to him, fire lit behind them. His mouth snaps shut, and he swallows deeply.
“Don’t call me that. He called me that.”
Her body is trembling, emotions rapidly taking hold of her.
Determination crosses Ethan’s face a moment before he steps up behind her, spins her around, and then throws her over his shoulder. Looking at us as she shrieks, he nods toward the door. “Home.”
I stand frozen, watching as Ethan carries Mina out of the bar, her protests fading quickly as she realizes people are looking. Vincent is staring after them, looking unsure of what to do. It’s only when he turns to me, his expression conflicted, that I snap out of my daze.
“Let’s go,” I say, grabbing our stuff and heading for the door. Vincent follows me, his face etched with worry. “Go close out our tab and let your guy know that he can go home.” I drop off our pool equipment, then wait for him before leaving the bar.
“Are we doing the right thing?” he asks as we step out into the cool night air.
I hesitate for a moment, unsure of how to answer. “I don’t know,” I finally admit. “But we can’t stay here and leave her like that. Thinking shit like that.”
He’s silent beside me, lost in his own thoughts as we make our way to where we parked. I can see the guilt etched on his face, and I know he’s feeling the same thing I am. We need to make it right somehow. I thought we had made progress, but apparently, Mina has different thoughts.
Ethan and Mina are waiting by the car since I have the keys. He’s pulled her from his shoulder but hasn’t set her down yet. Instead, he’s holding her to his chest in a bear hug, like he doesn’t want to risk letting her go. She’s not fighting him anymore, but she’s still trembling.
Moving to stand next to them, I lean down slightly so I can look at her. All the anger and fury has left her. Now, she’s worried and seems a bit fearful. I never want her to be afraid of expressing how she feels, so I give her a soft smile.
“I’m so sorry, Max,” she whispers. “I’m so ashamed for speaking to you like that.”
Glancing briefly at Ethan, he understands what I want. He sets her on her feet, holding her waist until she’s steady, before turning her to face me. Cupping her face, I caress her cheek as I consider how exactly to share what I need to say.
“I’m not speaking for the other two, but I know they feel the same as I do. We are so fucking sorry for how awful we were to you. I can’t imagine how hard it was for you to deal with not only us, but your family, and then with people at school. It’s not fair of us to say that we didn’t know because, deep down, I think we did. What we didn’t do was notice.”
My hands are still on her face when she shakes her head. “No. I should never have blamed you for other people’s actions. That was unfair of me to place that blame on any of your shoulders.”
“Maybe, but maybe not. We still inadvertently were responsible for some of it,” Ethan says from behind her.
She tries to turn her head to look at him, but I can’t bring myself to pull my hands away. Huffing out a small laugh, she gives me a wobbly smile, then reaches up and lays her chilled hands over mine. “Seriously, Max. Please don’t keep apologizing. I forgave you already. Besides the fact that we were all kids, I can see that none of you are the same as you were back then. I don’t know how to explain why I reacted the way I did in there.”
Vincent moves to my left, so I let that hand drop, giving him the space to gain her attention. “We don’t want you to think that we’re only here out of guilt. We’re doing it because we care about you, sweetpea. We want to make sure that you’re safe, but we also want to see you happy.”
She smiles at Vincent, and I can feel the tension in her body start to ease. “Thank you. I’m sorry for overreacting.”
“Are you scared?” Ethan asks her. I’m not sure what he’s asking exactly, but I’ve noticed that he’s been great at understanding her, better than me and Vincent.
This time, when she turns to look at him, I let her. My fingers twitch when the feel of her skin disappears, and I want to touch her again. She seems confused by his question, but also nervous to answer. “Scared? I’m scared of Danny. I’m scared of not knowing where I go from here.”
He gives her a quick shake of his head and then steps closer. “That’s not what I mean. Are you scared because I kissed you?”
She sucks in air, stunned by his question. I watch her closely, wondering how she will answer him. I can see the turmoil in her eyes, the fear and uncertainty, but also something else that I can’t quite identify. Ethan apparently does, because his mouth tilts up in a small smile. My quiet friend lets her think things through without letting on that he’s reading her like a book.
When she speaks, her voice is barely above a whisper. “I don’t know… I don’t know what it means. I suppose that’s scary in its own way. No one has ever kissed me like you guys have before.”
I feel like imitating Ethan now, wanting to grunt out in indignation that someone hasn’t truly kissed this woman like she’s worth something. A small part of me is thankful that Danny was such a failure in so many ways that we get to keep adding things to the list.
Ethan’s expression softens, and he reaches out to touch her cheek. “Can I tell you what it means to me?”
“Us,” Vincent adds quietly.
A quick glance at us from Ethan tells me he has no intentions of excluding either of us from whatever he plans to say. “Sure,” she agrees with a small amount of hesitation.
His chest rises as he takes in air slowly, then blows it out. “To us, it means that you are our friend, but also much more than that. We are all interested in finding out if there can be something between us. The timing may be poor, but I don’t think so. I think we got you here right when you needed to be.”
“We don’t have to define anything right now,” I add, stepping closer again. “We can just… be. See where this goes.”
She lets out a shuddering breath. “Then what? We just hang out and kiss? What happens after that?”
Chuckling, Vincent removes some of the heaviness. “Well, I certainly hope maybe more than kiss, but also getting to know one another better. I want to know everything about you, and we want you to know us, who we are now.”
It’s too dark outside to tell, but I’m certain that his hint at more than kissing has her blushing again. “That doesn’t answer my question. Then what? I get to know you all better, kiss… and stuff.” She looks away when she says that, embarrassed even though she shouldn’t be. “We just do this until you decide you don’t want to continue? Until I move?”
