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“If it turns out that you’re some sort of pool-savant and you are hustling me, I’ll never look at you the same again.”

“Maybe that’s what I want.” Lori winked and bent over the table to reposition the cue ball and take her shot.

Ah, hell, what was she supposed to make of that statement? Gabe simply watched, drawn into Lori’s orbit, and relaxed into the magnetic inevitability of her feelings. Friendships lasted beyond most sexual relationships, and maybe the idea of exploring that with Lori would be better than the reality, which might not last beyond a few fantastic weeks.

“Which ball do you think I should go for?” Lori asked.

Gabe circled the table to keep from staring at Lori’s ass, but the front view was no less appealing. Her low-cut blouse dropped away from her body to reveal a black lacy bra. Of course it would have to be lace…and it’d be a matching set, no doubt. “You still want me to give you tips even when there’s money on the table?”

“Seems like that would be the chivalrous thing to do.” Lori looked up at Gabe and bit her lip as she struck the cue ball. It nudged the side of the number twelve, which eased into its intended pocket.

“Are you supposed to be so blasé about the hustle?” Gabe asked. “That kind of behavior could get you into trouble.” She took a long pull on her beer just to tear her gaze away.

Lori caressed the edge of the table as she walked around it to her next shot. “Is that a promise?”

Gabe choked on the beer and covered her mouth while Lori laughed, clearly reveling in her femme power. “Do you always flirt this mercilessly with gay friends?”

“I don’t have many gay friends, so I can’t answer that question,” Lori said. “Is it a problem? I’ll stop if it is.”

“Nah, it’s fine. You said it’d been a long time since you’d been out on the town properly, so I figure you’re just letting your hair down and enjoying the fact that you can do that without the risk of any expectations from me. Am I right?”

Lori shrugged elegantly and glanced away. “Sure. Let’s say it’s that.”

That was an explanation that didn’t explain anything at all. Gabe blew out an exasperated breath and looked to Shay, but she was too busy in an intense-looking conversation with Rosie, paying no attention to Gabe’s distress, and Woody and RB had drifted to an empty table for their own game.

“Looking for moral support?” Lori leaned over the table to take her next shot, which she missed narrowly.

“Sure. Let’s say it’s that.”

Lori chuckled and gestured to the table. “Now we’re having fun.”

Gabe put her beer down and cleared the table of solids. She paused to empty her beer before switching the cue to her other hand to pocket the black. “Now we’re having fun.”

The two of them emptied the pockets and rolled the balls to the far side of the table. Lori did a neat little balancing trick with the top ball, clicking the rack downward for the ball to fall into place.

Gabe chalked her cue and tapped the stack of bills. “You’re going to need more than that fancy move to take my money.”

Lori sashayed around the table and took the chalk from Gabe’s hand. Her touch had exactly the same effect as the first time, but Gabe couldn’t bring herself to lie again. Instead, she simply locked Lori’s gaze and held her breath. She could play this game too, couldn’t she?

Lori chalked the end of her own cue, drawing it back and forth slowly, and once again, Gabe cursed the luck of the inanimate objects getting all the attention.

Lori returned the chalk to the pile of dollars and went to the head of the pool table. “Loser breaks, correct?”

Gabe shook her head. “I suppose you know that because you read it somewhere back in 1998 as opposed to you being a pool shark who actually knows all the rules—and how to break them.”

Lori positioned herself once again, and Gabe imagined being beneath her, looking up as Lori straddled her hips. Lori looked at her as if she knew exactly what Gabe was thinking, and she smiled wickedly before driving the cue ball into the pack and sinking two off the break.

“I’ll take stripes since that worked so well for you,” Lori said.

Gabe nodded and enjoyed the show as Lori almost danced around the table and cleared it with her next seven shots. She had no idea what the hell was happening but decided to relax into it. Lori was having fun and flirting harmlessly. Nothing was going to happen tonight or any other night.

Was it?

CHAPTER TWENTY

Lori pressed Gabe against the wall of the corridor beyond the restrooms. The shirt Gabe was wearing stretched against the movement, and two snaps opened, revealing the deep line between Gabe’s pecs. Lori ran her tongue along the gorgeous groove, loving how granite-hard Gabe felt against the softness of her lips. Gabe’s responding moan was hoarse and throaty, and she somehow softened against Lori’s hand, despite the firmness of her muscles. The thrill of having a woman this immense, this formidable under her hand pulsed through Lori like a natural high. No alcohol or drugs could compare, she was sure of that.

“I like this side of you,” Gabe whispered.