Free Ready to Fall by Daisy Prescott

my head. I hoped I was never that bad. Thinking back, I probably was.
    Paying too much attention to Donnely’s antics, I lost track of how many balls she’d sunk and was surprised to find she was beating me. With one more shot, she won the game.
    “What was that about you haven’t played since college?”
    She gave me a sly grin. “Nope, not since college. Back in the day I was pretty good.”
    “You may have forgotten to say you’re a shark. Maybe you’ve forgotten to mention other things too.”
    “Oh, John.” She lightly patted my cheek. “There’s so much about me you don’t know.”
    The woman flirted with me. The gray sweater was gone and so was her shy sadness.
    If she wanted to flirt, we’d flirt.
    I lightly swatted her ass and leaned down so I wouldn’t be heard by anyone but her. “I’d like to know all about you.”
    Her soft intake of breath told me she didn’t see that coming and I may have turned it on too strong. She didn’t know Kelly and I had ended things. She probably thought I was a cheater. Great.
    I peered into her eyes where I saw not only surprise but something else. Something that surprised me. Fire.
    Was she mad? Turned on? Both?

 
     
     
    “S HE LOOKED LIKE she didn’t know whether to slap you or fuck you. What did you say to Diane at the end of the pool game?” Donnely asked when we walked out to our trucks.
    Diane had left a few minutes ago. She didn’t say anything before she left; just grabbed her coat and said good-bye.
    “I flirted with her. No big deal.”
    “You must have lost your touch, dude.”
    “She doesn’t know I broke up with Kelly. Now she thinks I’m a cheating two-timer.”
    “Oh, man. Sucks for you.”
    “Thanks for your sympathy.”
    “What? I have a clear shot at her. Before she was too busy staring at you. You’re the asshole and I’m the good guy. Win for me.”
    “Donnely,” I said with a threat to my voice. “Neither of us had a shot with her. She’s ruled out relationships. Nasty divorce, asshole ex.”
    “How do you know?”
    “We’ve had dinner.”
    “Oh, like a date?” He wiggled his eyebrows. “What’s the deal then? You’ve already hung out.”
    “Dinner happened before Kelly was gone.”
    “Ah. Yeah, you’re screwed. What’s with you and the divorcees lately? Aren’t there any single women left for you to fuck?”
    “Ha ha.” My voice lacked all emotion. “If I’m not willing to take your sloppy seconds, it rules out the majority of single women under forty left on this island.”
    “True that.” Donnely puffed up his chest in pride. “Nothing sloppy about my women. Cream of the crop.”
    “Sure. What’s the name of the woman you went home with in Everett?” I knew I had him after a moment of silence.
    “Kim? Karen? Kami? I know it started with a K. Keri?” He shook his head. “Okay, maybe I need to pay more attention. But you know me, I’m a good guy. I give them a good time. I never lie or lead them on. Not once.”
    “Don’t you ever worry you’ll get tired of not remembering names?”
    Tom scrunched up his face. “Yeah, sure. I mean, some days I want the lazy comfort of the same woman in my life, but it’s too much work, man.”
    “Maybe it feels like too much work because it isn’t the right woman.”
    “You feel this way because of things with Kelly, but maybe it’s that way with every relationship.”
    Taking in a deep breath, I exhaled a cloud of air in the night’s damp cold. “I hope not. Things with her were great at the beginning.”
    “That’s my whole point. Stick to the beginning of fun and you’ll never get to the point of the work and the pain in the ass shit which comes with relationships.”
    There was no way I would take advice from Donnely. The more he said, the stronger I felt living the life of Donnely wasn’t the right path. Somewhere between trying to remember last night’s name and feeling trapped had to be the good stuff. The question was how to find