Free That Friday by Karl Jones Page A

the table so she could watch as he took the break. She focused on his
face, loving the way his brow furrowed, and how his beautiful hazel eyes
darkened and closed slightly as he squinted at the table while he concentrated.
It was the first time she'd seem him so focused in person and she loved it; it
was better than seeing him do so on Skype.
    She emptied her glass as the balls
scattered across the table, the noise filling her head with sounds she'd not
heard in years and she smiled. She felt so happy and so alive; just being near
him made her feel fantastic.
    As the balls bounced off the
cushions Charlie watched them, hoping one would fall. None did, however. He
stepped away from the table, when he was sure all of the balls had stopped
moving and he was not going to get another turn, so Tess could take hers. He
took the opportunity to have a drink while he waited.
    He tried not to but he just
couldn't help laughing when the ball Tess hit bounced off the edge of the
pocket she was aiming for by the smallest of margins. It wasn't that she had
missed that made him laugh, it was the annoyance she displayed, stamping her
feet and pouting, which, in his eyes at least, made her even more adorable than
she was usually.
    After another sip of his vodka and
coke, he set his glass down and returned to the table. He examined his options
carefully and then lined up his shot. Frustratingly, the ball ended up nowhere
near the spot he had been aiming for. A flash of light distracted him from his
irritation and when he looked up he saw Tess, camera in hand, smiling as she
took his picture.
    Tess had waited until he took his
shot, not wanting to distract him, before she took the picture. She had caught
him still in his shot-taking pose, as she had wanted, so he looked as though he
was playing without deliberately posing for the picture. She knew he was
uncomfortable with being photographed, he had told her how he always felt false
and looked silly if he knew a picture was being taken.
    She wanted as many photographic
memories of their time together as she could get. With the photo taken she
slipped the camera into her pocket and went to collect the cue she was going to
play with. Just as Charlie had, she considered her options and then bent over
the table to take her shot.
    When he picked up his own glass,
Charlie saw that Tess' was empty. He realised then that she must be feeling as
nervous as he was, which made him feel a little better as he drained his glass.
He immediately felt the urge to get another drink and worried it was a sign
that he was slipping back into his old drinking habits, something he very much
wanted to avoid.
    He ignored the urge for as long as
possible, focusing instead on the game. He hoped it didn't look too much like
he was focusing because he was keen to win, it really didn't matter to him,
though he didn't want to play to his best. It was long before he had edged
ahead and was aiming for the black, though that was more through luck than
skill; several balls had dropped fortuitously, which had given him the lead.
    When the black ball finally
dropped, after more attempts than he would have liked, he decided he had held
off for long enough. "Would you care for another drink?" he asked as
he leaned his cue against the wall and picked up their glasses to take them to
the bar with him. He knew it wasn't necessary, someone would collect up all the
empty glasses from the table around the bar soon enough, but it was a habit he
had developed a long time before and to his mind it was simply common courtesy.
    Tess smiled. "Yes
please." She was more than ready for another drink and figured that since
he'd won the game, it was only fair of him to get it. "Vodka and coke
again, please."
    Charlie nodded, "Sure."
With a quick kiss he left her to set up the table while he went to replenish
their drinks. He was glad he had someone to enjoy a drink with, it had been
months since he drank socially and he'd forgotten how good it felt, and