Free The Green Ticket by Samantha March Page A

convince Henry he was in love with me.
    “Do you like pool?”
    I looked up to find Henry looking at me, his dark blue eyes scanning my face. “Um, what?” I stammered, feeling my face start to flush. Why couldn’t I be calmer around the opposite sex that I found attractive? Think bold, Ginger Spice!
    Henry pointed to the pool table in the corner, now abandoned. “Pool. The table’s open. Want to play with me?”
    “I’m not sure if I’m any good,” I said, trying to rack my brain to determine the last time I played pool.
    “Well, I’m pretty good, if I may say so myself, and I can teach you a few tricks. Come on.” Henry reached out and grabbed my elbow, since my hands were full of beer and my clutch, and steered me to the table. “My dad loves pool and we have our own table at home, so I get a lot of practice. I can give you some pointers.”
    “Okay. Thanks.” Say something! Make a real conversation, Alex! “So you also go to Kaufman?” Finally. A real question made it out of my mouth.
    Henry started placing the pool balls inside a triangle contraption. “Yep. I’ll graduate in May with my Bachelor’s.”
    “Hey, that’s awesome! Congratulations. I still have another year to go before I’ll be done. What did you major in?”
    “I had some trouble deciding my major along the way. I changed it about three times. But I finally ended up with Entrepreneurship and Sales and Marketing.”
    My spine tingled. Similar majors? Could the signs be any more obvious? Clearly, we were meant to be. We would date, marry, own our businesses, have gorgeous babies and live happily ever after. Henry and Alex….um… “What’s your last name?” I blurted out before I could stop myself. Well, that was awkward. Why would I be digging for his last name for any other reason than to figure out what my name would be in a few years? I was sure Henry could see right through me and my wedding vision bliss. 
    But he didn’t say anything, just flashed me another gorgeous smile and plucked a pool stick from the hanging wall rack, rubbing some blue chalk on the end. “It’s Landon.”
    “Your last name is?” I was confused. Henry Landon? Or was Henry his last name, and that’s what all his buddies called him?
    Henry/Landon laughed, motioning me over towards him at the far end of the pool table. “That’s right. My name is Henry John Landon. Three first names. Don’t worry, you’re not the first to question me on it. Some people call me Landon, like when I play sports, and that just confuses everyone even more.”
    Henry Landon. Alex Landon. It was perfect.
    “Have you ever broke before?” I snapped out of my white dress fantasy and focused on the balls in front of me. The pool balls, of course.
    “Um, no? Not sure what that is. Sorry, I’ve really never played a full game before,” I apologized for my lack of knowledge and pool skills.
    “That’s okay. Everyone’s got to learn sometime. Here, you stand here.” He placed my body in front of his, with his chest slightly touching my back. My body was on fire. I had boyfriends in the past, even a few that I really cared about, but no one caused my body to react like this. I started to get scared of my attraction to Henry Landon. It could definitely lead to heartbreak.
    “Here?” My voice came out in a squeak.
    “Perfect.” His lips were close to my ear, his baritone voice vibrating through my body. I shivered, hoping he couldn’t feel me tremble. “And wrap your hands around the stick, just like that. Now you want to get low to the table, line up your shot, and pull back.” His hand rested over mine, and together we pulled back and flung forward, smacking the white ball against the colored ones, sending them scattering around the table. A solid fell into the far right corner, causing me to whoop in delight.
    “I got one in! I got one in!” I said, reaching to hug Henry. “Thanks for your help. That was fun.” I kept my arms around his body for a beat