Free Riley's Pond (New Adult Romance) by Harley Brooks Page B

and my hand a bit too long to be innocent. The voice came out in a husky tone, the eyes dark as dangerous deep water.
    “I love it when a girl holds my ball.” Apparently, he considered himself to be the magi of charm and seduction, rolled into a crude naïve sixteen, at tops, year-old boy. One who needed to be knocked down a peg.
    Withdrawing my hand, I gave a playful pout. “I’m sorry, but I prefer guys with two balls.” I dropped the cue ball in his hand and used my finger to push his chin up, closing his surprised mouth. His face turned an odd blend of fire engine red and jade green.
    Laughter started at the pool table he’d stepped away from, catching on like wildfire in a field of straw. But one voice rose above the others, the timbre familiar and pushed my heart hard against my ribs. Riley had been flushed out.
    He sauntered slowly my direction, clapping his hands. “Bravo my lady!” He took a bow and I returned the gesture doing a curtsy, complete with the stretching out of the hem of my dress. He closed the last few inches between us, his eyes rolling slowly over my body before meeting my gaze.
    Riley’s lowered voice, brought me closer to listen. Another tactical maneuver outsmarting me when his arm curled around my waist. His lips curled over my ear. “Miss me? I thought I wasn’t going to see you until tomorrow night.”
    Our lips came dangerously close to touching. “You wish. I was told this was the place to hang on Friday nights.”
    His breath felt hot hovering close to my mouth. “You’re lying. You want me, so you came looking for me,” he whispered.
    The smile on my face hurt it grew so wide. “You’re right. I want you—to buy me a cheeseburger.” I pushed away watching Riley’s deflated ego blow out the corner of his twisted lips.
    Accepting my challenge, he disappeared and returned to the booth I’d settled into at the back corner of the eatery section, holding red checkered boxes overflowing with steaming fries and burgers.
    The low purr of bowling balls gliding down the polished lanes, a few actually causing loud crashes when pins slammed the back of the alley wall, competed with the music pulsing through speakers.
    I touched my lip to catch a drip of ketchup. “These really are good,” I said, genuinely surprised.
    Riley dipped a fry in some tangy sauce and fed it to me. “Barney used to be a grill cook in San Francisco before opening this joint. Sometimes, he makes garlic burgers. They could possibly be considered better than sex.”
    “You’ve been dating some pretty lame chicks, if burgers rate that high on your ecstasy meter.”
    Riley dipped another fry, shoving it in his mouth. His head turned toward a small gaggle of girls giggling obnoxiously. Except one. A petite little thing who would be pretty if someone removed the tarantula eyelashes from her eyelids. She faced us, her gaze locked on Riley…whose gaze locked on her.
    “Yeah,” he muttered. “I have.”
    “Her?” I asked, although it was more than obvious.
    “Maybe.”
    “Am I missing something here? She’s all google-eyed at you, and well, you’re not exactly being subtle in staring her down.”
    Riley’s attention returned from wherever it had wandered. An unmistakable disdain tainted his tone. “We dated for a while, but it’s over.”
    “She cheated on you?”
    “Why do you think that?”
    I touched his hand, smoothing the tension from his knuckles. “Because your teeth are clenched, your knuckles white…and you look sad.” Those eyes flashed to mine and his hand flattened on the table.
    “She’s not the one who hurt me.”
    “Sorry. You don’t have to tell me. It’s none of my—”
    “My brother did,” he blurted out.
    A couple of lumps rolled down his throat. Cautiously, I slid my hand over his again. His fingers wrapped mine, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. “Do you want to get out of here?”
    “Yeah, I would,” I replied around a smile. We slipped out of the booth and headed