I'd been home from school for a few days now. Christmas was only a week away and I'd picked out a few things for mom. It was just her and I so we kept it small. Mom was off with some friends of hers having a girls night. She didn't get out much. She hadn't really recovered emotionally from dad passing away suddenly two years ago, though lately she said she'd been trying. I know she was lonely while I was away at school and I was glad her friends were there for her.
I opened my laptop and surfed around for a while, listening to a favorite playlist of mine while thinking of some of the girls from classes I was in. I'd just surfed to a site and started rubbing myself through my jeans when I heard a car pull into the driveway. I shifted myself a little to hide the evidence and surfed away going to one of my game sites.
I heard the front door open and excited chatter. In an effort to be a little social I got up and headed down the hall. My mom was talking to one of her friends while hanging up her coat, behind them another woman, a girl about my age in a dark pea coat.
"Give me your coat Staci." She said and the girl unbuttoned it showing off a dark red sweater over a snug mini skirt and I stared in awe. I suddenly wondered why I never took the time to get to know my mothers friends better.
"Oh, hello Marc." Mom had looked up and seen me coming from the hallway. She turned to the women.
"This is my son Marc. Marc this is my friend Maria, and her daughter Staci. We came home a little earlier than planned. The place we were at was like a lodge night out for the boys and it was getting a little too crowded. Come in, have a seat, and I'll open a bottle of wine."
I watched them sit and Staci let out a deep sigh and dug her phone out of her purse. She looked bored already. Inspiration hit me out of the blue and when it did it surprised me.
"I was going to head down to Shooter's or catch a movie? Would you like to go?"
She perked up at that. "What's Shooter's?"
"It's a gaming place, pool, darts, arcade."
She glanced at her mother, who gave her a quick nod, before turning back to me.
"Okay." She slid her phone back into her purse.
"I'll be right back." I said, knowing full well that jeans and a tee would be fine if I were going alone but absolutely not worthy of Staci in her current outfit.
I ducked back into my room and stripped off my tee, went and checked my pits, swirled some mouthwash, and ran a brush through my hair. I walked back into the living room a few minutes later and saw Staci eyeing me up and down. I'd put on a flannel and swapped my sneakers for shoes.
"Ready," she asked. She smiled and grabbed her bag.
Both of our mothers told us to be careful and I think both Staci's and my eyes rolled in sync.
"Thanks," she said when we got to the driveway.
"What for?"
"Saving me from an evening of middle aged women bitching about menopause and work while getting wine drunk."
"How did you get roped into girls night?" I laughed.
"I just got home and my mom didn't want me sitting at home all alone. I got a nice dinner at least."
"Where are you going?" I assumed that like me she was home from school for the holidays.
"Florida State in Jacksonville, communications and English. You?"
"Florida Tech down in Melbourne, mechanical engineering."
"What year?"
"Junior."
"Senior."
"Oh no, you're going to have to get a real job next year." I laughed.
"So I've been told, that or my Master's."
"Here we are." I turned into the parking area of the strip mall. It looked busy, but I found us a decent spot without having to make Staci walk a mile in her heels.
"Would you mind if I slid my purse under the seat. I'll just bring my ID and my card."
"Not at all." As we approached the doors the sound of music started to rise. "Oh yea I forgot, they do live music on the weekends. Do you still want to check it out?" Staci nodded as she looked around.
"Definitely."
When we opened the door it was cordoned off with a couple stanchions.
"Five dollar cover!" The guy leaned in and said loudly.
I reached into my pocket and handed him the money pointing at Staci and myself holding up two fingers. He handed me back my change and stamped our hands with the billiard ball logo.
The place was bisected by a wall, with two large openings. One side was the billiards room, the other side was where the dart boards and a small arcade here at the front. The bar was to the left and was open to both rooms. The stage was at the back of the darts hall and the floor had been set with folding chairs. I turned to Staci and leaned in to speak into her ear. She was vibing to the music already and I nearly forgot what I was going to say when I breathed in her perfume, it smelled warm, tropical, and spicy. She turned and looked at me wide eyed like she was wondering what I was doing. I just smiled and leaned in again. "Do you want to see if we can find seats or play pool?"
"Let's play pool." She said into my ear.
I led her around to the game counter and picked up a rack of balls and we made our way to an open table. We set up, and a harried waitress appeared.
"Can I get you anything?"
I reached for my wallet and grabbed my ID, well accustomed to the routine now. Staci presented her ID and then I handed mine.
"Want to just get a pitcher?"