An eight ball in the corner pocket

Cora leaned over the green of the pool table trying to line up her shot. The Corner Pocket was a favorite haunt of her's and she had allowed Darcy and Bryn to drag her out tonight. The night was still fairly young so the bar was somewhat bare except for the usuals.

“Seven ball in the right corner pocket,” she called before hitting the ball into the pocket. She smirked. She up three balls on Darcy and more importantly was up two games out of ten overall on him. “It looks like the student is surpassing the teacher,” she said.

“Or the student is using dirty tricks,” Darcy shot back lining up his shot. Bryn laughed placing her drink down beside her to stand next to Cora.

“What kind of dirty tricks is Cora using?” Bryn asked taking Cora by arm.

“Yes, Darcy, what am I doing that is cheating? Am I moving the balls with my mind?” Cora further implored making wavy motions with her hands.

“You are wearing those jeans,” he said his grey eyes sweeping over the table, “You know the ones I always liked.”

“I don’t think that is cheating,” she retorted.

“Nine ball in the left middle pocket,” he called, hitting the ball for once into the pocket. “It is when you lean over the table like that.”

“So, I am supposed to not wear anything that attracts you? I wouldn’t have any clothes left,” she stated. “Eight ball in right lower corner pocket,” she said, easily hitting the last ball in.

“Well, not wearing anything would certainly attract me,” Darcy said with a laugh that Bryn joined in on. Cora could not help but let a small smile creep to her face. It felt good to be appreciated even if it was only by Darcy but she wasn’t going to show it. Lately, she felt like an almost asexual human. It seemed all she did was study. Being a nursing major was tough and had cut down on her social life. It did not matter anyways; the only guy she was interested in had a girlfriend. Cora was not the type to break up a happy couple.

“What happened to Ashley anyways?” Bryn asked. Cora was just waiting for the latest excuse for the most recent dump. Darcy had commitment issues.

“We parted ways, she wanted someone more athletic and I wanted someone that wanted me” he stated simply chalking the tip of the que stick. Cora merely rolled her eyes. Darcy would never admit that Ashley dumped him. She had to give Ashley some credit though; it might be the first time that Darcy had been dumped.

“Well, I am sorry to hear that,” Cora said and she was. It meant that Darcy would now be pursuing her and she knew she did not want to go down that path. She needed to focus on schoolwork but it was just so easy for her to get distracted. She felt shallow for worrying so much about it. She knew Darcy and her could be friends and just friends.

“I’m bored. Cora is beating you easily anyways, how about a game of darts, Darcy?” Bryn asked.

“Yeah, I am tired of playing anyways,” Cora said hoping that Darcy would not make her play another game.

“Alright,” Darcy said following Bryn over to the dart board. Cora watched the game for the moment but got bored. She decided to make her way over to the jukebox. She needed some country music and quick. She was tired of listening to loud rap music. She flipped through the selections letting her mind wander. It quickly found the well worn path of Jean. They had become study partners and she really enjoyed her time with him. She thought he did to but he had a girlfriend. He had not really opened up to her about his life; they tended to be strictly business or well schoolwork. She really needed not to focus on it. She finally found what she was looking for as she inserted her dollar. She knew all the guys would groan when Taylor Swift’s "You Belong with Me" came on but it was worth it to her.

“Cora, can you get me another beer? Put it on my tab,” Darcy called as Cora turned to the bar.

“A Blue moon, please, and long island ice tea,” Cora ordered. One drink would not kill her. She picked up the drinks, while Taylor Swift came over the system. She could only smile as she made her way over to the dartboard. The smile soon turned to a face of somewhat shock as Jean came walking through the door.

Sun-burn cream and a silly argument

Kit Odell stepped out of the shower, dripping wet onto the cold tiled floor. He dried himself off quickly and wrapped the towel around his waist. He stood in front of the steam-covered mirror and grabbed a small hand towel to wipe it clean. He stared at his reflection for a moment, scrutinizing his lean, muscular body, and his short 5’9 frame. The top of his shoulders were burnt slightly, having dulled after three days from a bright crimson red. His pale Irish skin burned easily no matter how strong or how much sunscreen he used. This particular burn came from running a 5K in a white shirt, which had obviously been too thin to shield him from the sun.

Taking a prescribed container of burn cream, he rubbed it gently onto his shoulders. Luckily it didn’t hurt as much as it had three days ago. He wiped his hands on the towel around his waist and searched the medicine cabinet for floss.

“Hey, Jean?”

“Yeah?” Jean’s voice called from the kitchen.

“Have you seen…never mind, found it.” He broke off a piece of string and began to floss his teeth. Jean appeared in the doorway.

“What’d you need? Oh, floss, yeah. So, you going somewhere?” he asked, eyeing him incredulously.

“Is that so hard to believe?” Kit scoffed, while picking at one of his teeth.

Jean shrugged, smirking. “Do you want me to answer that truthfully?”

Kit’s eyes narrowed playfully. “Shut it. Nick’s picking me up for some trivia at Barley’s Taproom. It looks like you’re going somewhere special.” Kit eyed Jean’s light grey, buttoned-up, long-sleeve designer shirt and dark grey slacks.

“Yeah, well, Natalie’s coming over. She’s going to try Corner Pocket out for the first time.”

“Oh, how noble of her…” Kit rolled his eyes. Jean sighed and turned his head. There was a knock at the door.

“It’s probably Natalie,” he said, disappearing from the doorway.

“Or Nick, hopefully,” Kit muttered, rubbing some gel into his hair. He heard the high shrill of Natalie’s voice and slammed the bathroom door shut. He could already feel his blood boiling. If there was one person who annoyed him above all it was Natalie. He couldn’t quite pinpoint the one thing he disliked about her, probably because there were so many things he couldn’t stand. For instance, she nitpicked every little thing about Jean or even him. Jean’s hair was too messy. Kit’s eyebrows were too thick. She rarely complimented Jean on anything. Unfortunately, Jean thrived on making people happy. It upset him if Natalie wasn’t pleased with him. Natalie would always be unsatisfied. That was something Kit enduringly tried to make clear to Jean.

Kit left the bathroom and changed into a pair of dark jeans and a white t-shirt he had bought from Goodwill. He grabbed his wallet and put it into his back pocket. Checking himself one last time in a mirror, he walked out into the hall. Jean and Natalie were still in the living room, discussing their night’s plans. He chose to avoid them by going into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and peered inside for a snack. Still in earshot of their conversation, he discreetly listened in.

“If I feel at all uncomfortable, we’ll leave immediately, right?” Natalie said in a high demanding voice.

“Of course,” Jean said. Kit imagined him bowing his head in compliance as if Natalie were the queen herself.

“Who usually goes there? They aren’t all going to be drunk are they?”

“Well, it’s a bar, Natalie. And it’s mostly college kids.”

Natalie sighed. “Great.” There was a pause. “Is she going to be there?”

“Who?” Jean asked, dumbfounded.

“Your study partner? The one you’ve been seeing for weeks now, under my nose?” There was a certain hint of jealousy in her voice that made Kit smile. He shut the fridge door quietly and listened.

Jean stuttered, obviously flustered. There was no use denying her now. “W-Well, she could be. A lot of sorority girls go there for the free drinks.”

Natalie scoffed disapprovingly. “So she drinks?”

“I don’t know,” Jean said softly.

“What’s her name?” Natalie said sharply. “I need to at least act like I’ve known you two were studying together.”

Jean was quiet for a moment as if trying to remember. Then he said quickly, “Her name’s Cora.”

Cora? Kit thought. There weren’t many Coras that he knew of and it couldn’t possibly be the one he was thinking of.

“Cora what?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember,” Jean said sheepishly.

Natalie jeered. “Of course not. You never remember anything. Do you at least remember what she looks like?”

“Why does that matter?” Jean snapped, finally sounding annoyed. Kit wondered how the hell he dealt with this all the time.

“Because I want to be prepared if she’s there!” Natalie shrieked. “Just forget it. I’ll be in the car.” There was a rustling of keys and the front door opened and slammed shut. Kit peeked from the kitchen and noticed Jean still standing in the living room, his head hanging low.

“Hey, man…” Kit said, walking toward him.

Jean looked up, his eyes weary. “Oh, you heard all that? Sorry, man.”

Kit shook his head. “Don’t apologize. It wasn’t your fault. I can’t believe she just attacked you with all those questions.”

Jean sighed, frowning. He opened his mouth to say something, but loud, obnoxious honking interrupted him.

Kit scoffed, rolling his eyes. “She beckons you. Wouldn’t want to upset the royal highness.”

There was a shimmer of a smile on Jean’s lips before he said goodbye and left. Kit walked over to the window and peeked through the blinds. He could see Natalie’s scowling face halfway hidden behind the steering wheel. Her lips were moving quickly, most likely continuing her tirade, and Jean’s poor, haggard face was turned the other way.

Kit collapsed onto the couch, flipping on the TV. He checked the clock. Nick was late. But it didn’t matter. His mind was already racing with thoughts of his past, of the girl named Cora who ruined his life. God forbid she came back into his life. He hoped, even prayed, it was another girl named Cora. He wouldn’t allow her to ruin his best friend’s life. He would do anything to prevent that. Anything.