Phone Calls From a Rock Star by J. L. Paul

took one of each of their hands and
dragged them from the room. I led them to the Student Center to see
if anything was happening. There wasn’t much to do in the tiny,
nearby town on a Sunday so most of the students sat around the
tables in the Center and talked or munched on snacks from the
machine. We had a couple of pool tables, a foosball table and a big
screen television at our disposal.
    Lance and Dean were taking
advantage of one of those pool tables when we entered. I nervously
smoothed down my shirt, grateful that Annie had forced me into my
best pair of jeans and a nice tank top. I did have some curves under my
bulky clothes, and I wanted Lance to notice. Shallow much? Maybe
so, but I’d been in love with Lance since our freshman
year.
    Cammy sidled up to Dean and batted her long,
thick eyelashes. I wondered briefly if I should do the same to
Lance. I decided not to because I was positive if I did, I’d look
like I had something in my eye. Not the least bit attractive.
    “ Do you want to play pool,
Bella?” Lance asked as he gestured to me. My mind turned to mush as
my feet moved slowly to his side.
    “ I’m not very good,” I
admitted.
    He smiled, and I was nearly certain the
overhead lights glinted off his teeth. “That’s okay—I’ll help. Me
and you against Cammy and Dean.”
    Cammy’s face lit up brighter than Lance’s
smile while my insides turned cartwheels. Dean racked the balls
while Lance chalked a stick. He hit the cue ball and sent the
others flying all over the table. Two fell in the pockets and he
motioned for me to his side of the table. He positioned me in front
of him and handed me a stick. He placed his hands over mine and I
hoped my trembling wouldn’t cause the stick to shake. His chin was
just above my shoulder as he whispered instructions in my ear. A
pleasant chill ran up my spine, and I found it very difficult to
concentrate on his words.
    Cammy stood on the opposite side of the
table, nearly bursting. I glared briefly at her before shooting.
Missing the cue ball entirely, heat flooded my cheeks. It’s not
like that wasn’t inevitable. I mean, I’m not usually that bad but
it was hard to focus while Lance was so close.
    I did manage to improve enough to assist in
a victory. But Dean and Cammy came back to beat us the next game.
Lance started racking the balls for our rubber match when my cell
rang. I frowned when ‘The Man’ came up on the screen. I really
needed to speak to Jake about his timing.
    “ Hey, Jake,” I answered a
little stiff. Lance’s brow shot to his hairline as his eyes
narrowed. “What’s up?”
    “ Catch you at a bad time,
angel?” he asked.
    “ Just shooting pool with
some friends,” I replied in a tone I hoped sounded casual. I smiled
at Lance and he relaxed, leaning his athletic frame against the
table.
    “ Is Mr. Wonderful there?”
Jake teased.
    I chortled. Annie, who’d been sitting on a
sofa, flipping through one of her beloved tabloids, shot me a
questioning look. I shrugged. “Yes.”
    “ Good, I hope he’s jealous
because you’re talking to me. Won’t hurt him a bit.”
    “ I highly doubt that,” I
muttered. This was Lance we were talking about. He never had a
reason to be jealous.
    “ You never know, Iz. I told
you, you’re a very pretty girl. If it were me, I’d be seething. I
wouldn’t want my woman talking to some guy I didn’t know on the
phone.”
    I wanted to remind him that technically I
wasn’t Lance’s woman—he was only taking me to the dance. It’s not
like we were going steady or anything. But I couldn’t very well
utter those words while Lance listened to everything I said.
    “ Maybe,” I muttered
instead. “Jake, can I call you back? They’re sort of waiting for me
so we can finish the game.”
    “ Sure, Iz,” he laughed.
“Give me a call later.”
    Stuffing my phone in my pocket, I smiled.
“Are we ready?”
    “ Who’s Jake?” Lance
asked.
    “ An old friend of mine.
From home. Remember