3 Heads & a Tail by Vickie Johnstone Read Free Book Online

have fun.
    “ Now boys and girl, ” she smiled when she reached the table , “ what did I miss? Josie, Ben says hello and hop es you are enjoying yourself . ”
    “ Aha, ” mumbled Josi e, swigging her ale, which was disappearing a little too fast. Mr Puppy Dog Eyes smiled back at her.
    “ And now, ” announced the barman, who had bounded over to the mike. “ The band you ' ve been waiting for – The Horse Wrestlers! ”
    “ Bizarre name for a band, ” said Kay. “ Do you think they do? ”
    “ Only when they ' ve just ' ad a butcher ' s of Brokeback Mountain! ” laughed Jon. “ Haw haw. ”
    Josie stared into her drink. Kurt padded his head in a what-are-you-on-about message to Jon.
    “ What did I do ? ” asked Jon , looking blank. “ Ju s ' jokin ' , man! ”
    Jerome laughed, honking loudly through his nose . He burst open a big bag of crisps, which exploded loudly on to the table as the band began to play .
    Phew, saved by the band, thoug ht Josie, at a loss for something to talk about. Kurt was really st aring and it made her feel awkward. Kay seemed really into Jon, so that meant they were going to be stuck with these guys all night. Thankfully, the singer of the band was a gifted harmonic a player and Josie drifted on the wave of sound.
    “ Hey! ” said a voice.
    Glancing back over her shoulder, Jos ie came face to face with Ben. Out of the corner of her eye, s he saw Kay stifle a smile .
    “ If you ' re not too busy, fancy a game of pool? ” asked Ben. “ We ' re three men and we need another to play doubles! ”
    “ But I ' m not a man! ” said Josie, her eyes sparkling.
    Ben laughed. “ You k now what I mean! Come on. ”
    She didn ' t need to be asked twice. “ Sorry guys, I ' ve got to rescue a g ame! Catch you later. “
    “ Sure thing! ” mumbled Kurt.
    Jerome patted him on the back, “ Shot down in flames! ”

Chapter 11
     
    Josie followed her housemate across the room, carefully hugging her pint so that it wouldn ' t spill.
    “ Hello! ” said Ben ' s friends, who m he introduced as Bill and William. They seemed friendly enough.
    Josie crossed her bag over her chest so that she could play without it swinging off, and placed her pint down on the small, round table. She dra ped her jacket on a chair. “ W ho am I playing with? ”
    William laughed. “ W ho ' s she playing with, Ben? ”
    “ Come on! ” said Ben, laughing. “ Sorry Josie! ”
    “ No offenc e taken , ” said Josie. “ William, I ' m d efinitely not playing with you now , you cheeky monkey ! ”
    “ She told you Willy ! S he ' s not playing with you! ” said Bill , laughing .
    Ben shook his head as he set up the balls. “ I guess you ' re going to be with me as these two jokers can ' t be trusted! ”
    “ Suits me, ” said Josie. “ You go first , ' cos I can ' t break to save my life . ”
    “ Bet you can really, ” said Bill. “ Everyone thinks they can ' t, but it ' s pret ty easy – it ' s just like any other shot . ”
    “ No, really, I ' m rubbish. ”
    “ Right, ” sai d Ben. “ I ' m going to show you. ”
    He beckoned Josie over to the end of the table and handed her the cue. She took it sheepishly, h oping not to do anything stupid like rip up the green. “ Stand there. That ' s it. P osition the white ball where it ' s going to hit the most balls. Yep, that ' s it, and ju st aim. H it square and hard – something ' s gotta go down . ”
    Bill exploded into laughter while Willy quaffed his beer and spluttered.
    “ Guys, g ive me a break! ” Ben sat down wearing a goofy expression.
    Josie blinked. Concentrate , she told herself, trying not to grip the cue too tightly. She bent down, positioned herself and the cue , and focused on the nearest ball . She aimed and hit it dead centre as hard as she could. Whack!
    “ W hoa ! ” cried Willy and Bill as two spot balls shot down two different holes.
    Ben grinned. “ Not bad! ”
    “ It was all down to my teacher! ” Josie smiled and