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

sat down. She needed a quick swig of ale .
    Will nudged Bill, who looked at Josie. They looked at one another and at Ben, who was engrossed in his beer, and smiled conspiratorially . Bill took the cue and his shot.
    Josie was really enjoying herself. Ben was such easy company and his friends were nice too. As the game cr ept on, she decided to stay rather than return to Kay ' s table, knowing her friend could take care of herself. Towards the end of the game , the two teams were neck and neck , and it was Josie ' s shot. They each had two balls left , and the black sat smugly in the middle. She took a deep breath, bent down and took aim. Smack! Potted!
    “ Yes! ” shouted Ben, his fist flying up into the air.
    Bill frowned. “ Fluke! ”
    She grinn ed. O ne more ball to go , and then on to the black – could she do it?
    “ Josie! ” called a voice out of the b lue. She turned to see the brown-haired guy. His two mates were waiting by the door. It looked as if they were leaving . Where was Kay? Then she noticed her, squeezing the blonde guy. She could have guessed!
    “ I ' m off now, but I hope to see you another time. We ' re in this pub a lot. I f you fancy meeting up, here ' s my number. ” Kurt held out a beer mat with some scribble s on it. ' Be a man – go for gold ! ' it said, above a photo of a golden-coloured pint of ale .
    “ Thanks, ” said a surprised Josie .
    “ It was nice to meet you , lass. S ee you soon, I hope. ” And off he went.
    The two other guys and Kay waved from the pub door. Josie waved back. She hoped Kay would be alright. She woul d text her later to make sure.
    “ Looks like it ' s your lucky day, ” said Ben, pointing at the slogan on the beer mat. “ Go for gold. ”
    “ Yes, well, ” muttered Josie, ramming it into her bag. “ I better take my shot. ”
    “ Good luck! ” Ben was a little perturbed, but didn ' t let it show.
    Josie focused her attention on the last r emaining ball. Smack! S he missed it . “ Ugh , ” she breathed . “ Sorry, I really thought I was going to hit it. ”
    “ So did I , no w orries, ” replied Ben . “ It ' s not over yet. ”
    “ O h , yes it is! ” Willy grinned . “ Step aside for the master of the cue ! ”
    “ Go , Willy! ” said Bill, standing up.
    “ Here goes, ” said Willy, effortlessly banging the ball into the pocket.
    Ben frowned. “ No way! ”
    “ And now for number two, ” announced Willy, potting a second without even thinking about it.
    “ You hustler! ” laughed Bill, sipping his whiskey. He drank it straight, but he wasn ' t standing that way.
    “ And now, for my final trick, I will pot the black, ” announced Willy, his voice getting louder. Luckily, the noise of the band concealed it from the other drinkers.
    Josie laughed. They ha d lost, but this was kind of funny. Ben ' s face was a picture. She realised he must be quite competitive after all, even though he gave the impression that he wa sn ' t bothered about anything.
    Willy bent over, spread his legs, gave a little wiggle to annoy Ben, ai med and took his shot. Whizz! He missed!
    “ Ha! ” yelled Ben, punching the air.
    “ No way! ” said Bill, thumping his glass down on the table in mock anger.
    “ Yes, way! ” grinned Ben.
    “ Alright! ” cried Josie.
    Willy sighed, pretended to hide his face in embarrassment , and took up his pint.
    Ben grinned and took the cue . He focused, pretending not to watch Josie ' s reaction out of the co rner of his eye, and potted their remaining ball. Clean and simple, d own it went. He didn ' t look up, but quickly chalked the cue and moved on to the black, shooting it smoothly into the pocket.
    Willy gasped.
    “ Yay! ” said Josie. “ We won! I just won my first doubles game! ”
    “ W e just won our first doubles game, ” corrected Ben, laughing at his two crestfallen mates.
    “ Are we having a rematch? ” asked W illy, finishing his drink. “ I ' m going to the bar if anyone wan ts another . ”
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