Dizzy

Chapter 15

~ Dylan ~

"Eight ball, corner pocket." I point to the far hole.

"Yeah, right." Paul does the fake cough-speak thing in the corner, but I ignore him same as Derrick.

This is a serious competition going on here. I never used to beat my brother in pool, just like I never used to get the best out of him when we fought. Times are changing because this time, he's going down.

We've always been competitive. It's our thing, and I can tell Derrick knows he's about to lose by the way he's studying the table. His phone rings.

"Ignore it," I tell him. "Hit silence. You're not distracting me from this shot."

Derrick takes a couple steps back from the table. "It's Lora."

I fight a groan. "And we're almost done, man. You can call her right back. No way am I letting you screw up this shot."

Derrick pushes the button on his phone, and I'm silently grateful. Eyeing the ball, I line up the shot and take it. The eight ball cleanly drops into the hole. Please don't scratch, please don't scratch.

The white ball bounces off the side and lands in the middle of the table. "Hell, yes!"

Paul walks over and gives me props. Derrick rolls his eyes, but he has a smile on his face. Yeah, that's right. I'm the man now.

"Good game, little brother."

I nod at him in reply just as his phone rings again.

"Hey, baby," he says. "Sorry. Dylan was kicking my ass at pool."

That makes me smile. My brother might have lost his mind, but he's still pretty cool. I sit on the table while Derrick talks to his girl. It's not long before he's hanging up.

"Lora and Ziah are on their way over. Lora's stoked because there was a cancellation at Vista House. She wants us all to go up there."

Damn. Wedding stuff again.

And Ziah. I'm still not sure why I'm thinking all these crazy thoughts about her.

"Come with us, Paul. You're in the wedding, but you've somehow escaped doing anything but the tuxes." It probably makes me a chicken shit, but I'm actually hoping for a buffer. I can't start losing my head if Paul's there.

"That cool?" he asks my brother.

"Absolutely."

Beep. Beep. Sounds from outside.

"Holy crap. That was no joke."

We grab our stuff and head upstairs. On the way, I grab my hoodie in case I need it. I have a long sleeve shirt on, but you never know with the weather here.

Lora's in the driver's seat of my brother's car, which is weird as hell, and Ziah's heading to the back when we get outside. Paul nudges me, his eyes brows raised as he cocks his head toward her. "I still can't believe it's the chick from your party."

"Shut up," I mumble. He also wouldn't believe it if he knew I actually don't hate being around her anymore. "Hanes, you have to sit in the middle. Last time I rode in the back with Paul, he kept trying to hold my hand."

"Whatever." He shoves me, but he's laughing, too.

Ziah's eyes catch mine, and she gives me a little smile. Seriously. Future sister-in-laws should not be this sexy.

"You're lucky I'm in a decent mood today, Dylan." Ziah gets in the backseat, and I squeeze in next to her. Paul barely closes his door, and Lora totally peels out in the driveway like she's a sixteen-year-old guy.