Love Is a ***

We stood outside of the restaurant for a moment before Andy took off down a street. “Andy, where are we going?” I asked quietly, catching up with him.

He gave me a dazzling smile as he kept moving, stopping short as we saw a flower girl coming up the sidewalk. Her flower basket full of multi colored roses and carnations. “Wait here,” he said as the woman got closer.

I nodded and he walked off, approaching the woman. She smiled as he drew near and asked. “Would you like a flower for your pretty lady? They are only a dollar.”

He shook his head. “No, miss, but could you tell us how to get to Forgotten Flavors?”

I was confused on him asking her for directions to our favorite café, but soon enough it made sense. As she looked away in the direction of the café, I watched Andy flipped a pink, purple tipped rose and a lime green carnation out of the basket, quickly scooping them up and hiding them with a smile as she gave him directions, not noticing a thing. She turned back to him as I giggled. “You’ve picked a lovely place to take your lady,” she said with a warm smile.

“I’m hoping so. Thank you for the directions,” he thanked her and walked back to where I stood. “For my lady,” he handed the rose and carnation over as the flower girl rounded a corner.

I took them, smelling them and grinned. “Thank you, good sir.” I said, and then we burst into laughter.

He took my hand and continued walking. “Come on, let’s go get dessert.” He said, stealing a quick kiss that made my heart race and I stuck the two flowers Andy snuck, into my bouquet of flowers from Jinxx.

“We are going to Forgotten Flavors then?” I asked, smiling while thinking about homemade apple pie.

He looked at me. “Well of course. Where else would we go for dessert?” he asked, squeezing my hand lightly.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Forgotten Flavors has been the only good place we’ve found that has awesome pie and pool tables,” I stated as we arrived at the café.

We walked into the casually decorated café, the aromas of homemade food assaulted us, and made our mouths water. “Hey Andy and Anabel!” called Al, the owner of Forgotten Flavors.

“Hey Al, how’s it going today?” we called back, taking seats at the bar.

Al was an older man that was maybe in his late forties with salt and pepper hair and trimmed beard. He had a swollen belly from years of good home cooking and a good natured attitude. “So you two want your usual or will you be trying something new today?” he asked his Italian accent thick as he spoke.

We looked at each other and then at Al. “The usual,” we answered in unison, smiling at each other.

“Will you be playing pool as well?” he asked with a knowing smile on his full face.

We nodded as the bell over the door rang. “Andy, Anabel what a coincident that you’d be here,” came Jinxx’s voice from behind us. “How is your date coming along?

I was almost afraid to turn around and see if Sammi was with him, but as Andy looked towards his band mate, so did I. “It’s going great. Thank you for the apology setup,” Andy thanked his friend and I could look into Jinxx’s face.

Jinxx nodded. “Thought that would get me out of trouble with both of you for making dear Anabel here late,” he stated lightly. “Hey Al, can I get a cup of coffee?”

“Coming right up, Jinxx, right after I get Anabel and Andy their pie and the pool balls,” Al called back, wiping his hands on his apron.

Andy got up and went over to Al. “We’ll take the balls and be back for the pie after a game,” he smiled, paying Al for a game. Jinxx winked at me before Andy turned around with the balls. I blushed, and hoped Andy wouldn’t notice my red cheeks. “You in Jinxx?” he asked.

Jinxx grinned. “What are we playing for?”

Andy thought for a moment. “Money?”

Jinxx wrinkled his nose. “Nah, we’ve both got plenty of that,” he said.

Al butted in. “Why not play for a kiss from the beautiful Anabel?”

I shook my head and turned even redder. “Oh, no, Al, I-” I stammered in protest.

Jinxx looked at Andy and shrugged. “Fine with me, but she’s your girl.”

Andy looked from me, to Jinxx and the pool table. “Alright, you’re on. Just be sure to have some tissues handy when I beat you, because you’re going to be missing out on one hell of a kiss.”

Jinxx broke out into a grin that he couldn’t seem to help. “Oh, we’ll see about that,” he said, picking up a cue stick.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this, Anabel?” Andy asked quietly as we walked to the game room.

Behind us, I heard Jinxx snicker softly; Andy didn’t hear him. I followed him over to the table of his choice, followed by Jinxx and Sammi. “Sure, anything to inspire my man to win,” I said loudly, and then blew Andy a kiss as he rounded the table.

He acted like he caught the kiss and pocketed it. “You know I’ll win, baby,” he said confidently.

Jinxx grunted. “Can you two stop flirting like teenagers and set up?”

I batted my eyes and said sweetly, “Of course. Would you like me to rack the balls?”

“Ana, do you want to rack?” Andy asked me, and I nodded, grabbing the triangle and arranging the pool balls so that the same colors didn’t touch with the black 8 ball in the middle, and rolled the cue ball towards the “kitchen”.

I stood up after setting up for them. “Flip a coin for who’s going to break?” I asked, producing a quarter from my pocket.

“I call heads,” Andy called before Jinxx could get a word in edgewise.

“Jinxx, you’re tails,” I said as I flipped the coin onto the table that landed on heads. “Baby, you break.”

I rounded the table, kissing Andy on the cheek for good luck before he broke. I watched as Sammi slid her hand over Jinxx’s lower abdominals, her hand with its long, glossy black nails pointing down and a wicked smile on her lips as she whispered in his ear. I listened and watched Andy break, watching the red striped 11 ball go into the upper left corner pocket. I smiled as he commented. “You’re solids, Jinxx. First one to sink all their balls and then the 8-ball wins.”

Jinxx nodded as Sammi kept her hand on her man’s lower abdominal. “Okay, basic rules than,” he said as Andy lined up for his next shot.

I pressed my nails into a sensitive spot that got Andy every time along his spine, and I bit my lip as I heard him groan lowly as he took his shot, pocketing the striped maroon 15 ball in the left side pocket with a triumphant smile. “Good shot, baby,” I kissed him, biting his full lower lip and sucking it in between my teeth.

I felt him wrap his arm around my waist and pull me close. I heard Jinxx groan. “Get a room, or continue playing.”

I giggled, letting go of Andy's lip and smiled at him. "Let's continue, you can have more after you win," I stated with a flutter of eyelashes.

He nodded, going to line up for a shot with the orange striped 13 ball, but he missed the shot, bouncing off the rails. “Oh! Bad luck, my turn now,” Jinxx said happily, and sinking the solid yellow 1 ball, solid green 6 ball, and solid orange 5 ball all successfully one after another. “You’re starting to fall behind, my dear friend.”

I sucked in a breath at Jinxx's success, and turned to Andy. His determined expression made my words of encouragement die on my lips. "We'll see about that," he commented back, lining up a shot carefully, and then sinking the purple striped 12 ball into the right bottom pocket, and then the blue striped 10 ball into the same pocket shortly after.

Glad that Andy was ahead by one, I breathed a small sigh of relief, and gave him a passionate kiss, twining my tongue with his in a manner that left me dizzy for more. When the kiss broke, Andy lined up with the green striped 14 ball, looking down his cue stick, shifted his position slightly, and took the shot, barely missing the rail by a millimeter and sunk it into the left corner pocket. "Very good, love!"

He smiled at me. "It's all thanks to my lucky charm here," he said sweetly, cupping my face softly. When Andy leaned over the table again, I looked towards Jinxx and noticed Sammi massaging Jinxx through his tight leather pants, and I bit my tongue. "If you two start fucking on the pool table, we're out of here," Andy said with a laugh.

"Good riddance," Sammi said under her breath, earning a chastising look from Jinxx. "What?" He shook his head at her, and she rolled her eyes. "Why are you even trying to win this stupid game?"

"Nothing wrong with a little friendly competition," he said lightly, slyly glancing at me as he leaned over the pool table.

I watched Andy take his shot with the yellow striped 9 ball and miss just slightly, the ball bouncing off the corner. "Dang it, I thought I had that one perfect," he muttered softly and I wrapped my arms around him.

I smiled at him and ran my hands low. "You'll still beat him, baby. You only have two left and he has four left still," I said with overwhelming confidence in my man.

Jinxx leaned over the table. "Don't be so sure about that, dear Ana," he stated as he sank his maroon 7 ball and orange 3 ball in one shot.

I shot Jinxx a sour look that was similar to the look on Sammi's face. I puckered my lips in a pouty manner. "Jinxx, you're suppose to lose, you know?" I pouted half heartedly.

"Yeah, seriously," said Sammi.

"Oh, hush, you two. It's not every day that I get a kiss from the lovely Anabel," Jinxx said with a mischievous grin.

"That's because I'm with Andy," I complained, curling up against my lover. "And Sammi is yours," I added.

Jinxx lined up his next shot, which would be the purple 4 ball, for a right side pocket shot. I cringed as he made it, hoping against hope that that he would miss the 2 ball. Jinxx smirked. "I hope your kiss is as awesome as Andy is claiming," he winked, taking his shot.

Miraculously he missed the shot and I sighed happily, but suspiciously suspected he had missed on purpose. I watched Sammi dig her nails into his skin, biting and sucking at his throat, which most likely would leave a hicky. Andy laughed. “Poor shot, man, that was off by like a mile!” he exclaimed.

Jinxx shrugged, dislodging his girlfriend for a minute. “I was trying to use the rails,” he commented as Andy took aim and shot his striped yellow 9 ball into the left side pocket. “Now can you get the 13 in?”

Andy rolled his eyes at his friend. “Of course I can,” he stated, lining up.

“Don’t jinx yourself now,” Jinxx smirked, his eyes moving to me with a wicked grin and I swallowed hard.

I crossed my fingers as Andy shot and the orange striped 13 ball into a right corner pocket. Andy studied the table and where the 8-ball was, moving his cue stick back and forth from hand to hand before calling his shot. “Left side pocket.”

He took his position, pulled his cue stick back, and shot. I whined as it hit the rail and went away. “Oh, bad luck!” Jinxx laughed.

Jinxx studied the table as Andy stood by me again. “It’s okay, baby. He’ll mess up somewhere,” I reassured him, thought I wasn’t so sure.

He smiled. “Thanks, Ana, but with that devious look, he knows his shots and he’ll win,” he replied, sitting in a chair and just watching.

I pouted at my boyfriend. “He will not.”

Jinxx called both his shots at that. “The 2 ball will go into the right corner and the 8-ball will go into the left corner pocket,” he stated before proving his shots right, sinking the blue 2 ball into a lower right pocket and the 8-ball into the upper left pocket. “And with that I win. Anabel, you owe me a kiss I believe.”

I blushed, looking from Jinxx, the glare Sammi was giving me, and to my lover. "Andy- I-" I stammered, not sure what to do and knowing kissing Jinxx in front of Sammi and Andy was a very bad idea.

“A deal is a deal, honey. You have to kiss Jinxx as is his reward for winning the game,” Andy stated, looking into my grey eyes.

I poked my lip out, wishing now that Dahvie hadn’t thrown away my lip gloss. I looked at Jinxx. "But Dahvie threw away my good 'lipstick," I pouted, folding my arms over my chest.

Andy looked confused. “Which lipstick?” he asked softly.

“My pink one that wasn’t labeled,” I told him, poking my lower lip out. “He said that it should be recycled if it was so damn hard to get off. I almost scrubbed his cheek off trying to help him get it off.”

Jinxx looked at me a little unsure at that. “That’s not the one you got on now, is it?” he looked to Sammi, and then back to me. “I would not appreciate if I was stuck with pink lipstick on for the rest of my life,” he commented.

I shook my head, pressing a finger to my red lips. “Does that look pink?” I asked, and looked to Andy. “Baby, you should know which one it is.”

He nodded. “It’s your Blackheart Beauty lipstick that’s called First Love,” he answered, feeling a little uncomfortable repeating that he knew exactly what lipstick it was.

“Anabel, I think you’re avoiding what you owe Jinxx,” Andy started commenting slowly. “And Al won’t keep our pie hot you know.”

I made a face at him, sticking my tongue out quickly, and then my eyes locked with Sammi, who stood just two feet behind her man, giving me the evil eye. "Are you sure she won't kick my ass?" I asked Jinxx as I approached him cautiously.

He looked to his girlfriend and back. “No she won’t. She understands a prize is a prize and I’m hers first and always,” he answered.

Instead of stalling for more time and the possibility that my apple pie would get cold, I leaned in and kissed Jinxx lightly. Even the light touch of lips against his, burned a deep desire in my body and I began to blush again. “There you go, Jinxx,” Andy smirked slightly as he gathered up the pool balls to return to Al. “The kiss you were promised.”

Jinxx pouted his lip. “That wasn’t really amazing like you said it would be,” he whined as Sammi put her hands around him.

Sammi pressed her lips to his and gave him a deep, passionate kiss. “That’s how you give him an amazing kiss,” she stated, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

I rolled my eyes as I followed Andy back to the bar, where Al was just setting down a piece of lemon pie and one of apple. I sniffed the air, mouth watering from the aroma coming off the pies. “Smells wonderful as always, Al,” Andy commented as Al put a cup of black coffee down for Jinxx.

Al smiled. “Thanks, Andy. That’s very kind of you. Enjoy your pie,” he smiled as we dug in.

Jinxx sipped at his coffee and then looked to Andy. “What do you have planned for the two of you after this?” he asked, taking another sip as Sammi placed her hand on his thigh.

I looked at Andy as well and he looked into my eyes. “Well I was thinking maybe we’ll go to park and I’ll sing to her,” he commented.

I smiled. “What song, love?” I asked lightly.

He grinned. “I’m not sure yet. I’ll think about it on our way there,” he said as he finished off his pie and so did I.