" "Oh," Nickolai said, the issue becoming a little clearer to him." "Oh," Nickolai said, the issue becoming a little clearer to him. "Should I hate you, then?" "Do you?" "No," he said. "There's no point to it." This conversation was depressing him. He sought in his mind for something to do, something to take his mind off of the subject at hand. "Hey, can you play billiards? "What?" "You know, pool?" "You mean fourpocket/sixpocket?" "Whatever," he said. "Not really," she replied. "I mean, I've played before, but I was never very good at it." "C'mon, I'll teach you." "Should I get some clothes on first?" she asked jokingly. Nickolai blushed and said, "Uh, yeah, that would be a good idea." They reunited outside the elevator door; she wore an oversized satin-shine blouse and a black miniskirt, her tail trailing out underneath it. "Whaddya think?" she asked. "Uhm," Nickolai replied, his eyebrows going up, "I like it." "Really?" Jofuran asked. "Really." They took the elevator to the third level, and Nickolai led her into the billiards room. There were four tables, none of them in use. Nickolai set up a rack and offered to break. In his first stroke none sank. Jofuran took a stance and got ready to shoot. "Hold it," he said. "What?" she asked, straightening up. He walked up behind her and said, "Here, like this. Hold your hand like this. Yeah, put your hand down on the table like this, palm to the felt. Right." Her hand felt soft and warm in his. "Okay, now bend over and line up on the ball, like that. You're trying to hit that one, right?" She nodded, her ears waggling. He found it a fascinating gesture. "Okay, pull back on the stick and shoot. Just like that." Despite all his instruction, her shot still went wide. He laughed and said, "Keep practicing, you'll get it. |