Shui Xian thought she might really lack emotions but she didn’t lack morals. She was actually a very honest person with high values. Obviously, it had to do with the fact that her grandfather was a military man. But it also showed just how pristine her heart was.

He couldn’t find a single emotion in her eyes or on her face. To be honest, he only saw blankness in her eyes till now. At first, he really thought it could be simulated but now, it seemed that that blankness in her eyes was the real her. She was just as a straight person as she had been a straight-A student in her life. Without any ulterior motives. She was exactly what she seemed to be.

Raelle’s eyes fell on something and she tapped his shoulder before pointing over, “Let’s play!”

Shui Xian looked at the billiard table and then looked at her, “You want to play pool right now?”

Raelle nodded her head, “Why not?” With that, she trudged over and picked up the cue stick to check the tip. She took off her blazer and threw it aside at the leather couch. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, she got the perfect view of the big swimming pool behind the villa. She felt it was not just the perfect view but a perfect time for this.

Seeing her folding the sleeves of her white shirt, he sighed out. Right, he couldn’t expect her to do what normal people did. Just because normal newlyweds never played pool on their wedding night didn’t mean they wouldn’t either! After all, that was exactly what they were about to do right now!

He also took off his coat and threw it beside hers as she used the triangle to ‘rack up’ the balls. He also picked the other cue stick and came to stand right behind her as he asked, “So, how are we playing?”

“Right! We need to have something on a stake here!”

“That’s not what I meant but whatever!” was what he muttered to himself before saying, “Wife, is it that serious? That we even have to have something on stake right now?”

“If I won’t be winning something, why play?” she retorted calmly. “If I’m making the effort, I should be getting something in return.”

Shui Xian looked at the billiard table and asked, “Fine. What do you want to win?”

“If I win, I get the left side of the bed,” she replied straightforwardly.

“What?” was his dumbfounded response.

“I’m used to sleeping on that side. It isn’t easy to change everything all at once in my daily routine.” She elaborated briefly. “Wait! First tell me, which side you prefer?”

“Why?”

“What if you already prefer sleeping on the right side? Wouldn’t I be taking a loss here?”

He came close to her ear and said, “Since you’re being so serious about it, I’m not telling.”

“Huh?”

“The bet is set already, tell me how to decide who is gonna ‘break'[1]?” He paused and frowned before asking, “Wait. You didn’t tell me what I’ll get if I win?”

Raelle patted his shoulder, “Hubby, don’t worry. That won’t be happening!”

Shui Xian’s lips curved up slightly and he nodded, “We’ll see about that.”

After that, they tossed a coin to decide who was gonna take the first shot. The one to win the toss was Shui Xian. “I knew my luck was on my side today.”

“What luck?” said Raelle. “The probability of the coin landing on heads was…”

She couldn’t continue since Shui Xian held his finger against her lips and said, “Wife, I don’t care about the probability. I believe in my luck sometimes. Let me be happy with that.”

Raelle shrugged her shoulders, “Never mind then.” Then she watched carefully as his right hand held the base of the stick. And the narrow end of the stick rested on his left hand. Only now, she noticed that he had long slender fingers with distinct joints. A thought popped up in her mind, ‘Why are his hands so pretty?’

“Coming back to my earlier question, are we playing 8-ball or cutthroat?”

Raelle answered, “Let’s go with cutthroat pool[2].”

He nodded and focused as he lined the pool tip up with the cue ball, aimed, and hit it away! Raelle saw him taking the first shot and even getting his first sink with interest.

When it was her turn, she seriously aimed to sink his balls. When she straightened up, she said, “Something is missing.”

A wine glass suddenly appeared before her face and she looked back at Shui Xian.

“How did you know what I was thinking?”

Passing her the wine glass, he picked up his own and took a sip languidly, “If I say it’s because we are now connected as husband and wife, you’ll call me crazy.” Raelle nodded her head without hesitation. “Then let it be. Why does it matter how I knew what you wanted?”

Although she was still genuinely curious, she didn’t ask again. It didn’t take long for her to sink all of his balls. She looked at him triumphantly, “I told you I’ll win. My calculations never go wrong.”

He smiled at her and said, “What to do though? You’re still taking a loss tonight.” Raelle looked at him as she took a sip of the wine in her glass while he stepped closer to her. Seeing the drop of red wine trickling down her pale neck, tempted him. As Eduardo Galeano said, ‘We are only mortals until the first kiss and second glass of wine.’ The contrast between the red wine and her jade-like skin made a beautiful picture especially with the moon that hung in the dark sky right behind her.

He leaned over and his lips landed on the side of her neck. His hot tongue darted out to trace the trail up to the side of her lips ever so slowly. Taking in a sniff, he added, “I usually sleep on the right side. You really got nothing out of this match.”

Raelle only felt something hot, wet, and soft touching her neck. It brought about a strange sensation that she had never experienced before.

[1] ‘break’ refers to the very first shot.

[2] “Cutthroat Pool.” Each player chooses a section of the numbers (if 2 players, 1-7 and 9-15; if 3 players, 1-5, 6-10, 11-15) on the correlating pool balls. The object of the game is to sink your opponent’s balls and only have yours left on the table. The last one with a ball (or balls) on the table wins.