Re: The Cat: Matt & Cat
He turned his back, returned to the bar, and she chuckled. And she played the game.
She saw the bills, because her vision was very good. She listened for the sound of the register, because that was just habit. She watched the door, because that was habit too. And she knew he was watching her. Which was fine. She was good at putting on a show, and so she did. And she didn't lose badly. No point in doing that, not when she liked her customers keeping their pride. After all? She wanted them back, and men could be fickle creatures about being trounced by a woman. Oh, she knew that was sexist bullshit. But Cat? She ran a bar in a rural, conservative town, and most of the men here were sexist. And she was one of the guys, but she knew where to draw the line. And the night these customers all got locked into their homes? Wasn't the night to beat them at pool.
She wasn't looking to burn any bridges. It was why she carded as stringently as she did, and it was why she was liberal with her booze, and it was why she never watered down.
So, she lost.
Good-natured, and she was still grinning when she returned to the bar. "Oops." She grinned.