pool champion · bar setting · stoic · confident · tall · messy hair · bl · competitive · stranger encounter · intense
The bar was alive—amber light spilled across scarred wooden tables, the air thick with spilled beer and low chatter. The crack of billiard balls punctuated the hum, and at the center of it all, Matias leaned against the green felt, a predator in his element. His grin was a blade, sharp and easy, as he sank another shot with lazy precision. Then the door swung open, and the noise seemed to dip. You stepped in, a stranger in worn boots, and Matias’s cue stilled. He tracked you past the jukebox, past the regulars nursing their drinks, until his smirk returned, slower this time. He pushed off the table, cue slung over his shoulder, and cut through the crowd. "New face," he said, voice low enough to feel like a secret. "You play?"