Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The man walked out of the dark. His tall, slender figure and chiseled facial features made him look as handsome as a god. However, his entire body was exuding a cold aura that prevented anyone from approaching, making the girls afraid of even looking directly at him.

As he came closer, Samantha’s gaze darted away sharply and her hands turned pale as they gripped the cue.

She instinctively lowered her head to try and cover her face with her long hair.

The only reason she learned pole dancing was to survive in a foreign country. Timothy did not know that she could dance and she had also deliberately altered her voice earlier, so it was unlikely that he was able to recognize her!

In addition, if Timothy did recognize her, he would have grabbed her on the spot instead of remaining so calm.

Samantha secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She should not be scaring herself and letting the cat out of the bag!

With that thought in mind, she looked up again and stared straight ahead, directing her gaze to Timothy’s…lips.

Timothy walked to the opposite end of the table from Samantha, with only the pool table separating the two of them. As his black pupils looked up and stared lazily at her, there seemed to be no discernable emotion from his expression.

Zachary glanced at Timothy, then at Samantha, and curled his lips in a wicked smile. “Friendly reminder, my friend Timmy here always mops the floor with his opponents and never suffered any routs before. If I were you, I would concede defeat, do a striptease for him, and be done with it.”

Had she not been in that tricky predicament, Samantha would have wanted nothing more than to put a burlap bag over Zachary’s head and give him a good beating!

What a blabbermouth!

As harsh as those words were, Samantha unfortunately had to acknowledge that Zachary was merely stating the facts.

Timothy was the one who once held Samantha by the hand and taught her how to play. As the Barkers’ heir, he not only had knowledge about many things, but was also proficient in each one of them!

Take pool as an example—he played against a world champion at the age of 16 and won!

Samantha could still win against Zachary if she was lucky, but if she was up against Timothy, she could never win unless he wanted her to!

Caught between a rock and a hard place, she would have to do a striptease if she conceded defeat. Timothy would definitely recognize her if that happened, and there might still be the possibility that her little life would not be spared there.

Therefore, she had to create her own chances even if there were none!

Samantha smiled, “Losing without a fight is a disrespect to the game and my opponent. Shall we, Mr. Barker?”

“So heroic!” Zachary’s tone became more and more teasing. “Alright, let’s start the game then.”

Samantha feigned coyness and blinked a couple of times before asking softly, “Can the lady go first?”

If she started first, all she had to do was pot five balls in a row. That would prevent Timothy from having a shot, thus securing victory for her!

Timothy’s handsome face seemed to have a half-smile, as if he could see through her thoughts. He nevertheless did not refuse and merely nodded slightly.

Samantha took two deep breaths and gave herself a little pep talk. She then walked to the pool table, bent down, then struck a pose. She used the cue to hit the white ball as hard as she could, causing the other balls to scatter in all directions.

She did not dive right into the game, but instead carefully observed the situation of the balls on the table. Only after choosing the five balls that she wanted to pot did she begin her play.

The first ball went into the pocket with ease.

Zachary touched his chin and commented, “Mm, that’s a good opener. Go on, Beautiful! Good luck!”

Timothy sat on one side at the one-seater sofa, crossing his slender legs elegantly. His fingertips were tapping gently on his knees while his handsome face seemed to be as indifferent as ice.

Samantha went around to the other side, bent down, and struck another ball.

The second ball went into the pocket.

She entered her zone bit by bit, potting both the third and fourth balls as well.

“Oh.” Zachary seemed to get a little more excited and it was starting to show from his high-pitched voice. “This pretty lady has got some skill. She potted four balls in a row now and the game is hers if she pots one more.”

He glanced at Timothy, whose expression remained indifferent while he was seated, and teased, “What do you think, Timmy? Do you think your winning streak will finally come to an end today? Are you going to lose by this beautiful woman’s hands?”

The corners of Timothy’s lips twitched, but he still did not speak.

The other onlookers were buzzing with excitement as they discussed whether that dainty pretty woman could pot another ball and clinch victory over Timothy!

Even Felix started his own betting pool. The odds were one-to-a-hundred if Samantha won and one-to-one if Timothy won.

Samantha could not hold back her resentment when she heard those odds.

Was it because she already had victory in her sight? Be that as it may, her odds and Timothy’s odds were just worlds apart.

Were they serious when they said the odds of her winning were one to a hundred?

Samantha was down to her last ball and she was not about to take it lightly. She immediately focused her attention to analyze the situation on the table.

The previous four balls basically traveled in a straight line so it was not difficult to score. Since then, the easy balls had become scarce.

She pondered for a moment before ascertaining her target.

It was a little difficult to pocket that ball because it was obstructed. Therefore, a slight curve was needed when striking the ball.

Samantha stretched her arms and tried several positions before finding the most suitable one. She bent down once more and struck her pose.

She turned her face to one side, exhaled, and immediately faced forward once again. With a thrust of her arm, the cue struck the white ball.

Everyone’s eyes were subconsciously glued to the ball and everyone was on the edge of their seats as they followed the ball’s trajectory.

The white ball struck her ball of choice and slid toward the pocket on her far left. It was able to successfully circumvent the obstacle it encountered and looked set to fall into the pocket.

Sadly, the ball ended up stopping just right in front of the pocket.

Samantha could not help herself from feeling irritated. It was such a tiny distance between the ball and the pocket! It just had to move a little bit forward and she could have won!

The young men present there exchanged glances before the room exploded into cheers. “It’s such a pity that you didn’t score!”

There was little, if any, pity in their voices. They all yelled, “Undress! Undress!”

Everyone had watched her pole dancing performance earlier. That smoking hot figure, slender waist, and fair skin was set to give them a feast for their eyes.

Zachary turned to Samantha and said, “You lose one, you take one piece of clothing off. I can choose for you. Would you like to take off your mask or your clothes?”

Samantha bit her lower lip vigorously.

Having lost the game, there was no way for her to renege on the bet. Since she could not take off her mask, the only thing she could take off was her clothes.

Samantha did not say anything and took off her coat right away.

Upon seeing that, Zachary snorted and laughed, “Are you still hoping to make a comeback? You might be fine if he doesn’t play, but once he does, you won’t even get any balls left.

“Why not use your good looks to swoon him or maybe even give him a kiss? Who knows? He might be willing to go easy on you…”