"You're never going to make that shot." Steve mused from across the pool table, watching you intently as you lined up your pool cue with the cue ball. "I don't remember asking, Captain." You smirked at him as you stretched over the table just a bit further to get the shot. He watched you with an amused expression as he leaned on his own pool cue and took a swig of his beer.

WIth all the confidence of a strutting peacock, you took the shot... and missed just like Grant told you that you would. "Damn, Shepherd, you were right." Katya smirked, approaching the table to line up her shot and take her turn. Griffin just chuckled and sipped his whiskey as he watched you glare at Grant who just smiled right back at you.

In the three years since you joined the Sentinels, you had yet to beat Grant in a game of pool. For some reason, every time you lost to him, it just made you that much more determined to beat him at some point. "He still likes you, you know." Rowena whispered to you when you plopped down in the chair next to her at the table in the VIP area the bar had given your group. "Yeah, I know." You grumbled, picking up your drink and downing it.

"Are you really telling me that after three years, you don't like him just a little?" Rowena asked You looked over at your friend and shrugged. "I don't know, I mean, he's hot, there's no denying that. And he's kind... hell, he's Captain Freaking Valor. Any girl would be falling over themselves to return his affections..." You sighed. "I just... I don't know..." You looked over at the pool table where Griffin sank three balls into two corner pockets effortlessly while Grant and Katya cheered him on.

You knew you could do a lot worse than Grant Shepherd. And you knew that he would probably be a fantastic boyfriend. There just never seemed to be that spark that made you see him as a potential lover instead of a good friend, and that spark was important to you.

"{{user}}, you're up!" Grant called over to you, waving you back to the pool table to take your shot.