Hustle Him (Bank Shot Romance #2)(18)
Author: Jennifer Foor

I walked over and grabbed the pieces of bread, taking a bite in front of her. "If I was at home, I’d be eating Ramen noodles again. Your aunt has been feeding me dinner since I moved here. I have to say, she’s one hell of a cook, but you are the first person to feed and entertain me."

She smacked me again on the arm. "Stop teasing me. I liked you better when you were just a douche."

"A douche? I’ve been called many things, but never a douche. Just because I don’t like to socialize, doesn’t mean I’m a douche."

Vessa picked at her bread. I watched her looking down, like she was confused. It was the same look from when she first saw me. "I don’t get you. Ever since I moved here, you’ve made it clear that you didn’t want friends. What changed in the matter of a day?"

I pinched my nose, feeling that burn when you first start to feel that migraine. "Would you rather me go back to not talking to you at all? I didn’t say that I wanted to share life stories and shit."

She growled and started walking back out. "Whatever!"

When I followed her out, there still wasn’t a single person in the bar. Tuesdays were slow. I liked coming in then because I was usually by myself. I sat down next to Vessa and finished my food in silence. When I pushed my plate out from in front of me, she stood up and grabbed both of them to carry to the kitchen.

Maybe this was a bad idea. I had no business trying to be friends with someone that had her own problems. That is when I realized it was because of her situation that I could relate to her. She too, was broken in her own way. It was also the reason why I couldn’t be her friend.

I pulled out a twenty and sat it on the bar. While she was still in the back, I decided that it was better for me to just go. Obviously, she was confused about my actions and to be honest, I was too.

My hand pushed on the door for it to open. "You are seriously going to leave without saying goodbye?" She was standing with her hands on her hips.

"I enjoyed your cooking, Vessa, but I think it’s best if I just go. I can’t do this."

"Do what? We are two adults, Ramsey. I’m not asking for your damn hand in marriage. Look, I have no friends here. Like none! In fact, I don’t have many friends back home either. I gave up my social life for the sake of my family. My life is so messed up, but when I’m working, I feel like I can breathe. My aunt is great and I am awfully grateful for her to take us in, but I need to be me once in a while."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, maybe my aunt was right. Maybe we both need a friend." This was exactly what I didn’t need. I had thought that this was the one place that I could come to for peace.

I looked down at the floor and thought about telling her that it was a bad idea. Just as I went to open my mouth and say it, something stopped me. I couldn’t be mean to her for selfish reasons, no matter how much I wanted to just walk away. "I’m a terrible friend."

"Teach me how to play pool. I won’t ask you anything unless I win a game. I don’t even care if you talk to me. I just like the company."

I sighed. What could playing pool hurt? She wasn’t pressing me about personal things and I kind of liked the company too. "This is a bad idea." I followed her over toward the pool table.

She grabbed a stick off the wall for herself and turned around to look at me. "My whole life has been bad ideas. I’m not afraid." I watched her bend over and take a shot at a ball that was just sitting on the table.

As the night progressed, so did my alcohol consumption. By my third drink, I was looking at Vessa in all the wrong ways. Try as she might, but she still hadn’t won a single game. Since I didn’t have to answer any personal questions and I was pretty content with staring at her ass, I had her make me another drink.

A few people came in after we’d been playing for a while. When she went to go wait on them, I sat down and watched her working. I knew it was the alcohol making me think about her that way. Her full br**sts filled out the fitting shirt she was wearing and her jeans left nothing for the imagination. She had to know how sexy she was, especially if she had always been a bartender. There was no way in hell that she didn’t get hit on daily.

I closed my eyes and let myself imagine her being naked in front of me. I thought about having her sweet lips on parts of me that hadn’t been touched in a long time. As I concentrated on what it would feel like to have her riding me, I heard someone clearing their throat. "You falling asleep on me?"

My eyes opened wide to see her standing in front of me with her hands on her hips. "No, ma’am. I was just resting my eyes."

"That couple just left, so it’s just us again. How many questions are you up now?"

I lost count after seven. "About ten."

"I will answer two."

"That isn’t what we agreed upon," I teased.

She hopped up on the pool table and sat on it, with her feet dangling. "What do you want to know about me, Sheriff?"

Right at that moment, I wanted to know things that I could never ask. "What is your husband like?"

She leaned back on the pool table and started to laugh. I didn’t understand what was so funny, but at this point, I didn’t understand much of anything.

"Why would you ask that? I think that is the weirdest question ever. He’s a dick. He cheated on me over and over again and now some girl that is barely legal is carrying his child."

I could tell that she hated me for asking that. It was too late to take it back. "He’s a fool."

She suddenly straightened up her body and looked at me. "I thought so too."

"He should have been focused on his kids instead of someone else’s. You never know when something bad could happen and you may never see them again." I paused, thinking about Katie and how much I wanted to say to her. Then I realized that I opened up a can of worms that I wasn’t willing to explain. I stood up quickly and put my stick away. "I gotta go."

She hopped down and followed behind me. "Ramsey, wait! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just need to get my ass to bed."

"You’ve had a lot to drink. Do you want to wait and I will follow you home?"

"I’m fine!" I wasn’t, though. For the past couple hours I had been thinking of how many ways I wanted to f**k her, all the while knowing that every second spent with her was only making my life worse.

I didn’t look back as I headed for my truck, or when I pulled out of the parking lot.

Chapter 10

Vessa

I couldn’t believe that he had come into the bar and acted like he hadn’t just seen me. I mean, not only had I been at his place, but also we’d kissed. Now he was just going to come into the bar and act like nothing ever happened.