Hustle Me (Bank Shot Romance #1)(29)
Author: Jennifer Foor

I ran over and grabbed his little Disney earphones. "Put these on. I can come lay with you when I put this money away."

He took his headphones and headed back into his room. When I got in there he was already in his bed. I laid down beside him and played with his hair. "I love you, Charlie."

"I love you, too."

"Do you love, Jammer?"

"No! Why would you think that?" Had he seen us last night?

"Well, he keeps us safe like you keep me safe."

He was so cute and too smart for his age. "I keep you safe because you are my brother and I love you. Jammer is just helping us out. He doesn’t have boyfriend/girlfriend feelings for me. He isn’t my boyfriend. Jammer isn’t the kind of guy to be tied down to a family."

His little bottom lip stuck out. "But I like him. He’s nice to me,” he admitted.

“Yeah, I like him too, maybe even too much, but I have you and a business to run. It’s too much for anyone to want to be a part of.”

“Are you mad at me for being your brother?”

His question broke my heart. “Of course not! Ryan, all that I had ever wanted is to have a real family. You gave me that. I could never be mad at you. I know sometimes I am hard to deal with, but it’s just because I am struggling to be good at everything I do. Don’t ever think it’s your fault.”

“I think you do a good job, Charlie. I’m glad you’re my sister.”

I kissed my brother again on his head. "I’m glad you’re my brother. Now, get some sleep, kiddo." I played with his hair until he fell asleep. His headphones weren’t on too loud, but they covered up the bass of the bar music and allowed him to sleep.

The Karaoke idea was good, but only for one night out of the week. I couldn’t have him miserable because he couldn’t sleep. He was the first priority in my life.

I must have dozed off, because when I opened my eyes, it was quieter. Music was still playing, but nobody was singing. I got up really fast and ran into the bathroom to freshen up. I had to reapply my makeup on one side to hide the remaining purple under my eye. The bar was dark enough where it was hardly noticeable.

I walked downstairs fearing that I would see Elle hanging all over Jammer. Instead, she was sitting at the bar across from him, laughing at something he’d said. Jammer caught me walking up and smiled. I looked away from him and turned my attention to Elle. She had a beer in one hand and her cell phone in the other. "Hey, chick. What’s up?"

She leaned into my ear. "Tommy won’t stop texting me. I told him we were having a girl’s night, but he wants to hook up." She pointed at Jammer, but in a way that he couldn’t see. "I had other plans tonight. What I am supposed to do, Charlie? He’s so freaking hot!"

He was hot. He was especially hot when he was naked. His soft lips felt amazing when they were wet and sliding over mine.

I licked my lips thinking about it again. "I haven’t noticed."

She turned my body to face Jammer. I could tell she’d had too much to drink. "Look at him, Charlie. What is there not to like? He’s damn near perfect."

I knew all of this already and being forced to look was painful. I needed time to forget.

"If I admit that he’s hot, will you stop talking about it?"

"You.Are.No.Fun."

Jammer came over toward us. "She’s had one too many. You should probably take her upstairs."

I’d tried to walk Elle up a flight of stairs at school and almost broke both of our necks. "I can’t carry her."

He shrugged. "Why don’t you pay the Karaoke guy and I will get her up to bed."

It was a terrible idea. "Good idea."

Elle stood up and walked sideways. "I can walk myself upstairs." She tripped on her heel and fell on the floor, laughing.

I rolled my eyes and watched him helping her up. She turned around and flashed me a thumbs up.

Okay, I needed a drink. I walked to the other side of the bar and poured a glass of vodka. The first glass burned but the next two didn’t taste as bad. I slouched down on the floor and let the liquor run through my body. I wanted to forget about the past twenty-four hours. I needed to forget that Jammer had given me the hottest night of my life, because it was just a f**k.

An unforgettably amazing f**k.

Chapter 18

Jammer

The bar had the biggest crowd that I’d seen since I got back to town. Charlie’s friend Elle really did have a great idea and she knew how to draw people in. Unfortunately, she was like all the girls I had to go to school with when I was younger. On the outside she seemed fun and always looked for a good time, but inside, she was stuck on herself no matter who she had to walk over or backstab to get it. How she and Charlie were friends was beyond me. They were polar opposites.

Charlie was acting weirder than usual and I had a feeling that it had to do with me. The girl really had gotten under my skin and I couldn’t stop thinking about us having sex. In such a short time, I think I had her skin memorized. She had this sweet smell to her and it was smooth and perfect. I loved the way she fought to hold her own, even when everything was crumbling from underneath of her. I think that’s what was attracting me. It was her inner strength. That was something that I’d never looked for in a woman, not that I ever really looked. For the most part, my life revolved around scoring. I lived for winning the game, finding a hot chick to bed, and moving on. I’d never stopped to let myself care about anything but myself.

Saving Charlie, and finding out that I was somehow connected in all of this mess, was forcing me to look at my life. Sure, Charlie didn’t know I was the John she was looking for, but it still didn’t change the fact that I was a quarter owner of a place that changed my life. Here I was, back at that special place, and my life was changing again.

I’d known her less than a week, but knew that I liked her. It was too bad she had a boyfriend, which was probably the reason she was acting so ridiculous. I wasn’t here to mess up her relationship. If she wanted us to be friends, then I had to stand by that.

It wasn’t until she walked upstairs to put the money in the safe, that everything changed for me. The baby monitor must have dropped on the floor when she bent over to grab the money bag. I picked it up and could see the little lights moving around. I shouldn’t have, but I walked into the kitchen to listen. I just wanted to make sure someone hadn’t followed her.

I swear I wasn’t going to listen, but hearing the conversation for myself shocked me so much, I just had to listen.