Hustle Me (Bank Shot Romance #1)(30)
Author: Jennifer Foor

"Do you love, Jammer?" Ryan’s voice was loud and clear.

"No! Why would you think that?" Not that I expected her to answer yes, but she was really being defensive with her tone.

"Well, he keeps us safe like you keep me safe." I was trying my best at least.

"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 one girl and especially a family." She made it sound like I was a loser. I hated hearing her say it like that. It was like she thought I was incapable of settling.

"But I like him. He’s nice to me,” It was because his father was such an important person to me. I felt like now that I knew that kid was out there, without his father, that Joker would want me to get to know Ryan. He was a cool kid.

“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.” It was a lot, but if it was all worth it, maybe someone would want to be a part of that life. I wasn’t saying I wanted to swoop in after only a few days, but Charlie was so different and the circumstances bringing us together were too much of a coincidence. I felt like I actually wanted to pursue it, except she wanted the opposite.

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

“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’m glad you’re my brother. Now, get some sleep, kiddo."

When it got quiet again, I rushed into the front of the bar and left the monitor back on the floor where she’d dropped it. My heart was beating fast. I was so worried that she would find out I was listening to her private conversation with her brother. I already had enough lies I was keeping, so adding to the pot was not very cool.

Charlie didn’t come back down for a while and her friend really took advantage of the situation. She climbed up on the bar and started dancing as someone was singing Karaoke to “Cherry Pie.” She kept watching me and pointing to me.

I focused on the bar and not the girl. Sure, she was hot in all the right places. I knew she was probably a hell of a f**k, but even though my life revolved around the hustle and the sex, there was a part of me that got tired of it. It became more of part of the job, than something I enjoyed, until last night happened. Sleeping with Charlie was only because I wanted to sleep with her. I didn’t do it for the hot meal, the shower, and the bed to sleep in. I did it because she drove me crazy in ways that made me want to know more about her.

When the song was over, Elle climbed down on my side of the bar. She tucked her hands into the waist of my pants and pulled me closer to her. I was tall enough to keep my face away from hers. She looked up and licked her lips. “I bet you’re a real good time.”

I put my hands on her waist and backed her up against the bar. “That’s what I hear.”

She smiled and grabbed one of my ass cheeks into her hands. I clenched my jaw, feeling more annoyed than turned on. I could smell the alcohol on her breath and I really disliked easy girls. Sure, I f**ked them, but I didn’t like them at all, not as friends and not as lovers. Plus, most of them ended up not being that good in bed. Being with them was like acting out a bad  p**n o. They were orchestrated and rehearsed. Nothing was natural about them.

“So, do you want to share that little bed of yours with me tonight?”

“Sure.” You can have my bed and I will take the couch.

She looked all happy about me saying that, little did she know I wasn’t going to do shit with her. Obviously Charlie hadn’t talked to her friend like most girls did. This chick had no idea that I’d f**ked her friend last night. Wasn’t there some kind of girl code about that?

“I better get to clearing out this crowd then.” She pulled away from me while she giggled. I shook my head and got back to tending the bar.

As the crowd died down, I wondered if Charlie was ever going to come back downstairs, not that I needed her help closing the bar. It was a piece of cake. She’d already taken care of the kitchen. With no one to entertain, Elle made her way back to the bar. I was trying to get the rest of the glasses dried and put away, so I pretended to be interested in her conversation while I worked.

“So, it’s almost closing time. Do you know what that means?”

I hung up another wine glass. “Nope, maybe you should refresh my memory.”

“Let’s do a shot! We totally need to do a shot together.”

I poured a shot of vodka into two glasses and slid one across the bar. “What are we drinking to?”

She held up her glass towards mine. “To a night we will never forget!”

I clanked our glasses together and downed my shot. The liquor burned going down. I watched her squint her eyes and finish. “Okay, one more.”

She’d already been drinking beer all night. If I gave her anymore liquor, she’d probably pass out. I poured another shot and filled up my glass too. “Last one.”

She held her glass up again. “To Charlie and her bar.”

I agreed and downed my shot again before passing her a new beer. My plan was to get her to go to sleep before she could take off her clothes.

She took a big swig of her beer and sat it down on the counter. “So, have you met Zach yet?”

“Is he the boyfriend?” I don’t think she’d said his name before.

She started laughing. “Is that what she called him?”

What did that mean? I opened my mouth to ask and saw Charlie coming in our direction.

She approached Elle from the opposite side and, although giving me a quick glance, turned all of her attention back to her friend. She was laughing and keeping her conversations at a tone where I couldn’t hear them. They were completely talking about me. I could tell from the look on Charlie’s face that I wasn’t her choice of conversation.

I leaned over the bar. "She’s had one too many. You should probably take her upstairs."

Charlie looked at me like I had a third eye. "I can’t carry her."

Of course, she had to put this on me. "Why don’t you pay the Karaoke guy and I will get her up to bed." I saw Elle start smiling when I said bed. The bitch didn’t have a clue.