Hustle Me (Bank Shot Romance #1)(58)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Wherever Jammer was, I hoped he was getting herpes.

That is what he deserved.

Chapter 34

Jammer

For three weeks, three terrible weeks, I had been without Charlie. After taking my mother away from my father, we spent the first day driving.

Since I knew that I was going to be playing in the U.S. Open Nine Ball Championship, it was necessary for me to practice my ass off. I hadn’t been playing as much and my game was off even more considering that I had to buy a new stick and get used to the way it played. Most people think the stick doesn’t make a bit of difference, but that is one way you can tell a real billiards shooter from an amateur.

My mother and I found a motel that rented by the week. It was a shitty little place that was run down, but with her one credit card being our only source of money, it was important to save as much as we could.

I know she was hurting after leaving the comforts of her home. I had nothing to offer her except my companionship. The good thing was that it gave us time to reconnect. I think I hadn’t let myself miss her the way I should have. We had little, but she took care of me. It showed me that all of those Sugars that I had bedded and got a hot meal from were taking the place of the mother that I had abandoned.

Maybe I was just feeling sorry for myself after losing Charlie. This whole idea was becoming an impossible dream. I couldn’t believe that I was considering playing the best pool players in the world for a chance at winning fifty grand. Still, my mother remained supportive and pushed me to keep at it.

I think I was completely in the right mindset until I woke up to my phone ringing one day. I saw the number on the screen and wanted to answer, but knew it would open up a can of worms that would be impossible to get out of.

When the phone beeped that I had a message I was shocked. I mean, she never left messages. I paced around the room a few times wondering if I should just ignore it or delete it before even listening. The last thing I wanted was to hear that she wanted me to come home. I guess somewhere in my head, I was hoping that is how she felt. When I got the nerve to listen, I think my world was shattered.

I listened to it several times, hearing every awful thing she thought about me. Sure, she was wrong about the part with my father, but it was still a kick in the nuts. Charlie wanted nothing to do with me. I had hurt her so terribly that there was no way she would ever forgive me again. Our relationship was over.

Knowing that made me reconsider even playing in the damn tournament. My mind was all f**ked up and I knew I wouldn’t be able to focus on a game with that much money at stake.

One thing that I found out when going to register was that I was supposed to have done it months ago. Luckily, this pretty little thing who was working the event had someone cancel. She put me on the top of the waiting list and by the time I walked out of there, I was registered to play. Sure, I had to take her out to dinner for her helping me, but I was willing to do anything for the chance to play. I was so angry at myself for walking away from what I wanted. It was almost like I wanted to play just so I could fail and finally admit that I was nothing but a loser.

I’d lost Charlie, so I had nothing else that I wanted to live for. I would be a hustler for the rest of my life.

My heart ached for her, but I buried it behind liquor and pool. Some people would think playing so much before the event would have burned me out. On the contrary, it made my game better. I was struggling with my emotions and took it out on the table. There had been several nights where I played all night long and came into the motel when the sun was coming up.

I don’t know how much my mother approved of my lifestyle, but I think she was more concerned with me failing. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I wasn’t ever going to be with Charlie again. I’d f**ked that all up and now it was time to worry about my mother and myself. I couldn’t go back even if I wanted to.

As the event got closer, more big time players were arriving in town. It was easy to scope out which bars they would be hanging at. I think I shocked myself when I came home one early morning with two grand in my pocket. Maybe at first she thought I had robbed someone, but when I brought her along the next night she was more than excited. We stayed up until the wee hours of the morning talking about how she used to go and watch Joe/Joker play in events. She said I reminded her of him, but it was because he taught me everything he knew.

It was cool having a common interest with my mother. As much as I thought she was sad about leaving her life, she smiled every single day and seemed to genuinely enjoy being with me. I have to say that if I couldn’t ever be with Charlie, being with my mother and getting close to her again meant the world to me.

She supported me and rooted me on like I always had wanted her to. Maybe the time we’d spent apart had given us the time to accept the things we couldn’t change about each other. I was learning fast that my mother was a whole different person when she wasn’t being held back by my overbearing father.

Since I was no longer playing to get my father away from Charlie, I was looking at the prize money as a way for my mother and I to go somewhere and start over. That credit card was only going to last for so long. My mother was a pretty lady and she knew how to talk to people. Finding a job wouldn’t be a problem for her, but for me, well it could be a problem. I had tattoos all over me and aside from being a bartender, I didn’t have any experience. All I was ever good at was playing pool and drinking.

I ran into several players that I had met while living with Joker. Most of them recognized me and welcomed the chance to let me play with them. Now, when playing someone that you knew was a pro, it was hard to not be nervous. I wasn’t used to playing the players that were true talent. The people I hustled just thought they were good.

An older player that I didn’t know recognized my mother. He sat down at a corner table and talked to her for hours while I played. My new stick was alright, but it didn’t compare to my old one. Joker had made my stick and everything about it was one of a kind. It stroked like no other stick I had ever used and had a tiny shaft that my fingers were used to holding.

One night after playing for a few hours, my mother retired to our motel room. I stuck around with the guys and lost a bet to treat them all to the local strip club. Because I was the youngest, I became the guinea pig to all the young dancers and their lap dances.

The more I drank the more I pictured them being Charlie. One brunette chick with a rocking body kept swaying her hips in my direction. Touching the chicks was usually a way to get kicked out of a place, but this chick was rubbing her naked tits all over my face. She took my beer and slowly dumped it over her breast then pressed it against my mouth.