Hustle Me (Bank Shot Romance #1)(62)
Author: Jennifer Foor

When we walked out of the little tattoo shop my mother had a tiny tattoo on her foot that said ‘free’. I knew what it meant and she was all smiles as she looked down at it herself. "Isn’t it neat?"

I laughed and looked at the little tiny lettering. "Yeah, cute is a good word for it. I mean, once you get your whole arm done, I may have to call it something else."

She pushed me and started laughing too. "Well, it’s big enough for me. Next I need to buy myself a Harley." She nudged me again while walking back to where the tournament was being held. I felt her arm reach inside of my one arm and I kissed the side of her head.

"Thanks for being here with me, Mom. It means a lot."

"This is where I belong, John. I love seeing you out there doing something you love. I just wish Charlie could have been here too."

I looked down at the ground to avoid eye contact with her. "Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to happen, especially not after last night."

She stopped walking and jumped in front of me to keep me from walking. "What happened?"

I shrugged. "I had a little too much to drink and called her a bunch of times. She made it clear that she wants nothing to do with me. I need to face the music that she’s done with me. It doesn’t matter what I say or do, she will never give me another chance."

"Do you want me to call her?"

I shook my head. "As much as I appreciate that offer, it will only make her more mad. After she hung up on me she must have turned off her phone. I left her a message apologizing and telling her how much I loved her so the fact that she’s never called must mean she’s really done. It sucks, because I know she’s the one that I want to be with." I could tell that my mother wasn’t okay with me giving up. "Besides, I think that as long as I have you I will be alright." I put my arm around my mother and walked us back into the building.

The matches were still going on and the next round couldn’t start until everyone was finished shooting. We sat down and I started studying some of the people I may have to play. Pool was all about strategy. Some players were shot makers. They could make a ball no matter where it was on the table, but others relied on the ability to play a safety. A safety allowed players to hide their opponent’s ball, making their next shot more difficult and sometimes impossible to make. While I tried to study each player, my mind went back to Charlie. I thought about her kisses and the way she smiled even when I made her angry. I thought about how excited Ryan got when he made a shot that I had taught him. Life didn’t always offer second chances, so my regretful decision of leaving her was going to haunt me for the rest of my life. Sure, I could hook up with other women and even pretend to give a damn about them, but there wasn’t anyone out there that would ever compare to Charlie.

I’d exhausted myself with thoughts of her so much that I almost didn’t even notice when they called my name to shoot. It was a good thing the guy I was shooting wasn’t very good. I took my time and focused on each shot, finishing out the rack with little effort. Applause filled the room for only a couple of seconds while my opponent and I shook hands.

The further I got in the tournament, the longer I had to wait between matches. They couldn’t give us an exact time, but I knew I had a couple hours to relax again. My mother wanted to go back to our motel and take a nap, but I needed a stiff drink so I could keep my cool. That last match was easy, but I noticed that I was shaking as I stroked the stick. I couldn’t be doing that if I wanted to shoot my best.

Once I got my mother situated and showed her where to find an alarm on her phone, I headed back to the lounge located at the main hotel where the tournament was being held. At first there wasn’t many people around, but it didn’t take long for a little thing to come and sit beside me. I saw her giving me the eye and called the bartender over to get her a drink. She was blonde and skinny and right away I found myself comparing her to Charlie. "I saw you shooting earlier. You’re really good."

I looked down at my beer and waved the bartender down. "Hey, buddy, can you get me three shots of triple sec?" I looked over at the blonde. "You want one too?"

She giggled and shook her head. "No, I think I want to remember my night."

I downed the first shot. "Suit yourself." After finishing the last two, I pushed the small glasses away from my beer. "I’m trying to forget."

"Did you lose?"

"Not yet, but it’s the girl I’m trying to forget." I felt her fingers sliding up my arm and looked over at her.

She smiled and bit down on her lip. "I bet I could make you forget."

I let out a laugh. "Yeah, except its only temporary, therefore a waste of time. No offense, of course."

Her face turned red and she removed her fingers from my arm. "I can leave you alone if you want."

She went to hop down from the stool and I grabbed her arm. "No, you can stay. I didn’t mean to be a dick. I’m just not in the state of mind to be hooking up. I’m almost in the finals and I need a clear head. It’s bad enough I’m all f**ked up about my ex." It killed me to call her that.

"I came here with a bunch of my friends, but they are all couples. They actually asked if I could give them some alone time. Sorry if I seemed forward. I’m usually not like that. So, how long has it been since you broke up?"

"Three weeks." I peeled the paper from my beer bottle while I thought about walking out of her life.

"Wow, that was recent. How long were you together?"

I looked right at the blonde, who I didn’t even know her name. "I’m pretty sure I loved her since I was four years old."

I saw her eyes get really big. She put her hand over her mouth. "Oh my God, that is the sweetest thing I have ever heard."

"It’s the truth, the unfortunate truth."

"Would it be wrong for me to ask what happened?" She took a sip of her girlie drink and waited for me to say something. I thought about telling a complete stranger how I’d lied and f**ked up any chance of being with Charlie, but talking about it wasn’t going to bring her back to me. The fact was, talking about her hurt me too much.

"I messed up. I didn’t cheat if that’s what you’re thinking. I just lied about things she couldn’t forgive me for. I think I made the wrong decisions and it cost me everything."

She grabbed my arm. "I feel like crying for you. That is so sad."

I nodded. "Yeah, story of my f**king life."

I looked up at the clock and realized that I’d been sitting there for an hour. I needed to get back to the tables and start warming back up. I stood up and had to grab the stool to get my composure. "Whoa, I didn’t expect that."