10
1535 Words
Axel
I wasn't really looking for anything as far as a girlfriend or a hookup. But for some reason, Lizzy had me thinking about maybe trying the whole girlfriend thing out again. My last girlfriend had been a year ago, and I had actually thought I found the one. But it turned out she only liked me because I looked the part of a bad boy and had money. I was good with my money, starting back to when I was a kid and could only mow lawns for a living. I wasn't exactly fickle or anything, but I wasn't afraid to search for the best deal on things also. Every penny I made was split between my checking and savings account. Well, not really split evenly, seventy-five percent went into savings, and the other twenty-five went into my checking account. And that is what I lived on.
I hardly ever pulled money from my savings over to my checking. I used to think I would save it for when I had a family of my own one day and then use it to build the house of mine and my old lady's dream and use the rest to make sure my kids had everything Tats and I never had growing up. Which wouldn't be hard. We grew up in the system and didn't really have much as far as objects went. Hell, we were lucky to be able to be sent to the same foster home most of the time. But then my ex, whom I thought was the love of my life, found my banking information and found out I had thousands of dollars just sitting in a bank account that I never touched. And well, she thought since we had been together for a while and lived together, that meant she had free reign to spend that money. I didn't notice at first. In fact, it took me around six months to realize she had been withdrawing money from the account by using my bank card at the ATM. The cash was then being used to buy things she wanted, or her mom wanted. I had noticed the things she brought home but never thought to question it. She had a job, and I figured she had extra money to spend on herself. It wasn't until I had been going over my finances and my ledger didn't match up with what was in the bank, and I called and questioned the bank. They went over everything with me, all the withdrawals from different ATMs with my bank card, everything. It was a whole thing that she ended up getting pissed off with me because I reported the card stolen at that point. I hadn't removed that money and never permitted her to do so either. I had felt so betrayed and decided then I wasn't going to get into another relationship. I hooked up with girls when needed, but that was it. I never went farther than that. They were never allowed in my home or even close enough to get my personal information.
But as I sat and talked with Lizzy, I realized I had been missing that. I enjoyed the dating process. I enjoyed experiencing all the firsts you do when you are with someone. I missed that connection. At the same time, though, I noticed as she talked that chances are she wasn't fully ready for a relationship either. So as we sat in silence after she told me to watch out for my brother, I decided I would start out slow. There was no harm in the two of us being friends. She was nice to talk to, and well, you could always use a friend or two in your life. It didn't hurt that she was easy on the eyes either and smart as hell. Her confidence seemed to need some help, but that could be done with time. As I thought about all of this, my phone dinged, letting me know I had a message. Pulling my phone out, I saw it was a message from Tats. "Man, I could use some back up here. They said not to play pool with Tiny, and well, I should have listened. I am down one grand." Of Course, the guy would lose that much money so quickly. Before leaving, I was happy I was able to score her number at least. I hoped she had given me her real number at least. I guess I would find out.
Leaving, I made my way to the bar finding it full of MC members. Walking in Tats was overplaying another round with Tiny, who wasn't really all that Tiny. He was a really large guy. Making my way over, I watched as the guys played. From what I could tell, Tiny was actually really good at playing pool, and Tats sucked. So why the hell would he keep playing the guy? I shook my head and stepped up next to him. "Oh good, you came. I have been trying to win my money back, but the guy is just too good." I shook my head. "When you lost the first time, why would you keep playing?" Shock filled his face, "What I am normally really good at this. Why wouldn't I try for my money back?" I shook my head and scoffed. "You are not really good at this. You suck." Tat's mouth fell open as he placed his hand over his chest. "Ouch, man." I shrugged. "Truth hurts. So what do you want me to do about you losing your money?" He held the cue stick out to me. "We are playing teams. It's your turn. Tiny said he would even pick another brother that is really bad at playing to make it fair." He pointed over to, Army who looked to be just as waisted as Tats. I nodded, "Fine, but if I help you win, I am keeping half the money." He nodded. "They are solids." I nodded and studied the table a second before hitting in four of our balls.
"Finally, a real challenge." Tiny smiled happily. Army and Tats took their shots, both of them f*****g it up. Tiny took his knocking in a few of their balls. Then it was my turn, and I matched him, knocking a few of ours in. We went back and forth a few times and made it down to the eight ball. Tiny missed his shot, leaving me with a chance to knock it in and win the game. The eight ball set close to one end of the table, slightly between the two corner pockets, but the cue ball is set on the other end of the table and at a slight angle to the eight ball. With how the game had been going, we had everybody in the bar watching. Taking a breath, I pointed to one of the side pockets. Tiny nodded, acknowledging my call but held a skeptical look on his face. The shot was a tricky one but doable if I hit the cue ball just right. If I didn't, I would knock the cue ball in and lose the game. Either way, it had been a good game. Letting my breath out slowly, I hit the cue ball and watched as it did exactly as I wanted it to do, hitting the eight ball hard making it bounce across the table while the cue ball flew sideways, meeting the eight ball on its return back across the table. The two of them colliding, the eight ball flying to the side and landing right into the pocket I pointed to, and the cue ball flew to the other side, just barely missing the other side pocket as it bounced off the edge and slowly came to a stop in the middle of the table.
Silence filled the bar. You could hear a pin drop. It was so quiet. Shock filled everyone's face in the room. "Well, I'll be damned." Tiny walked over and held his hand out to me. I took it, the both of us grasping each other's hand. "Damn good game, kid. I haven't played anyone in years that has been able to beat me. Well played." I nodded. "Thanks, I actually got real damn lucking on that last hit." Letting his head fall back, he laughed hard and loud. "I was sure you had lost your mind when you called that shot. But damn if you didn't pull it off." Tats walked over with the pile of money, moving to put it all in his pocket. In one quick move, I punched him in the shoulder and took the money from him. "Hey, what was that for?" I shook my head, counting out the money, then taking half of it and handing the rest back. "I told you I was taking half the pile, jackass." Pouting, he took the money I handed him and put it in his pocket. "It was my money to start with." I shrugged, "And you're the dumbass that lost it. I helped you get it back, teach you to lose it in the first place."
- Writer
