One Shot Bargain (2 page)

“What is the catch?” she asked. 

He chuckled a little under his breath.  “The prize.  If we win the grand prize I will gladly split the money with you fifty-fifty, but I need to be able to claim the grand prize for myself.”

“What is the grand prize?”

“A cabin on the lake,” he told her, his gaze never flinching.  “But the cash prize is twenty thousand dollars.  If you agree to not try to lay claim to the cabin, I will gladly give you the ten thousand for the tournament.”

Randa thought about this offer for a moment.  If he was serious, then that meant she would get a chance to get into one of the big name pool tournaments.  She knew the one he was referring to because she’d seen the posters hanging up at the bars and pool halls around town for the last six months. 

“So, let me get this straight?  If you make that shot, I have to agree to be your partner in the tournament?  What about the pool of money going tonight?” she asked, eying the four hundred dollars that was folded up and placed under the beer glass on the table.  The offer to be in the tournament was enticing, and she knew that she could really use that money.  But that was a long-term goal.  Tonight she had to make sure that she had enough money to live and eat for the next two days. 

“The money tonight still goes to the winner.  This bet is purely on the shot.  If I don’t make it, I pay you double the money.  But if I do make it, you just became my partner.”

This deal is too good to be true.
Her interior voice shouted at her, and although she knew that logically she had every reason to be cautious of this situation, her danger meter was not going off.  That built in alarm system that someone developed after years of living on the streets usually alerted her whenever there was a pressing issue or danger nearby was uncommonly silent on the matter. 

Taking a deep breath, she looked into his face and caught herself once again swept up in the depths of his gaze.  Before she could reconsider, she
stuck her hand out in front of her. “You have yourself a wager, Drake.”

He smiled and grabbed her hand within his own, pumping it up and down in two smooth motions before letting go and turning back to the table.  The moment he had touched her, sparks flared through her flesh and settled once again in her groin.  Images of the two of them together sprang up in her mind, and she had to struggle to suppress them as she watched him take his
impossible
shot.

He arched his back and pulled the pool stick straight up and down, aiming it for the back side of the cue ball.  Then, with one sharp and fluid movement he whacked the ball hard enough that it clearly jumped up off the table.  Randa watched, her breath caught in her throat as the ball cleared the eight ball, slammed into the side of the
thirteen ball, and sent it careening across the table and into the side pocket. 

She had never seen someone play with such skill, and she knew that winning anything tonight was going to be hopeless.  She was just going to have to prepare herself for living on the streets for the next two nights until it was time to go to the tournament.

Drake turned around after he made the shot and caught a glimpse of Randa’s face.  Although she was purposefully trying not to look him in the eye, he could plainly see the contrasting excitement and worry that played across her delicate features.  Glancing back at the duffel bag on the floor, he understood that this game was a make it or break it situation for her.  He doubted that she would be able to afford anything to eat, let alone any place to stay if she did not win tonight. 

When she had first walked in, he had pegged her for a hustler.  She was wearing tight black jeans, a black tank top, with a fitted Pink Floyd shirt stretched over the top of it.  Her shoulder length hair was dark chestnut brown, and it hung down across her face, obscuring her grey eyes. 

The entire purpose for him to be at the pool hall that night had been to find a new partner for the tournament.  So, he had watched her play at least three games, easily clearing the table with each of her opponents before he had dared to approach her.  But until she had pointed out that all of her worldly possessions now rested in her bag, he’d not known how dire her circumstances really were. 

She shifted her weight from foot to foot and looked up at him, a haunted smile playing on the corners of her mouth.  Although he should have been strutting about, pleased at the fact that he had just made one of the hardest shots he had ever attempted, he couldn’t.  When he looked at her and saw her concern play across her face he wanted nothing more than to take her away and protect her.

Judging from the way she held herself, he very much doubted if she would allow herself to be taken care of or comforted.  Drake had already made the decision to miss this shot and allow her to win the money, but he knew that he would have to make it convincing or else she would most likely have difficulty taking money that she would see as charity. 

The cue ball had bounced back to the center of the table, meaning that he could easily knock the eight ball into the corner pocket without too much of a problem.  However, if he hit it just right he could probably cause the cue ball to spin off and scratch into the corner pocket. 

Pacing the length of the pool table he eyed the balls, surveying the green felt one last time before
he decided exactly where and how he would do this shot. 

“Eight ball, corner pocket,” he called, looking up in time to catch the fleeting look of horror.  Even as he watched, the fear disappeared and her face once again turned into a mask of stone. 

When the cue ball struck the eight, it did it at just the right angle so that it spun off.  The eight sank easily into the corner pocket, but the cue ball ricocheted back and went into the other side pocket a moment later. 

Randa looked up at him, her eyes wide.  Drake walked across the floor and picked up the money and placed it gently in the palm of her hand. 

“Goes to figure that after a spectacular shot, I would jack up the next one that was so easy it wasn’t funny.” He smiled, and when she opened her mouth to protest he shook his head.  “You earned this.  I promise.”

She looked down at the money in her hand, and for a brief moment he caught a glimpse of tears forming at the corners of her eyes.  Then she blinked and everything shifted back into place; the hard young woman glaring back at him was the one he had been playing against all night.

“What do you expect from me?” she asked, and he knew that she was not only referring to the tournament and those standards, but also if he was one of those despicable men who would still want sex after doing something as nice as making sure that the poor girl got the money she deserved.

“Well, nothing tonight.  Go home, get some rest.  Tomorrow night, however, will be a different story,”  he told her, his smile widening.

He could see the glint in her eye deepening and her fist closed around the wad of money, crunching it between her fingers.  He knew that at any second she was likely to throw the bills back at him.  The fire in her posture was one that was so intriguing he had a brief flash of the two of them together and had to grit his teeth to dispel it with a giant forced chuckle.

When he laughed she took a step back, her arms crossing in front of her chest.

“Oh, don’t get so defensive,” he said, his laughter rising into a roar so loud that the people at the next table glanced over at them.  When he was able to breathe again he calmed himself down. “I meant that we would need to get together to practice.”

“Oh.” She mumbled, her arms dropping to her side as she slid the money into her jeans pocket.

“We’re only going to have two days before the tournament begins in earnest, and I want to make sure that we get as much practice time in as we possibly can,” he explained.  “So, meet me back here tomorrow afternoon around three o’clock.”

“Sure,” she said, nodding her head. “I’ll see you then.”

Drake waved to her as he started to pack up his gear.  Once he’d broken down his cue and grabbed his bag, he turned to leave.  That was when he noticed Randa at the payphone by the door. 

“…two hours?  That is the best time frame you can give me?” When he heard Randa’s voice he stopped and turned back toward her.  Although she had turned her body away toward the corner he could still see the side of her face.  Her brow was furrowed and she was chewing on the side of her thumb nail as she spoke.  “The pool hall closes
in an hour, and so you’re telling me that I might end up sitting outside in the dark for an hour before you can get a cab here?”

She nodded into the phone and rolled her eyes as she listened to the person on the other end of the line.  Just then she turned just enough that she noticed him looking at her.  “Yeah, whatever.  I guess I don’t have much of a choice, do I?” she asked as she slammed down the hard plastic receiver and stared at the phone, her shoulders heaving up and down for a moment before she turned back to him.

“Don’t ever rely on a cab to get around.  It is a sucky mode of transportation,”  she said, smiling as she picked up her bag and walked to a table at the front of the hall by an open bank of windows. 

Drake paused for a moment, unsure if he wanted to step into the mess that was obviously her life.  But then he pictured her waiting alone outside in
the dark for a cab that may or may not come.  Sighing, he walked over to where she was and pulled up the chair next to hers. 

“I don’t suppose you would trust me to give you a lift?” he asked, leaning forward on the table. He expected her to blanch or at the very least pull back.

Instead, she blinked a couple of times as she scrutinized him.  “And they say chivalry is dead?  Sure, I guess if I’m going to be spending the next week with you at a tournament out of town, the least I can do is trust you enough to get me to a hotel tonight.”

“Hotel?”

She chuckled when she looked at his face and realized what he was thinking.  “Yeah.  Due to circumstances beyond my control, I am temporarily without a place to stay.”

Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she headed to the door.  When she realized that he wasn’t following her, she called back over her shoulder to see if he was coming.  But she never turned around, not even when she walked out of the door and into the parking lot without knowing which vehicle was his.

Smiling to himself, Drake started toward the parking lot. 

What have you gotten yourself into?
he wondered as he slipped into the darkened parking lot and headed toward his vehicle, smiling when he heard her footsteps behind him. 
This girl has some spunk.

Randa stretched her arms above her head and ran her fingertips down the cotton sheets.  She had decided against staying in the cheaper hotels, but rather to splurge and stay at a Hilton.  It wasn’t a top of the line place by any means, but it was far, far better than what she was used to. 

Since Drake’s offer to attend the pool tournament, she actually felt like there was a chance that something good could come from her life. There was no doubt that he was good at the game, better than her, and there had been a time when she’d made a pretty decent living hustling pool.  But that was before her partner had left her high and dry at a tournament in Las Vegas with no money. 

She sighed and rolled out of bed, phoned room service and climbed into the shower.  It really was amazing how much good a hot shower would do for one’s peace of mind.  Whenever she emerged, she felt as if she could take on whatever life had to throw at her.  All of the hurt and the tragedy that was yesterday seemed to slide off her skin and run down the drain with the rest of the dirt.  As she rubbed down her body, she thought of him.

Closing her eyes, she pictured him like he was in the pool hall yesterday, his dark eyes flashing in the light as he watched her.  The water slid over her body, and she ran her hand across her abdomen.  Everything in her tingled as she continued to picture every little detail about him, how he had moved, how he talked, how his presence seemed to fill up the entire room. 

Before she realized what she was doing, she felt her fingers rubbing against her clit and she gasped.  It was if her entire body was humming electricity she was so charged up.  When she slid her finger into her wet folds she almost came right away.  Leaning against the wet tile of the shower, she tilted her pelvis up and pushed her fingers inside, harder and harder.  Using her other hand, she tweaked her nipple in rhythm with the flow of her body, and with each soapy thrust she thought of him.  It did not take long until the burning memory of his stare followed her into the rabbit hole as her body gave way to the abyss of the orgasm.

A little later when she answered the door all wrapped up in her robe, she felt a little like Julia Roberts in “Pretty Woman.”  Only minus the fact that she wasn’t a hooker and she was actually paying for the food with her own money. 

Thankfully, Drake had been willing to lay down his credit card for the room.  Since she was not staying at a bottom feeder hotel, cash in hand was not an option.  When he had heard where she planned to stay, he offered to help her out so that she didn’t have to spend the night with the bugs, the hookers, and the crack dealers.

She was just finishing up her bacon and eggs when the phone in the room rang. 

“Hello?”

“Randa?  This is Drake.  I was just calling to see if you needed a ride tonight.”

“I’m sure I can catch a cab,” she answered after a brief hesitation.  Randa didn’t want to seem unappreciative of the offer, but she didn’t want to get dependent on him either.

“Really?  Because I don’t want to be stuck waiting around in a four hour time frame for you to show
up like the damn cable repair guy.”  She startled, and she felt the tension tighten up across her back and shoulders, her muscles tying themselves into knots.  There was a flashback to the way that it had been when she’d partnered with Gary, how he used to belittle her and tear down at her self-esteem until she wasn’t able to feel comfortable in her own skin.  If that is what this relationship was going to be like she would have to back out of the deal. 

A moment later she heard him chuckling and she felt herself relax.  “Sorry, I was just giving you a hard time.  I remember how frustrated you were with the cab company last night.”

“Yeah.  I get it.  Just took me by surprise is all,”  she answered, forcing a laugh.  “If you’re offering, I’m sure it would be easier if you were just to come and pick me up.  But I do not want to be a burden.” 

“Nah, no burden at all.  Actually, I wanted to ask you if you wouldn’t mind going somewhere else to practice anyway.”

“I guess not, why?”

“It will be easier to go over a game plan and to practice if we don’t have to shout our moves,” he told her. 

“Where?” she asked, wondering what pool hall he was planning on going to that wasn’t noisy as hell.  She was simultaneously worried that he was trying to get her alone, and thrilled with the idea of it.  Deep down she did not trust herself to not give him a repeat performance of the shower.  It had been so long since she’d been with someone that her body was responding as if it had been set ablaze.  Even though she’d just had a very powerful orgasm not fifteen minutes ago, she could feel herself starting to rev up all over again. 

She trailed her fingertips along the inside of her robe, across the tender flesh of her breasts and sighed into the phone.

“If that will work for you?” she heard him ask, and it brought her back to the conversation.

“I’m sorry, I missed that last part,”  she interrupted, pulling her hand back and closed her robe as she tried to focus more on the conversation.

“Get distracted?” he asked, his voice lifting a little at the end and she could picture the corners of his mouth turning up in a half-smile.

“Yeah, just enjoying breakfast, but I’m sure whatever you have planned will work out.  What time are you going to be here to pick me up?” she asked, rushing herself to try and get off the phone.  If she were on here much longer, it was going to be next to impossible to keep from
pleasuring herself.  Even as it was she could hardly wait to get him off the phone.

“I’ll see you at five.  We’ll get some food and then go practice.”

“Works for me.  See you then.” She told him before firmly hanging up the phone and climbing back into the bed, the remainder of breakfast growing cold on the tray.