Page 20 of Betting Blind
Derrick hops over the bar and quickly makes his way over to us. I raise my hand to halt him when he gets a few steps away and rise from my chair.
“Hello, Tank,” I say lightly, trying to get his attention, but he and Jules are in a stand-off, locked in an intense staring contest. I won’t lie, I’m a little afraid for Tank. “Look, there’s, uh… no problems to be had here, okay?”
“Bullshit there’s not! I’ve been watching you stare daggers through the back of Cassidy’s head all night, and I want to know what your problem is.”
Tank growls low in his chest, and the entire bar stares at us in horrified silence. A pin could drop in the parking lot and we would still be able to hear it. Jimmy’s voice rises above the crowd, quietly praying a Hail Mary from the back of the bar.
Tank’s lip curls up in a snarl at her threatening words, and he turns his gaze on me.Did I just pee my pants?I’m afraid to look. Good thing I’m wearing black.
“You’re a no-goodpup,” he practically spits at me.
Juliana is fuming while I stare at him, mouth gaping. That’s it? All this time, he’s been mad at me because he thinks I don’t belong here? I almost can’t believe it, but what the hell, I suppose it’s time for David to conquer Goliath.
“Tank, let’s chat,” I say, gesturing for him to sit at our table. He sneers at me once more before shouldering Juliana out of the way and slamming his large body into the chair she was occupying. The creaking protest it makes shatters its way through the quiet bar.
I turn my attention to Jack, who is standing behind the bar with Micah, and I give him a curt nod. I’m going to show him what this puppy is made of. Turning back to Tank, I slowly pace in front of our table.
“I have a proposition for you.” The crowd chatters their excitement and I press on. “If I can beat you at a game of quarters—we’ll say, first one to five shots wins—then you have to give me a real chance and try to get to know me.” A few people gasp. “No more glaring or huffing and puffing whenever I enter the room.”
Jack crosses his arms as a wicked smile pulls at his lips.
“If I fail, then you’re welcome to go back to hating me forever,” I say, stopping in front of him and extending my hand for him to shake. “Deal?”
Tank’s eyes fall to my open palm. “Deal,” he grinds out, and the crowd explodes into a wild fury of clapping and hollering.
Juliana bounces up to the bar and grabs two shot glasses and a bottle of liquor from Micah while I go over the rules in detail. Each one of us will take turns attempting to bounce the quarter off the table and into the opposing shot glass. If I make the shot, Tank will drink it, and if he makes the shot, I will drink it. The first person to get the quarter into the shot glass five times wins.
“This is straight tequila, ladies and gents.” Juliana smiles widely before placing the bottle and glasses on the worn table. “I hope you’re thirsty,” she whispers to Tank, who growls at her like a feral dog.
“Me first,” he says once she’s finished pouring. Taking the shiny quarter she left on the table in his hand, he places it between his massive thumb and pointer finger. Without missing a beat, he bounces it off the table, landing it directly into the shot glass with a loudglunk.
Jimmy’s managed to find his way behind me, and Derrick sidles up next to Juliana at the table. “Come on, Cassidy, you got this,” Jimmy whistles through his missing teeth.
Tank’s face is one of undeniable pleasure as he watches me grab the shot and throw it back in one gulp. He thinks this is over before it’s even started, but I don’t give up that easily. Derrick slaps my back. “Atta girl! Show him what you’re made of!”
I refill our shot glass and take the quarter in my hand. I close one eye, sticking my tongue out slightly, and scooch my chair back to get the right angle for my bounce. I let it loose and exactly like Tank’s, it lands directly in the middle of the shot glass. The thunderous crowd cheers my name, pissing Tank off even more, and he tosses the burning liquid down his gullet.
Back and forth we play. Half an hour goes by with several missed shots between us, but we continue until it’s tied four to four. I’m feeling the liquor buzz under my skin as a sheen of sweat breaks out on my brow. This is it—game point, and it’s my shot. “You got this, Cass.” The sudden warmth of Jack’s chest against my back coaxes more heat from my body.Cass.I like the sound of my nickname on his lips. “You’ve got him pinned down. Finish what you started.”
I nod—at least, that’s what I intended to do—and turn my eyes to the unsuspecting shot glass. Tank’s face is screwed tight with a scowl as he stares at me from across the table, and I do my damnedest to remain focused. Taking a deep breath in and out, I bring my hand up to bounce the quarter. No one dares to move as we watch the quarter sail through the air. My eyes widen as it hits the tip of the glass, sloshing tequila everywhere, and rolls on its side all the way across the table, bumping into Tank’s belly.
It makes several quiet turns before finally flopping down with aclick. Everyone remains frozen. Not a single person so much as takes a breath when Tank unfurls his arms from across his wide chest. He leans over the table, glaring at me with those shadowy eyes of his before bursting into a fit of laughter. He laughs so hard, his shoulders shake and tears spring to his eyes as he slaps the table loudly, making me jump.
“That was one hell of a shitty shot!” he rumbles. The sound is so deep, I can feel the vibration from where I’m sitting.
My mouth is numb, but it welcomes the smile stretching it despite my epic loss. Jules is still fuming while Jack and Derrick slap my back, and I’m a bit wobblier than I had expected to be when I move to stand. The crowd’s cheers are akin to the loud buzzing a swarm of bees makes, but through the haze of it all, I feel Jack’s hand on the small of my back keeping me steady.
Tank steps around the table toward me, and I tilt my head up to meet his dark eyes. “I thought you had me. Good game.” His mouth molds into what is supposed to be a smile before he walks back to his station by the front door.
“Everyone grab a beer!” Jack yells from beside me, and the whole bar obliges. “To the Pound Puppy!” I laugh as a spray of beer covers me when we raise our glasses. I meet Tank’s eyes one last time and he nods. I nod back under a second shower of beer as glasses clink together once again. I guess it’s safe to say he couldn’t resist my girlish charm.
Chapter 10
Cassidy
Jules and I giggle uncontrollably on our way up to her apartment. It’s a miracle I can even drag myself up each concrete step, and I’m thankful to Derrick for dropping us off. “I can’t believe the night we just had!” I say as we turn and climb the third and final set of stairs. Beyond our laughter is the mid-summer sound of crickets chirping, and by the time we reach her front door, I’m breaking a sweat.
She’s out of breath when she turns back to me. “No kidding! You were amazing!”
