All In: Betting on a Full House (Gambling With Love) (3 page)

Jess

I walked into Shooter’s with mixed emotions. I wanted to hang out with Lauren, and I really wanted to see Tyler. The problem was I didn’t want to see them together, or see him making sad, puppy dog eyes at her. 

Looking around I spotted the happy couple, Lauren and Caleb, shooting pool at a back table. Two other guys were apparently playing with them, waiting their turns on stools, but I didn’t see Tyler. Noticing the eyes of the two men on me, I automatically put an extra sway in my hips as I walked over.

Lauren smiled when she looked up and saw me. “Hey Jess! Thanks for coming,” she said, heading over to give me a hug.

“Happy birthday, girl,” I told her, handing her the card in my hand. “It’s a gift certificate for a mani/pedi, but the catch is I get to go with you and you have to spill all your naughty stories.”

“Deal,” she said with a smile. “Thank you. Now come over and meet Dylan and Will. Guys, this is my best friend, Jess. She’s also an exotic dancer.”

The first man I noticed had the whole preppy hotness thing going on. Every single inch of his mile high basketball player size, from his big feet to his thick, sandy blonde hair was mighty nice.

My gaze finally went to the other guy, who was also really damn cute, and probably only a few inches taller than me. His dark hair was wavy, and he had intelligent green eyes behind sexy black-rimmed glasses, Clark Kent style. Both men dropped their attractive jaws while they looked me up and down, nicely upping my confidence level. 

Caleb laughed at his boys' reactions. “Sorry guys, but I think her and Tyler are seeing each other or … something.”

“Or something,” I clarified. “We’ve just fucked a few times, it’s not like we’re dating.”

I hoped I sounded more nonchalant about it than I actually was. I’d been pissed when I woke up and saw he’d left without saying goodbye this morning. He’d texted me, but he’d still jumped up and ran out the door, thanking me for the sex like I was a whore performing a service for him.

Lauren gave me a concerned look, but I ignored her and saddled up to Will and Dylan. “So which of you is Will and which is Dylan?”

“I’m Will,” said the cute, dark haired one with a big sexy smile, holding out his hand for me to shake. I took it then turned to the big blonde one, Dylan. His hand was so large I couldn’t shake it properly, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he had something else I wouldn’t be able to wrap my hand around.

“Nice to meet you both. So, what’s a girl gotta do to get a drink around here?”

I laughed when they both jumped up from their stools so fast the two vacated pieces of furniture almost hit the ground.

“What would you like?” Will asked.

“How about you both surprise me with a shot of your choice?”

“Done,” Dylan said and then they were off to the races.  

Lauren and Caleb were both staring at me with a raised eyebrow as I giggled. It was freaky how in sync they were.

“What?” I asked as I hopped up onto one of the abandoned stools. “Your boy Tyler made it clear we were just screwing, so don’t look at me like that.”

“Fine. We just don’t want to see him get hurt,” Lauren said, causing a laugh to burst from my lips.

“Ha. You’re so fucking funny. I think you two have hurt him more than anyone else ever could.”

“Hey guys, how’s it going?” Tyler of course chose that moment to walk up. He looked back and forth between us and we all dodged his gaze.

“Hey, Ty.”

“Hey, Tyler.”

Caleb and Lauren greeted him like they hadn’t just torn his heart out and stomped on it a day before.

“Hey, Jess,” he said, eying my short black dress and black knee high boots, before climbing up in Will’s vacant seat beside me.

“That's Will's seat,” I told him, snippier than I intended.

“He can find another one,” he replied coolly.

“Well, I’ll feel bad since he got up to go get me a shot.”

“Why’s he buying you a shot?”

“Why do you care?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” he said, rubbing his hand over his face, in annoyance or frustration.

Dylan and Will made their way back from the bar about that time, said hello to their buddy Tyler, and each handed me a shot.

I took Dylan’s first and threw it back, scalding my throat.

“
Jesus,"
I coughed. “What the hell was that?”

“Fireball,” the tall man said with a blush spreading across his cheeks.

“That’s some strong shit.”

I took a yellow shot from Will and threw it back, then licked my lips.

“Um. That was awesome, Will. Lemon drop?” I asked.

“Damn right. I tried to talk him out of the Fireball,” he said with his big dimpled smile.

“Thanks. Keep those coming and I’ll be dancing on one of these tables before the night is over, and begging you to take me home.”

“What the fuck?” Tyler yelled, standing up from his chair. Will took the opportunity to steal it back from him, hopping up on it quickly. I couldn't help my laugh, which only pissed Tyler off even more.

“What’s wrong, Tyler?” I asked sweetly.

“Why are you acting like a bitch?”

I gasped at his insult, and slammed my shot glass down on the high-top table. “Did you just call me a bitch?”

“I didn’t call you a bitch, I asked why you were
acting
like one.”

“So drinking shots from your friends makes me a bitch?”

“No, leading them on does.”

“I’m not leading them on. I’m a single girl, and I can date and fuck whoever I want, including one or both of your really cute friends, if they’re interested.”

"Oh, we're definitely interested," Dylan said, and Tyler looked like he wanted to hit the tall man. 

"Not a chance in hell,” Tyler snapped at his friend.                                        

“What? Are you jealous, Tyler? I thought you said we were just 'screwing around', so why do you care if I screw someone else?”

“You’re brother said that you don’t screw around.”

“What? When did you talk to my brother?” I asked, caught off-guard by the mention of Jonathan.

“This morning,
when I was
leaving your bed
,” he said loud enough for everyone around to hear.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, I ran into him in the hallway and he said I'm the only guy you've ever brought home.”

“Maybe I just like to fuck guys at their places.”

“No, you don’t,” he said, shaking his head with a cocky grin, and taking a step closer toward my chair.    

“How would you know?”

“Because you were tight as fuck our first time. You hadn’t been with anyone in a long,
long
time. Are you sure I didn't actually pop your cherry?”

My jaw came unhinged that he'd say that in public, especially since it was the truth. Before him the other night, I hadn't fucked anyone in probably a year or more. After dealing with perverts all weekend, and getting paid to blow men to keep a roof over our head, sex had mostly lost its appeal. At least until this sexy bastard came along.

“You arrogant asshole,” I said, sliding out of my chair to get in his face, or at least look up at his face. “Maybe your cock was just too damn big,” I said, poking a finger in his chest. I realized right away that probably wasn’t the best come back, but it was too late. The man flustered me like no other. 

“Oh baby, my cock fit just fine, and I
know
you liked it. How many times did I make you come on my cock? Was it four or five times that night?” he asked, grabbing my hand that was pointing to his chest and gently forcing it behind my back. Then he shocked the hell out of me when he grabbed my ass and pulled me against him, kissing me senseless.

My free hand went to his chest to push him away but instead it took an unexpected detour to the back of his neck, holding him to me. He moaned in approval as our tongues plunged hungrily and familiarly in and out of each other’s mouths.

Tyler’s grip on my ass was so tight our entire bodies rubbed against each other. I was swept away with him, forgetting where we were standing or that we had observers. Then it hit me. He was probably just kissing me to try and make Lauren jealous. I finally tore my mouth from his and pushed against his chest with my free hand.

He looked down at me, his gorgeous eyes a hazy, lust filled, navy blue. His wide, sculpted chest rose and fell with his panting breaths. Leaning forward his lips brushed over my ear before he whispered, “Let me go home with you tonight.”

“No,” I breathlessly responded.

“No?” he asked, leaning back again to look at me with his forehead creased in confusion. He’d probably never actually heard a woman use that word before. The man was ridiculously hot.

I pulled my arm from his grasp, then hopped back up on the stool since I didn’t really trust my legs at the moment.

“No,” I repeated. If I didn't put a stop to our "screwing around" I was going to fall for him, and end up getting hurt. Hell, I already was.

Tyler looked at me a second longer, then blew out his breath and walked away towards the bar. When I looked at the group around me, Caleb and Lauren were playing pool, pretending to ignore us, and Will and Dylan refused to look in my direction. Guess Tyler had marked his territory or whatever, and warned them off. Well, screw that.

“Dylan, Will, how about a game of cutthroat?” I asked. They looked over at me, surprise showing on both their faces.

“Hell yeah. Let’s go,” Will said, jumping down from his chair. I stood up from mine, my legs still wobbly from the kiss, then looked down at my dress.

“Do you think my dress is too short for playing pool?” I asked, and both sets of eyes went down to my ass.

“Fuck no,” they both said in unison.

“Oh good.” 

While we were racking at an empty table, Lauren came up to say goodbye.

“So, um, we’re just going to head on home. Call me tomorrow, okay?” she asked. I knew she wanted to find out how my night ended, or with whom it ended. I was anxious to find that out for myself. I had my pick of three very nice looking guys, although only one made my lady parts tingle.

“Sure. Have you had a good birthday?” I asked, trying to make up for being bitchy earlier. Her smile said it all.

“Oh yeah,” she said, fingering her new sunflower necklace before she closed her eyes and let it go with a sigh. A smile stretched across her face as she looked across the room at Caleb. “You’ll never guess what Caleb bought me. A cute little white kitten!”

“Aw. Nicely done, Caleb. Who knew a little pussy was the way to a woman's heart?” I called over to him where he was putting his cue up, making him laugh.

“Alright, well, you guys have a good night,” Lauren said, then with a hug they were gone.

I was surprised when Tyler actually stuck around. I figured it was mainly because he didn’t want to head home to overhear them going at it. Which was the only reason he wanted to go home with me again. Ugh.

When Tyler came up to our table, Dylan shot him a sympathetic look and asked how he was.

“Fine, now shut the fuck up about it,” he snapped, telling us all exactly how “fine” he was. 

He stood and watched us play, throwing back shots the entire time. I was pretty sure I heard him curse whenever I bent over, until finally he must have had enough.

“Goddamn it woman!" he yelled. "You’re showing the whole place your ass. But that red thong is hot. Does your bra match?” Tyler asked, his voice back to an almost normal level after his initial outburst.

I grabbed the top of my black sleeveless dress and shimmied it up, drawing attention to the significant jiggle before I responded. “It’s not like having guys look at my ass is anything new, and I’m not wearing a bra.”

My statement was rewarded with three simultaneous male groans.

“Is that one of your stage outfits?” Tyler asked sarcastically, staring at my knee high boots.

I laughed. “No, this is way too much fabric for the stage. Speaking of which," I turned to the new guys. "Will and Dylan, you should come by Infinity's sometime. I work every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, and usually go on stage either as a naughty nurse or wearing nothing but a thin white t-shirt until bubbly is poured all over me. After I get good and wet I take the shirt off and dance naked.”

I didn’t miss Tyler clenching his jaw.

“Definitely,” Will said with a smile. “Have you seen her dance, Tyler?”

I looked over at him, waiting for his response. I knew he and Caleb were there Thursday, but I wasn’t sure which, if any, stage performances they saw.  

“No, but just FYI, sex
is
allowed in the champagne room at Infinity’s,” he said with a smirk.  

Dylan and Will’s jaws hit the ground. I watched both their wheels turn until their gazes swung back to me.

“I don’t have sex in the champagne room.” At least not anymore. When Tyler raised an eyebrow like he was about be a jackass and contradict me I quickly added, “Well, except with sad, lonely men after they lose a girl to their best friend.”