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“You saw my house. I’m not one of you. My dad is a drunk, who I have to pick up from Miller’s Bar almost every night and get him home. I don’t know my mother, and my Grams, who was my only real parent, is slowly going batshit. Still interested?” she asked with sarcastic smile.
I took my glass from her hand and took a drink from the exact spot where her mouth had been, then licked the taste of her berry-flavored gloss that had transferred to my lips. Her gaze dropped to my mouth, and for a moment, she didn’t breathe.
She was lying to me, and I was still getting hard. Damn her.
“How old was he?” I asked her.
How far was she going to play this game?
She blinked, and her eyes shot back up to meet mine. “Who?” The one word came out breathy.
Finally, she was distracted. I’d gotten to her, if only a little. Or perhaps that was part of her act.
“The pansy-ass whose daddy told him what to do.”
She let out a deep breath, and her shoulders slumped. “Twenty-one.”
I smirked. “That’s the problem. You were dating a boy. I’m a man.”
She let out a nervous laugh. “I can see that.”
I reached out and brushed the pad of my thumb over her cheek. “How old are you?” I asked even though I already fucking knew not only her age, but also that her birthday was in four weeks and she’d be turning twenty-one.
“Twenty-one—well, I will be in a few weeks,” she replied.
She was honest about some things. Good to know. I wasn’t dealing with a habitual liar. Just one who covered up what she had to.
“What about you, old man?” she quipped. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-nine,” I replied dropping my hand back to the bar.
“Damn, ready for a walker soon.” Her eyes twinkled as she said it.
Keep that up, Ace, and I might fuck you to get you out of my system.
She glanced over my shoulder and then back at me. “I didn’t come here to drink and flirt with old men,” she told me. “Might as well go see if those two want to play a round.”
I hadn’t been able to watch her finish the last game, but then I’d not known what and who she was. I did now. Studying her and learning her tells would be good leverage.
“By all means. I’ll enjoy the entertainment.”
She rolled her eyes with a curl of her lips as she stood up.
I had her interest. Next step was to gain her trust. I didn’t see why fucking her couldn’t play a part in that. Might as well enjoy something about all this.
•Seven •
“Working as in hustling frat boys at cards?”
Royal
Is Royal a nickname?
I was smiling at the stupid phone in my hand. I shouldn’t have agreed to exchange numbers with Amory Blaine. Sure, he was older than Merce, but he drove a Porsche and wore designer jeans. I wouldn’t ever fit into his life. This was a game to him. I just couldn’t figure out why he was playing it.
Nope. It’s my name.
As if anyone would nickname me that. Nothing in my life was royal.
