Bellying up to our usual barstools in Got the Shaft felt all too right. The best part about the pool hall—other than dollar PBR night—was that they let me bring Otis.

“Well, well, well, look what the cat brought in—a couple of grease monkeys.” Rhonda hurried out from behind the bar to wrap her arms around Shaw and me at the same time.

“Work’s been crazy.” Shaw huffed, taking off his coat.

“That’s no excuse to not come in and see me every once in a while.” Rhonda put my Jack and cream soda in front of me with a bowl of water for Otis.

“It feels good to be back in here.” I smiled at her before taking a sip of my sweet drink. Rhonda had worked at that bar since before I was old enough to even step foot in there. My father used to sneak me in after late nights of restoring old cars so I could watch him play pool. Some of my favorite memories were of sitting in the back corner, drinking cream soda floats while my father ran the tables all night.

“Liv! Sweetie! Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” Rhonda beamed down at me.

I ran up to hug her. She scooped me up and spun me around.

“Hey Rhonda.” My father took a seat at the bar. “How’s it going?”

Setting me down on the chair next to my father, Rhonda made her way back to her post behind the bar. “Same ol’ stuff, different day. The usual?”

“Jack on the rocks, love, and a Jack and cream soda for this little lady.”

“Dad! I’m only seven!” I exclaimed, giggling. I thought he was the funniest man on the planet.

He grabbed my hand. “Oh, that’s right. Little girls don’t drink that nasty stuff. Hold the Jack, add ice cream.”

My dessert was delivered promptly, topped with whipped cream and two cherries. I was on cloud nine.

“How’s the girlfriend?” Rhonda asked my dad as I attempted to tie a cherry stem into a knot with my tongue.

“Not a girlfriend anymore.” My dad tried his best to tame the smile that was struggling to spread like wildfire across his scruffy face.

“Oh yeah?” Rhonda perked up a bit.

“I popped the question a few nights ago.” The excitement that laced my father’s declaration snuffed Rhonda’s out in a second.

I jumped a little in my seat. “We’re going to be a real family!” I shouted. I was so elated to have a stepmom. Even though I loved my dad to death, having a woman around the house was nice, and she made my dad so happy.

Rhonda’s features softened as she glanced between my dad and me. “That is so wonderful. Hilary is a lucky woman.”

“Ready to show these boys that a girl can hustle them?” Shaw asked, handing me a large shot of Fireball.

“You know it!” I slammed back the chilled liquid and walked over to an empty table.

We knew hustling pool wasn’t the most moral thing in the world, but whenever we found unsuspecting shmucks to work over, Shaw and I pulled in some extra cash.

“Rack ’em up, woman,” he called over to me while he eyed the racks for good sticks.

Shaw came back over to me, scoping out the twosome that was finishing a game next to us. He leaned back as the better looking of the two men bent over the table to line up a shot.

“Damn, that is an apple I’d love to take a bite out of,” Shaw whispered to me.

“Down boy. This ain’t the place to out yourself.”

Shaw wasn’t completely in the closet by any means, but he wasn’t prancing around with a rainbow on his shirt either. Living in a small farming community made it a little bit hard for Shaw to be completely comfortable in his skin. The pool hall was full of burly bikers and ignorant macho men who wouldn’t think twice about trying to kick a gay guy’s ass.

“Yeah, yeah. I know but if it happens, oh well.” Shaw brushed it off and I let it go.

“Invite them over. Who knows, you might have just found the love of your life.” I teased but Shaw was already taking a few steps over to the guys.

“Hey, would you guys want to play two on two?” Shaw called over.

The men looked at each other and then back at us, shrugging. “Sure, why not?”

“Twenty bucks a game?” I asked, batting my eyelashes at them.

The one Shaw had his eye on snickered. “Sure, little lady. We’ll even let you break.”

Wrong move.

I giggled a little. “Oh, gosh. That’s so nice of you.”

It was so funny to me when men thought that since I was small and somewhat pretty, I was a delicate little flower. I was rough around the edges, and probably tougher than they were at the end of the day.

I broke, sending the seven right into the corner pocket.

“I guess we’re solids.” Shaw smiled over at me as I leaned against the high-top behind me.

“That we are, sir.” I waved over to Rhonda, signaling for another drink.

Shaw was sneakily eyeing his crush as he lined up a shot like an amateur. “When shooting over another ball, you have to jack up your cue,” Shaw advised as I laughed a little.

The other guy came over to me. “Y’all from around here?”

I cocked my head to the side. “Guessing from your drawl, you’re not.”

He dug his hand into his pocket to get his pack of cigarettes out. “Gave it away that easy, did it? I’m Willie.”

“I’m Olive. Everyone calls me Liv, and I’ve been coming here since I can remember. So, to answer your question, yes, we grew up here.” Otis got right in between my legs. He didn’t like it when strangers, especially men, got close to me.

Willie took a step back. “Gorgeous Cane!” He kneeled down to try to pet Otis, but the dog was not having it. With teeth showing and nostrils flaring, Otis was not a happy camper.

“He’s a little protective. Give him a bit to warm up to you.”

I glanced over and saw a sight I hadn’t seen in ages: Shaw was lip-locked with Willie’s friend at the other end of the table.

“Well, I guess our friends are having a good time.” Willie put his hand on my arm.

I giggled, taking a step back. “That they are.” Otis was still on alert, and I was thankful for his cock-blocking skills.

Rhonda brought over my drink. “Here you go, Liv. Can I get you boys anything else?” she asked, grabbing a bucket of empty beer bottles from the table.

“Another round please, and this little lady’s number.” He winked at me and I threw up a little in my mouth. It wasn’t that Willie wasn’t decently attractive—he was about six-foot and had a full head of hair, a decent smile, and all of his teeth—it was the fact that he assumed I wanted to jump his bones just because I had a vagina and he had a penis.

Rhonda scoffed. “Nice try slick.” She turned to me. “You good?”

I nodded, petting Otis on the head. “I’m covered, Rhonda.”

“I’ll be right back with another bucket of Bud for you guys.”

Willie got up to take his shot. “A little protective?” he asked over his shoulder as he lined up.

“She’s like my second mother.”

He missed, sighing. “Dammit.”

I ran the table for the next few minutes and banked the eight ball in with ease.

“Well, shit, girl!” Shaw’s wide eyes snapped to me.

“Someone has to take care of business while you’re over there sucking face.”

I could feel all eyes blaring at Shaw and his new friend, but if there was a time to not give a fuck, it was now. He was out, and who gave a shit?

“Double or nothing?” Willie shot me a crooked smile.

“I’m calling it a night. Shaw, you sticking around?”

Shaw gave me a thumbs-up as I chugged the last of my drink. “Nice to meet you, Willie. Have fun with those two.”