“HOW ABOUT ANOTHER SHOT, CUTIE?”
The drunk college student drooling at her feet couldn’t take his eyes off her. Around the bar, a similar theme persisted. In the face of the jilted bride dancing on the bar to a country song, the entire male population of the little dive bar in Jersey had suddenly forgotten they had girlfriends or wives.
I had to give the girl some credit. She knew how to captivate a crowd. Her sob story about the groom leaving her at the altar had earned her plenty of suitors who were ready and willing to be her Prince Charming this evening and soothe her aching heart. The wedding dress and boots were a nice touch too. She had them convinced she was a small-town Dixieland princess who was homegrown and fresh off the farm with that fake Southern accent.
I’d been watching her play this game for two hours, and so far, she’d swindled several of her potential suitors out of a couple of grand by playing light with her fingers. Knowing that she’d just come from a large con, she wasn’t doing this because she needed to. She was indulging her reckless behavior because she wanted to get high on her favorite drug.
Fucking over the men who would fuck her over if given the chance.
In a bold move, she decided to try her luck at the pool table. But while her male counterpart might have had a dick, he also had a brain. And he didn’t take too kindly to her pretending she didn’t know how to play while they were placing bets only to come out and reveal herself as a shark halfway through.
His voice was getting louder, and her taunts were tiptoeing the line of savagery.
“You didn’t call the shot,” he said.
She planted her hands on her hips and glared. “Yes, I did.”
“No, you didn’t.” He pointed the pool stick in her direction. “Now I’m beginning to think you’re a lying bitch.”
I didn’t come here with the intentions of stepping in, but at this point, I had no choice.
“That’s because she is.” I moved in beside her and commandeered the stick in her hand. “But that’s still no way to talk to a lady.”
“She ain’t a fuckin’ lady,” the guy snarled. “She’s a lyin’, cheatin’—”
“Con artist,” I finished for him. “And she was trying to swindle you out of your money.”
She peered up at me, and I removed some cash from my wallet, tossing it down on the table. “That should cover the inconvenience.”
Shark gray eyes cut into me. “Who the hell are you?”
“That’s a good question,” her opponent chimed in. He walked around the table and stopped a foot away, studying me. “You aren’t from around here.”
“No, I’m not.”
He cocked his head to the side, and I knew the moment recognition sparked in his eyes. I cringed before he even spoke.
“I know who you are.” He jabbed his pool stick in my direction. “You’re that fella from the TV. That lawyer who defends all those rich wife beaters and such.”
Gypsy looked up at me, her eyes flaying me alive. I could almost hear her judgment already. With one simple comment from some drunk moron, she’d made up her mind about me.
“I saw you,” she murmured. “At the courthouse. You were the guy who opened the door for me. Are you following me?”
“Let’s discuss this outside.”
She took a step back, shielding her body with her arms. “I’m not going anywhere with you. Who the hell do you think you are?”
I took back the space between us and whispered in her ear. “I’m the guy who just saved your ass. And if you don’t leave now, I’ll tell this whole bar just how much you’ve stolen in here tonight.”
Her shoulders went rigid, and when she pulled back to look at me, she knew I meant it.
“I’ll leave on my own,” she announced. “Thank you very much.”
She scooped up the hem of her white dress, which was now stained with beer and crumpled peanut shells, and then sauntered out the door. I followed, keeping my distance just so I could watch her get safely into a taxi.
She waved at the cabbie and poked her head inside to ask if he was available before flinging herself into the back seat and shutting the door. She gave him the address, and then out of curiosity, she looked back at the door to find me standing there. I didn’t stop her before they drove away.
I’d see her again soon.