Chapter 19 Not Again
Chapter nineteen
Not Again
Beau
"Yeehaw!" The music playing through the speakers in this bar has a distinct twang.
Adam looks at me from the barstool next to mine. "What the hell are we doing at Giddy Ups?”
"Oh, come on! This place is fun."
And this bar isn't owned by Jo's parents.
I offered to take Adam out to celebrate him getting his bachelor's degree. He's been doing night school for years, so he was excited as hell to share the news. Everyone was busy tonight, but there was no way I was going to let him celebrate alone.
“So, how's Dana?" I ask between swigs of beer.
“Dana is ancient history."
"What?"
"She left me for a guy who just turned sixty.”
"How old is Dana?" I ask.
"Twenty-three."
"What? How? Why?" I can't decide which question I want to ask.
"Fuck, man, I don't know. I could've asked a lot more questions, but I ultimately figured that I didn't really want to know"
"Fair enough. I don't mean this to sound weird, but you don't seem very broken up about it.”
"It happened four months ago."
"Four months? Why didn't you say anything?"
"Eh, I didn't want to talk about it"
I understand that concept better than most, so I get where he's coming from.
He adds, "I guess it just wasn't meant to be"
How very evolved of him.
We go on about our evening, knocking back a couple more beers and shooting the shit. The most fun part of all of it is people watching. At a bar with a name like Giddy Ups, you see some crazy characters.
When a pool table opens up, Adam asks if I want to play. Grabbing our beers, we head to the other side of the bar. Unfortunately, the moment we get over there, I want to turn right back around.
Bent over one of the pool tables, trying to hit a tricky shot, is none other than Jo Lawson.
How do I know it’s her without seeing her face? I’d know that ass anywhere.
What the fuck is she doing here?
As she stands up, Adam gets a look at her. “Hey, look! Jo’s here!”
“I see that,” I say, not able to fully hide my annoyance.
It’s been a few days since Jo and I had our encounter at the animal shelter. We saw each other at the shop in passing, but thankfully, we have had no direct contact. I don’t think I’m about to get as lucky tonight.
Adam and I walk over to the empty table. While he’s racking up the balls, I can’t help but look to see what Jo is doing. She’s finishing up a game with two guys. Judging from the stack of cash sitting on the outer corner, I’m guessing they’ve got some money on the game.
Clearly, they don’t know her because if they did, they’d know better than to bet against her in a game of pool.
Her pool skills aren’t the only thing garnering her a ton of attention, but it’s also the fact that she’s wearing cut off jean shorts, a ribbed tank top, and her Converse sneakers. She’s underdressed for how cold it is outside, but that’s never stopped Jo from showing a little skin.
The men she’s playing with can’t seem to take their eyes off of her. It’s not so much that they are gawking or even surprised by her skills. It’s that Jo’s entire persona demands attention—not in a pick me kind of way but in a way that her mere presence commands everyone and everything around her.
As she moves to walk to the other side of the table, I look down at her legs.
I notice the big scar she has on her knee.
I remember when she got it. We were probably around thirteen and decided to ride our bikes on some of the trails that wind through the mountains surrounding Lilly Leaf Falls.
We were going way too fast, and she hit a fallen tree branch and flew off over the handle bars.
She smacked her knee on a rock and had a huge gash.
We were nowhere close to home, but tough Jo managed to walk all the way back.
I offered to help, but she’d never hear of it.
By the time we got back, she looked like the surviving character in a horror movie.
She ended up with about thirty stitches and one hell of a scar.
While that’s still there, she’s now added a large tattoo on her other leg. It looks like dark green vines that snake from her feet all the way up to her hip. Between the vines, there are brightly colored flowers scattered through.
I try to ignore how sexy it is. I also try to ignore the voice in my head that wonders what other tattoos she has under the clothing.
“Do you want to shoot first?” Adam asks, pulling me to back to reality.
“No, go ahead.”
He shoots his shot and only knocks in one ball. We start playing through, but after a while, it becomes hard to concentrate. A small crowd forms around Jo’s table. Of course, Adam wants to see what’s going on, so we pause what we are doing.
Their game is nearing its conclusion, and the guy she’s playing against scratches, so it’s Jo’s turn. Her opponent has the cockiest grin on his face, thinking there’s no way she’s going to be able to hit this shot.
But I know better.
Everyone goes silent as she gets into position. After a deep breath, she knocks in the eight ball with ease.
The onlookers begin to cheer like it’s a fucking movie or something.
The guy she was playing against says, “Wait, you’re a shark, aren’t you?”
She counts the stack of cash. “You have no idea.”
“Do you maybe want to get out of here? We could go somewhere quiet.”
She still doesn’t look at him. “No, thanks. I’m good.”
I don’t know why, but something about that has a small smile pulling at my lips.
We get back to our game, but it doesn’t take long for Jo to notice us. She sees Adam first and then comes over to say hi.
Looking back and forth between us, she says, “Hey, guys.”
“Hi, Jo.” We both say it, but Adam’s is much more enthusiastic than mine.
“What are you guys doing here?” She smiles that bright white smile.
Adam replies, “We are celebrating. I just graduated college.”
“No fucking way!” She gives him a hug. “Congratulations! That’s awesome!”
“What are you doing here?” Adam asks.
“I was hanging with my sister, Ronnie, but she wasn’t feeling well, so she bailed.”
“Ah. Well, do you want to chill with us and play some pool?”
Immediately, she turns to me for my reaction. “Only if it’s okay with Beau. I don’t want to impede on guy time.”
I know spending time with her wasn’t on my Bingo card tonight, but Adam wants her here. And tonight is supposed to be about him—not me.
“Fine with me,” I say, trying to really mean the words.
She smiles again. It’s not cocky. It doesn’t look like she’s gloating. It’s the same smile I used to get all the time.
But that smile isn’t going to change my opinion of her. And to ensure that fact, I opt to let the two of them play while I watch.
I take a seat on the stool and nurse my beer while they play through. I do my best not to focus on Jo, but between her and every other person in Giddy Ups, she’s the better option.
As the game goes on, I realize once again I’m not the only guy watching her. At least a dozen guys are sneaking peeks at her.
And Jo has no idea, or if she does, she doesn’t acknowledge it. That’s always been how she is. Although she normally had a boyfriend, she never realized how awesome she was, which is why all of those boyfriends were usually pieces of shit.
When my beer is empty, I announce I’m going to grab another. I figure I’ll grab Adam one, but I have no idea what to do about Jo.
Do I get her one too? That may send a message that I’m more okay with her than I am. Or do I not get her one and seem like an asshole?
I opt for putting my pettiness aside and just getting her one. I get to the bar and order, and while I’m waiting, I hear a voice next to me.
“I’ll get this round.”
I look over and see Jo and say, “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know. I want to.”
I could argue with her, but I really don’t have the energy.
“So, uhm” She taps her finger on the counter. “I wanted to apologize.”
“For?”
“For getting us kicked out of the animal shelter. I realize that I may have been a little out of line.”
“A little?” I snap.
“Cut me some slack here, Beau. You know how hard apologies are for me.”
I look away from her again, silently waiting for her continue.
“I realize I was an ass. I know you are trying your hardest to avoid me, and I didn’t realize the animal shelter was your thing. You can tell Annie I’ll stay away from there. I’m sure she’ll let you come back and volunteer.”
“What’s your angle here, Lawson?” I question with a raised eyebrow. “Why are you being so amenable?”
She smiles. “No angle. Maybe I just think I’ve fucked up a lot, and this is one wrong I can actually right.”
I’m not sure if I believe her, but I don’t want to keep having this conversation. While I get she’s trying to be nice, I don’t want to let my guard down too much around her.
Thankfully, the bartender sets down our beers, and Jo sets some cash on the bar. We walk back to the pool tables in silence.
Adam and Jo get back to their game, but before they do, Adam leans in close and whispers, “Do you know if Jo is seeing anyone?”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “I have no idea.”
He thinks for a moment, so I add, “How about I give you two some space to get to know each other better?”
“Dude, you don’t have to do that.”
“I don’t mind. No one wants a third wheel around. I’ll just go hang out at the bar while you finish your game.”
“You sure?”
I nod. “Of course.”
Honestly, I’m grateful for the opportunity to get away from her. Maybe if they are too preoccupied, I can sneak off in a little while without either of them even noticing.
I make my way back to the bar and try to clear my head. It pisses me off that Jo is being so nice. I don’t want her to be nice. I want her to be a bitch, so I can keep hating her without regret.
When I sit down on a barstool, I see there’s a UFC on one of the giant TV’s.
Perfect. I’ll watch guys knock the shit out of each other. That’ll make me feel better.
***
I have no idea how much time passes when Adam finds me with a panicked look on his face.