I walked up to the bar and ordered a double whiskey and cola, paid and tipped the bartender and spun on my stool. The person Cleopatra has sent me there to find wasn't there yet, so I decided to watch the commotion going on behind me.
There was a hot little red headed girl running the table in a game of pool against a guy with tattoos all up and down his arms. She sank an easy shot and then pointed with her cue at the side pocket and knocked in the eight ball off of a three rail. The dude shook his head in disbelief, pulled his wallet out of his pocket and paid her fifty bucks.
The guy next to me leaned over and tapped my elbow. "That's the third guy in a row she's beat." He said, with excitement painted all over his face. "Rumor is, she says she'll fuck anyone that can beat her, and the price to play is pretty cheap."
"Really? Does she actually do it? I asked, as I took a long swig of my drink.
She leaned up against the pool table with her arms crossed under her big old boobies and silently dared anyone to challenge her.
"Nobody has beat her yet to find out, she's really good." He responded. "It's a pretty sweet gig for her though. In just three games she's taken a hundred and fifty bucks from these thirsty son of bitches."
"What set of rules is she playing by?" I asked.
"Looks like Valley." He responded. "Call your pocket, straight in."
"Perfect." I said.
I wasn't that great at pool but the little red headed girl played an aggressive style and the best way to counter that in Valley is by playing solid defense, which just so happened to be one of my strengths. Pool was free on Mondays so the balls were just sitting there waiting. I grabbed the triangle and racked them up quickly, then extended my hand.
"I'm Hank." I said. "Pleased to meet you."
She grabbed chalk off of the table and twisted it back and forth on the end of her cue. "Save the pleasantries for after the match. Are you aware of the rules?"
"Yeah. Valley, right?"
"Yes. But I was talking about the compensation for winning."
"Yeah. I get it."
"Cherry." She said, as she went over to get ready to break.
I avoided any desire to make a crack at her name even though it felt like a softball being served up and ready for me to smash it out of the park. I knew I was going to beat her though and I didn't want to give her any reason to compare me to the rest of the douche bags. For now I was busy watching her move. For the first time I realized that she was playing in stilettos which meant that she was even shorter than it appeared initially. Her thin legs were covered by a tight pair of black jeans which made her ass pop and she wore a sheer black blouse over a white spaghetti strap which read "Virgin" in red letters and finished right above her navel to expose a sterling ring. No wonder no one could beat her, she was a walking distraction.
She proved she was a decent shot as well as she smashed the cue ball into the other balls, causing them to scatter all across the table and pocketing three solids. This would leave most people with a very easy choice but Cherry proved herself to be smarter than most people as she went after the big ones. With only four solids and seven stripes on the table she had her choice of easy shots all over the place. Four shots later, she had sunk five of her own balls and two of mine accidentally leaving two for each of us and the eight ball off to one side.
It looked like she was was about to finish me with three more shots and walk away with my money while I'd be headed to bed alone. She chalked her cue again and then lined up for an easy shot on the nine in the side. If she hit it softly enough and kissed it just right, she'd have an easy shot on the eleven and then a lot of green but still a gimme for the eight ball. For some odd reason she miscued and the cue ball struck one of my two balls and knocked it in. I only had one ball left on the table but as luck would have it the cue ball was blocked from it by the eight. I had two choices; I could take a risky shot and go for the win or I could play defense.
My choice to play defense worked like a charm and after she scratched, I had ball in hand for an easy finish. You could've heard a pin drop in that bar right then and every eye in the place was focused on the table wondering if Cherry was about to get popped. You could almost see the questions on everyone's faces. What if she lost? Would she really fuck him? You know some perverts were actually picturing her getting felt up right here on the table. I mean there was already a long stick and more than a couple of balls, the perfect environment for public sex. But no one was prepared for what she did, especially not me.
"You will have to excuse me gentlemen." She said, as she watched the eight ball sink in, then took me by the arm and started to lead me away. "I have business to attend to, but keep your money handy and I will be back soon." That's when I saw him sitting there, James Brown. Not the singer of course but the guy I was looking for when I came here tonight, he was sharing a table with the guy who had tattoos all up and down his arms. Cherry leaned in and kissed me very objectively and it was starting to feel like maybe she had even planned this. We stepped out of the bar and into the motel section of the building.