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“God damn,” he grumbled. “Just hang on. Jesus Christ, girl.”
If he thought she was irritated before, she was flat out pissed off now. “Girl!” she cried. “Girl! Really? I told you before, I have a fucking name!”
Easy let go of her and drew back, chagrined. “I didn’t mean it like that. You’re just irritating the shit out of me.”
“I’m irritating you. I’m irritating you?” She looked around dramatically. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she told him. “I didn’t realize that you worked here and were trying to wait tables, while someone came in to rub it in your face that they can’t be bothered to call you by your name. My apologies!”
Easy let her go this time. There was no point in pursuing it, especially not here. She was likely to hit him with a tray or something.
“Lost your mojo,” Milo said quietly.
Easy glared at him and got up off the stool. He’d fucked up, no question. He’d been pissed off and not thinking clearly, but he absolutely, positively had not lost his mojo. He headed over to the table where Tex, Hawk, and Tildy were sitting and slid silently into one of the empty chairs. Even Tildy was glaring at him. Easy held up his hands to stave off their anger. “That was not what it looked like.”
“It looked like you were being mean to Daisy again,” Tildy replied.
“I wasn’t.”
“You called her ‘girl’. Like she’s nobody.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he insisted. “I was trying to apologize.”
“Now you have to apologize for calling her ‘girl’.”
“I’m not apologizing to her at all,” Easy told Tildy. “I’m done. It’s over. She hates me. Fine. I don’t care. It’s best if we just leave each other alone.”
Before Tildy could argue with him, Easy stood up again. “Want to play a round?” he asked Tex. The older man agreed, and they headed to an empty table.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Easy said, pulling the rack off the hook. “Just heading you off at the pass. I don’t want to talk, be analyzed, or any other damn thing.”
Tex grinned at him. “Got it.”
Easy slapped the rack onto the felt and started filling it up, grating on Milo’s words earlier: Short ride, disappointing finish. He turned to grab a cue and nearly stepped on the toes of a brunette at the next table.
“Oh!” she gasped and tried to shuffle out of the way.
“Sorry,” he told her, grabbing her at the waist. “Didn’t you see there.”
She giggled and looked up at him. Her hair was longer than Brenda’s and curly instead of straight. Her face was a different shape, too. So was her-
“Ass.” Daisy walked past, arranging drinks on her tray.
Easy shot her a look then grinned at the girl invading his space. “Haven’t seen you before,” he said, leaning in.
She giggled again and shook her head. “We’ve never been here before.”
“How do you like it?”
“Nice. It’s nice.”
He grinned. “Not a word I’d use to describe this place. You’re nice.” He reached out and took a lock in his fingers. “Your hair’s nice.” His fingers reached the end of the length of hair, his hand hovering over her chest. He could tell he had her hooked when her breathing got a little heavier.
“We gonna play?” Tex prompted from the other side of the table.
Easy looked down at his fish. “Want to play?”
She looked at her girlfriend then back to him and grinned. “I’m not very good,” she admitted, biting her lower lip.
“Oh, I can teach you,” he assured her, in a tone that said he could teach her a lot of things.
“Okay.”
In a matter of minutes, Easy had her bent over the table, ass pressed against his crotch, lining up a break. Tex didn’t pick up women anymore, now that he had Abby, but he wasn’t about to cockblock a brother, even if ‘teaching’ her was basically going to ruin the game.
The brunette, Holly (because he’d thought to ask), giggled and wiggled and was generally having a good time. Easy could ring her bell with very little effort. Across the bar, he winked at Milo and gave him a look that said “Mojo, my ass.”
Holly took her shot, failed miserably to put enough on the ball to accomplish anything, and pretended to sulk.
“It’s okay, baby,” Easy assured her. “That part’s hard.” He took out his wallet and plucked out some bills. “Let’s put some money on it,” he told Tex. “To keep it interesting.” Easy wasn’t above losing twenty bucks to his brother to keep him placated.
Tex lifted his hand and tipped an imaginary cowboy hat at Easy and Holly. “Sure, I’ll take your money.”
Just then, Daisy, of all people, appeared and set down Holly’s beer on the rail of the pool table. “Here you go, hon,” she said, politely, with a smile even. Who knew she could? Easy thought.
