By Any Other Name by J. M. Darhower Read Free Book Online

her second drink, a tingle that spread throughout her body, extending down her limbs as the liquor kept flowing to their table. She scarcely kept track after a while as Matty joked around, entertaining her with random stories of the people who wandered into the bar.
    The man who owned the butcher shop that Matty and his younger brother had stolen steaks from when they were just little kids, only to be forced to pay for them by their mother… after watching their father single-handedly eat every single one right in front of them as punishment.
    The grocer who used to give the kids quarters when they came in so they could get something from the little prize machines by the door.
    The guy who ran the ice cream truck for decades and used to slip them free popsicles when he came through their neighborhood.
    He spoke fondly of everyone as if they were as close as family, but it didn't escape Genna's notice that hardly anyone even acknowledged him. They looked around him but never at him. He seemed to fade into the background, as if they couldn't see him, which baffled her, because she couldn't keep her eyes off the guy. The more she drank, the more she was set on fire from the inside out, the tingle engulfing into flames.
    "Do you play?" he asked eventually, motioning toward some billiard tables in another separate nearby room.
    Pool .
    "Uh, no."
    He threw back his drink, downing the rest of it in one gulp. "Come on, I'll show you."
    She finished her drink hesitantly before joining him, the two heading straight to the only unoccupied table. She stood there, watching silently as he racked the balls for a game. After it was ready, he grabbed a cue stick and held it out to her. As soon as she took it, his hands gripped her hips, pulling her closer to him as his cologne washed over her. He turned her around, her back to his chest as his arms encircled her, grasping the cue stick.
    She couldn't help it.
    She shivered.
    Holy fuck . He was intoxicating.
    "Like this," he whispered, breath fanning against her cheek as he positioned her body, his hands overtop of hers. He aimed at the cue ball, striking it, sending it barreling down the table toward the others. The rest of the balls scattered, bouncing off the sides, a single red ball sliding right into a corner pocket.
    He was pretty good.
    "So now you aim for just the solid balls," he said, not letting go of her. He tugged her with him, positioning her once more, aiming for the cue ball again. He struck it, going for a solid blue ball, but it narrowly missed its mark, ricocheting back at them.
    Matty did it again and again, pulling her around with him, body flush against hers, until he successfully sunk over half of her balls that way.
    "You think you got it?" he asked. No , her head screamed, knowing if she said yes he would loosen his hold. And those tattooed arms? Christ, she never wanted them to let go of her. Her silent indecision made him chuckle. "Yeah, you got it."
    She did.
    Unfortunately .
    The moment he stepped back, her body mourned the loss of his warmth. He grabbed a cue stick for himself as he took his first turn, sinking two balls right away and only narrowly missing a third.
    Once it was Genna's turn, she aimed for the cue ball but barely grazed it at all. Her heart wasn't into playing a game, didn't really find it that interesting, but watching him?
    That she was into.
    He didn't take it easy on her. He didn't let her win. Despite her massive head start, he demolished her quickly, the black eight ball smoothly disappearing into a side pocket.
    Before he could say a word, Genna kicked off her heels and pointed her cue stick at him. "Set them up again."
    Games flew by, as did more drinks, the flirting and laughter growing as time wore on. Matty got worse, the games taking longer as Genna hardly even paid attention to where her balls were positioned.
    "I'll tell you what," he said as he set up their fifth game, a full glass of straight rum sitting on the edge of the table in