The Halo Series Boxed Set

by Kimberly Knight

  “Well, so far this sounds like my first bachelor party.”

  Avery laughed. “Guess you’ll have to wait and see.”

  “I hate you.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. I really hated surprises.

  Avery pulled his truck into a parking lot that housed a pool hall.

  “Pool?” I asked, looking over to Avery.

  We hadn’t played a game of billiards in … Hell, I had no idea when the last time was. In our twenties, we played a few times a month after he graduated from college and moved home. Since I was modeling then, my nights were free. At least, I’d thought they were. I left Dana with Cheyenne too many times just so I could get out of the house and grab a beer. Looking back, it was totally a dick move, and I regretted it.

  He shrugged. “You said you wanted to chill and not go to Halo.”

  “This,” I waved my hand at the black building as Avery pulled his truck into a spot someone just vacated, “is the big secret?”

  They snickered, and I narrowed my eyes, looking from Avery to Gary and back.

  “We like fucking with you.” Avery put his truck in park.

  I growled deep in my throat. These two fuckers had me freaked that they were going to make me do some shit like run naked in Times Square and worry my dick was going to get frostbite.

  “Come on, boss. We couldn’t tell you what we had planned,” Gary stated. “It’s fun not knowing.”

  “Easy for you to say,” I muttered.

  Avery opened his door and I followed suit. Once we were all out of the vehicle, he said, “I didn’t know what we were doing for my bachelor party.”

  “Because we were in Vegas and played it by ear!” I snapped.

  “I’m still bitter I wasn’t invited.” Gary frowned.

  Avery clapped him on the back. “It wasn’t that eventful.”

  I pressed my lips together, suppressing my laugh. It was one-hundred percent eventful.

  The snow was still trickling down as we hurried through the parking lot to get back in a warmer climate. A bouncer at the door checked our I.D.s and then we entered the long, rectangle building. The front of the house had your typical bar to the left (I wasn’t impressed) and tables for eating to the right. The back was lined with pool tables as far as I could see.

  As we stepped a few feet in, my stomach growled at the smell of fried food in the air. “We’re eating here too?” I questioned. I rarely ate like this, but it was my night.

  “Yep. Eating, drinking and then some pool.” Avery stepped ahead of me, and we followed him to an empty table. Even though I didn’t want to pay for overpriced beer, I was still going to do it. You couldn’t play pool and not drink.

  We took a seat at a high-top, dark wood, square table, and ordered a beer and an order of potato skins to split.

  “Thanks for listening to me.” I smirked at Avery.

  He chuckled. “I figured we all could use a night to relax.”

  I looked to Gary. “Am I going to be mad about what the girls are doing?” The question slipped from my lips before I remembered I didn’t want to know.

  He grinned. “Nah, it’s harmless.”

  “Going to a strip club is harmless. Doesn’t mean I like it.”

  “They aren’t going to a strip club,” Avery chimed in.

  “You know what they’re doing?” I pointed my finger at him as I asked.

  “Of course,” Avery replied sarcastically.

  “Well then,” I murmured. “So are one of you going to spill?”

  They looked at each other as they spoke in unison, “Nope.”

  “Great.” The waitress placed our beers in front of us, and I took a long swallow. “Still don’t understand why you assholes won’t tell me.”

  “You’ll thank us.” Avery grinned.

  I rolled my eyes and flagged the waitress over. I needed another beer.

  Or five.

  After we ate and had a few additional beers each, we paid our tab and then went to the back to claim our table we had reserved. I was feeling good. The beers had helped me stop wondering what the girls were getting involved in.

  As we stepped up to our table, I ran my hand along the top, feeling the green fuzzy felt beneath my fingertips. I kept going to a back wall that held the cue racks and pool sticks. After I chose a stick that I thought would work for me, I walked back, noticing some people had pool stick cases on the floor. They obviously used their own because they were serious players or thought they were. I smirked as I stepped up to our table and grabbed the blue chalk to increase friction. The chalk would help the ball continue to go straight in case I didn’t hit the white cue ball in the center.

  “Why are you smiling?” Gary asked, sitting in a chair by the table. He was playing the winner of our game.

  I shrugged. “People seem serious around here.”

  Avery and Gary looked around at the other tables, and then both chuckled. “We were almost like that,” Avery said.

  I laughed. “I never needed my own fucking stick to kick your ass.”

  He glared at me. “Do you want to put money on this?”

  “Yeah, twenty bucks a game.” I smiled.

  “Twenty? That’s it?”

  “I have a honeymoon to pay for. How about every game is double or nothing?” Gary suggested. “Like, I’ll put up forty the next game and then the next person will put up eighty to play the winner and so on?”

  “And when do we stop?” I questioned.

  He shrugged. “When we feel like it.”

  Avery nodded slowly. “All right, but we stop at five hundred if it gets that far.”

  Gary laughed. “Like you guys can’t afford a few grand.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Five hundred it is. Winner takes all.” Avery began to put all the solid and striped balls in the triangle shaped rack.

  “Great, I’ll break.” I went to the opposite end of the wood table, lined up the cue ball and hit that fucker causing all fifteen colored balls to scatter.

  I had an extra five-hundred dollars to win.

  “Could you have brought someone who sucked at pool?” I laughed, looking at Avery. We were a few games in. I’d won against Avery, Gary beat me, and I was about to play Gary again since he was kicking Avery’s ass.

  “I didn’t know he was a pro!” Avery groaned.

  “You think it’s going to look good for you if you beat your bosses?” I smirked to Gary.

  He laughed. “I’ll take my chances. Plus, I could use an extra five-hundred dollars. Gas money for Boston.” He winked.

  Avery and I laughed. We totally knew the cost of that expense. My laughter trailed off as I noticed a few people flash something at a guy near a stairwell and then proceed to descend after he nodded an okay.

  “What’s down there?” I asked.

  “That’s for tournaments,” a female voice said, causing me to look away from the doorway. She was standing near our table, and had a Jessica Rabbit vibe going on.

  “But what are they flashing?” I questioned, not caring she’d eavesdropped.

  The redhead smiled. “You can’t just walk in there and play. It’s invite only.”

  My brows furrowed as I processed what she’d said.

  “How do we get invited?” Avery asked.

  “It’s all in who you know.” Her grin widened.

  “Are you invited?” Gary asked.

  She laughed. “I may know a guy.”

  Gary stepped closer to her. “Yeah? Can we get invited?”

  “What?” I laughed. “You want to play a tournament now?”

  “How much is the buy-in?” Gary asked the redhead, ignoring me.

  “A thousand.”

  I laughed at the ridiculous amount, waiting for Gary to say never mind so we could go back to playing our games.

  Instead, he questioned, “Per person?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. You can win around eight grand if all the tables fill. Well, seven after your initial buy-in.”

 
My eyes widened, and I looked at Avery, silently asking if he thought Gary was interested. He nodded.

  Fuck.

  Gary turned to us. “I think we should do it if we can get in.”

  “Are you fucking insane?” I snapped. “We agreed on five hundred and now you want us to put up a thousand dollars each?”

  “It will increase your odds to win, and you can take the money and pay for that honeymoon.” He smiled. “Worst case, you’re out a thousand and so are we. If one of us wins, then we all get our money back, and you can keep the extra five.”

  I stared at him. Was he fucking serious?

  “I didn’t say I could get you in for sure.” The redhead ran her fiery red nail down Gary’s chest and he watched her hand with a smirk on his face.

  “Hold up, sweetheart. Let me talk to my boys.” Avery motioned for us to form a huddle where I was sitting.

  “No,” I clipped as soon as we were within inches of each other.

  “Come on, boss. If there are only eight players, we have around a thirty-seven percent chance. They only have about twelve percent. Give or take,” Gary stated.

  I looked to Avery again, hoping he’d be on my side.

  He wasn’t.

  “He has a point.” Avery nodded.

  “I don’t have a grand on me.” Hell, I barely had a hundred bucks in my wallet. I usually paid with a credit card for points to use for miles for my honeymoon.

  “We’ll find an ATM,” Gary said.

  Why was he our ring leader?

  “Where are we going to find an ATM?” I asked. I still didn’t want to do this plan.

  Avery pointed, and I followed where his finger indicated. An ATM sat by the bar.

  Son of a bitch.

  “I don’t even think we can take out that much money at one time. Or in a day. Don’t banks have limits?”

  “Only one way to find out.”

  I wanted to slap Gary’s shit-eating grin off his face. “If we lose, you each owe me five hundred to make up for this shit. This isn’t my idea.” I pointed my finger in each of their faces. We were supposed to chill, and now I was going to have a thousand bucks on the line.

  Avery and Gary turned to each other then back to me. “Deal,” they said in unison.

  We broke apart, and Gary turned to the chick. “See what you can do, sweet cheeks.”

  She smiled. “I’ll be right back.”

  I watched the back of her head as she nodded to the doorman and then stepped down the stairs. I had a bad feeling about this.

  As Avery and Gary practiced, I chugged the rest of my beer. A few minutes later, the redhead returned. “Follow me.” Avery and Gary had grins plastered on their faces. “We need to get some money first,” Gary said and motioned to the ATM.

  “I’ll wait right here for you.” She grinned politely.

  After getting money out of the cash machine, I began to relax as we started to follow the broad. I really did have a bad feeling about this, but I wasn’t going to be out money. They had each promised to pay me back.

  She nodded again to the guy at the door, and I gave a tight smile. He nodded back and we started down a case of dimly lit stairs. It wasn’t lost on me that she didn’t flash him anything like the other people had. Once we were down the stairs, I looked around the softly lit room. Red and black booth-style seats lined three of the four walls. The booths faced out so you could sit and wait your turn or watch the game in front of you. The pool tables were black with turquoise felt, and each of the four tables had their own box style florescent lighting overhead.

  Thinking the redhead was a scout, I’d expected there to be only men down here. For all I knew, she was. Her game was probably to bring shmucks down stairs when there weren’t enough players for a tournament.

  But there was another woman.

  She was standing beside a table and chalking the tip of her stick. We continued to walk over to the only corner table in the room. A slick looking man sat, his arms outreached along the cushioned seats and a whiskey neat sitting in front of him. I knew my drinks. I was a bartender after all.

  “Rick, these are the gentlemen I was telling you about.” The redhead smiled at us.

  “Thanks, Trish.”

  “Good luck, boys.” And with that, Trish walked away. Total scout. I just hoped no one was a pro.

  “Cash only,” Rick stated.

  “How does this work?” I asked.

  Rick stared at me for a beat. I got the impression he thought my question was stupid. “You play until you lose.”

  I grunted. “I mean, are we playing each other or random people?” I asked, motioning between the three of us.

  “If you want to play each other, then play each other,” he stated. “You can play at any free table. Winners go from four tables to two, then to the final table.”

  I turned and looked at the four tables. Luckily, three only had one person standing by each and we could choose who we wanted to play instead of each other for the first round. We gave our money to Rick, and I felt as though I was watching a grand fly out the window. Shit, three grand.

  “Games are starting now,” Rick said after putting the money in a cash bag. I wondered how he played into all this. Did he get a cut of the winnings? Or was he an employee of the pool hall and was only working hourly?

  We stepped away from the table, nodded to each other, and then walked to separate tables. Sure we’d walked in together, but maybe the other players were all wrangled by Trish too, and we just happened to walk in together. I didn’t want anyone to think we rigged the game.

  The first game I played was close, but in the end, I won. Gary played another guy and won. Avery played the chick and lost. I couldn’t wait to rub it in his face.

  We took a ten minute break in between the next round, and I took that opportunity to text my girl. I hadn’t heard from her all night, and I wanted her to know I was thinking of her.

  Me: Having fun?

  A waitress came by, and I ordered another beer. We had been at the pool hall for hours, and the beers I was consuming were keeping me feeling good, but not to the point I couldn’t control myself.

  Brooke: I am.

  Two words. That’s all I got. Of course, I wanted to ask her what they were doing, but I didn’t in fear she’d tell me some fucker’s dick was currently in her face.

  Me: Me too.

  Seemed we were on a two word at a time thing.

  Brooke: Love you.

  I chuckled. I loved hearing and reading those two words.

  Me: Love you.

  I didn’t add too because that would be three words. I quickly sent another two worded text.

  Me: Drunk yet?

  It took a few minutes for her to respond and we were about to start the next game.

  Brooke: Not yet.

  Me: Talk later.

  I was running out of two words to say at a time. Brooke seemed to run out of all words because the next thing I knew, I was looking at a close-up picture of something purple and what looked to be rubber. It was hard to tell what it was. Before I could respond, the next game started.

  I was paired with another guy, and Gary got the chick. I won. Barely. Afterward, I sat next to Avery as I watched Gary cuss with every breath he took.

  “Take it he’s losing?” I nudged my head in the direction of the table.

  “Yep,” Avery stated. “This chick is awesome.”

  I watched her move around the table looking for the perfect shot. She was in jeans and a tight, light purple tank top. I hadn’t noticed before because I was engrossed in my own games, but the tops of her boobs spilled over the top of her shirt every time she leaned over to take a shot. I looked around, and all eyes were on her tits, including Gary’s. He was distracted. No wonder he was losing. She was stunning, and if I weren’t getting married, I’d work my way in there. I was a man, and it was in my nature.

  The dark haired beauty missed her shot and then eyed Gary almost as if she wanted to devour him. And
not in the “I’m so hot for your body” kinda way. No, she glared at him like she wanted to eat him. Like physically eat him.

  “She’s intense,” I indicated as I watched her. If Gary didn’t pull this off, I was playing her.

  “You won, right?” Avery asked as though he finally realized my game was over.

  “Yeah, but barely.”

  “A win’s a win.”

  “Do they give money for second and third place?” I wondered.

  Avery chuckled. “Doubt it. Let’s hope Gary wins so we get our money back.”

  And, Gary didn’t. He lost ten minutes later.

  So, I was about to play the dark haired beauty—the black widow. She had kicked two people’s asses, and now she wanted mine. Not gonna lie, I was nervous. Gary had been the dominator of our table upstairs, and if he lost to the black widow, I was bound to do the same.

  “You can’t miss a single shot,” Gary said to me, taking a long pull of his beer.

  I watched as his throat worked to swallow the amber goodness. “You think I can make every shot?”

  “If you miss, you’re screwed. She’ll win.”

  “I saw her miss a few times,” I affirmed.

  “She only missed because I wasn’t playing to win. I was playing to prevent her from making her shots. I made it so either one of my balls was in her way, or the cue ball was in an odd place. She’s that good.”

  “Well, I’m fucked.”

  Avery spoke. “Back in the day, you could win before I even had a turn. Hell, we won money like that a lot when we’d bet some losers that thought they could beat us.”

  “That was back in the day. I’m rusty now.”

  Avery grabbed my shoulders and stared into my eyes. “Do this for Brooke.”

  I grunted. “You don’t think I want to win the money so I can take her somewhere she’s always dreamed of going?”

  “I know you do. Don’t think about anything except Brooke.”

  I scrunched my eyebrows at him. “Are you telling me not to stare at this broad’s rack?” And I didn’t mean the pool rack.

  He smirked. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  At Halo, chicks did this shit all the time. They’d come in with their push-up bras, displaying their boobs to hopefully get a guy’s attention. I’m not gonna lie—I looked. I’m a man, and when I see tits that are up in my face, I look.