Bluffing the Devil Page 5
"Good luck, miss," he managed when I was about five feet away.
"Yeah, thanks."
My father always told me that if I was going to do something, I should do it right the first time so that I don't have to start all the way over and waste my time. This game was the prime example of that training. Why come in, play lame and not know what I'm doing when I could study, practice, train, learn, and think ahead of time. Knowing facial expressions, understanding betting and human behavior all aided my abilities much more than I thought.
I had been training for this one game for months. I spent hours, days, and weeks playing online poker. I had read all I could on the subject, played live games, watched other live games, watched videos on the internet of past events, and really just lived and breathed the game for the past few months. Everyone close to me had started to call me "obsessed", but it’s not an obsession, it’s a dream. If you want something bad enough, you go after it with all you have and don't let anyone or anything get in your way, right? Well, I want this victory.
I want to do something out of the ordinary for a woman. I want to try something that challenges my mind, and is not only about the luck of the draw or about how well someone does their desk job. I want to live on the edge a bit. Cards are like that. You never know what you will get dealt. One hand you can have suited connectors and the next hand, you can have absolutely nothing. What you do with those cards, regardless of what you are dealt, shows your true skill.
I found my table and sat in my assigned seat. I put my hands on the felt and rubbed it softly. It was almost like introducing myself to the table, then I rubbed my hands on the rail, sat back in my chair, and zoned out.
I closed my eyes and pictured the water. I tuned every casino machine and person sound out of my mind and focused on how the waves sound when they crash on the shore. How the air tastes thick and salty closest to the beach, how my skin feels slightly sticky and damp when I am sitting on the beach, how the water and sand smell, and how much peace and stillness I feel when I’m there. I laid my head back and simply took in all that was my happy place.
I let the breeze drift lazily over me and tickle the fine hairs on my arms. I dug my feet into the sand. I took a deep breath and smelled bergamot and Darjeeling tea instead of the salty air I was expecting. My next inhale sent the scent of sandalwood, ginger, lavender, and amber straight to me. How odd for those things to be on my beach. It was different, but divine and I snuggled into the sand a bit deeper hoping to catch another whiff of the powerfully masculine scent. The aroma was so familiar and inviting, but warning flashes went shooting through my mind. Something wasn't right with my perfect place.
"If I didn't know better, I would say you are almost there, my pet," the vermin said as close to my ear as humanly possible without devouring that side of my face. I felt lucky to not have a line of slobber on my cheek and neck.
"Geesh, seriously?" I stood faster than I knew was possible, and side-stepped my would-be tongue-bather. "Don't you have any personal boundaries and home training, Rey? You don't just come into someone's happy bubble and interrupt them. Don't you have a game to get ready for?"
"Of course, speaking to you is what I like most to do before a game, dolce. If you were not aware of this, perhaps I am being too withheld in my affections," his brutish charm was a total failure on me, but I'm sure women everywhere swooned and lost their complete sense when he acted in the same manner.
"Seriously? Keep your affections over there. I'm allergic," I spat and took another step away from him.
His chuckle scratched across the back of my neck. Like when you see a Viper about to strike. You see them coil and just know it’s coming. In morbid fascination, you want to see what will happen, since it’s someone else, but at the same time you don't want to stick around and be "that guy" that didn't do something to stop the attack.
I knew Rey was trouble. I didn’t know how or why, but I could feel it every time. My gut had always been right. Even when I didn't know why or how I knew something, I always knew. I knew the first time I upset my father, before a "surprise" test, and before the accident that took Jamison from me. From that day on is when I truly started to listen to my gut, and refused to take "no" for an answer when my body spoke to me.
"I wonder if your friend Victoria has an aversion to me as well? She seemed quite taken with me. Perhaps I can go find her to keep me entertained while you’re so very busy?" His mock-threat was not lost on me. I knew he was baiting me and had something up his sleeve, but I wasn't sure what it was so I wasn't willing to feed my friend to the wolves, so to speak.
"Leave my friends alone. They are too good for you. Though, I probably should just let you talk to them and see how long you keep your intestines intact. Fun experiment!" I mocked and looked around nervously to make sure my friends were nowhere near his disgusting line of sight.
His gaze chafed its way down my body and back up to my face. "Have I ever told you how incredible your eyes are? I don't believe I've ever seen that color on a human before. It was an interesting mix of heaven, and the ocean. What does one call that shade?"
"It's called 'Dagger'. If you keep staring at me like that, it will happily slice you open," I said without a hint of smile to my face or voice. "Your eye color is interesting, too. What do you call that shade of black? Despair?"
"I call it 'Shadow'. That's where all the most deadly and beautiful things hide. Wouldn't you agree?" his voice edged me.
For once, he didn't shake me or make me question my abilities. I must be getting better at this whole bluffing thing. I knew I sounded much tougher than I felt inside. Rey had been the only opponent I had met, that threw me off of my game at all. As soon as I saw him at most of my previous games, I almost instantly withdrew to play a different game. One day, I just "put my big girl panties on" as Victoria always told me to, paid my entrance fee on the game I saw Rey registered for, and gave it my all. The game was only six players but it was intense and long. I managed to beat Rey however, so it was worth it. That was the first time he had ever spoken to me, and since had become my biggest nemesis in the game, and my most avid fan simultaneously. He was always saying sweet things to me, offering game advice, and being the complete opposite of most other poker players.
Usually poker players tended to stay to their circle and not associate with their opponents. They came, they played, they left. Just like that. But Rey, he would play, get knocked out, and watch me the rest of the night. I'm sure it was just to size up my skill to make sure he could always beat me, but it was still an annoying habit of his.
"No, I think I prefer the beautiful things in my life to be rainbow colored and well lit so nothing is hidden or secret," I looked down at my hands to make sure they appeared as steady as I felt inside.
"Ah, then you miss out, my sweet. Truly," he said as he stepped around my chair and began to head to his own table. "The game will begin soon. I truly do wish you only the best of luck. Hope to see you at the final table."
"Good luck to you as well. It will be a pleasure to beat you," I stated flatly without looking back up.
Chapter 7
The game started off much more quickly than any game I had been in before. This was the big leagues and this is where people earned their spot into the main event.
Lady Luck was on my side for the game and I had only been dealt three hands that were not worthy of playing, the others had all raked in huge pots each time. I was starting to get hatred from the other players, which was always a good sign. Emotion meant screwing up, which led to people losing their mind or playing like idiots. Then they tended to give away all their stack. Hopefully that stack was going to come to my side of the table.
During intermission, I checked to see if my friends were there and, as history dictated, they all were there indeed. All smiling and waving to me like the crazies they are.
I went over to ask if they wanted to get a drink and a snack. I was starving! Apparently playing poker like a boss really t
ook it out of me.
Rhea, who had caught up to Carly and Victoria just fifteen minutes into the game, ran up to me and hugged me tightly, and then cupped my face for an inspection.
"How are you? How's the game going? I mean, I see you are kicking ass as usual, but do you feel okay?"
Her excitement was cute, as usual. "Well, I'm so glad you graced us with your presence, your Highness!"
Eye roll. Of course, she and Victoria were the eye rolling queens on the world. If there was a championship for it, they would have to find some sort of medieval tie-breaker because neither of them would ever admit defeat.
"I was just handling a little bit of business. Nothing unusual, and nothing for you to worry your pretty little head over, okay, miss? Are you going to avoid my questions any longer or do I need to put you over my knee?" She waggled her eyebrow at me, and then suddenly whipped around and dragged me by my hand toward the door. "Let's get you a snack, come on!"
"Where are we going in such a hurry!?" I said nearly losing my breath in her haste. "I am sure that spanking me in public would make for some interesting convo around the tables later, but I only have thirty minutes. You cannot kidnap me from the game. I crave sustenance!"
"Since when have I ever let you down? Especially, when there is a chance to feed you, chickadee?" She shot me a look over her shoulder and I knew to trust her. I always knew to trust my girls.
She snaked me between the innocent bystanders, and out the door before I realized what was even going on. Victoria and Carly were hot on our trail and I was pretty sure I saw Victoria body-check someone purposefully on the way out. I tried not to laugh. Rhea was dragging me so quickly, I got nervous that pausing mentally long enough to laugh might make me trip, injure myself, and cause a scene.
On the other side of the door, a taxi sat at the curb waiting and Rhea made a beeline for it.
"Rhea, I don't have long. I can't just leave I don't want to be late coming back."
She huffed, "I know you cannot leave, so I brought the yummies to you!" She opened the taxi door and pulled out a huge pizza box along with a bag. She handed the driver some money and thanked him for waiting. He grinned and let her know that he was available for her any time she needed him in the future, and handed her his business card. Yep, that's Rhea. She was always the charmer.
"Come on! Let's sit on the beach for a few minutes while we devour the goodies!" Rhea's eyes shimmered as she knew that would be my very favorite idea.
"You people and your beach food," Carly complained lightly. "Can we ever have food in a restaurant with forks and linen napkins, sexy waiters, champagne, sparkles, and food that makes us forget sex long enough to just wanta roll our bodies in it?"
Everyone stopped almost in the middle of the busy intersection. "Really, Carly? Food is super exciting to you. I never noticed your food-slut mannerisms before now," Rhea chuckled.
"I've heard her talk about food like that forever, but I never knew she wanted to roll around in it and name her babies after ingredients," I joked back.
As we finished crossing the street, Victoria added, "Maybe we should get her a chef boyfriend? Then she might be able to keep some meat on her bones."
"Yeah right, like she ever holds on to an ounce of anything ever. I think Carly has the perfect body," I said admiring her. I had to work-out like a maniac to keep my figure. Everyone in my family had health problems of some sort, and I was always a stickler for eating the best way I could so I would avoid adding to the genetics problems. I figured if I did the best for my body, maybe it would work in my favor at some point. A girl can dream, right?
"Well, it wouldn't hurt her to fill out a little more. She looks like if we ever sparred with her, she might break in half," Rhea said as we came to an uninhabited spot on the beach. She crossed her legs and sat down Indian style on the sand. "Come on guys, let's dig in!" She popped the top to the box and I immediately drooled. The perfect pizza was hard to come by, but this one looked pretty amazing. She opened the bag and handed us all a napkin and bottle of water or soda. Then grabbed herself a slice of pizza as I was choosing one also.
We all sat around and munched our pizza silently. It was the only time we were quiet as a group, when food was involved. Usually food didn't even stop us. We would talk with our mouths full, laugh, choke, laugh some more, but apparently tonight was our night to be quiet and ladylike while in public. Someone should take note. That didn't happen often.
Once, we had a baking sleepover, which was just an excuse for us to make an unrealistic amount of sweets all night and pig out on them. We claimed it to be an experiment and said that we were trying out recipes so we could all agree on what we would make for the next few bake sales and things we participated in for various organizations. We all knew it was just because we are carbaholics and needed a fix. What better way to carb out than with your girlfriends? Movies, gossip, and carbs was the perfect evening for us.
Jamison had come home during the sleepover and just stared at all of us laying across all of the furniture with cookie, pie, and cake crumbs all over our faces, mouths full of sweets, laughing uncontrollably. He kissed my forehead and said that he would vacuum in the morning and for us to have an awesome time. Then he went to our room, shut the door, and didn't come back out for the rest of the night. Smart guy!
I polished off my third slice of pizza and leaned back, digging my elbows into the sand. "Oh my goodness, Rhea! That pizza was incredible. Thank you so much!" I said right before downing the rest of my water.
"It's really helpful that we all like the same kind of pizza, isn't it? I don’t know any other chicks that like the carnivore special," Rhea joked.
"What? We need our meat, too! Bacon is not just for men, you know?" Carly announced happily.
We chorused a loud round of laughter. Of course, Carly would be the one to mention bacon!
"I sometimes eat it with lots of veggies, but that's only if I’m just eating pizza. Usually we have our carnivore special and a giant salad so it balances out," I chuckled. "Oh well, it was delicious and it can try to go straight to my ass, but I had a nice workout earlier and I will have one again tomorrow, and it's not like it’s every day that I am in a big-deal poker tournament in Atlantic City, so screw it!" I stood and started to bump the small remnants of sand off of my clothes, which were behaving much more than I anticipated.
"Heading back to the game, ladies? Need an escort?" Rey's sudden interruption to our little meeting shouldn't have shocked me. I was becoming more and more used to his random intrusions into my happy bubble.
"No, we do not. We are perfectly capable. Thanks anyway," I shot, waiting for him to argue against my swift rebuff, but he simply nodded his head.
"Very well, be safe. You never know what sort of danger is lurking. See you at the tables!" He sent a little wink, nodded to Victoria, and strolled away.
Carly huffed much more loudly than necessary. "What the hell does that mean? Danger is lurking? Sure, try to scare us, jackass! This place is well lit, policed often, and we are in a group of four. Who the hell does he think he is? It’s not like we’re some scared band of nitwits!?" Her rage boiled quickly.
"Umm, babe, you okay? He's gone…" I edged.
"He's been all in your face ever since you got here, and even when he was playing, he was eyeballing you the whole time. You, of course, were all focused and didn't give a crap what he was doing, but I noticed. It's just frustrating, I guess. You don't need a man to do things for you. I know we bug you to get a boyfriend and have sex and stuff all the time, but we do that out of love and to mess with you. You’ll get a man when you're good and damned ready. This guy needs to fuck off!"
A collective eye-bulge happened as we all stared at Carly in amazement.
"I definitely don't need a man, and I'm sure he doesn't think he's my man anyway. He is just harassing me because I’m his opponent. He must think I'm a good one for him to always be in my face, you know?"
"He looked at you and Victoria both
like you’re a piece of steak, and he was starving!" I giggled inside that she made yet another food reference, but kept it to myself.
"Oh babe, you worry too much. We’re okay, I promise."
"Please don't promise things like that, you remember…" Rhea said quietly.
"Okay, I'm sorry," of course, Rhea being one of the sisters I never had would hold me to my "never promise anything" vow. Jamison's last words to me were "I will see you in twenty minutes or less, I promise." and since then, I had vowed to never use those words. You cannot promise something that is not yours to control, and I wouldn't leave people that I love hanging.
"This is bullshit. Let's get back so you can kick that guy's ass and go home," Victoria interjected.
"I agree! Let's do this thang! I'm gonna put on my gameface!" I said giggling at my thuggish sounding excitement.
"Sweet! That's the spirit!" Rhea linked arms with me and Victoria and I linked my free arm with Carly, as we made our way back across the semi-busy street and headed back into the casino for the second part of the game.
~
The second part of the game was ridiculous at best. After hours of folding nearly every hand that came to me, I was just about to mentally give up when I finally got a great hand. I had a good stack going still and even though things hadn't been going my way for a few hours. I had been playing tight and being very careful with my choices, most were folds unless I was in the blind, then I would test the waters and just see where it went.
This new hand brought me back to life. I never wavered on my emotions during a game. I felt confident in my skills, and knew that patience and knowledge could beat anyone much more effectively than speed and cockiness.