“Everyone got fifty dollars? Tonight’s game is Texas Hold’em.” The command in Lil’s naturally husky voice cut the small talk short and got the game started. We took turns calling whatever variation of Poker we’d play, and I was pleased with Lil’s choice. Texas Hold’em was a good game to win big, or lose big. I planned to win.
Once we each put our money in the jar, Lillian handed us our chips and we stacked them neatly in front of us. The she dealt the pocket cards while I peeked at my oldest friend and my newest. Silky black hair draped down Julie’s back to her waist, her Native Indian ancestry clearly seen in her high cheekbones and dark eyes. She looked more like a tomboy than the town troublemaker of her reputation. Lillian had long chestnut curls and serene features that rarely showed the wicked thoughts she shared only with us. And me, well, I was the token blond.
To look at us, we were all completely different, and in reality, we were completely different. Julie was adventurous, Lillian was mystical, and I was quiet and reserved. But when you put us together in a room, we balanced out, and helped to bring out the best, and sometimes the worst, in each other.
Our poker nights were a good example of this.
They’d started out as a fun way to relax and have a few drinks together without feeding the town gossip mill. At first none of us had known the rules and we’d had to keep a cheat sheet on hand. But after almost 6 months of the bi-weekly get togethers we knew a couple of ways to take each other’s money. Our competitive natures had made us serious about it too.
I sat back in the cheap vinyl chair and surveyed my cards. The Queen of hearts and Jack of Spades. Not bad, not great, a possible straight if I was lucky.
“Five dollar buy in.” Julie grinned and tossed a fiver in the center of the table. I saw her bet, so did Lillian and the flop was dealt.
A jack of hearts, eight of spades and three of diamonds.
Julie threw another two dollars in the center of the table. Ignoring the evil eye she sent my way, I saw her bet and raised it five more. I had a pair of Jacks. That was worth starting off strong.
Lillian laid her cards face down. “I’ve got nothing. I fold.”
Julie met the bet and raised it another two dollars, avoiding my gaze as she did it. I watched Julie’s face closely for a minute. “I think your bluffing, Jules. I see you, and raise five more.”
Her cheeks flushed just a bit. Lillian dealt the next card, the Ace of hearts. Looking me straight in the eye Julie raised the bet with another five-dollar bill. “Guess what Katie did at work yesterday, Lil.”
“What?”
“She masturbated for Bad Boy Joe on the security camera.”
“You’re kidding?” Lillian laughed and grinned at me with pride. “Good for you, girl. Take charge and get what you want! You did get what you wanted, didn’t you?”
I knew Julie was trying to get me flustered by bringing that up, and it worked. Thoughts of getting what I wanted from Joe made my blood heat and all the tiny aches and pains from a night of non-stop fucking come alive.
“Yeah, I got what I wanted.” I shrugged, not wanting anyone to get a hint of just how much I’d gotten from Joe.
Julie was the adventurous one of our group, but when she smirked at me, I couldn’t help but call her bluff. After all, there was more to poker than the cards.
“All in,” I said, pushing my stacks in the center of the table. Geez, what got into me? Betting everything in the first hand of the game was not the smart, safe way to play, even if I did have a pair of Jacks.
I took a sip of cider, munched on an M&M, and met Julie’s gaze head on.
“Take it,” she said, tossing her cards down.
“Whoo Hooo!” I crowed, and reached for the pot. This was going to be a good night.
“What did you have?”
I shook my head. “Like I’m going to tell you? That would defeat the purpose of the game, wouldn’t it?”
Julie growled, then looked to Lillian for support.
“Your deal.” Lillian finished gathering all the cards and passed them to Julie. “And she’s right. If you wanted to see her cards, you should’ve bet.”
“Fine,” she said. She shuffled the cards and started the next round. “Did you find out why he was in Chadwick?”
There was a lot of speculation around the casino as to why Joe was there and where he came from. When asked directly, he said he was from Vancouver, and that was that. Of course, lack of a real answer made people think there was more to the story. That maybe it was none of their business never occurred to them.
I shrugged and looked at my cards. “We didn’t talk much.”
“Jimmy thinks he’s a burnt-out excop.” Jimmy was the daytime bartender Julie worked with sometimes.
“Could be.”
“Rene thinks he’s ex-military.”
“That could be true too.”
Julie reached over and snagged a handful of M&M’s form my bowl. “She’s having fantasies of a Navy SEAL team coming to visit him and having a gangbang with her.”
We all laughed at that. I didn’t say anything, but the scars on Joe’s body came to mind. I didn’t know why he’d come to Chadwick, and I wasn’t sure I even cared. There was obviously something more to him than just being your run-of-the-mill security guard, but whatever it was, it was his business.
I’d wanted him. I’d made a move. We’d had a good time. That was it. It was over. We hadn’t shared secrets or even your basic pillow talk really. It was time to concentrate on real life. And to play cards.
The next hand wasn’t so good for me, but I won with a king for a high card. Lillian had folded again and Julie only had a Jack high card. If the river card had been a ten, she would’ve won with a full house, but luck was on my side. It was then that I realized just how much I enjoyed the risk taking.
“Julie, do you know a card player named Brandon? He was there on the weekend.”
She shook her head, a small furrow between her brows.
“I think he won pretty big.” I shuffled and dealt as she thought about it. “Big good looking guy? Blonde hair, perfect smile, drank rye and ginger?”
“Okay, yeah, him.”
“What about him?”
I folded before I dealt the flop for Lil and Jules. “He was telling me about a regular card game he hosts for friends once in a while in Hemlock. Some of the players come up from Chewelah and a couple from Kelowna. He rents a room at the Hartman Hotel, and they play all night.”
“And?” She looked at me and waited for the rest.
“When I mentioned I played a little poker, he asked me if I wanted to try and get in on a game.”
“Why would they go to Hemlock Lake to play cards? It’s not much bigger than Chadwick.” Lillian quirked a delicate eyebrow.
“I don’t know. I don’t plan on finding out either. But it was sort of flattering to be invited to join.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “He’s never played cards with you, Katie. I doubt you told him that you’ve never played in a casino before either, so basically he invited you because you’re pretty, not because you can play cards.”
Pain snapped through me when I bit the inside of my cheek to keep quiet. “So what? That could work to my advantage.”
Julie’s head snapped up at that. “Does that mean you’re thinking about it?”
I shrugged and changed the subject.