The dealer lays down the flop and I realize then that I haven’t been watching Skyler, I haven’t been trying to read her face. I’ve been too damn distracted by how sexy she is when she’s schooling these tools. I can’t tell if the fact that a poker game is turning me on is ridiculous or just sick, but it’s happening either way.
I want to take her home. I want strip poker. In my room.
In my bed.
Now.
Focus, Kip.
I train my eyes on hers, watching as she evaluates the three cards on the table before taking another peek at hers. She’s not wearing sunglasses, though most of the other guys are, so her eyes are open for reading – but she doesn’t show a sign of emotion in them. They’re bare – stripped, even. Her lips don’t twitch, she doesn’t take a deep breath or let her eyes flicker around the table. Instead, she remains completely cool – unmoved, unaffected, relaxed.
She bets high again, causing two players to drop. It’s just her, tattoo guy, and frat daddy now.
Tattoo guy shakes his head. “I can read straight through you, princess. Your bluffs don’t scare me. Call.” He pushes his chips toward the middle, leaving only a small pile behind.
Skyler turns her eyes to frat daddy, who seems to be appraising her. He smiles, shakes his head, and lays his cards face down. “I’m out. I think she’s got something.” Skyler smiles back at him and bites her lower lip a little, which makes my dick harden and my fists clench at the same time. I don’t like the way frat daddy is looking at her, even if it is her intention.
The turn is dealt and then the river, Skyler sticking to her high bets. It’s on tattoo guy to call, but if he does, he’s going all in. He chews his cheek and studies Skyler, looking for some sign of a bluff or otherwise. I want to tell him to let me in on the secret if he finds it because I don’t see her giving a single thing away. She’s absolute stone.
“All in.” He pushes the chips forward and leans back, crossing his arms over his chest. “Let’s see those cards, girl.”
Skyler doesn’t smile, doesn’t talk shit – she just lays her cards down flat.
Flush.
Tattoo guy slams his fists on the table and stands at the same time, flicking his cards toward the dealer. He had a pair, definitely nothing to go all in on, which means he was betting on her bluff.
And bluff she did not.
“Bullshit!” he yells, his shoulders tensing. I grip my glass a little tighter, ready to fight if I have to.
Frat daddy laughs. “I knew it, I knew she had something. Good hand, Barbie.”
“Thanks.” She smiles. “Beginner’s luck, I guess.”
Tattoo guy takes a seat a few bar stools down from me and I relax, watching Skyler again. A few more rounds go by and two of the dads are out. Balding guy and Skyler are the only ones left in a hand when she starts betting like she did in the hand that got tattoo guy out. Molester folds and she takes a big pot.
“How much do you want to show those cards, Barbie?” Frat daddy asks.
Skyler shrugs, stacking her chips up. “How much you willing to pay?” Her eyes flick up to his, flirtatious and challenging at the same time. He smiles, tosses a fifty dollar chip toward her and nods to the cards. She shakes her head. “Sorry, wrong number. Try again.”
He smiles, taking back the fifty in exchange for a one-hundred dollar chip.
“Getting warmer,” she says, still eying him.
He laughs and pulls the chip back. “That’s as high as I go to see dead cards, but I’ll take that as a sign of a bluff.”
She shrugs. “I guess you’ll never know.”
An hour passes before they finally get down to the final two – and, against my inner cursing and wishing – it’s Skyler and frat daddy. I don’t feel good about the night ending this way, and something in my gut tells me I need to be ready to get out of here – fast. I step out into the bathroom quickly and call a cab before returning to the bar and leaning against it rather than sitting down again, just in case.
I’m trying to study Skyler, but every time I try to focus on what her eyes and lips are doing, my body starts studying a completely different subject. I know my dad is going to expect a report, and I have to give him something. I don’t want to play this game, I don’t want to hurt Skyler or use her to get me to UCLA, but I don’t have a choice. This is my dream.
It’s the high stakes table, and I can’t fold now.
A few hands go by with not much action. Skyler wins, frat daddy wins, Skyler wins, frat daddy wins. They trade small hands back and forth before finally, Skyler bets big, reducing her pile of chips by more than half.
“There’s that bluffing bet!” frat daddy yells, calling. He pushes his chips to the middle and the dealer burns one card and turns the next, revealing another card. “I’ve got you figured out now, Barbie.”
Skyler appears to be shaken. She chews the inside of her bottom lip and her knee begins bouncing slightly under the table. Shit. He figured out her bluff.
But how? She looked exactly like she did when she cleaned out tattoo guy, what did he see?
I’m failing at this studying shit.
The final card is dealt and Skyler checks it to frat daddy, backing off her strong bet. He shakes his head. “No way, can’t back down now. All in.”
He pushes his pile forward and Skyler inhales deep as the dealer counts out the chips.
“Four-thousand-four-hundred to call,” he says to Skyler. She looks down at her own pile, counting. That would only leave her with twelve hundred if she lost. Her knee bounces a little, she bites her lip, then, with a heavy breath, she pushes her chips forward.
“Call.”
Frat daddy flips his cards, revealing a straight. A solid hand, but he wasn’t betting on his cards – he was betting on hers.
Suddenly, a smile breaks on Skyler’s face, her knee steadying again. “Oh Ken,” she says, throwing his Barbie comments back in his face. “Barbie never bluffs.” She lays her cards out, her smile widening.
Four deuces line the table.
I’ll be damned.
Frat daddy’s mouth drops and everyone claps, some of the guys laughing. Skyler smiles and nods as people congratulate her and the dealer collects the cash from the back of the bar, retrieving a large envelope and placing it on the table in front of her. Skyler thanks him and tucks it into her clutch, standing.
“That was a good game,” the dealer says. “You know, you look familiar. Do you play a lot around here?”
She shakes her head. “No, but I have a familiar face. A lot of people think they know me.”
He narrows his eyes, scrutinizing her, but doesn’t push further. “I guess that’s it. Well, at any rate, good job tonight.”
“Thanks,” she says. She glances at me briefly and nods toward the door. I drain my beer and start heading that way when frat daddy cuts Skyler off.
“Wait a second,” he says, grabbing her arm. “You’re Skyler, aren’t you?”
She yanks her arm free and steps around him. “Nope, I’m Barbie, remember?” She tries to stay calm, smiling as she moves toward the door again. Frat daddy grabs her other arm and spins her around.
“Don’t touch her,” I say loudly, quickly making my way across the room. I pull his hand from her elbow and push my chest into his, standing tall. I may not be the most solid guy in the world, but I lift enough to hold my own.
“Who the fuck are you?” he asks, pushing me back.
“He’s leaving, we both are,” Skyler says, shoving me toward the door. “Let’s go,” she urges under her breath.
“Hey, I thought we were going out after this,” frat daddy says, grabbing Skyler around the waist and pulling her back into him. “You just hustled me, the least you can do is put out tonight.”
I clench my jaw and shove him hard, sending him flying back into the table. Chips fall onto the floor and a drink spills on the felt, making the dealer curse and call for napkins.