She turns back toward the table, gesturing to her bet. “So, because I’m superstitious and a little crazy, I play black number four on Roulette. Every time. I guess I’m convinced that if a black four can hit for me here, it’ll reverse my luck with the cards.”
“Has it ever hit for you before?”
She scrunches her nose, thinking. “No, it hasn’t. So I guess my lucky number is kind of cursed in this game, too.”
I pull out my wallet and find a crisp one-hundred dollar bill. Flicking it onto the table, I squeeze in beside Skyler to grab the black one-hundred chip from the dealer as she exchanges it. “Maybe you’re just not betting enough. Maybe your lucky number feels cheated.”
Skyler’s eyes grow wide as I slap the chip down on number four, right on top of her bet. She turns to me, her head shaking furiously. “Kip! Don’t do that, that’s so much money. It won’t hit, it never does, I don’t want to be the reason you lose that!”
“No more bets,” the dealer says, all eyes turning to focus on the white ball as it spins around on the wheel.
“Too late now,” I say, grinning.
Skyler covers her face with her hands, shaking her head still. “Oh my God, I can’t breathe.”
I laugh, but keep my eyes trained on the wheel, my stomach in knots. I have plenty of money for the rest of the cruise if I lose the one-hundred, but I want to win this bet for Skyler.
“You have a tattoo?” I ask, trying to distract her. “I don’t know how I missed that.”
She laughs through her hands. “If you’re still talking to me after this, maybe I’ll show it to you later.”
“Looking forward to it,” I say quietly, leaning lower to say the words close to her ear. She nudges me playfully with her elbow but doesn’t take her hands from her face as the ball clicks against one of the metal number dividers and starts bouncing, making its way one more time around.
“I seriously can’t breathe,” Skyler says one more time. I close my eyes, too, waiting for the dealer to announce the winning number. My hand finds Skyler’s hip and I give it a gentle squeeze, trying to calm her. It’s just a silly bet, but for some reason, I really want this.
“Black four.”
My eyelids spring open and Skyler’s hands shoot from her face straight up into the air as she turns to face me, mouth open and eyes wide. We scream together and she throws her arms around my shoulders, pulling me into a tight hug before jumping up and down as the dealer places the glass marker on black number four, right on top of our bets.
“OH MY GOD! That did not just happen!”
Everyone at the table is clapping, happy for us regardless of their bet outcomes. Maybe it’s the fact that I bet a hundred on it or maybe it’s just that our energy is infectious. Either way, we have the attention of the entire casino.
“Kip.” Skyler is breathing erratically as she turns back to the table. “That’s like three thousand dollars. Holy shit.”
The rest of the table laughs and even the dealer cracks a smile as she calls over the pit boss to check the chips she’s piled up for me.
“Well, I guess we better find a really awesome way to spend it tomorrow on the island, huh?” I spin her around to face me. “See? You just needed to have a little more faith in your number. That’s all.”
Skyler smiles, her blue eyes reflecting the bright lights of the casino. “I think I just needed you. Maybe you’re my lucky charm.”
I swallow the lump building in my throat. If she knew why I showed up in her life in the first place, lucky would be the last thing she’d call me. Even though I’ve made up my mind about telling Dad the deal is off, I’m still hiding everything from Skyler and I didn’t think it would eat at me the way it still does. I feel like I need to tell her, to just explain it, but when I think about having the conversation, I have no idea where to even start. Every scenario I play out in my head ends with a slap to the face and the girl I want walking away from me for good.
I can’t risk that.
“I’ll take that title.” I grin. “Am I the kind of lucky charm you never take off? You know, the kind you shower with?” I waggle my eyebrows and she rolls her eyes, turning back to the table to pull our chips. But when she turns back to face me, her eyes are hungry again, hooded with a purpose.
“Well, I did say I’d show you my tattoo.”
Damn.
Thank you, black number four.
“I need to keep drinking or I’m going to start slipping into hangover mode,” Jess says, pouring up five shots in the little mouthwash cups from the bathroom. She hands one to me and even though it’s the last thing I want right now, I down it. I’m exhausted from being in the sun all day on the island. Plus, I had the women’s tournament this morning, too. I won, thankfully, which means I get free entry into tomorrow’s tournament. If I win tomorrow, I’ll officially have enough to pay the entry fee for Vegas. Maybe I shouldn’t be drinking tonight…
Meh, whatever. I’ll drink an energy drink in the morning.
It’s Spring Break! And I’m feeling more alive than I have in as long as I can remember. There are three blow-dryers going at once as the girls hurry to get ready for tonight, my skin is still hot from the sun today, and there’s a huge smile plastered on my face. After the tournament, I snuck into Kip’s room and we showered together. Everyone else was already on the island, but we took our time. After all, I had to show him my tattoo – four tiny dots near my left hip bone. They look like freckles, which was my intention, and I shiver at the memory of Kip’s wet fingers tracing a line between each one before he slowly bent down to trace that same trail with his lips.
On the island, we were together, but we couldn’t really be together. Everyone was around Kip all day. He took the liberty of completely blowing the three thousand dollars he won last night by buying drinks and cabanas for all his brothers and my sisters on the beach. Clinton and his brothers along with the Delta Beta Gamma sisters were kind of pissed off, but they understood and we all kind of hung out in the same place, anyway. There haven’t been any fights yet, no drama – just an insane amount of fun.
I love Spring Break.
“I want to get laid tonight,” my Big says, turning on her straightener and flipping through the clothes she has hanging in the closet. Jess, Ashlei, and Erin are all staying in one room and Cassie and I are in the adjoined one. We’ve opened up the middle door, though, and there’s clothes and makeup everywhere.
Jess and Ashlei hoot in approval and my Little smiles. “I like that attitude, Grand Big.”
Erin shrugs, pulling a short, sea-green dress from its hanger and laying it on the bed. “I’m serious. There are so many hot guys on this boat my ovaries can’t handle it anymore.”
“So no more worrying about Kip?” Ashlei asks and my eyes snap to Erin, anxiously awaiting her reply.