Five of Hearts

Chapter 27

After a quick briefing in the living room, Atticus paired me with Hudson for the night. He seemed upset about something, but I didn't dwell on it too much. Because honestly, when was he not mad?

Hudson and I took his black Charger to the place where we were playing. When we walked up to the building, I recognized it as a fancy local restaurant. My parents had brought Parker and I here for his 18th birthday. As soon as we walked in the front door, someone nodded at Hudson and led us up a small, steep stairwell to the side I would have never noticed.

At the top of the stairs, the young guy opened a door and ushered us in. It opened into a big room, rustic and old. A bar sat on one end where a young lady had already started making drinks for a few of the guys there, laughing at their jokes and moving fast. In the middle were several poker and pool tables, with a few couches and comfy looking chairs lining the walls.

Hudson and I were the first ones to arrive, but pretty soon the guys started showing up; each one strolling in, looking like a celebrity. I secretly beamed with pride, knowing they were my guys.

Shortly after everyone arrived, the games slowly began. It was a large group of men and one other woman besides me, so we split between two tables. I found out through chit-chatting with one of the younger men Hudson knew, that her name was Sabrina Vanderson and had been playing in these circles for a while, along with her brother, Jackson. I could tell she didn't like another woman being there as she glared my way a few times as the game got started, which seriously devalued her pretty face a little bit more each time she did it.

It was so interesting to see Hudson in this environment. Usually so funny and silly, it was almost as if he flipped some switch in his brain, becoming a serious, suave, charming version of himself. It wasn't hard to play my part as his girlfriend; I kept grinning up at him in amazement.

The games ran long, with loads of money in each pot. Hudson, as my boyfriend, had my money for me so I gladly didn't have to worry about it. I found myself far more focused on discovering everyone's tells; especially now that we were playing a super high stakes game again. We sat at a table with Cash, Thane, and three other gentlemen. Keegan and Atticus sat at the other table with Sabrina and four other men. Sabrina had chosen a seat next to Atticus and I found that I didn't like that very much. At all. 

It didn't take me long, maybe three rounds of play, before I figured out what my table's tells were. The other three men, who I discovered were Gregory, Phillip, and Sabrina's brother Jackson, had very tiny, almost imperceptible tells. But, they were too cocky.

Jackson's cheeks grew red, Gregory's nose started to itch, and Phillip glanced around at all of us a lot; all when they lied. It didn't take me long to come out on top of them often, knowing when they had shit hands. Unlike the first high stakes game, I played remarkably well this time.

After about two hours, I had won three hands, Thane had won four, Gregory had won one, Phillip was pissed, and Jackson was enamored with me. I flirted with him throughout the night and Hudson let me, positioning himself in the group as an uninterested type of lover.

Once, I glanced over at Atticus, which turned out to be a mistake. After that, I couldn't stop. Sabrina seemed to be incredibly comfortable with him, touching his arm, laughing at everything he said, and stealing his attention from the game...often. I then continued to glare over at them every now and then, struggling to stay focused on the game at hand. A couple of times, I actually pinched my leg under the table and mentally scolded myself for not paying attention to what was really important.

"What's your play, hun?" Jackson's voice pulled my eyes away from Atticus and Sabrina once again and back to the game.

"Oh, I'm going to fold. I think it's time for another drink," I smiled politely at the table before I drifted over to the bar. I'd already had two in the past two hours, but I felt fine. It was just that every time I looked over at Atticus and Sabrina, I took a big swig.