Gambling with Hearts (On Hold)

⚀ Chapter 1: Ace in the Hole

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Five months earlier...

Tonight was his lucky night, Zach Brewer thought to himself as he peeked at the cards lying in front of him. Three queens and two nines. He eyed the other players sitting across from him. Most of them he'd gotten to know since he started coming to Pluto, an underground gambling club that took place in an abandoned church.

"Raise," he said, throwing in a couple blue poker chips.

The dealer, a pretty girl with silky auburn hair, turned to the player next to him.

Cory, his best friend, put his forearms on the table and stared at his cards. A slight twitch under his right eye gave him away as he debated. A few minutes passed before Cory picked up the blue disks and said, "I'll raise you two." He was about to throw them in when he pulled back. "Wait, I call. No, raise."

Sienna, the dealer, lifted an eyebrow. "Is that your final answer?"

Cory gave a firm nod and tossed his chips into the middle of the table. The rest of the players called out their bets, but soon folded as the numbers grew higher and higher. Finally, it was between Cory and himself.

"All in," Cory said, pushing his entire pile of white, red and blue chips forward.

Silently, Zach wondered what the hell his best friend was thinking. He knew Cory had zilch. Anytime Cory was stressed or indecisive his face twitched. So why was he betting practically his whole bank account for a crappy hand?

Zach was tempted to fold and walk away. After all, he was a nice guy who didn't want to take advantage of his friend...but he wasn't that nice. He began pushing his stack of chips when he noticed a bead of sweat running down Cory's neck. That only happened when—

Idiot, he thought. He wanted to slap himself. Cory's sister just had a baby and was having trouble finding a job.

His gaze dropped to the massive pile on the table. It was a lot of money. Money Cory's sister could use. He glanced at Cory again. Another bead of sweat started to form near his hairline. Cory brushed it away with the hem of his shirt. As he put the plaid down, he noticed Zach's stare and gave him a faint smile in return.

Rubbing his forehead, Zach closed his eyes and forced himself to say, "I fold."

Cory whooped with glee and bent over the table to slide the winnings to his area. "I can't believe I won. I can't believe it," he muttered over and over.

"I can't believe it either," Zach said through clenched teeth.

"That makes three of us," Sienna chimed in.

"I'm cashing out," Cory said, oblivious to the knowing look Sienna was giving Zach. "I'll see you later man."

"Yeah, later." As soon as Cory left he pointed a finger at the dealer. "I don't want to hear it."

"Did I say anything?"

"I know what you're going to say and it's not true. My reasons were purely selfish. If he lost, he would have sulked and then not played at optimal level and I can't have that. As captain of the Edgewood football team, I have a—"

"Here he goes again," someone interrupted. "I think his chest's been permanently inflated since he got the position."

"That's not true," Sienna replied. "His ego was inflated long before that."

Everyone laughed, even Zach. Sophisticated and funny, she was exactly the type he was drawn to. Too bad she was taken. As the girlfriend of one of the owner's, she was strictly off limits, but there was nothing that said he couldn't flirt with her—all in good fun, of course. Plus, he figured if she liked him, she would put in a good word with her boyfriend.