Gambling with Hearts (On Hold)

⚀ Chapter 1: Ace in the Hole

Luca Martinelli may only be twenty-three, but he intimidated the crap out of Zach. Maybe it was the hard look in his eye—the one that said he would crush anything and everything that got in the way of what he wanted. Usually Zach appreciated that in a person, but there was a wildness there, an untamed quality that spoke of pure violence.

He'd much rather deal with Dino, the second oldest in the Martinelli clan. He wasn't laid-back by any means, but at least Zach didn't fear for his life every time he spoke. Some people might question why he continued to go to Pluto, but the truth was he didn't know himself. Perhaps it was because the club was a good place to unwind. Here, no one expected anything out of him. All he had to do was concentrate on the cards or dice.

A black-haired boy with translucent skin and a long, thin face dropped into the empty chair next to him and Zach groaned. Well, almost no one.

"Where's your mini-me?" asked Trace, a fellow Edgewood football player.

Zach's fingers stilled. "That's a good question." Where was the little freshman?

"You forgot about him, didn't you?"

"I didn't forget him per say. Gavin's here," he told Trace, his eyes glued to the cards being shuffled. "Somewhere."

"Somewhere where?"

"You know...in the building." He waved a hand to the crap tables on his left. "Or at least in this general vicinity."

"Zach," Trace warned.

Rolling his eyes, he tapped a poker chip on the table. "I'm sure he's fine." How much trouble could the kid get into? He barely talked.

"He's your responsibility."

Irked, he tossed the chip on the table. "I don't need another lecture."

"Then do your job."

The chair scraped against the floor as he pushed himself up. "My job is to win," he reminded. He was tired of butting heads over this. It was an ongoing argument they had since the beginning of summer.

"Your job is to lead."

"And I do." He did a damn good job of motivating and inspiring the varsity football team. When they were down by ten points last year, who was the one who got them fired up at half time? Him. And because of him, they won that game.

"On and off the field, Brewer."

Knowing he needed a different approach, he patted Trace's shoulder and directed his most winsome smile. "That's why I have you. I lead on field. You lead off."

Zach groaned when Trace's expression remained stoic. The guy was a good friend and an even better offensive guard, but he could be so rigid in his thinking. He had half a mind to drag him to Disneyland and force him to have fun. Maybe he could lock Trace in a room with Mickey and Minnie. That would certainly bring him joy.

"Come on, man," Zach grumbled. "You know why I don't want to mentor him." The fourteen year old was an ambulance ride waiting to happen. A poodle had a better chance of surviving a tackle than that kid. "How about we trade? You take Gavin and I'll take Eric." Eric was the type of guy he always dreamed of being assigned to. Naturally athletic and the life of party, he had all the qualities Zach respected.

"Coach wanted you to train him," Trace argued.

Why him of all people was a question he constantly wondered. Usually Coach assigned a freshman that would fit with the senior, but this time he messed up. There was no way Gavin was anything like him. Zach had ambition, drive...talent. Gavin had—he remembered the massive mop of sandy hair and shook his head—Gavin had a whole lot of fucking hair.