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Chapter 1 : Lily - The Game
“Lily, why are you getting all dressed up?” Jade called
back into the
bedroom.
“Because,” Lily replied, “it’s been a fantasy of mine to get dressed
up and play blackjack with the really high rollers ... make believe
I’m rich
and famous.”
She heard Alex laugh. “Can we watch? You’ll lose all
your money
in ten minutes.”
“Yeah, come with me, if you want. I just want to play for
a few
minutes ... lose a couple hundred, then go mingle with the rest of
the
peons.”
Lily looked at herself in the mirror. She wore a shimmery
black
mini-dress that hit her at mid thigh ... 3-inch black heels ... a gold
necklace
that came down just to her cleavage, and matching earrings ... a gold
clip
pinning her dark brown hair to her head. It was the best she’d
ever looked,
if she said so herself. Realistically, she knew that she was
probably only
dressed up for herself, but still, it was fun to pretend.
And, she reminded
herself, you never know who you might meet down in the casino.
When she walked out of the bedroom, her friends whistled in
appreciation. “Wow, don’t you look special!” Jade said.
“Thanks ...” She noticed Alex sitting on the couch, holding
a wine
glass. “What’re you drinking?”
Alex held up the bottle. “The hotel gave us a complimentary
bottle
of merlot ... here, have some, it’s great!”
Lily let her pour her a glass. “So, what do you guys want
to do
tonight?”
Alex shrugged. “I just want to wander around and people
watch for
a while. I’ve seen some interesting faces around -- it should
be fun!”
“Me,” Jade said, “I saw an indoor pool and a jacuzzi when we
walked in, and they’re calling my name. I have all week to lose
my money
... tonight, I want to relax.”
“Well, you guys should at least come with me and cheer me on at
the high stakes blackjack table,” Lily told them. “It should
take me all of,
what, ten minutes?”
“If that ...” Alex poured herself another glass of wine
and stood up.
“Come on, let’s go!”
***
High stakes blackjack had higher stakes than Lily had anticipated.
Alex and Jade laughed over her shoulder as she lost $100 in two hands.
She
left that table immediately. “Okay, one more shot ... there’s
a $10 table
over there, I’ll get at least 10 hands out of that one.”
Lily sat and played one hand with the player already at the table,
an
old lady with rhinestones glittering all over her clothes. When
she lost, the
lady sighed and got up. “That’s it for the day,” she told the
women. “I’m
spent!”
Sighing, Lily looked at the dealer. “I guess it’s just you
and me,
then.”
“Not if I can help it,” came a voice from behind her. Lily
turned in
her seat to see a man sliding in next to her. She felt Alex poke
her in the
side -- he was quite handsome, if a bit off-beat; he was Hispanic,
with
slightly curly black hair and a goatee, and was wearing a grey suit
with a
black silk shirt underneath. Several earrings glittered in each
ear ... his
attire almost made Lily think of a pimp, but somehow, he seemed too
classy
for that. Whoever, whatever he was, his smile made her heart
skip a beat.
“Shall I deal you in?” the dealer asked him.
“Yep, let’s go ...” the stranger replied.
As the dealer shuffled the cards, Jade leaned over and whispered
in
Lily’s ear. “Interesting partner you got there ...”
Lily merely nodded, choosing to concentrate on her cards.
For once,
the dealer had given her a pretty decent hand ...
A half hour later, Lily laughed aloud. She hadn’t bothered
to count
her chips in the last few hands, but she knew there was at least $300
in front
of her. Her playing partner -- AJ, she’d learned his name was
-- wasn’t
doing quite as well, but he’d started out with a lot more chips than
she had.
They were both playing well enough to have attracted a crowd -- Jade
had
left ten minutes earler, wishing her well, and saying that the jacuzzi
was
calling her name even louder. But, Alex was still there, cheering
her on and
taking full advantage of the free drinks that came to Lily ... she
was too into
playing to drink.
Feeling lucky, she began to play more chips ... and won for a
few
hands. After the fourth hand, AJ turned to her and grinned.
“Damn,
sweetheart, how can I get some of your luck to rub off on me?”
His voice was low and gravelly, and gave Lily the chills.
“Stick
close,” she said teasingly, “and maybe it’ll be contagious.”
Under the table, he put a hand on her knee. She raised her
eyebrows
-- she hadn’t expected him to be quite *that* forward -- but it gave
her the
most pleasant feelings, so she let it go. One of her goals for
the week had
been to meet sexy men ... and here was one sitting right next to her,
double
the luck.
Luck was the wrong thing to talk or think about, though -- because
from that moment on, Lily began to lose. Of course, AJ began
winning ...
she sighed with frustration. However, she wasn’t sure if her
frustration was
from losing, or from the sexual tension that was building every time
he
caressed her knee and upper leg. His eyes, a deep, rich brown,
glanced over
teasingly every time he flipped over his cards and raked in the chips
... Lily
wasn’t sure if he was gloating or flirting, or a combination of both.
Finally, she looked down at the table, only to realize that she
didn’t
have enough chips left to cover the current bet. “Damn,” she
swore, “I’m
going to have to bow out.”
The crowd around them applauded, but AJ caught her arm as she
tried to stand up. “Wait,” he said, pulling her down towards
him. Leaning
up a bit, he whispered in her ear. “I have a proposition for
you ...”
What he whispered in her ear made “Indecent Proposal” sound like
a Sunday school bet.
