Poker Night Read online

  Poker Night

  Dusty Miller

  This Smashwords edition copyright 2014 Dusty Miller and Long Cool One Books

  Design: J. Thornton

  ISBN 978-1-927944-17-2

  The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person living or deceased, or to any places or events, is purely coincidental. Names, places, settings, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. The author’s moral right has been asserted.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Table of Contents

  Scene One

  Scene Two

  Scene Three

  About the Author

  Poker Night

  Scene One

  Austin was tall, with soft features, yet boyishly lean. He had sad brown eyes and a grin that lit up the place. When he got going, his one-liners were real zingers, and some nights they just couldn’t stop laughing. They’d been out a few times with a bunch of friends, but then they started going out, just the two of them.

  Austin was so scared on the phone when he called the first time. It really touched her, in a man so big and confident otherwise.

  So far, he was painfully shy about asking.

  Bethany had her mind all set to do something about that. Austin had kissed her when dropping her off after a movie, more than a week ago now, but then on the next date he was so shy and diffident. It was like he couldn’t do it. The first date was a wake-up call. They shook hands afterwards. She really liked Austin and Ian was off in university. She was convinced Austin was a virgin. Sex with Ian was all right, the few times they actually did it. He’d pursued her all through high-school, in a half-kidding, half-contemptuous manner. After they had sex a few times, he was just different. He didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to her after a while, and then expected her to put out or something, at the drop of a hat. She wasn’t his first choice, not at all. Not anymore. He was secretive. Something had happened.

  She was a free woman—one who just might do it for Ian when he had no one else on the line. Any deep affection she’d had for him vapourized. She’d relied on his attentions in some ways. She liked Ian. In many ways, he was a nice guy, cute enough in his own way. Ian was better than nothing. And he was gone, bitter realization that it was.

  Austin was different. He was obviously interested, and didn’t act like he owned her. Such a gentleman, too, always running around to hold the door open for her, holding hands like he loved it when they walked any distance. He couldn’t get enough of her. Austin had an inferiority complex to beat anything she’d ever seen, unlike dear old Ian. And yet he was good-looking, he was smart, funny, he dressed well. He had a job and made good money. She had a feeling about Austin. Austin would set out to change the world, and she liked that. Austin was a hopeless romantic, and he kept calling her up. What was not to like? She felt safe when she was with him, that streak of protectiveness was very appealing. He was afraid of messing it up, which really said something about how he felt about her. For him, the stakes must seem very high. There was nothing casual about Austin. That intensity intrigued Bethany very much.

  The TV went on and Austin headed to the kitchen. She settled onto Austin’s sagging red couch, with swirling paisley upholstery and art deco arms that might have looked elegant in the 1930s. They had stopped at the liquor store. He returned with two brimming glasses of a cheap, bubbly wine. She insisted on chipping in, and made him buy a magnum. She was totally prepared, serene in her mission’s purpose and outcome.

  “How was work?”

  “Uh, it was okay.”

  “I laid around in the back yard all day. Tanning. I got a bit of colour, I guess.”

  “Well, good for you! Some of us have to work for a living.”

  She laughed at that. She started a summer job on Monday, although she hadn’t been accepted at school yet.

  She was just softening him up a little. She wondered what was going through his mind as the mental picture of her in a bikini registered on his face with a far-off look and a flurry of blinks.

  He gave her a funny little grin, and his eyes dropped quickly away.

  “There’s not much on tonight.” He’d checked the listings, but Bethany liked Nature on PBS and he’d always had an interest in wildlife and the outdoors. “I suppose it really doesn’t matter.”

  Her show came on in a couple of hours. He had promised to watch it and not to laugh or make fun it. She loved that show. That was fine, as long as she watched it with him, he was happy. Austin felt the lure of distant lands. He had dropped out of biology at university, so he could make enough money to go on. It was all big dreams at this point. The pair of them had such great conversations, just the two of them, laughing and giggling, with all of life ahead and just waiting out there. When he called as promised, Bethany suggested a quiet night at his place.

  “That’s okay. We can always play cards.”

  Austin grinned, shaking his head at the notion.

  He rolled up a joint. The lighter was almost gone and he flicked it and flicked it. Austin had his own place, up on the second floor of an old two-story brownstone.

  They sat and passed it back and forth.

  “I want to try something. Do you trust me?” She patted his leg. “Come on, just say yes.”

  He looked over, with eyebrows raised.

  “Absolutely!” He laughed and she chuckled along.

  What the heck, she thought.

  “Exhale, and try and hold it out as long as possible.”

  Austin complied as Bethany sucked in the biggest lungful of pot she’d ever had.

  Beckoning Austin forward, his eyes bugging out with the need for air, she stuck her mouth on his and clamped her free hand behind his head.

  His mouth turned up in an incredulous grin, but as he stared at her, he didn’t try and pull away. Committing to it, it made a much better seal. It turned into a real kiss.

  She blew out hard, as Austin’s lungs expanded and his eyebrows rose. She pushed and pushed on her diaphragm until she could blow no more. He gave an aggressive intake of breath and she almost collapsed in his arms, seeing little black and white curlicues in the edges of her vision. Austin’s lungs were at lot bigger than hers.

  He broke off and topped up with fresh, cool air, not letting her get away just yet.

  Austin had some aggression in him.

  Her body was warm and heavy in his arms. Her hair smelled fresh and clean.

  She’d seen that aggression when he was driving. He was very fast and very good in that little yellow car. Austin tried to control it, but when someone pushed too hard, oh, well…too bad for them.

  Austin brought his mouth up to hers.

  She sucked in as much air and smoke as she could and then they both gasped and fell back at the same time, eyes locked in discovery. She licked her lips and he swallowed, fearful of his own strength sometimes. She was warm and cuddly again, half in his lap after that little episode.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey.”

  With a long look into Austin’s eyes, Bethany casually reached for a glass.

  “Care for a drink?’ She took in a good mouthful and sat up straight, daring him.

  He came right in for it, clasping on to her mouth with care.

  She shared the wine with him, the look on his face intent and serious.

  Finally they broke off and swallowed, Austi
n struggling for air. She smiled and nodded.

  They reached for each other as of one mind.

  They cuddled face to face, inches apart. Her mouth was set in a quirky little grin and Austin had a look that smacked of disbelief. He was licking his lips and breathing heavily, still finding it hard to accept that she really liked him. She wanted Austin. She watched the thought go through his head. His eyes clouded and then refocused. She nodded, a look of serious intent on her brow.

  His left hand was on her outer thigh. Bringing it up behind her head, as their right hands clasped back and forth in unspoken communication, Austin kissed her again. Just to let him know, Bethany squeezed his hand, parted her lips and darted her tongue into his mouth.

  Staring, Austin rose up and around her, enveloping her and totally immobilizing her. All she could do was to grab on tight with her free hand and squeeze him.

  Austin pushed his tongue into her mouth and she just let everything go, writhing and pushing back, closing her eyes and breathing through her nose. He broke off, not knowing how far to push it and not wanting to lose Bethany just when things seemed to be going well. He was holding on to her boob. His jaw dropped. He clasped at her hands, suddenly afraid to look at her. She decided to let him think on it for a while. Repressing a smirk, she sat up a little straighter.

  Scene Two

  They were very close, watching and listening to the set in a distracted manner, drinking wine in between bouts of heavy petting. Some other show was on TV now, but that was the farthest thing from their minds.

  “How about some cards?”

  “Huh?” His eyes searched hers.

  There was a suspicious bulge in his pants.

  She gave him a pat on the shoulder.

  “Uh, yeah.” Austin got up, sort of carefully turning the groin area away from her, and still in a slightly hunched-over posture turned the TV down.

  His back to her, he went over to the stereo and put on some music, some long jazzy thing that wouldn’t require constantly changing recordings. Half blinded by brain fog, his hands trembling, he got lucky and it was just the thing. Austin was a man of action. The strong, silent type. She smiled again, not looking up. He had pretty good taste in music, too. Austin came back and sat down.

  She was already riffling the deck, always laying there on the side table beside a cribbage board that had once belonged to Austin’s grandfather. His mother’s side of the family was all hot for cards.

  It wasn’t exactly cribbage she had in mind.

  “So, ah. What do you want to play?” Austin had played cribbage, and crazy-eights, Kings in the Corner, a few simple games.

  “Do you know euchre? Cut-throat euchre?”

  “No, sorry.” His aunts and uncles were just nuts for euchre, but wouldn’t let him play with the grown-ups.

  They took it pretty seriously.

  “How about poker?”

  Her sister’s boyfriend knew Austin and said he thought he could play poker. According to Joe, who played for fairly big money Thursday nights with friends, Austin wasn’t very good at it. Bethany had learned poker from her dad, an engineer who built refineries all over the world. Her dad was very good at it.

  “Jeez, I don’t know.” Austin shrugged. “Whatever you want. You can teach me how.”

  Whatever Bethany wanted was fine with Austin, still reeling with the kisses. He liked her so much. He couldn’t believe his luck, and that was just truth. He was always horny, and sooner or later it would happen. This was as far as he had ever gotten with a girl. Lately his mind just reeled with thoughts of Bethany, especially when he was at work, soul-crushing in its boredom. The night shifts were very long for Austin these days.

  For whatever reason, the real obvious sluts—the ones everyone talked about, they just never really appealed to him. He was too afraid to try, and they were always surrounded by dead-beats and half-wits, football jocks and rich boys anyway. Bethany was a nice girl and the fact that she went out with him at all was a big surprise.

  He still couldn’t believe it in some ways. Asking her out was a real leap for Austin.

  He was even more surprised when she asked him to pull the coffee table out of the way. She got up, went straight to his room, and came out with the thick comforter from his bed. She put it on the table for a second. His heart speeded up at the thoughts that entailed. She turned down the dimmer switch and went into the kitchen, coming back with a pair of wine bottles with stub candles set in them. She’d spotted them on the way in and had always had an eye for detail.

  “Got a match, oh, handsome stranger?”

  “What…?” She patted Austin on the bum and sent him looking for them, trying to appear calm.

  They lit the candles and put them on the coffee table, well off to one side and out of the way. Bethany went over and snapped the lights completely off. She grabbed the blanket.

  Whipping it up and spreading it out, she put the wine bottle and their glasses down in front of the couch.

  “Sit down. It’ll be like camping.”

  His heart began to pick up significantly.

  Austin settled into a cross-legged position and watched Bethany as she put the ashtray down, lit up a smoke, puffed on it, and then let it sit on the corner of the ashtray. Screwing up her eyes, she picked up the cards and shuffled. She was so cute in her skirt, knee socks, and filmy white blouse, so full of class and not like a lot of the other girls. A glimpse of frilly white panties and creamy thighs sent adrenalin rushing through him. This was about something deeper. It was about something more. He didn’t really know how to ask a girl if she wanted to go steady. He’d never done it.

  “You won’t even know what hit you.” She smiled sweetly.

  “Oh, really!”

  Men had their vanity and it could be manipulated. With a frank look and a wicked grin, Bethany hinted at his impending defeat. He looked so confident! Hah.

  “Do you know what stakes are?” She bit her lip, but she liked the little put-down thing for the additional hints of colour it caused, high up on his cheekbones.

  “Ah…yeah.”

  He thought for a moment.

  “What are we betting for?”

  “Wishes.”

  Austin shrugged elaborately, getting into the game as far as he dared.

  “Your every wish is my command. You must be the Lady of the Lake or something.”

  She giggled, covering her mouth. Then she stabbed him with a look.

  “Cute.” Eyes downcast, she nodded inscrutably, lips moving silently.

  He settled down to wait with a look of puzzled humour on his features. Looking up, she was ready.

  She rattled through the basic rules. Austin was familiar with five-card stud, his mouth twitching when the word came up. Her hands were a blur. He stared at the cards she had dealt him.

  He discarded, all well and good.

  “Give me two.”

  She gave him a couple of cards. This one was in the bag anyway. Never start a battle you can’t win—her crazy dad again.

  “So what do you mean?” Austin’s eyes regarded her from across the blanket.

  He looked down at his hand, and up at her again.

  “Here’s how it works. I deal, you make the bet. We switch back and forth. When you deal, I get to make the bet. It’s only fair.”

  “So if I win, I get my wish?”

  “Yep. And if the dealer wins, then you have to keep your side of the bargain. The bet is a fair trade. Promise? Do you promise?” His nod was quick and assuring, so she went on. “That makes it interesting for both of us. You can refuse a bet, but you have to make an alternate trade for something else.”

  “Got it.” Austin looked at his cards and thought for a second. “I still don’t know what we’re betting for…”

  She just let that one lie for a moment.

  Her look seemed to imply that he did know. His heart stopped cold.

  He had no idea of what to wish for…he didn’t dare speak.

  “
Just this once, I’ll go first.”

  Austin nodded, eyes darting right and left, taking a small sip of wine as he looked at her with the most profound solemnity on his face.

  She had a gulp of wine and puffed the smoke. Austin picked it up and had a haul off of it.

  “Socks for socks.”

  He looked at her.

  “If you lose, I get your socks. If I lose, you get my socks…see, it’s easy, really.” She looked archly at him, blowing him a little kiss.

  Austin grinned at the relief. Something small to start with.

  Scene Three

  Within four or five hands, Austin was sitting in his gotchies, blushing beet red and with a big bulge in his white cotton briefs announcing to the world that he was a man, and a very aroused one at that. Within the first few hands, Austin was in love with Bethany. She could do anything she wanted with Austin. No problems there as far as he was concerned.

  She regarded her prey.

  Austin had the longest legs, with big feet and shanks that kind of stunned her, all covered in curly auburn hair. His chest could have used a little meat on it. His hip bones stuck up. There was a thick patch of belly hair and smaller tufts on his chest and around the nipples. His shoulders were good and the stomach looked hard as a rock, an impression reinforced by ribs rippling below the skin. Ian had always given the impression of gently rounded shapelessness and pale, clammy flesh. She hadn’t known any better at the time…

  Austin worked in construction and had a nice tan on his back and shoulders, although the legs were pretty white. His ropy arms were tight with muscle and stark with tendons and big veins going all up and down…the bones of his wrists stuck out. He had strong, beautiful hands.