I don’t know which one makes me wetter.
God, I’m such a slut. I just fucked Tony and I’m already thinking of another guy.
The poker room draws me in. Players hunched over green felt inside. Faces tense with concentration or desperation.
The host is the same as last time, and he just nods with a small smile playing at his lips.
Do all the employees know who I am now? The woman who ran up a tab she couldn’t pay. The one Tony asked about.
There’s an empty seat at a mid-stakes table. The buy-in is higher than last time. Five hundred minimum.
I buy in and join the game. The other players take in my tousled appearance, and a zing of naughty pleasure makes me smile. Let them look. Let them see the sex-flushed cheeks, the woman who’s practically vibrating in her seat.
Tony’s cum leaks into my panties. I feel the bruise with every shift.
The first hand is dealt.
By the time I’m done here, I’ll owe this place more than money. And that’s exactly what I want.
I’m ready for someone to think I can’t pay again.
The first hand, I bet too high.
The second hand, I stay in when I know I should fold.
By the third hand, I’ve stopped thinking about strategy entirely.
The cards blur in front of me. Kings and queens and numbers that used to mean something back in college. Back when I was the girl who always won at poker. Now I’m the woman who gets fucked in casino offices.
I’m not playing to win. I’m playing for orgasms.
Every chip I push into the center is another small surrender. Another way of saying yes to whatever this night wants to give me. The rush of the bet. The sick thrill when I lose. The way my heart kicks knowing I’m throwing away money that could buy plane tickets, mortgage payments, a semester of someone’s college tuition.
Mrs. Robert Matthews could never play this recklessly.
Whoever I am tonight absolutely would.
The losses pile up. When my chips run out, more appear in front of me without a word exchanged. I know Tony arranged this.The dealer’s expression stays neutral, but I catch the glances between him and the pit boss hovering at the edge of the room. They’re watching me spiral. Watching the debt grow. Probably seen it a hundred times. People chasing a high they can’t name, bleeding money onto the felt.
I don’t stop. Thousands. Gone in less than an hour. I got fucked, yet I’m still craving what I came here for.
I want to owe them more more money than I currently have on me. I think I’m there.
The pit boss approaches. He’s polite, professional, his smile not reaching his eyes.
“Ma’am, we’ll need to settle up before you continue.”
I reach for my clutch. I probably almost have enough cash in there. The ATM can give me the rest. I could end this right now, walk out with nothing but a dent in our savings and a story to tell Robert.
A hand closes around my elbow.
“I’ll handle this.”
It’s Adrian.
His hold is firm, but not painful. The pit boss gives a nod of deference. “Of course, Mr. Cole.”
Adrian doesn’t acknowledge him. His attention is on me.
