“What do you mean us?”the Delta Sig president asked, suspicion menacing his tone as he stared down the two Pikes.
Even with his mask covering a substantial portion of the second Pike’s round face, I noticed the color creeping up his neck to his cheeks.
“The lady called.Place your bets and show your cards, boys.”The Sigma Nu president’s voice was as gleeful as his smile.
I was pretty sure the game was over for him too, but because of the order of play, he’d be going out after the Pikes.Guess he was fine with that, especially since, from the sounds of things, the Pikes had been playing together.
How had I missed that?
A picture of a pair of gunmetal-gray eyes, darkened almost to midnight, flashed through my head, and I forced myself to pull in a long, slow breath.My mind had only been a bit more than half on the game, which explained why it had taken an hour to best anyone else at the table.Beside me, AJ shifted in his chair, and I didn’t have to wonder if he was worried about me.It never took me this long to cut the field in half.
My full house, aces high, clinched the Pikes’ fate.Both of them shoved away from the table like the sore losers they were.The Sigma Nu president dropped out with them and with far more grace.
“Little Rho, you play the game well.”He saluted me with his glass and a smile before downing what was left of his drink and pushing away from the table.
“She cheats!”the Pike second accused.
“Be careful how you run your mouth, Jess,” the Delta Sig president warned.“You and Todd betting exactly the same for every hand begs the question of who’s really been cheating in this game.”
“But—”
“Time to go, boys.”The glee in the Sigma Nu president’s tone hadn’t abated in the least as he wrapped his arms across the shoulders of the other two and used his substantially more impressive size to guide the two skinny guys from the room.
Biting the inside of my cheek, I fought to hold back my grin.A quick glance around the table showed me I wasn’t the only one who was happy the Pikes were on their way out the door.Both of them were still protesting as the sentry closed and locked it behind them.
“Now we can have some fun,” Delta Sig said.
Not catching the Pikes’ tells that they’d been colluding on their hands and their bets irritated me enough that I forced my entire concentration on the game.That, of course, was a problem for the rest of the field.In short order the game came down to the Delta Sig president and me.Even though I only had a baby straight flush—three through seven of diamonds—it still beat his full house.
Leaning back in his chair, he tipped up his glass, took a small sip, and stared hard across the room at where AJ sat watching the game from a wingback chair beside the SAE president.“You brought in a ringer.”
“We all thought we were bringing ringers, Seth.”AJ chuckled.“It’s kind of the point of the seconds, isn’t it?”
A slow smile bloomed beneath Delta Sig—Seth’s—mask.“True.But mostly they’re only the guys who regularly win at the house.Your little sister—”
“Regularly wins at this house,” AJ finished for him.
“Yeah?”
“We usually tell the pledges after the first couple of times she plays them.”He grinned.“Since she won tonight, she’s this group’s secret too.”
“Because she’ll be next year’s president’s second?”the SAE asked.
AJ nodded.“Got it in one.”
“Are you graduating soon?Like, you’re not a freshman or something, are you?”Seth asked.
With a smile, I gathered up my winnings and stood from the table.“This was fun.Thanks for a good game, gentlemen.”Then I headed across the room to AJ’s en suite.
Having made a show of where I kept my money at the beginning of the evening, no doubt the guys left in the room expected I was closing myself in the bathroom in order to tuck away my winnings.They weren’t totally wrong.I extracted my $200 buy-in and another $300 for doing the house a solid.Then I found the envelope AJ had left for me in the bottom of his full—and smelly—clothes hamper.I stuffed the other two grand of the night’s winnings into the envelope, sealed it, and slid it down the leg of a pair of sweats I discovered before dumping all of his clothes back into the hamper.
For good measure I flushed the toilet, washed my hands, and made sure my five Benjamins were tucked securely into my bra.Then I tugged my lipstick from a hidden pocket I’d sewn among the roses decorating my shoes, slicked some color over my lips, and walked out into a room that was now empty except for AJ and the pledge who’d been the sentry tonight.
“Good work, Saylor.Again.How much are we donating to charity this year?”AJ asked, his voice rumbling with humor.
“Two thousand.And you’re welcome.Watching those Pikes lose five hundred each was worth the price of admission.”I grinned back.
Pushing his mask up on his forehead, he shot me a quizzical look.“Took you long enough.Why didn’t you call them on their cheating?Even I caught on by about the fourth hand.”
