JAMIE
This private room is all wood lacquer and gorgeous velvet, and I perch in a chair by a high-top, watching the game unfold at the green felted table nearby.
I only kind of understand how poker works, but as I see the men at the table get angrier and angrier, I know that Morgan is doing well.Reallywell.
She is…evisceratingthem.
And it’s hot. Really hot.
The waiters keep bringing me drinks, and I vaguely remember they’re free because this is a casino. I might be drunk again.
A whim bubbles in my mind, and without thinking, I indulge. When the waitress stops by to pick up my empty glass, I ask, “Can I get a gin and tonic with… with your mostexpensivegin?”
“Of course,” she nods, as if it’s the most normal thing in the world.
“W-wait, s-sorry,” I stammer, second-guessing myself. “Y-you don’t have to—I didn’t really mean—”
“It is averydelicious gin,” she assures me. “Strong floral and juniper notes.” Seeing my panicked expression, she seems to take pity on me. “It can be an acquired taste. Oursecondmost expensive, however, is a lovely citrus-forward option, small batch and local.”
“T-that sounds great,” I say, and the waitress is gone.
At the poker table, one of the men throws down his cards, and Morgan pulls a pile of chips towards herself.
“It’s fine, you can buy back in,” Morgan says. “Oh, wait… are you out of chips?”
The man grumbles.
“Didn’t you just get a new yacht?” Morgan goads.
The man stiffens, grunts, fishes a key fob out of his pocket, and slams it on the table.
The waitress returns with my drink.
“What do you think?” she asks as I take the first sip.
“Oh, that’sgood.”
“I’m glad,” she says with a grin. “It’s nice to have some… younger clientele. You’re with the woman?”
I nod.
“She’s a force,” the waitress says.
“She really is.”
“Wish her luck from me. I like to see the blue bloods lose.” She winks, and then she’s gone again.
It’s sort of comforting to be clocked as not-really-belonging-here but still feel welcome.
And this gin isreallygood.
The game continues until just Morgan and the man with the yacht are left. It’s time for them to show their hands. I know that this is the important part.
The man flips his cards first. “Nice bluff,” he says. “I almost believed you.”
With a smug grin, Morgan lays her hand across the table.The man swears and stomps out while the rest of the men at the table exchange wary glances.
“Anyone up for round two?” Morgan asks as she plucks the key fob off the top of the pile of chips.
