Page 20

“Do you gamble?” Konrad asked, taking folded garment bags out of his suitcase to hang in the closet.

“I play cards with the folks from the shop sometimes.” Jasper heard the accent come out and reeled it back in. “But they don’t really like playing with me because I always win.”

Konrad gestured to the door. “We are in quite a position to capitalize on those talents.”

The hotel was a whole resort; the first floor was home to restaurants, a spa, a liquor store, and mainly, a casino. “I didn’t think gambling would be your thing.”

“I try to enjoy the culture of wherever I visit. When in Rome, as they say.”

Yeah, he would know.

The convention didn’t kick off until tomorrow. Jasper was happy to stay in the room and sketch or read, but Konrad had saved his life in the airport, so he felt like he owed this to him. And Jasper was pretty damn good at cards.

“Let me shower first.”

Konrad didn’t even try not to look pleased, and Jasper attempted to hide the answering smile that came to his face.

Jasper didn’t dress up just to go downstairs and gamble. He threw some product in his hair to keep his curls from frizzing, and put on a loose, long-sleeved shirt with black skinny jeans that tucked into his boots. He emerged from the bathroom with slightly damp hair and found Konrad sitting on the couch with his book.

Konrad glanced up when he heard the bathroom door open, and Jasper didn’t know what to call the way Konrad was looking at him.

“Are you… ready?” Jasper asked haltingly. Maybe he was underdressed after all.

Konrad laid his book down and stood. “Yes.”

Okay. They were doing this.

Jasper let him lead, and the elevator ride was tense in a way Jasper couldn’t identify any better than he’d been able to decipher the look Konrad had given him before they left their room. Jasper was usually good at reading people, but Konrad was almost a blank slate. Always composed.

It was still early in the evening, so the casino wasn’t packed yet. It helped that it was a weekday too, though Jasper was developing the impression that every day was Saturday in Vegas. He looked around, taking in the dozens and dozens of different slot machines, card tables, and tables where he didn’t even know what was being played.

“Do you have cash?” Konrad asked, walking with his hands loosely clasped behind his back.

“I’ve got like… forty dollars.”

“That will do.”

Konrad explained how to join a poker game, and per his instructions, Jasper approached a table and showed his ID, then laid the cash on the table for his chips. The dealer picked it up and replaced it with stacks of colorful chips that made him both excited and nervous. Jasper never really did new things. He liked the security in the familiar.

He looked around, not knowing what he was searching for until he saw Konrad standing nearby, watching him.

Konrad smiled at him and nodded. You’ve got this, that nod seemed to say.

It turned out that Jasper did have it. He was absolutely killing it, and whenever he looked, Konrad was always there. Not in the same place, but never so far that Jasper couldn’t see him. The thought of that possibly being intentional stirred a warmth in Jasper’s chest that he firmly ignored.

He cashed out while he was up, and left some very unhappy people at the table. A grin fought to pull at his lips as he found Konrad at the roulette table. “That was fun,” he admitted.

Konrad smiled, resting a hand on the small of Jasper’s back. “Good. Would you like to join me here?”

“I don’t know the first thing about roulette.”

Konrad explained with patience, answering Jasper’s many questions, and Jasper hated how grounded he was by Konrad’s touch on his back. He reluctantly agreed to play, and they stayed there for a good twenty minutes of winning before Jasper decided not to push their luck.

They played the slot machines, laughing at how stupid some of the names were—Dolly Parton’s Down-Home Lucky 7, The Rootin’ Tootin’ Triple Texas, and others that were equally ridiculous. Konrad had the absolute worst luck with slots. The casino started to fill up with the nighttime crowd, but Konrad’s palm was a comforting presence right above Jasper’s waist, and Jasper was content to keep it there so long as he didn’t have to acknowledge it.

They were having fun. Jasper couldn’t remember the last time he did something just for the fun of it besides going for runs with his dogs, and certainly not anything this far out of his comfort zone.

“Hey!”