“I found tequila.” Kendra held up a bottle and a salt shaker. “Nolimes. We’ll have to rough it.”
“Oh, me, please.” Jacqueline raised her hand, then took one ofthe shot glasses from Kendra.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Casey was well aware thatJacqueline tended to get in trouble with copious amounts of tequila. In fact,she’d practically carried her home on more than one occasion during their timetogether.
Eager to put the previous awkwardness behind them, Jacquelinegrinned and winked at her. “Just one shot.”
“I’ve heard that before.” Casey took the shot Kendra offered. Shelicked the back of her hand at the base of her thumb and said, “Salt me.”
Jacqueline watched as Kendra shook salt onto that spot, unable topull her eyes away even as Casey swiped her tongue over her skin and tossed backthe shot. She licked her own hand and did the same. As the numbing warmthspread through her chest, she thought Casey might have been right that thiswasn’t a good idea.
*
Casey fiddled with her poker chips, separating them into twosmall towers, then shuffling them back together, only to do it all over again.She hadn’t played poker in years, but her fingers seemed to remember themotions ingrained through hours spent sitting at a table with most of the womenaround her now. In fact, several of them had gone on weekend trips to Tunicaand one big vacation to Las Vegas together. The group had changed some over theyears, but Kendra was very good at keeping her friends in her life—not everyonedid that.
Casey’s own social group had changed with her lifestyle. WhenSean was younger, she’d gravitated toward parents with children the same age.But Kendra had never let her drift away completely, even when she’d split withJacqueline. Some of their mutual friends had seemed to think they had to choosesides. Kendra had known Jacqueline first and had roomed with her in college, soCasey wouldn’t have been surprised to lose her. Yet over the years, Kendra hadremained impressively neutral no matter how Casey and Jacqueline related toeach other.
Casey continued to toy with her chips, waiting her turn to bet onthe two sevens she’d been dealt. She glanced up and caught Jacqueline watchingher hand. Her fingers slipped, throwing the chips off balance, but sherecovered in time to keep them from toppling. Watching Jacqueline’s face, shecontinued to manipulate them. She lifted one off the top of the pile. They wereactually good chips, casino-quality, nice clay-weight and feel, not like thecheap plastic ones they used to play with. She flipped it across the back ofher knuckles and pulled it back into her palm. Jacqueline’s eyes changed, andeven from across the table Casey recognized the build-up of arousal in them.She used to love witnessing the slow burn of Jacqueline’s reaction almost asmuch as the times when Jacqueline flashed-over, hot and fast.
When the two players before Casey folded, she placed a stack ofchips in front of her, indicating a moderate bet. Kendra folded, as did thewoman to her right. Jacqueline and three other players called her, staying inthe hand. Mabel counted out three cards in a neat stack, then turned it faceupon the table. She slid the cards out side by side, revealing all three. Caseyliked to watch a good dealer work, finding beauty in the fluidity of themotions. She’d study the details of their hands—manicures and nail color,rings, scars—and try to imagine the stories behind them.
The cards—a queen, a ten, and a seven—included two hearts and adiamond. When her turn came, Casey pushed forward another bet on herthree-of-a-kind, and two more players folded. The next card, the nine of clubs,didn’t change Casey’s hand, but it did put a straight draw on the board. Therewere now several other combinations of cards that could beat her sevens. By thetime the dealer turned the last card, the four of hearts, only Casey andJacqueline remained. Careful of both the straight and flush draws now on theboard, Casey checked her hand, putting the play in Jacqueline’s hands.
Jacqueline cupped a hand over her cards and lifted the cornersjust far enough to see the faces. She stared across the table, obviously tryingto read Casey. She lifted one side of her mouth in a lazy grin that Casey hadnever been able to resist, but Casey kept her expression neutral. “Your pokerface has improved.”
“Yours hasn’t. Same old tricks.” Casey smiled, hoping to take anysting out of her words.
Jacqueline glanced once more at the cards faceup on the tablebetween them. “Were you chasing?” she murmured.
This kind of across-the-table talk used to fluster Casey intogiving away her hand. With the cards showing, Jacqueline would also be worriedCasey might have the flush or straight as well. Unless she had king/jack or acouple of high hearts, then she’d know she had Casey dominated.
“I’m all in.” Jacqueline pushed her three stacks of chips towardthe center of the table. She had Casey covered, so if Casey called her bet andlost, she’d be out of the game.
Casey met her eyes and Jacqueline didn’t look away. In the past,Jacqueline might have made a small bet or even checked it down and let themboth get away from the hand still in good shape. So was this a bluff? Or wasshe pushing today only because she’d had a little too much to drink? Or did shehave the cards and want to knock Casey out of the game that badly?
Casey checked her cards again, considering her options. She’dalways had a hard time folding trips, but if Jacqueline caught either of thedraws, she had Casey beat. Casey flashed back to their very first timemeeting—playing poker, when she’d so brazenly made the bet to obtainJacqueline’s phone number. God, she’d been so incredibly attracted toJacqueline right away—every sarcastic, expressive, beautiful inch of her. Andwhen Jacqueline had grown flustered by Casey’s attention, she’d been even moreinterested.
She met Jacqueline’s eyes one more time and slid
