I place them back face down on the table, while each of the boys holds their hands close to their chests.
Brian laughs at me, like I’m being stupid. “Buddy, you can pick up your hand now.”
“I know what’s there,” I say evenly. “I don’t need to stare at it.”
Gregory scoffs, but Brian just gives me another assessing stare, then flips over the first three community cards; AKA the “flop”.
It’s a King, a six, and a three.
“Dealer goes last,” Brian says, elbowing Gregory so hard he almost knocks the brother off his chair. “Make your bet or fold.”
“I’m in,” Gregory says, too casual. “Five hundred, the standard.”
“Call,” Leonard adds quickly, meaning he’s also staying in the round.
They look at me. I stare them each down, but besides their sneering haughtiness, I can’t tell much about how they feel this round. The stakes aren’t high enough for these kids to sweat it, and their nerves aren’t getting the best of them.
Finally, I make a decision. “Call.”
“Call,” Brian says with relish. “We’ve got ourselves a game.”
I see movement out of the corner of my eye, and look up to see Kira heading toward me, her eyes on someone at my back. She leans down and puts a hand on my shoulder, murmuring in my ear as she goes.
“My uncle is here.”
I shift my weight to try and stand, my belly flipping with excitement at meeting a possible bratva leader, but she uses her hand on my shoulder to gently keep me in my chair. I look up at her, our faces close, her huge doe eyes right in front of mine.
“Don’t worry,” she whispers, putting her mouth even closer to my ear so no one can hear her but me. I instinctively put my hand on hers over my shoulder, leaning closer. “Stay and finish the game. I don’t want Brian to have any reason to drag you back into another round later. Get this over with, alright? I’ll go say hi, smooth things over with him, and introduce you when it’s done.”
“If that’s what you want,” I concede, remembering my decision to make her week easier, not harder. She pulls back justenough to smile at me, and I place a kiss on her cheek before she stands to leave. Lexie follows Kira, but Janessa seems to be too shy or too nervous to go chat with the mysterious uncle, and instead wiggles her way onto Brian’s lap.
“Ready now, Casanova?” Leonard snickers while Brian flips over the next dealer card.
It’s a ten. I hum thoughtfully, only to cut it off abruptly as Leonard looks at me sharply in response to the audible tell.
I raise a finger to get Brian’s attention. “What were the rules about pairs again?”
Gregory snorts, but Brian keeps his expression congenial as he responds. I can read how smugly superior he feels in his body language, but he’s playing nice for now. “One pair is a fine hand, two pairs is better.”
I feel a presence loom behind me, and stiffen. I don’t like having enemies at my back, and I don’t know yet if Kira’s uncle is an enemy.
The boys sitting across from me start throwing nervous glances over my shoulder; even Brian looks a little cowed. Janessa is trying to busy herself by looking at her boy toy’s cards.
“Raise,” Gregory finally says, trying to brush off his nerves with brashness. “I’m feeling lucky.”
“Call!” Leonard says defiantly, playing chicken with his brother.
“Wait, so if I call, how much am I betting?” I ask, scratching my head.
“Gregory raised, so the bet went from five hundred to one thousand,” Brian smirks. “We already put in five for the buy-in, and five for the first bet. If you call, you’re adding another thousand, leaving two grand in the pot from you. If you fold, you’re only out one. What will you do?”
I hesitate. Two thousand dollars.If I lose, will I have to take that out of the pay Kira is giving me?
I take a long time to stare at them, one by one. I don’t want to give them two thousand dollars. But I can’t afford to let them think of me as a coward, either. I’m not folding to these losers.
“Call,” I finally say, my tone begrudging and doubtful.
“Call,” Brian says so soon after me that we’re almost speaking on top of each other. Eagerly, he flips over the final dealer card, the river card as he called it.
