As I sit in my underwear, I grab two pot holders from the kitchen counter and hold them up like makeshift armor. “Fine, but next hand, I’m playing as a medieval knight. Sir Lose-a-Lot.”
Travis snorts into his wine, nearly spilling it. “That’ll definitely protect your modesty. Maybe even give you a bonus card.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Travis
I don’t normally spend time playing games, but counting cards is nothing more than simple math and probability. I know that there are two queens in the community pool on the table and one in my hand, so there’s no way Sage has four of a kind.
The only problem with my current hand is, I have the lowest-possible kicker card with a two of hearts. With three queens already out and forty-two cards left in the deck, there’s a little over a 2 percent chance that Sage has the other queen. If she has a queen with any kicker higher than two, she actually beats me.
She squints her eyes at the cards in her hand and tries to make sense of the best move for her. It’s cute that she’s trying. Has she really not picked up on me counting cards? Or does she really think I’m that lucky?
I stretch my neck and crack my knuckles like I’m about to perform heart surgery instead of play cards. “Math never lies,” I whisper dramatically, then accidentally launch a card across the room as I try to shuffle. It hits Sage in the forehead.
“Smooth,” she says, deadpan. “Remind me to never let you be the magician at a kids’ party.”
“Cardio-kinesis,” I mutter, picking it up. “It’s a strategy.”
We count down to one and both lay down our hands, revealing that she has nothing at all. “Three of a kind,” I say with a smile.
She shakes her head in disbelief, her cheeks getting red as she huffs. “How the hell do you keep doing this?”
“There’s only one thing left to take, isn’t there?” I point to her crotch, at the lace thong she’s wearing, with a devious grin.
“You have to be cheating. Please tell me you’re cheating and I’m not just this bad,” Sage pleads, not taking her panties off just yet.
I feign offense and lean back while I shake my head. “You really think I would cheat at strip poker, of all things?”
She rolls her eyes and stands up before sliding out of her panties. She tosses them aside and makes a show of sitting down to hide herself from me. She picks up the deck and shuffles it, clearly not ready to stop.
“Either my eyes deceive me, or you’re out of clothes,” I say as I lean forward. “By strip poker rules, that means you lose.”
“No. I have to win a round eventually, and we’re playing until that happens.” My cock is already straining in my pants, and I look her up and down before agreeing.
“Okay, but when you lose the next hand, you have to do what I say.” She freezes and looks at me, nodding. She has no idea what she’s agreed to.
She deals the cards, and I see that I have a five and six of clubs in my hand. I hold my breath as she flips the community cards to reveal a straight flush for me with a seven, eight, and nine of clubs on the table. It’s like divine intervention is stepping in and making sure I win.
I can see by the look in her eyes she has nothing. Looking between the community pile and her own hand to try to put something together, but she can’t. At the very least, she cannot beat a straight flush. With no royals in the community pile, there’s nothing better to play.
Right before revealing her hand, Sage throws on her best poker face—if her poker face was modeled after a melodramatic soap opera villain.
“Prepare to meet your match,” she declares, tossing her hair back and staring into my eyes.
“You sure about that?” I arch an eyebrow.
She reveals her hand: a scattered mess of low cards.
“Okay, I’m not your match,” she mutters. “Maybe your neighbor’s match. Like ... their dog’s match.”
I didn’t even have to count cards to win that one.
“Okay. You win.” She folds her arms across her chest, not bothering to cover her bare nipples. She just pushes her breasts higher, making them more prominent, if anything.
Scooting the chair, I lean back as I unzip my pants. “All right, my prize is a blow job.”
She feigns frustration but promptly walks over to me and gets on her knees. I pull out my cock, and it’s already upright as she kneels in front of it and licks the shaft.
