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“Uh,” Matt said, not oblivious to the awkwardness. “Have a what?”
“Um, a beer,” Chastity said, the words sounding as if they had been choked out. “Would that be okay?” She summoned the courage to look back at her step-father and she smiled. It was probably best to pretend the whole thing had never happened.
“Yeah, sure,” he said. “Just don’t tell your mother.”
“Thanks, Matt.” She had t
ried her best not to put any extra emphasis on his name. She got up from the table, feeling slightly dizzy and sunbaked, and went to the fridge. “Any of you want a beer?” She heard two different voices say ‘yes’ at the same time. Three beers it was.
“Anyway,” she said, setting the beers down on the table.
“Thanks, sweetheart,” Matt said. She looked at him for a moment, but he was busy shuffling the deck.
“How do I play?”
“Well, we’re going to play the most popular form of poker,” Matt explained. “It’s called Texas Hold’em. It’s pretty simple.”
“Oh?” Chastity said. She listened as they explained the rules and went through a couple of open-face rounds. She couldn’t help but notice that Dylan kept eyeing her, not in a pervy way, but as though he had just gleaned something about her. It was the kind of look that said ‘aha, I know something about you’, and it made Chastity feel a little uncomfortable.
However, she caught on quick with the game, and decided to focus on that. It wasn’t difficult, and she could see why guys liked to play it in particular. It was competitive, about one-upping your opponent with either a bluff or with a better hand. It was about taking risks.
In short, it was something she didn’t particularly enjoy, but the beer was helping with that. She polished off her bottle fairly quickly, and looked at her step-father, putting on a baby face.
“Can I have another, Matt?”
Her step-father regarded her for a moment before he smiled. “Sure, but don’t get drunk, okay? And don’t tell your mother? This is just a treat. You’re still underage and shouldn’t be drinking at all.”
“Thanks, D-” she stumbled again, before quickly correcting herself. “Thanks, Matt.” She hurried to the kitchen, kicking herself for making that mistake again. What is with you? she thought. She could hear the two talking about something outside, their voices muffled. Still angry with herself, she returned to the table with a new beer for all of them, and lost herself in the game.
* * *
The games went by, and Chastity was starting to get it. She listened while her step-father and Dylan bantered, and slowly amassed a mountain of chips.
“Damn, girl!” Dylan cried, pointing at her small (plastic) fortune. “You’re really good at this!”
“You two just aren’t paying attention,” Chastity replied smugly, making a playful face.
“No, honey, I think you really are good at this game,” Matt said with a shrug. “Some people are just naturals.”
With a nice buzz going, and pretty damn relaxed, Chastity decided it was time to make things a little more interesting.
“Let’s up the stakes,” she said. “And wager something interesting.”
The two men looked at each other and grinned. “Okay,” Dylan said. “What are we wagering?”
“Secrets,” Chastity chirped. She put up a finger. “No, not what you’re thinking. The winner of each hand gets to ask the other two a truth or dare question without the dare.”
“Aw, that’s no fun.”
“Sure it is. You have to answer is truthfully.”
“So, what, we just ask each other questions?” Dylan asked, looking between her and her step-father.
“Yes!” she said, hastily nodding her head.
Matt shrugged. “Okay.”
A round later, Chastity had one, and was eyeing both of them. Deciding on who to ask, she leveled her eyes at the attractive Dylan and smiled at him.
