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Chapter Eight
Beauwokeupthenext day in a funk. He hadn’t slept well. The fact he didn’t get to spend more time with Alessandra last night weighed on his mind in a way that confused and annoyed him. Damn her for being so…. Whatever it was, he couldn’t describe it.
Her laughing smile was the last thing he had thought about going to sleep. Pictures of her naked body permeated his dreams. When he woke up alone in his bed—which had never bothered him before—there was a melancholy he couldn’t account for.
He had chosen the life of a professional gambler, as had his father, as had his older brother. Logically, he knew that career didn’t work for long-term commitments. His dad had tried—maybe not failed, but certainly had let down Beau’s mom on more occasions than he could count. His brother had tried three different times to make something work and couldn’t.
Beau hadn’t wanted to take a chance on failing, ever, so he was bound to be lonely sometimes. But the feeling last night was more than that; it was a longing that transcended anything he had felt before. And it was a longing focused on one person—Alessandra Caro.
He didn’t like it—it felt too needy and too risky. Realistically, he should probably cancel their date tonight, avoid the whole thing. His mind and his cock rebelled at that notion. What he would do, instead, is take her to dinner and make it one of the best times she’s ever had. Touch her. Lick her. Make her come. And come again.
Shit. I’m getting hard right now thinking of her. Have to stop that.
He had to get used to not thinking about her. He was leaving Vegas in two days, and this little love affair would end again. Wait. He meant ‘sexual affair,’ not love affair. Why the fuck did that word just naturally come to his mind? In his forty-five years, had he ever used the phrase love? Maybe to get someone into bed in his twenties. Yet even back then, it was never that way with her. She was always different. Since Alessandra, the word hadn’t ever come of its own volition, without warning, into his thinking mind.
In the limo driving him to meet Aden, Beau knew having beers with his friend would get him back to reality. Aden was a professional gambler and older than Beau by ten years. He’d been single his whole life. Then, unexpectedly, four years ago, Aden had married Brooke, a forty-two-year-old high school English teacher he’d met in Las Vegas. Brooke had been there for a curriculum conference and had also never been married. Aden was in town for a large poker tournament at the Chadwick. He'd been eliminated early but had stayed for the side-action live games.
After they were married, Brooke had two children right away, fourteen months apart. At the time of the wedding, Beau was sure Aden’s decision to marry was going to be a disaster, especially that late in life. Once the children arrived, back-to-back, Beau was certain of it.
He had only seen Aden a few times since then, and only at poker tournaments. Aden had looked tired, and he and Beau hadn’t had a chance to spend any time together. Once Aden was eliminated, he always had to hop on a plane to get back to Brooke and the kids. To Beau, this provided even more evidence that Aden’s decision-making had been severely impaired when he decided to marry.
Beau’s limo pulled into the Provincial Hotel & Casino. He still refused to give his business to Magnum, so Aden agreed to meet him next door at Crystal, The Provincial’s three-story cafe and bar. It was draped on all sides and levels by thousands of reflective glass pieces attached to gold string. The cafe portion extended out onto the patio, a Strip-front location which attracted locals and tourists alike. The bar itself was quieter than the cafe and poured strong drinks.
“Great to see you, man,” Aden said, greeting Beau with a big bear hug. Although they were technically friends, Aden had been somewhat of a mentor to Beau over the years. Aden had originally run in similar circles as had Beau’s older brother Aaron, but with Beau, he’d forged a closer friendship.
Aaron tended to take more risks than Beau and was more impetuous in all areas of his life. Aden was more like Beau—they were both planners, more thoughtful before acting. That was another reason Beau was so surprised when Aden had married for the first time, two years after qualifying for AARP.
“How’s the tournament action?” Beau asked.
“I cashed but didn’t make the final table. Side action poker with everyone else is great. Or at least, it was great until you lured everyone to The Benson. Wanted to go to your tourney last night, but I was behind in a great game. It took me a while to get my money back.”
“And then I’m guessing you made a little more?” Beau knew what a great player Aden was.
“Indeed, my friend. Just a little.”
“A little bit of a million, Mr. Humility?” Beau smiled knowingly.
Aden laughed. “True, true. But remember, in just a few more years, I’ll have two kids in college at the same time. Need to start saving now!”
“That’s your own damn fault,” Beau joked. “Speaking of which, how are Brooke and the kids? And when do you go home to see them?”
“I don’t need to go home—they’re here.”
“Here? Why? While you’re at the tournament? What do they do when you’re playing?”
“What do any tourists do in Vegas with kids?” At Beau’s blank look, Aden added, “They do all the stuff you and I would never have known about because we never had kids before! The shark tank. The dolphin habitat. The arcades at Big Apple and Camelot. The huge Christmas light shows all over. And in between all of that, naps and room service and nonstop movies, none of which Brooke minds. She likes the break from the routine at home.”
“Doesn’t it interrupt your playing?” Beau was genuinely curious. He couldn’t fathom being in Las Vegas for a poker tournament and bringing a wife and toddlers.
Aden gave Beau an indulgent smile. “Dude. I’m married… and I love it. I love Brooke and I love the kids. I don’t mind playing a little less. I actually enjoy spending time with them. If you could see them laughing at those dolphins, shit… you’d love it, too.”
“I’m just…Well, it’s hard to believe.” He was trying to process Aden’s optimistic description. “I guess I never imagined that our particular line of work would fit with the whole family life thing.”
“Beau, I can’t say I was sure it would, either,” Aden said seriously. “But then I met Brooke. And she just fits my life. Sure, she gets frustrated sometimes. And she sure as hell misses me when I’m gone playing somewhere. I miss her, too. In fact, she suggested, and we’ve made the decision, to move here to Las Vegas, to the Henderson area. When we live here, playing in the best games in the world will be just twenty minutes away. And because we’ll be here, in the heart of things, I’ve committed to reducing my European play. You just have to find the right woman, Beau.”
Beau thought for a moment. He wasn’t even sure about his feelings for Alessandra, so he didn’t want to tell Aden about them. “How did you know Brooke was the right one when you met her?”
“Geez, that’s not an easy answer. It was easy to fall in love with her, but could I tell you specifically why? Not really. Except that the spark between us was immediate. Neither of us believed it was real, to be honest. We thought it would be a one-night stand. We both called the evening we spent together our ‘Steamy Vegas Night’ and figured we wouldn’t see each other again. But the week we spent together, we kept going back for more. By the time we were supposed to go our separate ways, we just couldn’t do it.”
