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I ride Ash’s fingers as he pumps in and out, swallowing my moans with his mouth, but my pleasure is short lived as someone calls out my name.
“Kenz, you out here?” It’s Nolan, and Ash drops me like a fucking hot rock. I stumble, almost falling over just as Nolan steps into sight. “Hey, you okay? What’s going on?” he asks, looking between Ash and me.
“I’m fine,” I lie, as Ash stands there looking guilty as sin with his fingers covered in my arousal and lip gloss glistening on his lips and avoiding eye contact with my brother even for a second.
“What happened? I thought you went out with Everly tonight,” Nolan asks.
Ash’s head snaps up, eyes locking with mine. “I did. We had an argument. I thought I’d come see you, but I saw you were busy and came here instead.”
Nolan looks to Ash, who is still staring at me. He’s pissed. His jaw clenching and his nostrils flaring as his eyes bore into mine. He knows why I ran. He knows I saw him.
The memory fadesas I sit down, legs dangling over the edge of the stone wall. That night was the first time we ever kissed. It was also the night Nolan became suspicious about something going on between us, but he had his own problems, ones I didn’t know about until after his death.
A dog barks off to the right somewhere, and when I turn to look, I see Everly heading this way with her labrador, Maisey.
I’ve not seen her since I returned, and I know I owe her an apology. Maisey lopes over, her tail wagging furiously, and sits down right beside me.
“Hey, girl,” I say, turning to face her and rubbing behind her ear. She pants right in my face, her tongue lolling out to the side as she tilts her head. I sense Everly close and whisper to Maisey, “I’ve been a shit friend and owe your momma an apology. Do you think she’ll forgive me?”
“Let’s hope you’re better at apologies than you are at keeping in touch,” Everly says, and I look up to see her smiling.
“I really am sorry. For everything.”
“How about you make it up to me and come out with me tonight?”
I screw my nose up. “Rain check? I have work tonight,” I say, getting to my feet.
“Where?” she asks as we start walking towards the lake with Maisey bounding ahead of us.
“The Boulevard in Tungsten Bay.”
“The casino? Maybe I’ll come along and play some poker. I’m feeling lucky.” Both of us laugh and we fall into easy chat until we reach the path leading back to mine where we head off in separate directions after exchanging numbers and arranging to meet for brunch the next day.
ChapterEight
Iarrive at work ten minutes early and am given a quick tour by the pit boss, Luke, before he shows me to the table I’ll be working tonight. Roulette, one of my favorites and often the table with the least amount of trouble seeing as there is very little room for cheating.
The decor is classy, muted tones of black and gray interspersed with a vibrant purple. The lighting it stunning, cylindrical spheres of light suspended from the ceiling in all different lengths; lower above the tables enhancing the light. Considering where we are, this place wouldn’t look odd down the strip in Vegas. And the fact that it’s small only adds to the welcoming and exclusive atmosphere.
The evening starts off slow, which is good for me as it allows me time to settle in. Around ten, several young guys enter and quickly set up at the poker table across from me. I watch them and am startled out of my observation by my manager, Jason.
“See something?” he asks, stepping up beside me.
“Oh! No, just watching their game.”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you jump. Why don’t you take your break while the table is quiet.”
“Sure, thanks.” I nip to the restroom and then stop by the staff lounge that Luke showed me earlier and grab a coffee. There are a couple of the girls that wait tables in here. I don’t bother to sit and instead lean against the counter and watch the rest of the room while I drink my coffee.
I like to people watch and it’s a good thing for my job; the daytime one as well as the nighttime one. When I first started at the casino with Charlie, there was a fight that got out of control fast. I missed the signs, partly because I was new to the whole croupier gig, but also because I wasn’t reading the room or body language. Charlie had me take an online body language course. It’s amazing how much you miss when you’re not looking for it.
Surreptitiously I watch the two girls chat in low voices, heads almost touching, and one more animated than the other. They clearly disagree about something, although I can’t hear exactly what, but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s about a guy. The more animated one with the dark hair, gets up and leaves, and I watch as the blond girl’s shoulders slump as she lets out a big sigh.
I finish my coffee and check the time to see I have five minutes left. Placing my cup in the sink to wash later, I turn to leave only to come face to face with the blond-haired girl.
“Hey, I’m Penn. Sorry about that.”
“Kennedy, and don’t worry about it.” I step round her and walk to the door, then I turn back and add, “Whoever he is, I doubt he’s worth it.”
