Page 4 of Between the Lines

“Why not? We’re going to have to settle this somehow.”

“I’m not giving up my room,” I say.

“Neither am I.”

I narrow my eyes. “What kind ofgameare you proposing?”

He leans back in his chair and looks around. Other guests are eating in the dining room, and, outside the large windows, the world is pitch-black. The great mountains of Zion are standing silent guard, hidden beneath the blanket of darkness.

“We’re limited on options,” he says. “But there should be a deck of cards around here. I don’t suppose you know how to play blackjack?”

I make sure to keep a smile off my face. Pinch my face a little, as if I’m concerned. “I’ve played it a few times. It’s pretty simple.”

He nods and reaches for his drink. “We’ll play a few rounds. Winner gets the room.”

I reach for my drink and, very deliberately, take a sip. Just like him. Can’t drive anywhere now.

“Winner gets the room,” I agree.

We order food and Aiden somehow finds a deck of cards. It lies innocent between our plates as we eat.

I do my best to seem slightly confused about the rules and ask him to explain them in detail.

“Okay, I’ve got it. This will be fun.” I look up at him through my lashes. I’ve been taught well. You never play your opponent—you always play the odds.

A strange sort of excitement takes root. The unexpected. The adventure. It’s what I’ve been chasing for years. Never knew it would come in this form and after one of the most embarrassing moments of my life, but here we are. You play the hand you’re dealt.

Aiden has a thick watch on his left hand that seems expensive and hiking boots on his feet. The leather jacket looks fine, but worn.

“You’re studying me,” he says, cutting into the last part of his steak. “Good tactic.”

I reach for my wine. Look at the dark-red liquid rather than at him. “You’ve seen a whole lot of me today, so I think it’s only fair.”

His movements pause, and that smile tugs at his lips again. That almost-smile. “Valid point. I didn’t look for very long, though.”

“But you saw more. So it’s justified.”

He nods, and that curved smile widens. “Another fair point. Any questions?”

“What are you here for?”

He takes a moment to answer, like the question is a hard one. Then, he lifts a shoulder in a single shrug. “I’m hiking. Wanted to go somewhere without people. Get away from the… noise.”

“This resort can’t be to your liking, then.”

“No, it’s rather crowded. I still prefer the room to sleeping outdoors, though,” he says.

I put my cutlery down, finished. If I don’t win this game, I’ll have to sleep in my car. It’s always a possibility. But the wine has taken hold, settled around the edges of my mind, and with it my drive to win.

He had embarrassed me earlier.

Let me try to embarrass him.

The plates are cleared. “Another bourbon,” Aiden tells the waiter. He glances at me. “And for the lady… Another glass of wine?”

I nod. “Yes, please.”

Aiden cracks open the deck of cards. It looks unused, and he shuffles the cards with more ease than I would have expected from a man with hands that large.

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