Page 12 of Dream Lover
“We will,” I announced, smiling at Quinn. We had played poker lots of times growing up, only back then we played mostly for candy. Drew, Carrie, Quinn and I taught ourselves the rules of the game. Once we nailed down one, we’d pick another type of poker. There were a shit ton of them. Our parents liked to play, so naturally we did too.
“We’ll be right back,” I told Drew, grabbing Quinn’s hand and pulling her with me.
“Where are we going?” she whispered as I felt the eyes in the room on me. I didn’t give a shit. Instead of answering, I pulled us down the hallway and into a small nook away from prying eyes.
“What’s going on?” Quinn asked as I looked down into her beautiful eyes. Ones that captured me so many years ago.
“No way our first kiss will be in front of all those assholes.”
Her brows creased, but I didn’t let her think. Cupping her face in my hands, I pulled her to me, her lips parting and breathing picking up. Her eyes flashed with desire which was the only green light I needed.
Leaning down, our lips connected. I’d never believed those bullshit movies that showed these sparks flying like fireworks around a couple while they kissed, until this moment. This right here was everything wrapped into one. I’d never felt anything better in my life than Quinn Landis’ lips moving against mine.
It only took a moment before her hands filtered through my hair, and her body pressed against mine. Lips parted, she invited me in, and it felt like home. Tasting of strawberry cheesecake, her tongue slid against mine. My skin prickled with desire, but I knew if we didn’t return to the group, Rebecca or Drew would come looking for us.
I pulled back and stared into those olive eyes knowing Quinn was feeling as into the kiss as I was. Her breath fanned over my lips. “Conner…”
“Later. We should get back.”
Quinn nodded, fingers touching her lips lightly.
Our plates we cleared, and we were shown to the gaming table on the right side of the room. A dealer awaited us, palms down on the table. Each couple was a team playing as one. It was a tight squeeze around the table, but I was more than happy to cozy up with Quinn, sliding her between my legs as I sat on a stool. I patted my leg for her to sit, but instead she leaned into me, which was fine with me. She smelled irresistible—like vanilla and honey, coupled with the exotic scent of her hair. Two smells that were now on my top favorites.
The dealer, Jerry, eyed us all and set out the rules of Texas Hold ’Em. A royal flush was the highest hand, followed by a straight flush. Third highest was four of a kind, then a full house, a flush, a straight, three of a kind, two of a pair, and one pair. The game rarely came down to the highest card. Some of the couples looked confused, but not Quinn. She looked down at me on a smile. Yeah, we were going to kick ass.
Jerry dealt out the cards. Drew frowned as he checked his and Rebecca’s cards. Rebecca was too busy watching everyone else at the table. But I knew that face on Drew was so bullshitting. He was giving himself away as usual because that face told me they had a good hand already. One of the perks of learning the game together.
Quinn cupped our spread of cards in her hand, showing them to me. Seemed as though we were lucky ourselves.
The first hand we were given consisted of two cards, an Ace and a Queen of Hearts. The first community cards were dealt in the center, and Bruce automatically folded, making him and Laura the first losers.
They gave each other a small peck that even my grandma could have made a better effort at, and she had been dead ten years. Both looked like they’d rather kiss a dead fish, which made me wonder if they folded to get out of a more intimate kiss. Maybe their coupledom was a ploy for Rebecca.
“Boo. So lame,” Rebecca heckled them. Bruce’s middle finger shot up in response, and Rebecca glared. She really needed to pull the cob out of her ass.
That left Drew and Rebecca, Paula and Daniel, and Carley and Joe as our competition.
Daniel called. Drew raised the bet. I upped our wager. I could tell Quinn was anxious. Her foot was tapping, making me bounce along with her. My arm around her gave her a reassuring squeeze. Her foot stopped.
Rewarded with her smile, I knew no matter what I had to do I would to keep it there. I was in trouble where Quinn was concerned. Sooner or later we were going to kiss again. When it was going to happen was the question. Kissing her in front of all these jerks wasn’t how our first kiss should be. This audience shouldn’t be allowed to be part of that moment. It only made me happier I stole her away earlier so our first wouldn’t be in a room of people I couldn't give two shits about. Drew wasn’t included in that, but still—no way I wanted him seeing me kiss his sister. Loved the man, but that was over the line.
That kiss we shared was private and intimate. It was ours and ours alone.
The next round we lost Paula and Daniel. Their kiss was sloppy, wet, and all over the damn place. He rammed his tongue so far down her throat he probably tasted her dinner. There was nothing sensual or sexy about it, but it was a show. Not one I’d ever want to see again, thank you.
Drew and Rebecca were the next to fold. Drew made it good for her, even though she pouted at first. Cupping her face and moving in soft, slow, and sensual, he took his time and put some serious effort into it.
The strange part was Rebecca had her eyes open, glancing around the table to see our responses. With that the whole kiss was awkward because it appeared like she cared more about how we perceived them than actually focusing on Drew, her future husband, and having fun with him.
That woman was all about appearances. She was not the woman I would’ve chosen for my best friend. It made me sad for him, but I’d tried talking to him. He was in love, or so he said.
Finally, it was down to Quinn and me and Joe and Carley. They turned over their cards and had three of a kind.
I winked at Quinn as she peered into my gaze, her eyes a bit frantic. With that one move, she now knew there was nothing to be nervous about.
We had won. I flipped our cards up, displaying a royal flush. Lady Luck was definitely on our side tonight.
Quinn squealed and hugged my neck, her breasts pressing into my chest. Fuck, this woman was killing me. She had no idea how beautiful and sexy she truly was, and that made her that much hotter in my eyes.
