Page 7 of Slots & Sticks
The phone rings three times before the house lights go down. Crap, the show’s about to start. I should just hang up.We’re right up front, because I wanted to make sure that Geo would see our faces when we cheered for him, but the plan has already backfired. I should cut my losses and call later. I pull the phone away from my ear to hit theend callbutton, but the call connects a split second before my thumb meets the screen.
“Gemelli’s. How may I assist you?” a voice on the other line says.
“Hello, beautiful people of Las Vegas!” Geo strides out onstage, mic in hand. I freeze like a deer in headlights.
Geo is about to go into some schtick, probably about Vegas people and whether “beautiful” is an appropriate adjective to describe us. Then his eyes land on me, and his mouth curls up into the biggest shit-eating grin imaginable.
“Well, well, well, what have we here?” He sits down on the edge of the stage and holds out his hand. “Folks, this is my good buddy Camden Beck—yes, a round a of applause from the Vegas Venom fans in the house!—and he’s on a phone call that apparently couldn’t wait until after my set. Let’s see who it is, shall we?”
“N-no…” I stammer.
Too late. Geo plucks the phone from my hands, sets the audio to speaker, and holds it up to the mic.
“Hello?” The person on the other end sounds pissed. “Can you hear me?”
“Sure can.” Geo winks at the crowd, who laugh at my expense. I slide down in my chair and try my hardest to disappear into the floor. No such luck. “May I ask who I’m speaking with?”
“The maitre’d at Gemelli’s,” the guy snaps.
“Gemelli’s?” Geo waggles his eyebrows at the room. “I’ve heard nothing but good things. Very posh. Veryatmospheric.Shall we make a reservation? A table fortwo?”
From our table, Viktor yells, “Make it four! I’m free that night!”
Knight: “Five if it’s open bar.”
Tristan cups his hands around his mouth. “Tell ’em the team captain demands it!”
Geo points their way. “See, that’s what friendship sounds like, folks—pure sabotage. So Cam, still want that elusive reservation?”
I cover my face with my hands, but I nod.
The maitre’d sniffs. “I can get you in, sir. Unfortunately, it will be three months from now. I’m afraid I can’t do any sooner.”
A few people whistle and gasp. Geo’s body language speaks volumes. He winks at the crowd and shimmies his shoulders. “Three months? I look forward to it. What time?” He makes a big deal about opening my calendar and setting an alert for the event.
After he hangs up, Geo doesn’t return my phone. “So, Cam, now that we’re all invested in yourlooooongwait for this table for two, do we get to know who the lucky lady might be?”
Her name fills my mouth like sugar and smoke. But I don’t say it. Not here. Not yet.
Not until I know she’ll say yes.
I shake my head and hold out my hand, eager to get my phone back.
“No? You’re going to leave us all hanging?” Geo gestures to the crowd. “Think of the people!”
A few people start heckling me. It’s all in good fun, and my friends are the loudest of the bunch. I don’t say a word. If I blab now, it’ll get back to Dot before I have a chance to ask her out. At least I have plenty of time.
By the time the laughter dies down, I’m half-buried in my seat. Geo’s moved on to another bit, but my face is molten.
Knight leans over. “Three months from now, you’re taking her, right?”
I nod once. “Yeah.”
Bowen snorts. “Then you better pray she’s not with someone else.”
The guys crack up again, and somehow, I’m laughing too.
For once, the noise doesn’t bother me. It feels like the start of something good.
