Page 46 of Seventeen Years Ago

A vivid image of her lying naked on the bed while I massaged her filled my mind. This wasn’t good. The need to touch her was growing, and if I wasn’t careful, the physical need was going to start showing on my part as well.

“I’ll take that bet,” I said meeting her gaze

She blushed, innocently as though she had shocked herself with her suggestion but wasn’t backing out.

I’ll play along, but only because I can’t say no.

Every time we were together, I found something new that I liked about her. It was getting more difficult not to let my feelings show. But burying feelings was something I’d learned to excel at since a young age. This was no time to lose that skill.

Leaning over, I picked up a card. It was an ace of hearts. It was impossible for her to have picked anything higher. Instead of showing my card to her, I tossed it back onto the table in the pile. “Damn it.”

“What did you get?” she asked.

“A two. Can you believe that?”

She smiled and turned her card around. It was the king of clubs. “I guess I win.”

“Guess so,” I said.But giving you a massage is a win for me.This was different. She wanted it. The question was would I be able to give it, and not have the guilt from before rush back through my mind?

But almost instantly, as she looked me in the eyes her face changed, and her smile faded. “You’re lying.”

“What?”That came out of nowhere.

Firmly she demanded, “I want to see your card.”

“Why would I lie?” I asked.

“I’m not sure about that, but I don’t believe you. I can see it in your eyes. You threw this game so I would win,” she accused me. “I can’t believe it. Why would you do that?”

How the hell can she read me so damn well?

No one ever knew when I was bluffing. That was what made me so damn good at poker. But she could see right through it.

When I didn’t respond, she looked at the table and picked up the card I had just tossed down. Flipping it over she shook her head and said, “Doesn’t look at all like a two. To me, it looks a lot like an ace of heart.” She turned it around towards me. “What do you think?”

I was caught. Might as well own up to it. “I think playing cards with you isn’t as easy as I thought it’d be.”

“That doesn’t explain why you tried to get me to believe you lost. It makes no sense. I know you don’t want to cook for me, and you surely don’t want to give me a back rub either. So, what’s in it for you?”

“I’ll cook for you. But I warn you, it’s more of an ‘eat at your own risk’, but I can cook,” I said.

“And the back rub? Why put yourself through that when you know you don’t want to touch me? It’s not what you want. I’m not what you want. You made that very clear that night on the beach,” she said.

What the hell was she talking about? I didn’t recall ever saying that I didn’twanther. She was beautiful, sexy, funny, strong, and intelligent. What the hell was there not to like about her? I hadn’t told her any of these things, but there hadn’t been the right time to do so. While in an argument over my cheating at cards probably wasn’t the best time either.

“You got it all wrong,” I said. There was a knock on the door, and I ignored it.

“I don’t think so,” she replied. “You were very clear about your feelings,” She walked over to answer the door. “Hello, Caydan. Here toloseat cards too?”

He might have missed the sarcasm, but I didn’t.

“Cards? I wouldn’t play cards with Steven. Not unless I wanted to lose all my money,” he said. “He used to play poker professionally.”

She turned to me and crossed her arms. “Really. Funny how he failed to mention that to me.”

“He doesn’t tell anyone. That’s how he wins,” Caydan said. “How much did he take you for?”

“I lost,” I stated

---