2 #2
Until it was time for the final showdown. Last hand. Last round. Last bet.
And it looked like things were going to go the way they always go . . .
Until one of the players threw up.
Out of nowhere, the guy leaned to one side just as he was about to place his bet and barfed up everything he’d been drinking. Was he nervous? No idea, but those behind him turned away, dry heaving.
The guy stood up, his lips still wet. He knew what he’d done, looked both ways, and then collapsed, landing in his own revolting puddle of vomit.
Everyone was silent. Glances flicked between the vomit and the slumped body. And then everyone started laughing, whistling, jeering, and clinking glasses and bottles together.
“David’s out!” Aegan chuckled, looking smug and relaxed. His voice sounded confident, the kind of voice that would never waver, which matched the steady, secure persona he oozed. “Does anyone want to take his place or should the three of us see this out?”
He threw the question out to everyone watching the game.
Aegan waited with an obnoxious yet triumphant smile on his face.
The spectators asked themselves the million-dollar question: Who’s got the balls to take the vomit guy’s place?
It was a great opportunity because there was a lot of cash on the table.
The last bet had been a thousand dollars, and the three previous players had walked away.
But it was also a huge risk because now only Aegan, Adrik, and another guy—sweating and too nervous to speak—were left.
Everyone looked at each other. They were waiting for someone to pluck up the courage.
And that brave girl was me.
Why? Well, can I blame the booze? For now, let’s just say I had the absurd, almost delusional sense that I was unstoppable, rebellious, and capable of anything. A reckless feeling that, unsurprisingly, led me to do something stupid.
“Me,” I volunteered, thinking I was Katniss Everdeen.
Now all eyes were on me. Even Artie, with her wide, black-lined eyes magnified by an unmistakable look of astonishment, was staring at me. I started having second thoughts. It was a ridiculously stupid idea, but I chuckled and found the courage not to back out.
There was no turning back.
People cleared a path, so I made my way to the table, stepping over the passed-out David and sitting in his chair, which, luckily, wasn’t covered in vomit.
There was dead silence filled with confusion, doubt, and curiosity.
I could feel the full force of their gazes on me.
Kiana, Artie, and Dash looked on, clearly perplexed, while Aegan and Adrik watched me with intense curiosity.
I could imagine what they were thinking: Who the hell does this girl think she is? Is she crazy?
Maybe I was crazy. But I stayed put.
Aegan looked at my T-shirt for a second like it was almost too ordinary.
“Got a thousand bucks?” he asked me, relaxed but amused. He had a conceited look on his face as if, after checking me out, he knew I was no match for him.
“No,” I admitted.
I could hear whispering.
“So, how do you plan on betting?” he asked me with a frown.
I didn’t know, so I kept my mouth shut because that could sometimes be a good strategy.
Aegan let out a quiet laugh.
“I’ll make it easy for you because you’ve already shown yourself to be very brave just by sitting down,” he said, like he was being charitable. “You can bet a favor, and everyone knows I hate owing favors. If you win, I’ll owe you a favor, which is a pretty big deal. But if you lose . . .”
He flashed me an irritating smirk, thinking he’d win, and I wanted to wipe it from his face. Maybe I could, since I had an ace up my sleeve, and he was clueless . . . utterly clueless . . .
“Okay,” I agreed, pretending I was up for the risk. “I’ll bet a favor.”
Oh, I was going to fuck Aegan over like he’d never been fucked over before. Trump would sooner dance for Obama wearing a thong than I’d do whatever he wanted.
“New hand,” ordered Aegan.
Everything had to go his way, even though it was the final round. Under normal rules, no changes or reckless bets would have been allowed.
As the cards were dealt, I felt my palms sweating.
Yeah, I was nervous, and it was ridiculous.
I’d played many, many times before. My mom had taught me.
I was the one to beat in high school, but this wasn’t high school.
I was playing with the self-proclaimed supreme god of the Tagus elite, and the fear of losing started to creep in because if I lost he’d humiliate me.
I couldn’t give him that pleasure. I just couldn’t.
Adrik, Aegan, the other guy, and I looked at our cards. I glanced briefly before putting them face down on the table. I put on my best poker face.
“Wow . . .” Aegan muttered, studying his cards.
Judging by the triumphant gleam in his eyes, I guessed he had a strong hand. My suspicions were confirmed seconds later when he made the move I’d dreaded: he leaned in and doubled up. Now the rest of us had to call this amount. How much was it? Two grand?
You could hear a pin drop.
“I’m in,” said Adrik, doubling the bet as well.
The other guy glanced around nervously. He had nothing left. His wallet teetered on the edge of the table, a few gold cards gleaming inside, which of course he couldn’t use to bet. I thought he’d fold, but then he sighed and started taking off his silver watch.
“I’m in,” he said and bet his watch.
Now it was my turn. I saw Adrik looking at me out of the corner of my eye, although he was hard to read. Aegan, on the other hand, oozed confidence. He looked me over, analyzing. His eyes had a fierce intensity to them. This was becoming quite the show for him, wasn’t it?
I shifted in my chair and threw a playful smile.
“What else can I bet?” I asked. I knew I sounded like a fool, but that was the idea.
“Surprise me.” Aegan shrugged. The guys around them chuckled under their breath.
I pretended I was thinking.
“How about . . . a surprise?” I said, acting like it had just come to me. A big surprise.
“That’s not how you play the game,” he teased, before clarifying, “It has to be something valuable.”
“It is,” I assured him wholeheartedly. “I swear it’s worth seven thousand dollars.”
I tried to sound as provocative and mysterious as possible.
Aegan was actually giving it some thought.
In a proper game, a surprise wager wouldn’t have been allowed, but this Cash brother was obviously too ambitious to care about the rules.
Besides, he was in charge. If he said so, we could bet dead rats.
“Well, you’re in with the surprise,” he said. “And I’m only going along with it for the entertainment value.”
And so, it was time for the final showdown. It was time to show our cards.
The air was thick with anticipation. Whoever had the best hand would walk away with everything, and if it wasn’t me, I’d have to come up with something. Who knew what he’d ask me to do?
The other guy went first. He showed his cards. He had three of a kind. That hand would’ve won him the game if he’d been playing against some clueless rookie.
Next up was Adrik. He had a straight. They were good cards, better than the other guy’s three of a kind, but could they beat Aegan?
Uneasy, I scratched the fabric of my trousers under the table.
It was his turn. He kept looking at me with that smirk on his face. I imagined what he was trying to tell me: Sorry, sweetheart, but today it’s all mine. The idea alone sparked a mix of unease and irritation.
Slowly, Aegan laid the cards on the table and showed his hand.
“Full house.”
Aegan had a great hand. Intimidating numbers. His little fan club started whistling, while everybody else cheered as if they themselves had won.
Then I showed my cards.
As if by magic, there was an astonishing silence. A silence to end all silences.
My voice cut through the silence. “A royal flush.”
An unbeatable hand. Up Aegan Cash’s ass, without lube.
It was a historic moment. In years to come, Tagus students would be talking about how epic this was: someone had defeated Aegan, and it was a girl nobody knew, who felt nothing but contempt and a burning desire to humiliate him.
Aegan’s narrowed eyes rested on the cards and then on me. I held his gaze until that smile, that unbearable smile of victory he’d greeted me with, was finally wiped off his face.
Poof. Nothing.
What happened, Aegan? So you’re not the only winner, are you?
Everyone watched, dumbfounded, unsure what to do next, like there was a glitch in the system.
The leader had been toppled, and that must have gotten to him.
I pictured him losing it, but his reaction was exactly what you’d expect from someone like him: calculated and controlled.
But his expression soured, eyes glinting with barely contained rage.
“Surprise, Aegan!” I crooned with a great big smile. “Seeing your loser asshole face is sure worth more than seven grand.”
With that, I got up from the table. Game over.
I walked through the crowd, who were staring at me in astonishment and whispering. I was really pleased by my exit line, which was like a hero delivering the final blow to a monster in a movie.
Artie ran up beside me and latched onto my arm. Only then did I feel a sudden, nervous urge to cling to her. A shiver ran through my body, making me uncomfortably aware of how cold it was.
“Jude, remember this morning when you asked me what the worst thing that could happen to you here was?” she murmured to me. Her voice sounded kind of frightened.
I nodded.
“Yeah . . . well, this was it,” she whispered grimly. “You’ve just signed the death warrant for your entire life at Tagus.”
I had a plan. But I had complicated things for myself.
Because that’s when shit started hitting the fan.
I’ll screw up many times throughout this story. Get used to it.