Skyler
“Alright, let’s make this happen,” I say, blowing a whistle through my teeth when I flip over the bottom card in my dealer stack. The top one was a Jack of spades, and the bottom is a three of hearts.
“Come on, come on,” Chelsea says from the edge of the table. I learned earlier tonight that she’s in banking, and the hot stud next to her who can’t be any older than me is James, her “friend” from out of town.
They’ve been making out all night between hands, and judging by the ring on her finger, I’d say Chelsea is up to no good.
But it’s not for me to judge. My job tonight is to lose as many hands as the cards will let me.
Because the more the Blackjack dealer loses, the more she gets tipped.
Casino Boat 101.
I flip the next card, and it’s a two of hearts, giving me a fifteen.
“Bust! Bust! Come on!” Roberto says. He’s short and spunky and has been smoking like a chimney all night, but he’s also been the only one tipping me between hands.
I like Roberto.
I cringe, eyeing the next card before I flip it with a satisfied grin.
King of clubs.
The table roars, everyone thrusting their hands up into the air and high-fiving each other as I pay out the winnings and clear the cards.
I’ve been working on the boat for a couple months now, and one thing I’ve figured out for sure — I love it.
I love being on a boat with people letting loose for the night.
I love the freedom we all feel in international waters, like nothing is off limits, like the night is forever young.
I love the clouds of smoke and the dinging bells of the slot machines and the distant roars of each table when they beat the dealer or get a good roll in Craps.
I may be out of the professional poker scene, but this will always be a part of who I am.
It’s my energy. It’s my soul. It’s the very blood in my veins.
And that’s why I’m going to open my own casino company when I graduate.
It won’t be a real casino, but rather one that can be hired out for parties and weddings and corporate events.
I’ve already got the start of a business plan together, detailing how companies or hosts can purchase fake money that, in turn, the guests can use to gamble.
The more money they have at the end of the night, the more entries they get into raffles, or the more they have to use to bid on auction items. It will all be legal, not gambling, per se, but gambling-ish.
And it will all be mine.
Until then, working on the casino cruise will give me more experience dealing different games, which I’ll need when it’s time to train my own dealers.
Plus, it’s a good distraction from the fact that Kip is across the country.
He must know that I’m extra in my sad panda feels tonight, because as soon as I wrap up my shift on the boat, stepping back onto the dock and immediately unfastening the tie around my neck, my phone rings.
“Hello, handsome,” I sing.
“Hiiiii.”
At the long, drawn-out greeting, I grin. “Someone’s been drinking.”
“And someone else has not been sending nudes.”
I bark out a laugh, pulling my keys from my purse as I cross the employee parking lot. “That’s because someone else has been working.”
“Boooooo. Ditch work. Come to California, instead.”
“I will, baby. In less than a month now.”
“That’s so far away.”
My heart squeezes. “I know. I miss you, too.”
There’s a long pause of silence, and then a hiccup that makes me smile again.
“Where are you?”
“At the A Sig house. We had a party tonight.”
“Clearly.”
“The whole week is a party around Halloween.”
“Tell me about it. The A Sig Halloween bash is tomorrow on the sandbar. Everyone has been talking about it all week.”
“What are you going to wear?”
“The girls and I are going as pin-up dolls.”
There’s a groan on the other end, and then what sounds like Kip slapping himself in the face and dragging his hand over it. “You’re going to look so hot,” he almost whines.
I chuckle. “I’ll bring the outfit when I come next month.”
“You better.”
I sigh, and silence passes between us as I get in my car and fire it to life. There’s a roar somewhere in the background where Kip is, and I smile, picturing the madness.
“You sound like you’re having fun,” I say. “I wish I was there with you.”
“Soon,” he promises.
“Soon,” I echo.
I check the date on my watch, letting my head fall back against the head rest and closing my eyes.
Just twenty-four more days.