11. Lucky
Lucky
Just before seven, Nick’s brothers arrived. We’d decided to hold the poker game in Nick’s suite, because his had a larger table. We’d had to borrow some chairs from my room to have enough, though, and Nick had bought more snacks and drinks. Later, we’d probably order pizza for everyone.
Nick opened the door, and they all came in, slapping his back and giving him hugs. Then they all turned to me, and even though I was mostly human, I swear I could feel my skin buzzing from the sheer amount of power that was floating around the room from their presence.
Whoa.
These guys were powerful.
And Nick had said their dad was more powerful?
I couldn’t even imagine that.
They were all handsome too, which wasn’t all that unusual for supernaturals.
One of them stepped forward. “Hi, I’m Callum. I’m the oldest.”
“Hi, Callum.”
I was feeling a little shy all of a sudden. I’d been so excited to meet them because they were Nick’s family, but suddenly words did not make any kind of sense in my brain, and I was completely drawing a blank.
Callum took my hand and kissed it, making Nick growl. I looked at Nick wide-eyed as he wrapped an arm around my waist and drew me closer to his side.
“Behave, Callum,” he warned his brother.
“What? She’s gorgeous, and you’re not married yet.”
Yet?
One of the other brothers pushed Callum aside, making him stumble. “Hi, I’m Kian. It’s so amazing to meet you.” His smile was wide and genuine, and it looked like he was the only one of the brothers who hadn’t gotten grey eyes. His were blue. He gave me a hug, then went to check Nick’s room out.
They were all in tropical shirts and shorts, which made me laugh. Although, both Callum and, I was guessing, Declan were in black tropical shirts. They were way more subdued than the others.
Declan nodded when I met his gaze. “I’m Declan. Nice to meet you.” He was a lot more quiet than the others, but I had a feeling as I looked at him that his quietness hid a lot of depth.
And then my eyes went to the last brother, Dante, who was standing in the doorway with the biggest bag of peanut butter M & M’s I’d ever seen in my life.
It had to be at least fifteen pounds. Had he had to magic that up?
He noticed my gaze and held the bag up as if he was holding up a trophy. “I brought the sugar!”
He gave me a hug as he passed me, then went to help Nick set out the drinks and snacks on another table.
I was kind of overwhelmed by them all. When they all stepped into a room together, they took up a lot of space, and gave off a larger than life feel.
Nick left his brothers to set up and came to wrap his arms around me, chuckling at my expression.
“They’re all obnoxious,” he promised me.
I shook my head. Maybe a few were, but they all seemed fine. Kind, even.
“Tell her which of us is your favorite,” Kian called from the patio, where he was checking things out.
“Me, of course,” Callum said.
The brothers all laughed, making Callum look thoroughly offended.
Nick leaned in close and whispered a brother’s name into my ear. I shivered at the close contact, then laughed when all of his brothers protested. Apparently, they all had excellent hearing.
Declan didn’t protest though. Instead, he was giving Nick an odd look.
“I’m really your favorite?” he asked quietly.
Nick’s smile was both teasing and warm. “If I had a favorite, which I’m not saying I do! But if I had a favorite brother, it would be you.”
Declan looked away and cleared his throat. “Thanks, man.”
Nick went over and slung an arm around his brother’s shoulder. “Come on, tell me you love me.”
“What? No!”
“Tellmetellmetellme.”
“Dude, go away!”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
Let poker night begin!
Callum shuffled the deck of cards. “Five card draw, nothing wild.” He eyed Kian and Dante. “And no cheating.”
Nick snorted. “We can’t cheat around Lucky anyway. Her chaos magic prevents our magic from working.”
“There is more than one way to cheat,” Callum reminded him.
Nick nodded as he accepted his cards, and looked at them one by one. The brothers were doing a few rounds without me so I could see what the mechanics of the game looked like in play. I didn’t really remember it all that well. After explaining the basics to me, they began their first round.
As well as observing how to play, I was also using this time to study them.
Callum, I thought, had the best poker face, but Dante had a surprisingly good one as well.
Kian tried, but I could tell just from watching him for a bit that playing the game was more about spending time with his brothers for him.
I don’t think he cared at all whether he won or not.
Declan had a slight eye twitch whenever he got a card he couldn’t use, so that was an easy tell. Unless of course he was faking it...
And Nick.
My gaze moved to him, and I studied him as he played. I thought he fit somewhere between Callum, who played intensely in a take-no-prisoners kind of way, and Dante, who played methodically and cleverly.
The final bets got fierce for a moment, and then they all revealed their cards. Dante won.
After a few rounds, they dealt me in, and I tried my best to both keep an inscrutable expression, and play intelligently.
Nick kept looking over at me and grinning, which made me roll my eyes.
Apparently, I was failing at the whole inscrutable thing.
I couldn’t help how expressive my face was sometimes.
Okay, time to get serious Lucky. I thought of sad things so I could stop laughing at the brothers’ banter and jokes, took a deep breath, and picked up my cards one by one off the table and added them to my pile.
Two jacks, two queens, and a ten.
Inscrutable.
Not allowing my expression or my body, other than my hands, to move a single centimeter, I called, and then when everyone had bet, set down my ten to discard. Another round of cards were dealt, and I slowly picked up the new card that had been dealt to me.
Then tried like crazy to keep from reacting when it was a queen.
I had a full house.
“Raise.” I slid more M & M’s, at least half my pile into the middle of the table.
Nick waggled his eyebrows at me, like he thought I was being sexy or something, and I had to fight a laugh.
“Lucky, are you sure you really want to date Nick?” Callum asked nonchalantly as he studied his hand, trying to decide if he was going to call or not. “I’m available, if you’re looking for someone more... well, just more.”
Kian snorted. “If you’d stop dating the wrong kind of women, you’d be married already.”
Dante called, sliding his M & M’s into the center pot. “All of us are single,” he said, his eyes flicking to me over his cards, and then away. “Just so you know.”
Nick looked like he was really regretting letting his brothers come over. “Where’s the brotherly loyalty? Why do you all feel the need to hit on my girl?”
I was trying my best to ignore them. Mostly, because they were all being ridiculous.
Final bets were finished, and we all revealed our hands.
I took a quick peek around: two straights, a flush, a three of a kind, and a pair.
“I won?”
“I won!” I squealed.
Dante, who was sitting directly across from me, shook his head. “Lucky, poker is serious business. We don’t squeal when we win.” And then he shoved all my candy at me with a playful wink. “Here’s your winnings.”
Nick socked Dante on the arm while all the other brothers busted up laughing. “Serious business,” Callum echoed, shaking his head. “Do you all remember the last time we played and Kian won?”
Declan nodded, popping a chip in his mouth. “He stood up, did a touchdown dance, and accidentally knocked over the table. I’m still finding poker chips everywhere.”
“He wasn’t even trying to win,” Callum grumbled.
Kian waggled his eyebrows. “When you got it, you got it. What can I say?”
“You don’t got it!” all the brothers yelled at once, making me laugh.
As Dante dealt the next hand, the brothers just mostly chatted, trying to include me as much as possible, which I thought was sweet. It was clear they were all close, despite their different temperaments and personalities.
“How many years separate you guys?” I asked curiously, munching on some sriracha peanuts. I didn’t normally love spicy things, but these things were addicting.
“I’m the eldest by ten years,” Callum said, discarding a card.
Nick, choosing not to get rid of any cards, laughed. “Yeah, we always say that mom and dad were so exhausted from trying to raise him that they needed a break. The rest of us are only a year or two apart.”
“Or,” Callum said with a smirk, “by having me, they’d reached the pinnacle of perfection and knew that every child that came after would be far less superior.”
Kian scoffed. “Yes, because that’s what parents think when they’ve had a child. This child is the pinnacle of perfection. We don’t need any other children.”
Callum shrugged. “Just telling it like I see it.”
“You need therapy,” Kian said, flicking a peanut at him.
“Hey!” Nick protested. “Don’t mess up the room!”
I laughed, shaking my head and letting their chatter wash over me. After a few more rounds they started talking about relationships—or their lack thereof.
I still stayed mostly out of the conversation, just listening and enjoying their company, when it suddenly grew quiet. Alarmed, I looked up from my cards, only to find everyone looking at me.
“What? Did I miss a question?”
“You’re a girl,” Kian said.
My eyebrow winged upward. “Yes.” I wanted to pull a Hermione and say Well spotted! but I heroically refrained. “I’m a girl. Why?”
He made a face, and Dante picked up the conversation. “We’re not really sure what we’re doing wrong. All of us have been trying to seriously date to find the right person for, well, for some of us a really long time.”
Callum grew quiet, and kind of shut down right before my eyes. So did Declan for that matter. Kian just looked woeful, and Dante looked determined. Maybe hopeful.
I held up my hands. “Guys, I’m only one girl. Every woman has their own needs, wants, and desires.”
I mean, that was self-explanatory, right?
Please tell me that was self-explanatory to them.
“But you can tell us how women think. What they’re looking for,” Kian insisted.
I shook my head so hard I could practically feel my brain rattling around. “Nope. I can only tell you what I need, or what I’m looking for.”
Callum’s sigh was world-weary as he set down his cards. “Let’s start with that then.”
I made a face. Nick squeezed my hand before he got up to refill the pitcher with more ice water. So far, there hadn’t been any chaotic magic messes. It’d been a few days, actually. I was starting to feel like maybe Nick was a lucky charm.
Everyone else put down their cards as well. Hesitantly, I did the same. I suddenly felt like I was in the hot seat.
What did women want? In general?
Oh boy.
I sighed. “Okay, umm, let’s start with what you guys want. Just, kind of say things out loud.”
“Affection.”
“Depth.”
“Warmth.”
“Intelligence.”
I held up a hand, stopping them. “Okay, see, that right there. You are all wanting different things. You all have different priorities.” Pulling a chip out of the basket, I fiddled with it and broke off little pieces that littered the table as I thought about how I wanted to explain my thoughts.
“Okay, I’m not an expert by any means. I’d just like to say that what I’m suggesting might not be helpful. Like, at all.”
They nodded.
“But, if it were me, I’d start with making a list of the things I really wanted in a relationship, and in any future partner. I’d list them in order of priority. I’d also keep in mind that looking for perfection is a great way to stay lonely.”
They nodded again.
“Then, as I’m out there, living my life, keeping myself open to meeting the right person, I’d work on myself.
Do I need to work on patience? Empathy? Understanding?
Communication? Just, work on yourself as much as you’re able to, but also try to be patient with yourself.
Personal growth isn’t linear. It’s not like A plus B always equals C.
Sometimes growth can be slow, but just keep at it.
“And then, I’d try to get to know people, but I’d stay intentional about it.
I wouldn’t, for example, keep dating someone I knew couldn’t give me what I needed, just because I’m lonely.
” I looked around at all of them. “I don’t know if that helped at all,” I said uncertainly.
“You guys are probably already doing all of those things.”
My suggestions felt painfully inadequate, especially considering all of them were immortal.
Dante’s smile was pained. “Thank you, Lucky. You didn’t tell us what you’re looking for, though.”
I bit my lip and Nick lightly smacked Dante’s head as he passed with the water pitcher. “Stop pressuring her and asking her personal stuff.”
I smiled at Dante’s offended expression.
“Well, I guess I could share one thing that I was looking for, before Nick and I got together,” I said.
They all sat up and looked at me, even Nick.
“Peace,” I said quietly. “I was looking for someone that I felt peaceful around.”
And then the middle of the table spontaneously combusted.
Everyone shoved back from the table, and it was controlled chaos as the guys tried to put the fire out. First, with magic, and then because magic didn’t really work well around me, one of them dumped the ice water Nick had just got over it.
When the chaos died down and one of the brothers had opened the sliding glass door to let out what little smoke there was before the smoke alarm sounded, they all turned to look at me.
“Dang,” Kian said. “That is one fierce curse.”
But my attention wasn’t on them. It was fixated on the mess in the middle of the table. “It melted all of our chocolate,” I said mournfully.
R.I.P. peanut butter M & M’s.