Skyler
“NO, NO, NO,” KIP groans, shaking his head on the screen of my laptop. “You’re supposed to take the clothes off — not put them on.”
I chuckle, zipping up my black dress pants and fastening the button at the top before I shove one arm through the long-sleeve, white, button-up top. I lean forward once both arms are in, pushing my cleavage together.
“Take one last look, baby,” I tease, biting my lip. “Because in about two minutes, I’ll look like a cocktail waiter and your sex drive will die right along with my pride.”
Kip chuckles, but his eyes are on my chest with a longing sigh on his lips. “Please don’t button up that top.”
“But I have to go to work.”
“You should come here, instead.”
I smile. “To California? Sure, I’ll hop the next flight.”
“Great. See you soon!”
Kip jokes like he’s going to hang up our video chat, but of course he doesn’t, and then we’re both smiling and staring at each other through the screen, wishing we could touch from across the country.
As horrible as the summer was with his father passing away, I hadn’t realized until the new semester started how spoiled we had been.
Even after his father had passed, we’d spent time with his mom, in his hometown, falling more in love every single day — while also dealing with the fall-out from the tournament.
It didn’t take long for the reporters to put the pieces together and realize Kip was the same guy from the bonfire photo that had been leaked of me, and needless to say, we were the juiciest story the poker world had seen in a while — especially once I disappeared off the scene.
In those short months of summer, Kip had become my person. We’d spend nearly every day together, every night in each other’s arms, and now we had thousands of miles between us.
And there was just no way around it.
It hurt.
Kip was finally at his dream school — UCLA — chasing his dream of becoming a script writer. And as much as I knew he was where he needed to be, and I was where I needed to be at PSU, I hated that those two schools were not in the same zip code.
Or even the same state.
There was only so much a text or a phone call or even a video chat could do.
I stand, shrugging the dress shirt on and start buttoning it from the bottom up. “What are you going to do tonight?”
“Dream about you stripping out of that outfit.”
I roll my eyes.
“Alpha Sigma is having a little party to kick off Greek Week,” he says after he gets his rise out of me. “Rick and I are going to head that way after our Character Creation class.”
“I still can’t believe you managed to find not only a fraternity brother with the same major, but then he ends up as your roommate, too.”
Kip chuckles. “It’s not so weird here, babe. Everyone wants to work in movies or TV or music.” He shrugs, a dreamy smile on those perfect lips I love to taste. “That’s why I wanted to be here. It feels like home.”
My heart rips somehow with a gentle pang of longing, as if his words hurt just as much as they made me proud of him. I still remember our first date, when he opened up to me about his dreams of writing scripts, and now, he’s on his way to doing just that.
“What’s wrong, Ella Mae,” he asks, leaning forward. The movement allows me to see the Singing in the Rain movie poster hanging above his bed behind him. “You seem distant tonight.”
I sigh, flopping down in the office chair at my desk as I struggle with the red bow tie around my neck. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve just been feeling a little… lost. Now that I’m not playing poker professionally, I feel like one of my limbs has been cut off.”
“You still could play, you know,” he reminds me.
I nod, but fall quiet, because we both know not continuing to play was the best move for me.
Kip and I made quite the scene in Vegas last year, and really — I’ve accomplished what I wanted to.
Mom and Dad are set up financially, my tuition and then some is paid, and I have a solid savings stashed up for when I graduate. Plus — I got the guy.
What more do I need?
Poker has served its purpose for me, and now I want to dive deeper and find out what I want to do with the rest of my life.
But I’m already a senior, and I’m just now thinking about my career after college.
To say I’m behind is an understatement.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Kip asks. “I know you started taking some entrepreneurship and business classes this semester, but we haven’t talked about how they’re going. Do you like them? Do you feel like they fit you?”
Anxiety flares in my chest, as it often does when I try to find out where I fit in. It’s been like that my entire life. The only place I’ve really been able to find my footing is in Kappa Kappa Beta and the Greek community at Palm South.
Once I graduate, all that will be gone, too.
I shake my head, forcing a smile. “Not right now. I don’t really have much to say yet since it’s only been a few weeks.
Besides,” I say, waggling my eyebrows as I pull on the slick, black vest and button it up, standing back with my arms wide.
“This sexy thing has a shift to work on the casino boat.”
Kip smiles, too, but his blue eyes shine with worry. “I wish I was there to hold you in my arms right now.”
My smile falls at that. “Me, too.”
A long moment stretches between us, and finally Kip sighs, his smile genuine again. “They’re all going to love you. I can’t wait to hear how much you make in tips.”
“It’s going to be keeping my mouth shut when they do something stupid that will be hard.”
He barks out a laugh at that. “Nah, don’t hold back. School ’em. Maybe they’ll tip you more if you give them advice and they win.”
I point at him in a touché gesture, and then lean forward, blowing him one more kiss.
He catches it, holds it, and then throws it up to the sky — something we’ve done every time we can since his dad passed away.
It’s a little reminder to keep him in our hearts, and also to live each day to the fullest.
“I’ll text you after my shift,” I say, knowing that even though it’ll be late here, the night will just be getting started in California. “Have fun at the party, but tell Rick to fight the girls off you for me.”
“You’re the only girl for me and everyone here knows it.”
I smile at that, giving him one last longing look before I close the screen on my laptop.
Then, I look in the floor-length mirror in the room I share with Jess, adjusting the ridiculous bow tie and sighing at the way the work uniform hides all of my best features.
I look like I’m wearing a large potato bag painted black, white, and red.
But as much as I don’t have the desire to play poker professionally, I can’t deny the rush flowing through me at the thought of being around other players.
I’ll be dealing blackjack most of the night, and if I have my charm turned up to a hundred, I’ll also be walking out with a pocket full of cash in tips.
It isn’t the Friday night I’m used to. I should be getting ready to go to a party with Jess and Lei, preparing myself to take shots instead of to take chips.
But something tells me this casino boat is where I need to be, that even though I’m not playing poker for money, I’m not quite done with it yet, either.
With a strange, unfamiliar feeling floating in my stomach, I push all my anxious thoughts down and cover my lips in matte red lipstick for good measure. Then, I head to work.
I think of Kip the entire drive.