“A full house? What the fuck?” Trent cried.
“Sorry. I’ve always wanted to say that,” I said, pulling in my chips.
Thomas’ eyes narrowed. “This isn’t just beginner’s luck. She plays.”
Travis eyed Thomas for a moment and then looked to me. “Have you played before, Pidge?”
I pressed my lips together and shrugged, displaying my best innocent smile. Travis’ head fell back, bursting into a barrage of laughter. He tried to speak but couldn’t, and then hit the table with his fist.
“Your girlfriend just fucking hustled us!” Taylor said, pointing in my direction.
“NO FUCKING WAY!” Trenton wailed, standing up.
“Good plan, Travis. Bring a card shark to poker night,” Jim said, winking at me.
“I didn’t know!” he said, shaking his head.
“Bullshit,” Thomas said, eyeing me.
“I didn’t!” he said through his laughter.
“I hate to say it, Bro. But I think I just fell in love with your girl,” Tyler said.
“Hey, now,” Travis said, his smile quickly fading into a grimace.
“That’s it. I was going easy on you, Abby, but I’m winning my money back, now,” Trenton warned.
Travis sat out for the last few rounds, watching his brothers try their hardest to regain their money. Hand after hand, I pulled in their chips, and hand after hand, Thomas watched me more closely. Every time I laid my cards down Travis and Jim laughed, Taylor cursed, Tyler proclaimed his undying love for me, and Trent threw a full-blown tantrum.
I cashed in my chips and gave them all one-hundred dollars once we settled into the living room. Jim refused, but the brothers accepted with gratitude. Travis grabbed my hand and we walked to the door. I could see he was unhappy, so I squeezed his fingers in mine.
“What’s wrong, Baby?”
“You just gave away four hundred bucks, Pidge!” Travis frowned.
“If this was poker night at Sig Tau, I would have kept it. I can’t rob your brothers the first time I meet them.”
“They would have kept your money!” he said.
“And I wouldn’t have lost a second of sleep over it, either,” Tyler laughed.
Thomas stared at me in silence from the corner of the room.
“Why do you keep starin’ at my girl, Tommy?”
“What did you say your last name was?” Thomas asked.
I shifted my weight nervously. Travis, noticing my unease, turned to his brother and put his arm around my waist. I wasn’t sure if he was doing it in protective reaction, or he was bracing himself for what his brother might say.
“It’s Abernathy. What of it?”
“I can see why you didn’t put it together before tonight, Trav, but now you don’t have an excuse,” Thomas said, smug.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Travis asked.
“Are you related to Mick Abernathy by any chance?” Thomas asked.
All heads turned in my direction and I nervously raked my hair back with my fingers. “How do you know Mick?”
Travis angled his head to look into my eyes. “He’s only one of the best poker players that ever lived. Do you know him?”
I winced, knowing I had finally been cornered into telling the truth. “He’s my father.”
The entire room exploded.
“NO FUCKING WAY!”
“I KNEW IT!”
“WE JUST PLAYED MICK ABERNATHY’S DAUGHTER!”
“MICK ABERNATHY? HOLY SHIT!”
Thomas, Jim and Travis were the only ones not shouting. “I told you guys I shouldn’t play,” I said.
“If you would have mentioned you were Mick Abernathy’s daughter, I think we would have taken you more seriously,” Thomas said.
I peered over at Travis, who stared at me in awe. “You’re Lucky Thirteen?” he asked, his eyes a bit hazy.
Trenton stood and pointed at me, his mouth opened wide. “Lucky Thirteen is in our house! No way! I don’t fucking believe it!”
“That was the nickname the papers gave me. And the story wasn’t exactly accurate,” I said, fidgeting.
“I need to get Abby home, guys,” Travis said, still staring at me.