Bluffing the Devil

chapter 8



Just as I stepped from the curb outside of the casino, I heard my name being called behind me and turned to see my friends making their way back toward the casino entrance.

"What are you lovely ladies up to while I was being verbally assaulted?" I chided them playfully.

"Someone said something to you? Who do I need to cut?" Rhea questioned grabbing her backpack.

"Whoa, cool it, killer. You don't need to kill anyone tonight. I won the round and one of the guys I knocked out, was not too happy about it at all. He had a few words and a bit of a tantrum. Typical guy stuff, you know how it goes." My giggles were nearly impossible to contain when I noticed Victoria nodding her head in agreement. Such man-hatred from that girl, she would agree with anything negative I said about any man at any point in time. I could say "all men were born with one brain cell and eat glue!" and she would say "I know, right? Idiots!" It was truly fascinating to see precisely how little she felt about the opposite sex.

"Okay, so this means that you are in the next round though, right?" Carly asked, grabbing on to the real point of the matter.

"Yeah, I'm so excited. That last hand was amazing! I wish you guys had seen it! It was my favey, and I rocked it so hard. I was proud of myself!" My excitement was much more obvious than I realized, because they had all started to look really interested and Carly started to do her celebration bounce.

"No worries, babycakes. I ordered the DVD, so I will be able to see it all later," Rhea informed me.

"You can buy a DVD of the games? That's insane!" I laughed.

"Yeah and at the bar we just left, you can see it live on the television. That hand must have happened just after we left. Dude, I'm starving! Who wants a snack?" Carly, of course, chimed in.

"I’m not hungry, but I want sweets! Copious amount of sugar and a hot tub are in order, stat!" I thrust my fist in the air and made a victorious stance and watched my friends nearly crumble into a fit of giggles before fist pumping the air in agreement.

"So, sexy, your hotel room or mine?" Rey's voice clawed its way across my eardrum and made me visible cringe.

"Dude, you seriously have about eighteen milliseconds before I gut you, and use your entrails to make a hopscotch pattern for us to play on," Victoria took a giant step forward, but lucky for Rey, I happened to still be between them. The flames in her eyes should have been enough to make anyone normal recoil, but it seemed as if he took it as a dare.

"Oooh, you are feisty, Victoria. I like that. Maybe you and I should go out sometime and see if you are the same brand of insane that I am. I would be happy to take that on, if you wish," he offered with usual his cat-ate-the-canary grin.

"My brand of insane has been studied and still undefined by experts. Your "charm" doesn't work on me, so do yourself a favor and walk away before you become a news headline, hm?" she offered as politely as one could while threatening someone's life.

Still behind me, he tilted his head closer before speaking. The scent from earlier must be his cologne. It was an intensely beautiful smell to be honest, but having him so close to me made my skin want to jump off and run screaming into the night. I really don't think I would look good as a walking muscle and bone mannequin.

With his breath again on my flesh, he muttered, "Your friends are so iffy with me, darling. One moment they are swooning and the next, they are threatening to toss me into the abyss. It's very sexy. I love a challenge, as you know. Take care and have a beautiful evening."

I turned to give him a piece of my mind yet again, but when I did he was almost a block away already. Apparently disgusting guys move really fast when trying to avoid slaughter from a group of bitches.

I quickly turned back to my girls, slapped a smile across my face, and announced, "Drinks on me!" and then headed back to the bar they had just left.

"Nooooo, wait! You want sugar and a hot tub, right? We are here for you, right? Okay, good. We are already buzzed and don't need to go back to the bar. There's a hot tub in our suite, right? Let's head back there and I’ll order some pastries, or go on a candy run!" Carly volunteered sweetly. She put me first all the time, it was always so sweet. I wanted to jump up and squeeze her cheeks, or kiss her, I wasn't sure which one.

"Oh God, yes! Please!? That sounds like pure heaven!" I agreed as I allowed Carly to begin to drag me in the proper direction of our hotel.

~

While Victoria and I enjoyed the amazing hot tub in the suite we all shared, Rhea busied herself with some project on her laptop, and Carly went on a mission to find the very best sweets in all of Atlantic City. I knew she would come back with something incredible and was looking forward to going into a sugar coma and sleeping until I couldn't possibly sleep any longer. A nice, long restful night would do me some serious good.

"So, what’s up with the creeper, Lex? He's everywhere, and it's making my trigger finger itchy," Rhea called from across the room.

I chuckled, "He's that guy I told you about that beat me in Reno last month. Remember? I was second and he knocked me out with some bullshit better kicker hand."

"Oh see, I was thinking that guy was… what did she call it, Rhea? Sex on a stick?" Victoria harassed me sweetly.

"At the time, he was yummy. That guy is a Monet though, you know? From far away, you’re thinking it’s incredible and amazing and the closer you get, the hotter of a mess it is until you are wondering what the hell you were going through when you thought him to be so sexy. Was I drunk that night? I swear I don't remember being drunk when I played ever before." If I weren't sitting in a giant vat of 110 degree water, I might have face planted out of embarrassment.

"No, you weren't drinking, that was just the first person that snagged your attention since… You were all girly and giggly, which was enough of a warning flag for me. Then I met him and he's just confusing. It’s like he's really sweet and nice, but at the same time he's creepy and has some hidden agenda. You're right to try to stay away from him. I don't trust him," Victoria announced with finality.

"Yes, but you never trust anyone, so that doesn't give brownie points for or against his case," I pointed out softly.

"Okay, you have an incredibly tiny point there, but how often am I wrong in not trusting someone? Let's be honest here. Show of hands? Anyone? Have I ever been wrong on a personal read up until this very moment?" she challenged with an eyebrow quirked.

Rhea and I shared a long look at each other, then had to nod in united agreement that Victoria had never been wrong before. She could read people, especially men, like a bold-print book with colored pictures and warning signs plastered across the pages. It was almost as if she had some ingrained inner-voice that just went through going "No. Yes. Victim. User. Abuser. Douchebag. Terrorist. Lawyer" you know, all of the important factors in determining if someone was good or evil.

"Right, thanks, and the funny thing is, I get that creepy vibe from him, but I am also picking up that he has a reason for it, and it's not he who chooses it. Do you have some secret life we don't know about, Lex? Have a bookie, or a husband we don’t know about? Girlfriend? Something? This guy seems like he knows you, and has a reason to want to be close. I don't get it just yet, but it’s a hunch."

Victoria wasn't asking me the questions for answers, she was being a brat as usual, but she did get my mind stirring. There was nothing in my past that was a secret or anything remotely exciting. I had no skeletons and my parents had made sure to keep it that way for me. I was coddled, protected, and guarded my entire life. Almost too much, I wouldn’t know how to be deceptive, or hide something from my girls anyway.

A loud crash into the front door made us all jump, except Rhea, who was always armed and calm. She soundlessly went to the front door of the suite and peeked through the peephole.

She huffed audibly, then snatched the door open, "What the hell, Carly?"

"Sorry, geez! I had all this stuff and didn't have any hands to open the door. I tried to knock, but it wouldn't work so I bashed the door with my knee. That junk hurt!"

"Carly? What in the world? How many sweets did you buy?" I asked seeing a shopping bag hanging from each wrist and a giant box between her hands. She looked as if she were going to topple over at any second.

"Dude, seriously. I got the best yummies in the whole world. Okay, maybe not the entire world, but pretty damned close!" she was almost buzzing with excitement as she breezed past us headed toward the kitchenette. We never cooked when we were staying at a hotel, but we always got a big suite so we could all have separate rooms but share the common area and have a kitchenette and Jacuzzi and such for just in case. Carly liked to use every excuse to make at least one thing in the kitchenette every time, but we usually talked her out of it by enticing her with a fancy restaurant or divine menu somewhere.

She plopped the bags and box down on the counter and started rummaging through things furiously.

"Okay, don't we have a kettle? For water? Tea? Yes?" she started to look around for it.

"Yes, under the cabinet on the right," I shouted toward the kitchenette. I wasn't sure if she could hear my normal speaking voice. "What are we making? They don't have any ready-to-serve sweets in this city? What a joke!" I wanted to cry. I was ready for bed and just wanted some sweets to stuff my face with first. Eating something sweet before bed might not be good for me, but I found it helped me wake up less light-headed and my dad always said it would help me have sweet dreams, and those dreams are what I had been chasing lately.

"Stop whining, for goodness sake! I just wanted to make my special hot chocolate to go with the pastries I found at this amazing little mom and pop shop on a side street. It will only take a few minutes and you know you love it, so shut up and go dry off already. By the time you're dressed, it will be ready. Sheesh," Carly complained. She was almost always watching a cooking show, or in the kitchen creating some masterpiece. She didn't go to school for cooking professionally, it was just her favorite hobby and since we all benefitted from the deliciousness she would create, no one ever pushed her to make more of it as a career or anything. She was happy being an accountant and was a genius with numbers. She could work in her office and handle things quickly without batting an eye. Numbers were in her head and she was great at it, but it wasn't her dream job at all.

She began whipping things together and my mouth immediately started to water for the hot chocolate. I don't know what she does to that stuff, but it's like crack or something. Completely delicious, so soothing, and I have the best dreams ever after I drink it. Truth be told, she could have just made that and not bought any pastries or anything, and I would have been totally happy. But, as always, she was my girl and loved to spoil me rotten.

Victoria and I reluctantly got out of the hot tub. You really aren't supposed to stay in extreme temperatures for long anyway, but I loved to get a really good soak in before bed also. Loosens the muscles, the heat relaxes me, and who doesn't want to feel weightless from time to time?

I quickly shuffled to my room and toed the door almost closed as I stripped off my bathing suit and slid on my pajamas. When I was drying my hair, I heard Rhea telling Victoria and Carly that she would be back in a bit and not to wait up for her. I popped out of my room quickly and caught her in the foyer of our suite.

"What's wrong, babe? You're being really weird. Is something going on? Do you need to talk?" I asked her as I held her hand.

"Nothing is wrong at all, love. Just a little bit of business. I’m good and I’ll be back in a bit for some of that delicious hot chocolate, a snack, and a nap. You have a big day tomorrow, and I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Rhea hugged me tightly and then silently slipped out the door. Even the door didn't click when she shut it. Damned ninjas.

I slipped back into my room, finished toweling off my hair, and then ran a brush through it quickly. Happily, my conditioner had decided to kick in, and I didn't have to wrangle the hair in place, just had to sweet talk it a bit.

I padded into the common area, what we called "the chill spot" and curled up in the corner of the amazing sectional style sofa. It was a semi-circle with recliners and a divan, tons of cushy pillows, and even little throw blankets. This was my kind of relaxing. I grabbed one of the blankets and wrapped it around me to hold in my warmth and a few moments later Carly popped out of the kitchenette with a tray of mugs.

"Here you go, your very own cup of, Carly's Chocolate Cocoon!"

"You gave it a name? Chocolate Cocoon? Seems appropriate," I agreed as I took a mug from the tray, and held it in front of my face to breathe in the aroma.

"Yep, 'cause it wraps you up in its awesomeness, of course! And it’s by me and it’s chocolate. You know, all the rest is just obvious," she joked.

"Well, all of it is incredible. You should market this stuff. It's better than sleepy time tea and vodka mixed together," Victoria agreed. She was the queen of cookies and totally addicted to cookies of nearly any kind. For her to not reach for a pastry first and snuggle on the other end of the couch with her own mug of Carly's Chocolate Cocoon meant that it was as amazing as we all touted it to be.

"Oh! The yummies, just a sec!" Carly said as she pranced off to the kitchenette and immediately returned with a bigger-than-necessary, nondescript box. "So, I was really trying to decide if we should go with the old standby and grab a few chocolate bars or if I should try to do something new and exciting and then I walked past this little hole in the wall place that wasn't even opened, I thought. It smelled incredible though and I peeked in the window to see what sort of place it was since the outside sign was worn down. I saw the cutest little tables and chairs, it just felt like someone lived there, you know? I was going to text myself the address so I could go there in the morning when a face suddenly appeared in front of mine and scared the dickens out of me!"

As she told her story, her eyes grew wide with wonder and then soft while describing things. Sometimes it was as if she was seeing some things for the first time in her life. She was so cute how she described things. I snuggled in further into the couch, took a timid sip of my drink and listened to her explain more.

"After my initial near-fatal heart attack," she continued as she sat in front of me, holding the box open, "the owner comes shooting out the door and hugs me and is saying how sorry she is for startling me. I guess her dog had barked when I got close to the window or something. She was in there making pastries for tomorrow and asked if I wanted to come inside. It was so weird. You know people just aren't nice like that anymore."

"Wait, you went inside a closed business with a strange woman in the middle of the night in a place you don't know? Come on, Carly! You can't be serious!" Victoria complained.

"As you can see, I made a wise choice. I am in one piece and brought back…this." She opened the box and we both sucked in a surprised breath. Inside was the most intricately decorated pastries I had ever seen in my life and they smelled like heaven.

"The owner asked me in and gave me one of these. She said it's something new she is working on. We talked about ingredients, cooking technique, and so much more. I learned so much on this little side trip, girls! You should be proud!" her excitement was palpable. "Then! As I was about to excuse myself, she asked why I was out after midnight and I explained that we are here for your tournament, and how you are such a sweet freak. She smiled so huge and almost begged me to bring these to you. She gave me all of these! There's like what? Three dozen here? I told her that was too many but she said that some were for now, some for breakfast, and more for snacks. She was so precious!"

"Well, what is it?" I asked. If Carly was this excited about something, it must taste incredible.

"She didn't tell me the name. She said it was a recipe from her grandmother that she just found in some old things. She said some of the recipe was missing, so she’s figuring it out and plugging in things to make it her own and this was her newest batch. She was thinking that she finally got it right and, boy, do I have to agree!" Carly was sitting on the floor in front of me, still holding the giant box open in front of me.

"Okay, let's do this then!" I said as I reached out and plucked one of the delicately beautiful pastries from the box. It had a dusting of powdered sugar on it that felt almost weightless. White cream was piped inside and protruded from the side a bit. Instead of inspecting it harder, I decided to just take a bite and let the flavor speak for itself.

I instantly made a sound that I'm sure made me sound less than innocent, and devoured the rest of the treat in three bites and reached for another one. Victoria, seeing my interest and reaction, decided to stop being a snob and grabbed one as well. With a sigh and grunt, her approval of the morsel was also accepted.

"Wow," I attempted to speak around a mouthful of awesomeness, "These are incredible! She needs to name and market these like yesterday! What a fantastic find, Carly! I knew I could count of you. Okay, just one more," I added as I slipped another from the box. "Go, shoo! Take that addictive mess away from me before I eat every one of them like a pig!"

She chuckled and offered the open box to Victoria again, who scooped two more out as well. Carly carried the box back to the kitchen and returned quickly to curl up with us on the couch. We didn't turn on the television, or need to do anything else. We just enjoyed each other's company and our amazing hot chocolate.

A bit later, as I finished my drink, I headed for the kitchenette to wash my mug and head to bed. I said goodnight to my girls and headed off to my room. I was feeling exhausted, peaceful, and was ready for a few moments with my Dream Man. After the night I had and the way it ended so lovely, I almost couldn't ask for a better night.