We zipped by buildings, restaurants, and people darting in and out of nighttime establishments as Dillon navigated through the streets of Boston toward the North End or Little Italy. Kross rode shotgun while Lizzie and I sat in the backseat of Dillon’s SUV. The Camaro was too small for all four of us.
I snaked my hand out to rest on her thigh. “You look amazing.” She was wearing a short, black, low-cut cocktail dress. Since underground games didn’t have a dress code, I would guess she was trying to use distraction as part of her bluffing. God, I hoped her strategy worked. I worried she wouldn’t be able to bluff. Then she’d be out of the game early. Which meant Lizzie wouldn’t have the patience to wait to tear Terrance a new one. Neither would I, for that matter. And that would lead to mayhem. Not good when we were guests of the Italian mob, and because of that I wanted to lock her up and prevent her from coming to this mob-infested soirée, but in part I understood her need to see Terrance in person. Zach always had issues getting ahold of his old man.
She smiled seductively.
My heart slammed against my chest. Boom. Boom. Boom. Since I’d told her I loved her, my heart hadn’t calmed down. All I kept thinking about was her and how every time I kissed her she tasted of bubblegum, the past, and everything I wanted in my future, a future of her and me tangled together. Yeah, my balls were blue, dark fucking blue.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
Patriots. Football. Super Bowl. Inwardly, I laughed. I’d started chanting my mantra days before the big game. I believed on some higher level that Tom Brady had heard me. The Patriots beat the Panthers in the Super Bowl. Of course, that wasn’t what should have been going through my head in that moment.
“You remember what we discussed yesterday?” Kross and I had met over at Dillon’s to finalize plans. “Use your nervous habits to throw them off. Bite a nail if you have a good hand. Smile when you have nothing. But don’t keep using the same habits. Change it up. If you can, don’t use any expressions.”
“I get it,” she said, doubt resonating in her voice.
My hand traveled up her dress, slow and sure, hoping my touch would calm her. She grasped my hand before it got too far then shook her head.
I whispered in her ear. “Baby doll, relax.” I was the one who needed to chill. If my brain wasn’t thinking what could go wrong that night, my dick was certainly jonesing to have that woman right there and then.
“Let’s run through this one more time,” Dillon said as he braked at a light. “There’ll be ten players. Two tables. Ten guests. Security guards and two dealers. You’re out when you run out of money. Afterward, you’re allowed to stay and watch. If Terrance tanks before Lizzie and me, then Kross and Kelton, since you’re not playing, make sure he doesn’t leave. And remember, this isn’t a casino. You can’t cash in your winnings if you want to leave early. Also, Lizzie, as much as you want to have words with Terrance, keep things civil during the breaks. Otherwise, you’ll be thrown out.”
Quietness kept us company for two more turns and three more lights until Dillon parked across from Frank’s.
My body tensed. “You sure you’re ready?” I asked Lizzie.
“One hundred percent,” she said with no hesitation, puffing out her chest.
I stifled a groan. Now is not the time to be thinking about sex, moron.