I leaned over to kiss her forehead. “Play . . . I’ll teach you.”
“You should just kiss your money goodbye, now, Abby.” Thomas laughed.
Abby pressed her lips together and dug into her purse, pulling out two fifties. She held them out to Dad, waiting patiently while he traded them for chips. Trenton smiled, eager to take advantage of her confidence.
“I have faith in Travis’s teaching skills,” Abby said.
Taylor clapped. “Hells yeah! I’m going to get rich tonight!”
“Let’s start small this time,” Dad said, throwing in a five-dollar chip.
Trenton dealt, and I fanned out Abby’s hand. “Have you ever played?”
“It’s been a while.” She nodded.
“Go Fish doesn’t count, Pollyanna,” Trenton said, looking at his cards.
“Shut your hole, Trent,” I growled, throwing him a quick threatening look before returning to Abby’s cards. “You’re shooting for higher cards, consecutive numbers, and if you’re really lucky, in the same suit.”
We lost the first few rounds, but then Abby refused to let me help her. After that, she started to pick it up pretty quickly. Three hands later, she had kicked all of their asses without blinking.
“Bullshit!” Trenton whined. “Beginner’s luck sucks!”
“You’ve got a fast learner, Trav,” Dad said, moving his mouth around his cigar.
I took a sip of my beer, feeling like the king of the world. “You’re makin’ me proud, Pigeon!”
“Thanks.”
“Those that cannot do, teach,” Thomas said, smirking.
“Very funny, asshole,” I murmured.
“Get the girl a beer,” Dad said, an amused smile lifting his already puffy cheeks.
I gladly hopped up, pulled a bottle from the fridge, and used the already cracked edge of the countertop to pop off the cap. Abby smiled when I placed the beer in front of her and didn’t hesitate to take one of her signature man-size swigs.
She wiped her lips with the back of her hand, and then waited on my dad to put in his chips.
Four hands later, Abby had tipped back the last of her third beer and watched Taylor closely. “The action’s on you, Taylor. You gonna be a baby or you going to put in like a man?”
It was getting very difficult for me to keep from being excited in other places. Watching Abby own my brothers—and a poker veteran like my father—hand after hand was turning me on. I’d never seen a women so sexy in my life, and this one happened to be my girlfriend.
“Fuck it,” Taylor said, throwing the last of his chips in.
“Whatdya got, Pigeon?” I asked with a grin. I felt like a kid at Christmas.
“Taylor?” Abby prompted, her face completely blank.
A wide grin spread across his face. “Flush!” He smiled, spreading his cards faceup on the table.
We all looked to Abby. Her eyes scanned the men around the table, and then she slammed her cards down. “Read ’em and weep, boys! Aces and eights!”
“A full house? What the fuck?” Trenton cried.
“Sorry. I’ve always wanted to say that,” Abby said, giggling as she pulled in her chips.
Thomas’s eyes narrowed. “This isn’t just beginner’s luck. She plays.”
I watched Thomas for a moment. He wasn’t taking his eyes from Abby.
I looked to her, then. “Have you played before, Pidge?”
She pressed her lips together and shrugged, letting a sweet smile turn up the corners of her mouth. My head fell back, and I burst into laughter. I started to tell her how proud I was, but the words were held hostage by the uncontrollable cackling shaking my entire body. I hit the table with my fist a few times, trying to get a hold of myself.
“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,” Dad said, winking at Abby.
“I didn’t know!” I said, shaking my head.
“Bullshit,” Thomas said, his eyes still dissecting my girlfriend.
“I didn’t!” I said.
“I hate to say it, bro. But I think I just fell in love with your girl,” Tyler said.
Suddenly my laughter was gone, and I frowned. “Hey, now.”
“That’s it. I was going easy on you, Abby, but I’m winning my money back, now,” Trenton warned.
I sat out the last few rounds, watching the boys try to win back their money. Hand after hand, Abby steamrolled them. She didn’t even pretend to go easy on them.
Once my brothers were broke, Dad called it a night, and Abby returned a hundred dollars to each of them, except Dad, who wouldn’t take it.
I took Abby’s hand, and we walked to the door. Watching my girlfriend de-sack my brothers was entertaining, but I was still disappointed that she returned some of their money.
She squeezed my hand. “What’s wrong?”
“You just gave away four hundred bucks, Pidge!”
“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!”