Morgan tilted her head, considering. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess I have a bit of cool in me, too.”
“And, Sydney, you’re raising a daughter, who you show every day by example that you can have anything you want if you work hard enough. That’s as badass as it gets.”
Sydney stared at her, gratitude gleaming in her green eyes. “Thanks. Sometimes I really need to hear that.”
Morgan grabbed her friend’s hand and squeezed. “Not supposed to be easy, is it? At times I feel like women have all this stuff inside that trips us up, more than men. Thoughts and emotions and worries. Expectations and analysis. It’s exhausting.”
“Men are so much simpler,” Sydney agreed with a sigh. “Food. Beer. Money. Work. Sex. That’s it.”
“I know. But then after I met Cal, something shifted inside me, and all that junk rotating in my head became less important.” Morgan’s face softened, and her eyes glowed with a light that made Raven’s heart ache. “It was almost like, because he loved me, he took on half of the load, giving me this beautiful air and space inside I never had before.” She bit her lip. “Sorry, it’s silly.”
Raven smiled. “No, I think it’s . . . nice.”
“Me too,” Sydney said. “The only time I ever felt like that was with—” She broke off, as if realizing the name she was about to drop like a nuclear bomb.
“With . . . ?” Morgan prodded.
A flush hit her cheeks. She waved a hand in the air. “Nobody. Not important. Someone I loved when I was very young and very naive.”
Raven wanted to ask more questions, but she respected Sydney’s secrets like her own. Some things weren’t meant to be shared.
The door swung open, and a trail of women came through, giggling and excited about a night out for themselves. Raven set everyone up with drinks, noting that the key lime martinis were the most requested, and led them over to the tables. She dispersed chips, completed a round of introductions, and gave everyone cheat sheets to begin.
Most of the women had played some form of cards before, so it was easier than Raven thought. Within an hour, they were able to play a decent game with a big enough pot to get interesting.
Morgan threw a chip in the pot, her face cool and politely distant. She was definitely the best bluffer in the group. “I’ll raise a dollar.”
Susan, a sweet, doe-eyed pastry chef, batted her lashes like she was flirting. “I think you’re bluffing,” she announced. Her silver bracelets jangled as she threw a bunch of chips in the pot. “I raise five dollars.”
A hush fell upon the table. It was the biggest raise of the night. Sydney quickly threw her cards in. “I fold.”
Victoria stared at her cards, then back and forth between Susan and Morgan. She was a young blonde with animated gestures and seemed to have trouble keeping still. “I’m in. Five to stay.”
Two more dropped out, including Raven, and there was another raise. When it came back to Morgan, a strange expression gleamed in her eyes. Almost like a predator sensing prey.
Uh-oh.
With a sharklike smile, she pushed all her chips into the center of the table. “All in.”
The group broke into excited chatter and gasps.
“You can’t do that!” Susan said. “Can she?”
Raven nodded. “Since someone else raised, she could either meet the raise or raise again herself. We didn’t put a limit on the raise, just the ante. So, yes, she can do that. But Morgan has fifteen left, and you only have ten, so you’d need five more to stay in.”
“Fine. I’m all in, too.” She pushed her chips into the center and turned to her friend Lindsey. “I need to borrow five dollars.”
“Done,” Lindsey said.
“Umm, guys, why don’t we agree we’ve reached our limit at fifteen and everyone show their cards?” Raven suggested.
The quietest woman in the group—the librarian, for goodness’ sake—practically stood up to make her announcement. “I raise by fifty dollars!”
And then it became a bloodbath.
The rush of adrenaline combined with key lime martinis turned them feral. Victoria grabbed more money from her purse, buying more chips, and friends borrowed from friends. Morgan shoved her hundred-dollar bill at Raven with the mad expression of a gambler on track to win a big pot. Voices raised in a fury, and when Raven finally halted the madness, there was five hundred dollars in the pot and almost all the chips were gone from her stash.
She’d have to buy more chips. She had seriously underestimated her students.
Tension settled over the group. Cards were gripped with deathly tightness, drinks drained, and everyone stared at the colorful pile of chips in the center of the happy red table.
Raven cleared her throat. “Susan, you go first, since you were the last to raise. Show your cards.”
“Three of a kind. Jacks.”