At dinner, they talked about Marcus's childhood. She was amazed to hear he'd lived with five different foster families, four for a short time and one for longer. The family he'd stayed with the longest consisted of a husband and wife who had three children of their own. They were both doctors and wanted to do good, so they'd fostered Marcus. It had been their influence that had steered him in the direction of medicine. They'd supported him through med school, but he'd paid them back when the money started coming in. He also told Tonya that he'd been engaged, but it hadn't worked out. Apparently his fiancée had decided he wasn't the one, three days before the wedding. He called it a lucky escape. She was impressed when he told her he liked animals and ran a home for misused dogs and cats.
Tonya told him about her idyllic childhood and then about the death of her father and how that had devastated her mother. She was certain the shock had led to all the illnesses she now had. She told him she was studying part time for a degree in management, but she was finding it difficult to concentrate because of her mother's cancer. She told him she had a best friend named Lucy, and that it was Lucy who had persuaded her to say yes to his offer.
“She's a very perceptive woman,” he said.
“I don't know why you think that. She's put me in danger.”
“In danger of what?”
“Becoming involved with a dirty rotten schemer.”
The restaurant was full, and Marcus hoped nobody had heard her. “I'm not that,” he lied.
“We'll see,” she said.
After dinner, they hit the tables. Marcus gave Tonya five hundred dollars. She was tempted to put it in her pocket and use it for her mother’s bills, but he told her to spend it on the casino or give it back to him. She put it in her purse and decided to watch Marcus to see what he did. He played blackjack and lost, and then he went to the roulette wheel and lost again.
All the time they kept looking at each other. They were like two boxers eyeing one another up, neither wanting to make a mistake that would lead to the knockout blow.
Tonya decided that if she split her five hundred into smaller amounts, she could play longer. When she put one hundred on black at the roulette wheel and won, she jumped in the air and looked at Marcus.
“Easy, this game, isn't it?” she said. He smiled and put his arms around her as they leaned against the table.
It was the first time he'd touched her. They were supposed to touch as girlfriend and boyfriend, and she decided to reciprocate. She held his hand as she put her next one hundred on black again. She won again. She turned and put her arms around his neck in excitement. The scent of her young virile body made his manhood twitch and begin to harden. He pushed himself up against the table to hide what was happening between his legs.
“Well done. Now increase your bet,” he said. “You've got seven hundred now.”
“Fuck it,” she said. She put seven hundred on black and walked away. It wasn't her money anyway. She got five meters away from the table when she heard Marcus laughing.
“Come back; you're rich. You've just doubled your money.
She took the chips he handed her and looked at him. It was a strange feeling to have won in a few minutes what it took a week to earn at the office.
“I want to cash in now. I need the money.”
“Okay.”
She swapped her chips for cash and handed Marcus his five hundred back. She proudly put nine hundred dollars in her purse.
They left the casino and headed for the elevator. When they reached the third floor, they walked toward their rooms. At her door, Marcus looked longingly at her. Her body was teasing him. All evening he'd been mesmerized by her beauty, and now he wanted to explore her, discover her secrets and deflower her in the most energetic way possible.
“Good night, Marcus,” she said.
“I don't suppose you've changed your mind?” he said, nodding in the direction of her room.
“No. It was a lovely evening, but I haven't.”
When Marcus got to his room, he was sexually charged. He thought about watching a porno, but it wasn't the sight of any old female flesh he wanted. He wanted to see Tonya's beautiful body. The only option left to him was a lonely masturbation session in the shower. He imagined Tonya in a number of sex positions, coming time after time as he thrust into her. His orgasm came quickly but didn't satisfy his desire in any meaningful way.
Tonya dreamed about winning enough money in the casino for her to pay off her debts. Just before she woke up, however, her dream turned to Marcus. When she woke, she was devastated to realize she was out of breath and her womanhood was aroused. No, she wasn't falling for him. It was just the excitement of wining money that had turned her on, she told herself.
The next day, they played in the casino and then went for a walk along the strip. As they walked, they held hands.
“What do you feel?” he asked.
“In what way?”
“About me. We've been holding hands for a while now.”
She thought for a minute. “I like you, but you're still a blackmailer.”
“I like you too. I'm sorry. I regret what I did to you. It wasn't gentlemanly of me at all. You don't have to be my girlfriend anymore. I'll give you the money as a gift.” It was a tactic that he hoped would work. If he politely rejected her, she would want him more, and before they had to go home she would open her legs for him.