Fantasy Friday

by Annalise Wells

  “So, you are serious about this, huh?”

  I nod. “Of course I’m serious, if we pull this off, we can all walk away,” I say, holding onto a breath.

  Brent walks away and starts putting the groceries into the cupboards. “I don’t know how you manage to come up with these ideas, but you always seem to be able to pull them off.”

  “Balls. That is what it takes. Huge balls to try it.” I grin. I miss Brooke but I have to stay focused.

  “Now all you have to do is somehow find a player who can fill one of the spots,” Brent says.

  “Not just that, I have to get the money first,” I reply.

  “I am sure Mikey is going to want to get his hands on it straight away, even before you have finished.”

  “I will have to tell him there is a delay, he owes me an extra twelve hours,” I explain.

  “I will leave everything up to you. I will just concentrate on Jenny,” Brent says.

  “You know… I feel like getting out of here for an hour or two.”

  “How the hell are you going to do that with the car outside?” Brent asks.

  “What time are you going to work?” I ask.

  “I start at two,” Brent says.

  “How do you feel about having a relaxing morning at home?” I smile at him, hoping he’s keen.

  “Geez, you want to go out dressed like me?” Brent says.

  “Sure, as long as I get into the car quickly, he will never notice.”

  “You have done it again, how can I say no,” Brent answers.

  “You’re a good friend, you do know that?”

  “I am fucking gullible and stupid more like,” Brent replies.

  “I just need some of your clothes… work clothes,” I say.

  “Help yourself, I have a clean uniform in my closet.” Brent dials his work number to call in sick.

  I change into one of Brent’s uniforms and grab hold of his car keys. I peek through the window to see where Mikey’s guy is sitting.

  I open the door and walk to the car with my head down. I quickly slip inside and pull out of the parking lot. I see in the rear-view. The car has not moved, they guy must think I am still inside.

  Now, where shall I go?

  It’s still too early for any contact with Shona, and her number is on my dead cell phone that is sitting on Mikey’s desk. I can’t actually go to The Real Deal; that would be nice, but I owe a few grand to the boss there.

  I drive around. No real destination, my mind is full of thoughts about the games… and of Brooke. How will it all end?

  I head back to Brent’s apartment. For some reason, I no longer want to be outside. I prefer the comfort and solitude of his place.

  “What are you doing back so soon?” Brent asks.

  “I couldn’t think of anywhere to go,” I reply. “All the places I know are to do with poker, and if I get recognized, Mikey is going to hammer both my hands for sure,” I explain. I go to sit on the couch.

  “Hey, take my uniform off first, it’s a real bitch to iron,” Brent says.

  I remove his uniform and fold it neatly. “Are you satisfied,” I ask sarcastically.

  “Yeah, I might wear that one tomorrow,” he says frowning, knowing he lost a shift. “You do remember all the signals between us, don’t you?” Brent asks.

  “Off course, they are burned into me,” I reply.

  “Good, I don’t want to be waving my hand at you to get your attention while I am dealing,” Brent says.

  “Don’t worry about that, that’s not a problem,” I say.

  Brent looks at me from the table as he plays with a pack of cards. He cuts the pack in two and holds one to face me.

  “Ace of clubs,” he says.

  “Wrong.”

  Brent flicks the card. “Ace of clubs,” he says.

  “Correct,” I say.

  “See, that is something you can’t do,” he says smiling.

  “You should have been a magician,” I reply.

  “Hell no, everyone always watches to see how you do it. I prefer to do it, so no one knows I am doing it.”

  “Just make sure you can do it the day after tomorrow,” I reply.

  “If the worst comes to the worst, and we have no player,” Brent says, “we are going to have to cheat our asses off.”

  “I had already thought about that, but one whiff of cheating and the Russians will not be happy at all,” I reply.

  “You better think of something fast, you have only until tomorrow lunchtime to sort it all out,” Brent says.

  “Don’t keep reminding me,” I say, “I just need my cell phone.”

  “Swap it with another,” Brent says.

  “I don’t have another the same.”

  “Yes, you do,” he says.

  “Where?” I ask.

  Brent holds his phone up. “Remember you got them in that two for one sale.”

  “Fuck me, I forgot all about that,” I reply.

  “I have my old one, I only have to change the sim,” Brent replies.

  “Do it now, I will ask this guy outside to take me to the warehouse.” I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner.

  Brent removes his sim card from his phone. I take it and slip it into my pant pocket. “You just need an excuse for going so early,” Brent says.

  “That’s easy, I am going to take some clean clothes and better deodorant,” I reply.

  I put some clothes into a carrier bag. I head to the door. “Wish me luck,” I say.

  “You don’t fucken need it, you were born lucky,” Brent says. “Well, most of the time.”

  “I can give a few hundred thousand reasons why I am not lucky.”

  “I don’t have time, I have to get to work. A new shift just came up,” Brent says.

  I walk across the parking lot. I see the guy fold his newspaper as he looks at me. I stand at the side of his car and knock on the window.

  “What do you want?” he asks.

  “Take me to Mikey’s.”

  “I’m not a freakin’ taxi service,” he replies.

  “You will only follow me, so you may as well take me,” I say plainly.

  “Fucking freeloader.” He rolls his eyes. “You better get in.”

  The driver makes his way to the “office.” This is the first real step that I have in putting an idiotic plan together. I just hope Mikey is not there.

  “Sometimes it is better to have no plan, than a plan that has flaws.”

  Brooke

  “If you believe it, then it will come true.”

  I look from the car windscreen up at the hotel. There must be at least twenty floors. “This place is huge,” I say.

  “Now you can see why I have never been inside, it is quite upmarket,” Bell says.

  “I hope we are not underdressed.” I look at myself and try to act like I am, somehow… important.

  “They don’t give a rat’s ass in the casino as long as they get your money,” Bell says.

  “They shouldn’t have double standards, the two-faced bunch of crooks,” I reply.

  We step from the car and make our way to the entrance of the casino.

  “You have your phone on you?” Bell asks.

  “Yeah, it is here. I just have to turn it on,” I reply.

  The phone starts, and I hear the noise. “I have a message,” I say, excitedly.

  I look at the phone. “It’s from Alex,” I say. My heart skips a few beats.

  “What’s in his message?” Bell asks.

  I read out the words, “Hi, I am okay, battery dea…”

  “At least you know he is okay, or he was when he sent the message. Try calling him,” Bell says.

  I dial Alex’s number. “No luck, it is just dead,” I say, upset I can’t talk to him.

  “Back to plan ‘A’ then, we will find his friend,” Bell says as we walk into the casino.

  We stand at the top of the stairs. I look around and see a sea of slot machines. There are bells, whistle
s and people screaming cover the noise of falling coins. Someone won a big jackpot.

  “This is ridiculous,” I say.

  “Don’t forget, it’s just after lunch, think what it is like at night,” Bell says.

  “Where are the poker tables?” I ask.

  “At a guess, I believe they will be away from this noise. Walk toward the back.”

  We weave our way through some of the tables. All the noisier games are here. Craps, Roulette and anything else you can think of that is designed to take your money from you. We approach the back and see an archway going into another part of the casino. As we approach, I can already see card games going on.

  “Are all these poker tables?” I ask.

  “No, there will be other card games,” Bell says. “So where do we start?”

  “Let’s just stick to the poker tables. The big games,” I say. “Alex won’t play for ‘chump change’ as he calls it.”

  The tables at the back are full of older, slightly larger men, these are the games that appear to have more money on the table than the ones at the front. There has to be ten or twelve games going on, where we will have to try and speak to the dealer.

  We stand by the first table. The players give me a stare when I try and speak to the dealer. I smile apologetically and step back.

  “This is the first table, and we have no chance of speaking to the dealer,” I say.

  “There has to be a way,” Bell says.

  I look across the tables and see the sign for the restroom. That may be an option. “They have to have a restroom break or shift change,” I say.

  “We are going to look stupid standing by the restroom for hours on end,” Bell says.

  “What time is it?” I ask.

  “One forty.”

  “I wonder what their shift time is? I mean, that may be much easier… if we knew it,” I say.

  It has to be two o’clock, but I have no idea where they go to change shifts,” Bell says.

  “Wait here. I am going to walk around the side of the hotel, there must be a work entrance for the staff.” I feel determined as ever.

  “I will be by the restrooms and I’ll see if I can grab hold of one,” Bell replies.

  I walk swiftly to the casino entrance. All the things are on the left, so I turn right and walk to the end of the building. I look for a doorway as I make my way toward the far end. I see a large archway start to appear. I reach the corner and can see trucks unloading and steps that lead into the building.

  I check my watch. There should be people either entering or leaving. I stand patiently waiting. I hear voices approaching the door. I stand and watch. Damn, they are dressed as room service attendants or for work in the kitchens.

  A few people come out in green jackets. The dealers…

  I stop the first couple of staff. “Excuse me, are you from the poker tables?” I ask.

  “Sorry, we are from a different section,” they reply.

  I get the same answer until I finally get to speak to one of the poker dealers. “So, you are from the poker tables?” I ask.

  “Yeah.”

  I show him the photo of Alex. “Have you ever seen this guy?”

  “Lady, do you know how many people we see here, we can’t remember all of them,” he says.

  All the dealers have stopped exiting the building. I start to walk back to the casino. I see a guy walking toward me quickly; he is dressed in the same way.

  “Hi, are you from the poker tables?” I ask.

  “Yes, but I am late,” he says as he tries walking away from me.

  “Just quickly, have you ever seen this guy?” I ask.

  I show him the phone. He stops walking and looks at me. “Are you Brooke?” he asks.

  I step back. “How the hell do you know that?” I ask.

  “Fuck it, I am late already,” he says. “That is Alex, he is staying at my place.”

  “Is he okay, can I see him?” I ask. My heart fills with excitement.

  “There is too much to explain here. You will have to try and see him, but my place is under watch,” he says.

  “He has his phone, but it is dead,” I say.

  “I know, it is on Mikey’s desk.”

  “Who is Mikey?” I ask, confused.

  “Later. Here is my address. He will be back soon, but he will be leaving at nine.” The guy walks off.

  “Where is he going at nine?” I ask.

  “He has to play cards for Mikey.”

  “Typical,” I say.

  “It’s not what you think,” he replies.

  “Thanks, Brent,” I say.

  “How did you know my name was Brent?” he asks.

  “I have no idea, sometimes things just arrive in my head when I am close,” I reply.

  Brent looks at me and points his finger. “It’s you, you are the one. Alex really needs you,” he says. “I gotta go, sorry.”

  “Brent, thank you,” I reply. I feel so blessed, right now. I look up to thank whoever is helping me. It could be God, who knows?

  “No worries.” He runs to the staff door.

  I quickly make my way back to the casino. I see Bell standing precariously by the restroom doors. I make my way through the sea of tables and reach the clearing by the restrooms.

  “No luck, only one girl has been for a pee, and she has never heard of Alex.”

  I stand and look at Bell, excitedly. “I’ve found him, and I have the address,” I say, very obviously smiling.

  “How the hell did you do that?” Bell asks.

  “Can you believe, I asked all the dealers that came out and Alex’s friend Brent was late,” I say.

  “We better get going,” Bell says.

  “The thing is, he is under surveillance.” We walk toward the entrance.

  “Just let me worry about that,” Bell says.

  “How will you deal with it?” I ask, puzzled.

  Bell cups her breasts. “They have never let me down yet,” she says giggling.

  “Just keep him busy, I have to get in the door,” I reply.

  We get to Bell’s car and head to the address that Brent gave me. I see the car from the street as Bell drives into the apartment parking space next door. We get out of the car and Bell removes her jacket. She pulls off her t-shirt. She stands in front of me.

  “How do I look?” she asks.

  “Lose the bra.”

  Bell slips her bra from under her t-shirt. She gives her nipples a couple of quick tweaks and walks toward the guy sitting in the car. I see her knocking on his side window. She leans on the door and sticks her breasts forward.

  I walk down the walkway. I check the apartment numbers. I stop and look over my shoulder. I stand by Brent’s door.

  I feel my cell phone vibrating in my pocket. I pull out my cell phone. Alex’s name is on the screen. I answer.

  “Hi, it’s me,” he says.

  “Alex?” I say.

  “What?” he answers.

  “Open the damned apartment door, quickly.”

  “If you believe it, then it will come true.”

  Alex

  “Getting what you want, can take a significant amount of sacrifice.”

  I stand to look at Brooke with my phone held firmly to my ear.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask.

  “Alex?” Brooke says.

  “What?”

  “You can put the phone down now,” she replies. I roll my eyes and then I feel a wide smile coming over my face. I giggle as I cancel the call and put the phone on the table.

  “Am I dreaming, or is this really you?” I ask.

  “It is me, I am really here,” she says.

  “How? When? Why?” I say.

  “Conor told me you had been taken, so I got the first flight here,” Brooke says.

  “So where have you been all this time?”

  “I have been looking for your sorry ass,” Brooke comments, looking glad to see me.

  “I know, but where have you
been staying?”

  “A friend of Ty and Joseph’s, she is really cool,” Brooke says.

  “At least she has taken you under her wing,” I say.

  I smile at Brooke. I step back and shake my head. I can’t believe she has come all this way looking for me. That is quite remarkable. I pull Brooke closer and wrap my arms around her and hold her tight.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here,” Brooke says.

  I push back slightly and look into her eyes. “I can’t leave yet. I have a debt to settle,” I say.

  “You think playing cards will solve it?” she asks.

  I lift my hand with the blackened fingers. “No, but it will stop this happening again,” I say.

  “Dear God, how did they do that?”

  “A hammer.”

  “That is bad, really bad,” she says. Her eyes fill up with tears.

  “I know, that’s why I have two more games to play, and I have to win against the Russian mob,” I explain.

  “The hole just gets deeper,” Brooke says.

  I sit Brooke on the couch. “I have a plan. I have to lose the last hand of the last game,” I say.

  “How are you going to do that?” Brooke asks.

  “Brent has fixed it for him to be the dealer. All I have to do is get the money from Beau as the stake and find someone who can play cards a little,” I say.

  “And who can do that?” Brooke asks.

  “I am still working on that,” I say.

  “You are leaving it a bit late.” Brooke holds my hand.

  “Let’s just forget about all that for a while,” I say. “I have missed you so much.”

  I lean closer to Brooke and kiss her passionately. I feel her instantly melt into my arms. I brush her long dark hair from her face and push it over her shoulder. I stand up from the couch and lock the door.

  I turn and offer Brooke my other hand. She gets to her feet, and I take hold of her t-shirt. I gasp as she raises her arms over her head. I drop her shirt to the floor. I look down and fumble with the button of her jeans and slowly pull the zipper open.

  Brook trembles as I pull her jeans over her perfectly formed ass. She kicks off her jeans and stands there, purely and innocently, just for me. I open my shirt and throw it on the couch.

  I slip from my pants and my shorts as Brooke removes her bra and her panties. I lead her to the bed. Brooke lays back and rests her head on one of the pillows. Her blue eyes fix on mine as I run my tongue and kiss up her slender legs.