Take a Chance

by Shelley Shepard Gray

  Campbell waved a hand. “I think Ian might even be there.”

  “Wait a minute. Ian, like Ian the basketball coach?”

  Slumping back against the cushions, she nodded. “Yep. Even Ian.”

  “That’s not very fair. Ian’s a nice guy. I bet he’s getting along great with Kurt and Troy and the other guys.”

  “I bet he’s having an awesome time, Emily.” Bitterness oozed through every word.

  “I’m sorry, but you’ve lost me. What’s the problem?”

  “The problem is that our idea of fun is sitting home—or going to hot yoga,” Campbell complained. “But the guys are having a party in Kurt’s garage.”

  “Uh, they’re playing poker,” Emily corrected her. “They’re sitting in a garage. They’re drinking beer, eating crap, and no doubt talking about sports and who-knows-what-else.”

  “I drink beer. I’ve seen Kurt Holland’s garage and I kind of liked it. And I’ve eaten plenty of crap right here by myself.”

  “So, what are you saying? That we need to learn how to play poker and start our own club?” Emily tried not to sound too appalled, but she kind of was.

  “I already know how to play poker.” She paused, then said, “And what I’m trying to say is that we should go over there tonight.”

  “You want to crash poker night.” She was kind of flabbergasted. But, strangely, not completely.

  “I don’t want to crash as much as join in,” Campbell said. After pressing one fingertip to a couple of her toenails, she said, “Why couldn’t we do that?”

  There were about a dozen reasons that came to mind right away. The first and foremost being the most obvious one. “We’re not men.”

  “I know that. But before you get all excited, remind me what the name of this poker club is.”

  “The Bridgeport Social Club.”

  “So, it’s not the Bridgeport Men’s Social Club?”

  “No. But that doesn’t really matter. It’s understood.”

  “If we go, do you think the guys will kick us out?”

  “Maybe not exactly. But they might not be happy about it.”

  Campbell was on her feet now. “I’ve only had a half a glass of wine. You’ve had even less. We can drive over there, no problem.” She looked over Emily’s outfit with a critical eye. “How soon can you be ready?”

  “I’m in yoga pants and a tank top.”

  “You can borrow a shirt to put over it and you’ll be great.” Already walking to her bedroom, she said, “Come on in and pick out something to wear. I’m going to put on a pair of jeans.”

  “Can we just point out that I never said I would actually go?”

  “You’re not going to make me go by myself, are you?”

  Emily barely stifled her groan. “No, but if my boyfriend gets mad at us, this is all your fault.”

  Campbell’s eyes shone, accompanied by a very happy smile. “Understood.”

  Reaching into Campbell’s closet, she pulled out one of her friend’s favorite navy linen shirts and slipped it on. “Give me five minutes to fix my hair and face. And brush my teeth.”

  “This will be fun. You’ll see.”

  All Emily could think about was Kurt’s reaction. She really hoped he didn’t break up with her over this. Because she had a feeling it was a foregone conclusion that it wasn’t going to end well.

  ***

  “Girls are here,” Ace said as he walked toward Kurt. “And one of them is your girl. Did you invite her?”

  Kurt turned away from the grill, where he’d been grilling a mess of hot dogs for all the guys.

  They’d gotten off to a slow start, given that another three guys had shown up, which meant they needed to get out a second table and carry in the chairs from the back of his hall closet. Then, of course, had been the forty-dollar buy-in. Troy had taken over that job, and he was collecting the money, writing down a record of everyone’s name, and passing out chips.

  Given all that, Kurt was a little bit distracted. Okay, a whole lot distracted. And that was why he was pretty sure he had misunderstood Ace. “Say again?”

  “You heard me. I just went out to the courtyard to pour myself a beer when Emily and some pretty teacher friend of hers showed up.” He scowled. “What’s going on with you? Your girl is real nice and all, but no one wants to play poker with girls.”

  “I didn’t invite her.”

  “They’re acting like it. They went right over to Troy with cash in their hands, man.”

  He was fairly certain this new development wasn’t about to end well. Tossing the tongs to Ace, he said, “Here. Deal with the dogs.”

  “They’re done. Where’s a plate?”

  Kurt waved a hand. “Over there somewhere. Figure it out.” Before Ace could both complain and ask another question at the same time, he went into the garage.

  And, sure enough, there were Emily and Campbell. Each had a red solo cup and forty dollars in their hands, and were wearing skin-tight yoga pants, of all things. And Em was even wearing a black tank top, too. Sure, she was wearing some kind of loose shirt over it … but it wasn’t good. She looked way too hot.

  He’d just caught Brenden’s neighbor checking her out. Next thing they knew, the guy was going to saunter over and try to offer her poker tips.

  Honestly, this was why guys played poker on their own. It wasn’t because they didn’t think women were good at cards. It wasn’t because they thought they didn’t want to lose to a woman.

  It was because girls like Emily Springer were a distraction.

  Fuming, he strode to her side. “What are you doing here, Emily?”

  That dazzling smile faded. “Well, um, Campbell and I were thinking maybe we’d join in the game tonight.”

  Ignoring all the other men’s interested stares, he wrapped a hand around her elbow and pulled her to one side. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

  Hurt flashed in her eyes. “You don’t want me here?”

  No. No, he did not. But not for the reasons she had obviously jumped to. He leaned closer. “Baby, it’s not that I don’t want you here, it’s that it’s kind of a guys’ night. They’re going to be crass and do all kinds of gross guy things that men do when women aren’t around. I promise, you aren’t going to want to witness it.”

  But instead of taking the hint, she giggled. “I have a brother, Kurt. I teach high school. Believe it or not, I’ve witnessed my fair share of icky male behavior. I’ll be fine.”

  Now what? He scanned the room, looking for her brother and brother-in-law for help. But instead of marching over to lend a hand, Emily’s brother just was standing off to the side grinning at him.

  “We’ve got to get started, Kurt,” Troy said.

  Campbell looked around the room. “Any special place you want me?”

  This was getting out of hand. Kurt inhaled. “Actually, I don’t think y’all should stay.”

  “Why not?” Campbell asked.

  It was obvious Campbell had entered with an attitude and intended to put any dissenters firmly in their place.

  Pulling out the last of his patience, he attempted to scoot them out unobtrusively one last time. “Because—”

  But before he could finish that thought, Campbell drove on through, like a freight train running in the middle of the night. She held up a yellow plastic cup that Troy had ordered and given to him the other day. bridgeport social club was printed in bold letters on the sides. Below that was a drawing of a deck of cards. Kurt had thought they were awesome.

  Until this minute.

  “See,” Campbell said, pointing at the words with a red painted nail. “It doesn’t say Men’s Social Club, does it?”

  “No. It doesn’t. But it’s understood.”

  “Not to me.”

  Now he was getting irritated. �
�Listen—”

  Emily raised her eyebrows. “Listen?”

  He realized right then and there he needed to pull it together. “Sorry. What I’m trying to say is—”

  “Oh, let them stay,” the guy who’d been ogling Emily called out. “I can take their money as easy as any of you guys’.” Looking around the room, the guy grinned broadly. “Besides, I’d rather look at them than at the rest of you idiots.”

  A couple of men even clapped.

  Crap.

  Which was exactly why Kurt didn’t want them to stay.

  Looking into Emily’s eyes, he realized that he really had no choice. If he pushed the fact that he didn’t want her there, things were going to end badly with him.

  And as much as he liked the Bridgeport Social Club, the club with the understood “men,” he liked his relationship with Emily better. He waved a hand. “Have a seat anywhere you like,” he said. “And good luck.”

  She smiled brightly. “Thanks, Kurt.”

  “Just, ah, be careful, okay?”

  “Don’t worry about me. Just worry about your chips, cause I’m about to take them all.”

  When some of the other guys moaned, Brenden grinned. “Sorry I didn’t warn you about this earlier, Holland. But my sister? Well, she really hates to lose.”

  She lifted her chin. “You ready?”

  “Absolutely.” Raising his voice, he said, “Tonight’s tournament will start in two minutes. Clock is on.”

  They were going forward, whether anyone was ready or not. Huh. Felt a lot like life.

  CHAPTER 35

  FROM LES LARKE’S

  TIPS FOR BEGINNING POKER PLAYERS:

  It’s always good idea to play with new players from time to time. Don’t get in a rut.

  Emily might have eaten nails before admitting it out loud, but after about an hour of play, she was secretly thinking that Kurt had been right. These men were gross. And yes, her brother and Chris were included in this assessment.

  Some of them were sore losers, too. When she’d raised the bet and won the hand while bluffing on a pair of twos, one of the men had thrown down his cards and muttered something under his breath that was really not nice.

  Usually, she would have pulled out a bucket of five-star words and put him in his place. But tonight? Sitting at a table in Kurt’s garage? It felt like any comment she made would be misconstrued.

  While she was waiting to be dealt the next hand, she began devising ways to get herself out of there. Unfortunately, Campbell, who the men had made sit at a different table, was lit up like a Christmas tree and didn’t seem to be having any reservations at all about staying as long as she could.

  “What are you going to do, Em?” Troy asked.

  “Hmm?” Belatedly she realized she’d let her mind drift. She had a four of hearts and seven of spades. “Fold.”

  Kurt met her gaze. She smiled, then sat back, drinking her water bottle while the rest of the men played around her.

  Two hands later, she was out. Three hands after that, so was Kurt.

  While some guys were eating cheese coneys that someone’s kid had brought over from Skyline, Kurt looked pleased to be standing next to her.

  “How you doing?” he murmured. “Are you mad at me?”

  “For not wanting me at your boys’ night?” She shook her head. “No.” Lowering her voice, she said, “I’ll deny this until my last breath, but I would have had more fun watching old movies and drinking wine.”

  Relief entered his eyes. “I promise, it’s not that I don’t like you.”

  “I get it. You just don’t want me here. I’m not upset.”

  When one of the guys got a straight flush, he cheered. A couple of guys around him made good-natured comments. Some of the talk got even louder.

  Kurt leaned close. “Step outside with me?”

  Her eyes widened. “Is that allowed?”

  “Yeah.” Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he guided her out the door and into the cooler air. Street lights, combined with the lights shining from the garage door illuminated Em’s face enough that he felt like he could read her pretty well.

  Her expression was easy, but she looked relieved. “It’s certainly quieter out here.”

  “Yeah, it is.”

  Just that moment, he heard a rustling in the bushes on the side of the house. Afraid that it wasn’t a stray cat but one of the guys who didn’t feel like running into his house to pee, he steered her the opposite direction, toward the small park that was at the end of his block.

  Emily walked by his side. Halfway there, she wrapped an arm around his waist and stuck a finger in his belt loop. He liked that. Liked that a lot.

  “You know, I’ve passed this park all my life, but I’ve never actually stepped foot in it. It’s nice.”

  “When we first moved here, Sam was disappointed that there weren’t basketball courts and stuff, but now I think he likes it. I might be wrong, but I’m pretty sure he’s taken Kayla here once or twice.”

  She smiled. “And now you’re taking me. I guess you brothers aren’t as different as you’d like to believe.”

  It was on the tip of his tongue to point out that he hadn’t brought Emily there to make out. But, seeing the way she was looking up at him? Well, obviously he wouldn’t be opposed to do a little teenaged necking there.

  If the timing was right.

  If he ever got the nerve to actually talk to her about his feelings.

  She sat down on the top of the metal picnic table. “Kurt, what’s on your mind?”

  He sat down next to her. “A lot. Sam. The poker game. Work. But mainly you.”

  “What about me?”

  “Meeting you, getting to know you … dating you, well, it’s been pretty unexpected. I didn’t count on getting in a relationship when I moved here. Then there’s the fact that you’ve got everything together. You have a nice place. A good family who you are close to. A good job. Multiple degrees. You’ve done so much with your life, Emily. While I … well, I’m still trying to figure things out.”

  “I think you realize by now that I’ve got plenty of things that I’m struggling with, too.”

  “Look at tonight. Based on what you told me, you would have never gotten out of your comfort zone six months ago.”

  She brightened. “You’re right. I wouldn’t have.” She leaned into him. “Kurt, I’ll tell you this over and over, until you don’t need me to say it anymore. But I don’t care that we have different backgrounds. I don’t want a man who is just like me.”

  “Do you want a man who will appreciate you? Who wants to take care of you?”

  “I do. If you’ll let me do the same for you.”

  “I guess we have a plan then.” He shifted so he could pull her into his arms.

  When she leaned closer, he smiled slightly before at last taking her lips. Once again, he was struck by how soft they were. How soft her skin was. On her cheeks, on the small of her back where he’d just tucked his hand under her shirt.

  He ran his fingers along the indention of her spine. Then flattened his palm so he could press her closer.

  She moved toward him easily. Eagerly. Opened her lips. He gently bit on her bottom lip before deepening the kiss.

  And then it continued.

  Before long, their breathing turned ragged, and an ache had formed inside of him. He wanted her closer. Just as he wrapped both of his hands around her waist, intending to lift her so she could straddle his lap, a car drove by.

  The lights shined on them and it honked, followed by laughter.

  Emily pulled back with a start. “Oh, my word! We just got caught making out on a public picnic table.”

  Finally releasing her, he got to his feet and held out his hand so she could do the same. “Yeah, next time we should probably choose someplace more pr
ivate.”

  “I’ll remember that. But for now, I better go see how Campbell is doing. If she’s done, then we’ll get on home.”

  “Sounds good. Want to come over in the afternoon? I’m going to be pretty busy in the morning, cleaning up.”

  “I’ve got church, and then lunch with my family. How does four o’clock sound?”

  “I have a better idea. How about I go to church with you.”

  Her eyes widened. “You would want to?”

  “Yeah. I would. I want to know all of you, Emily. I want to hang out with you in the evenings, volunteer in the park when I can, make out with you on picnic tables … and worship by your side.”

  She smiled, then bit her lip. “My mother is going to want to invite you over for lunch. Sam, too.”

  He smiled. “It sounds perfect, Emily. Better than that.”

  They held hands back to his garage. When they arrived, the poker game was still going strong. He looked along a side wall, sure to find Campbell frantically texting Emily to see where she was … but instead she was one of the last players still playing.

  “Uh oh,” Emily said. “I think you’re stuck with us for a little while longer.”

  “Don’t you worry about a thing, Em,” Troy said as he approached. “That girlfriend of yours is taking everyone’s money hand over fist. She smiles, bats a couple of eyelashes, then goes for the kill.”

  “Campbell really likes playing poker.”

  “I think we all figured that out,” he said dryly.

  CHAPTER 36

  FROM LES LARKE’S

  TIPS FOR BEGINNING POKER PLAYERS:

  Take winning or losing like a man. Recognize that poker is full of life lessons. If last night’s game gave you lemons, deal with it.

  It was the next morning. Early. Way too early. Eight forty-five. The poker game the night before had gone late into the night. To Emily’s amusement and Campbell’s pleasure, Campbell had come in third.

  After they’d left, the other guys had, too. After kind of half-heartedly offering to help Kurt clean up, Ace had stumbled upstairs. Kurt had thrown out a load of trash then turned off the light and fell asleep on the couch.