The Christmas Gamble

by Sienna Ciles

  I sat up and looked at the clock on the wall over the fireplace. It had only been about twenty minutes. Maybe Dean was still in the hotel?

  Chapter Eight

  Dean

  When Kayla left to go claim the room I’d lost to her, I sat at the table for a few more minutes, at a bit of a loss for what to do with myself. The hotel was just about full when I’d arrived, and I had no real doubts that it was completely full after so much time had passed. Kayla had been in the position she had because none of the other hotels close by had any vacancies.

  “Can I borrow your phone for a moment?”

  The dealer nodded and took it out from under the table, handing it to me. I called up to the front desk and the same guy who’d checked me in an hour or two earlier answered.

  “How can I help you, sir?”

  “I know you’re probably sold out of rooms,” I began. “But I was wondering if there was any way I could offer a cash reward for a place to stay here tonight. Maybe you could call around to a few rooms and see if they’d be willing to accept twice the price for their accommodations in exchange?”

  The silence on the other end of the line made me wonder if I had suddenly become that guy: the rich asshole who thinks money will take care of everything. I’d been wealthy enough to discover that money could take care of a lot but it didn’t make an excuse for forgetting people’s basic dignity.

  “I don’t know that anyone will take you up on that, with the weather being what it is,” the front desk man said. “I can ask, of course I’d be happy to, but I don’t want to get your hopes up, sir.”

  “Ask around, and I’ll see if I can make other accommodations for myself,” I told the man.

  “I mean, if you wanted to reclaim the room you signed over, the hotel would back you. It is your name on the card paying for the room,” the front desk man said doubtfully.

  “No, it’s fine. I lost fair and square, and I never go back on my debts,” I said. I finished up with him and tried to think of what else I could do. If nothing else, the private jet I’d rented for the trip to Montauk was probably in a hangar, and it was comfortable enough to spend a night in—it was designed for long-haul flights and large parties, and there was a bed in the back area. It wouldn’t be as nice as the hotel room but it would be warm, and I could serve myself from the galleys and maybe even get a quick shower in the morning.

  I moved back to the bar and tried to make a few calls. Normally, I’d get my assistant to take care of it but it was late and he deserved to have some uninterrupted family time. But just like Kayla had discovered, it was impossible to get a room in the city. Apparently, the people who’d been turned away from the hotels close to the airport had moved on to other parts of the city, and while the jet would be less comfortable than some of the hotels that I’d called, it was definitely better to be there than to be in a skid-row roach motel.

  I was just about to get myself an Uber to take me back to the airport when I heard my name. “Dean? Dean Pearson?” I looked up to see Kayla come into the bar, making a beeline to me.

  “Something wrong with the room? They told me it would be ready,” I said. It was hard not to almost resent her for the fact that she’d just skipped off to my room without even really thanking me for making the wager but I had to admit that in her shoes I might have done the same. Besides, I’d made the bet, and I’d lost it. That wasn’t on her.

  “I was just thinking,” Kayla said slowly, as she came to a stop at the table I’d taken. “We kind of ended that game pretty abruptly. And I’m bored, so I wondered if you might not want to go up against me one more time?”

  “Feeling lucky, are we?” I sat back in my chair and couldn’t help the way I found myself responding to Kayla’s reappearance. She was just as lovely as she’d been when I’d first seen her, and the color in her cheeks was endearing. It made her look younger than she was, and I didn’t think it had anything to do with anger or irritation this time.

  “I wanted to propose a deal, since you were so gracious about your wager with me.” Her tongue darted out over her lips and for just an instant I felt a flash of heat work through my body. She had no idea how intensely sexy she was, doing that; I was convinced of it.

  “Name your terms,” I said.

  “We play again, best of ten hands,” Kayla said. “If you win, we share the room, and I spend the time before I have to go to my family with you.” I raised an eyebrow at that. “If I win, you give me the five hundred of your bankroll, and I keep the room.”

  I couldn’t help but grin at that. “That seems fair. With five hundred, you could afford to get pampered from head to toe before you go see your parents.”

  Kayla half-shrugged and smiled at me with a little bit of heat in her eyes. If nothing else, it would give me some more time with her. It would, if nothing else, get us both in better spirits for the holiday.

  “What do you say? You willing to take the risk?” I pressed my lips together and gestured for the waitress to bring us one more drink.

  “I think it’s worth it,” I said. “Worst case scenario, I’m only really out another five hundred.” I ordered us both drinks—another seven-and-seven for me, and another cosmo for Kayla.

  We went back into the casino as soon as I paid, and I went to the same dealer we’d been working with before. Kayla looked even better when she wasn’t weighed down with her luggage, and I got a better view of her curvy body, but it wasn’t just about her being hot. I thought she was unlike anyone I’d been with in the past five years or better, and certainly unlike the last woman I’d been with, who’d been more interested in what I could buy her than in what or who I was. As we sat down at the table, I was already thinking of how to make things go my way, how to get Kayla to agree—somehow, willingly of course—to stay with me.

  “We’re back, my man,” I told the dealer. “Think you can get us the same deal on renting the table for about an hour or so?”

  The man nodded. “Absolutely. I think the hotel would be happy to accommodate you. Give me just a moment to check with my boss.” He closed down the table, and Kayla and I sipped our drinks as we waited for him to get back. It was close to midnight, and more people had come from their rooms, the bar, and other parts of the resort to mingle and to enjoy a little gambling, making the whole scene livelier.

  “So, you were feeling a bit lonely in that big room all by yourself, I take it,” I said, settling into my seat.

  Kayla shrugged and settled in her seat, sipping her cosmo. “I was feeling a little bored after all the excitement.”

  “It’s a pretty big room,” I pointed out. “Lots of amenities.”

  “Which is why I’m comfortable risking you winning and being able to share it with me,” Kayla countered.

  I smiled to myself. “You were willing to risk it before,” I said.

  “Then it was because I was desperate for somewhere to stay that wasn’t the airport,” Kayla said. “I mean, no offense to you or anything. I think you’re pretty nice.”

  I laughed. “I’m better than a little nice.”

  “What I mean is that before I was willing to gamble on it because I had nothing to lose. Now… I feel like maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to share a room. Especially since there are separate bedrooms and bathrooms.”

  I nodded. I had figured at least that there would be a separate master bedroom for the suite, and maybe a bed in the main area, but it was clearly even better than I’d anticipated. I couldn’t entirely regret gambling the room but I definitely wanted to be able to share it.

  The dealer came back with his boss a couple of steps behind him. “I understand the two of you want to rent this table again for playing against each other?”

  I nodded. “I’d be happy to pay whatever rate you’d like for the courtesy. This beautiful woman and I have a wager on the room I’m paying for here.” I explained the terms, and the boss looked a little taken aback but I had to believe it wasn’t the strangest bet he’d ever heard of.

>   “If you’re willing to pay a hundred dollars, and you don’t mind allowing people to come and go and watch, then we’re all set,” the boss said.

  I could see why the rate had gone up from before: there were people who were waiting already at a little distance from the table.

  “I’m happy to pay it,” I said. I handed the man a hundred-dollar bill, and turned to the dealer and gave him another twenty. I was running out of cash but there was an ATM in the casino. There would be no problem getting more later if I needed it.

  “Let’s get down to playing then, shall we?” The dealer opened his station back up and ran the cards through the shuffler, looking from me to Kayla. “We’re playing for points this time, you said? Best of ten?”

  I nodded, my heart already starting to beat faster in my chest. I definitely wanted to win this time, and I was going to throw everything I could into making sure that I did. It wasn’t even the five hundred I was worried about or staying in my rented jet for the night. I really, truly wanted an excuse to spend more time with Kayla, and I was pretty sure she wasn’t against the idea of spending more time with me, or she wouldn’t have proposed the wager at all. I wanted to get that chance.

  “All right, this will be the first hand,” the dealer said. He took a pad of paper out from under his station, and took a pen out of his chest pocket, and I set my chips out on the table. I took a sip of my drink and got myself as psyched up as I could. If I could just win six in a row, everything would be settled.

  Chapter Nine

  Kayla

  This time, when I started playing, I wasn’t distracted by thoughts of Brandon or by the worry about what would happen to me if I lost. No matter how things ended up in this round of hands, I was guaranteed a place to stay. It was just a question of how that stay would play out: if it was just me alone, with a pocket full of cash, or me with Dean.

  So, when the dealer put the first hand down, I was all business but completely at ease. I threw in a couple of chips to open the betting and looked over at Dean. He was looking pretty confident as well, and I thought—I hoped—this would prove to be an interesting way to pass maybe an hour of time, as well as a way to maybe end up not being all by myself while I waited to go home to my family.

  “You’re looking a little livelier this time,” Dean commented as he tossed his chips in and the dealer gave us our second cards. I signaled that I would hit—I had a soft fourteen, it was a good wager—and Dean, with a king facing up, decided to stay.

  “I’m feeling a bit more on top of my game, with the stakes so low,” I countered. I got the five of hearts, bringing me up to a soft nineteen, so I stayed.

  “Nineteen to eighteen,” the dealer announced. He noted our scores: one win for me, and I grinned.

  “Not a bad start this time,” Dean pointed out, as I took the chips from the pot and put them back in my pile.

  “Don’t sound so sore,” I told him playfully.

  “Not sore, just interested,” Dean countered. There were more people in the casino than there had been after I’d left about thirty minutes before, and a few of them started to watch the table. I knew I shouldn’t be surprised, since the game between Dean and I was fairly unique, but it gave me a little thrill, thinking that I might beat the pants off of this rich fish in front of a crowd.

  I won hand two, lost hand three and four, and we were dead even. “What happens if we end up with five and five?”

  I shrugged off Dean’s question. “We go to fifteen.”

  Dean chuckled, and the dealer gave us our cards for the fifth hand.

  “You really want a decisive win, don’t you?”

  I felt my cheeks warming up with a blush but I tried to play it off. “Well, what did you want to suggest, if we somehow end up in a dead heat?” I glanced at him. For someone who might not have the most comfortable of accommodations that night if he didn’t win, he was looking pretty pleased with himself, and I had to admit that I wasn’t entirely sure that I could bring myself to keep the room all to myself even if I won outright. I’d take his money—I would have earned it—but it would make me feel bad to take the room, too, especially when there was so much space.

  “If we break even, then how about this: I get to share the room, you get to keep my pot,” Dean suggested. I had to admit that it was definitely the more neutral solution, rather than to keep playing. Of course, best of fifteen would mean that one of us would be the actual, decisive winner.

  “I’ll think about it if we hit that wall,” I said.

  A couple more people started to gather around watching us, and I was still on fire: I took a risk on hitting a hard sixteen and came out exactly at twenty-one but Dean got an Ace-King twenty-one the same hand, so we ended up even.

  “You’re playing really well this time. What, did you look up something online about strategy?”

  I rolled my eyes at Dean’s baiting comment. “Actually, I have a confession to make.” It had been weighing on me for a while: not telling Dean the whole truth about the situation, and why I’d been willing to take the chance on winning his room.

  “What’s that?”

  I threw my chips into the pot and the dealer put our second cards down. I’d come up at eighteen—I needed to stay. There was almost no chance to hit without busting.

  “I play semi-professionally,” I said, glancing at Dean again. “I mean, I have a day job but I’ve been in a few tournaments and competitions.”

  Dean’s eyes widened slightly, and he hit on his queen-up hand. He won again but I was still feeling the luck.

  “That does explain quite a bit,” Dean said after a moment, while the dealer was updating the score sheet. “That win in the last hand we had before wasn’t luck. You knew what you were doing.”

  I nodded.

  I won that hand, and we were down to the last two of ten, with me ahead by one. My heart was beating a bit faster, and my face felt flushed but I knew if I could just stay focused I could get the last two hands—unless Dean somehow managed to have tremendous luck. I wanted to win just for the sake of winning, and a waitress came to take our drink orders, cutting through the small crowd that had gathered around us.

  “Want another cosmo?” I glanced at Dean.

  “It’s not going to make me play any worse,” I pointed out, half-smiling as the dealer prepared to deal the second-to-last hand. Everything was happening so fast, and I could tell that the people watching us were all interested in whatever our story was.

  “We’re about to end up on a tie, you know,” Dean countered. “I think I might want to play to fifteen after all.”

  “We’ll see if you can pull ahead,” I told him.

  I let him order me a cosmo, and he ordered a seven-and-seven for himself, and the dealer put the cards down for us even as we both threw our chips in for our bets. I hit on a soft thirteen but lost the hand, making Dean and me even. That just left one more hand for us to play to decide.

  “Okay, one more left,” Dean said.

  I glanced around the table to see the different people who’d gathered and thought to myself that if I lost the last hand, it was going to be a little humiliating. Now that Dean knew I was a pro, or at least semi-professional, it would be embarrassing for me to lose to him. The dealer put the cards through the shuffler and then did it again, and I felt my cheeks starting to warm up, my heart starting to beat faster.

  We threw in our chips and I waited for the dealer to put down our cards. Focus, Kayla. I sipped my cosmo and took a quick, deep breath. I wasn’t even sure why I was nervous. After all, whatever happened, I had a place to stay for the night. If Dean won the next hand, I would just have to share the room with him. Would that be so terrible? If you weren’t sure you wanted to, why would you even gamble it? Of course, I’d been fairly sure I’d win outright, and pretty quickly, but after years of playing competitions and tournaments, I knew full well that sometimes luck just ran out.

  Against all the odds in the world, Dean and I both busted on the t
enth hand.

  “Fifteen?” Dean asked.

  “Fifteen,” I agreed.

  The dealer shrugged and took the cards back up.

  “So, you’re a professional? Or at least semi-professional?” he asked.

  I nodded and glanced around to find our waitress. “Can I get a glass of water, please?”

  She nodded and darted off to get my order for me.

  “I’ve played some competitions and tournaments but I don’t do it full-time,” I admitted. All at once, my mind shifted focus from the game at hand to the subject of Brandon. Brandon had always insisted on me keeping my office job, saying that there was no way to make a steady living at playing blackjack. Even when I’d shown him there were plenty of people who made a living at it, he’d said that the office job would keep me stable, and that it was better for our relationship for me to have a day job.

  It was ironic that I’d been out at a tournament a little more than a week before, and that I’d come home early from it, thinking I’d celebrate a bit with Brandon before we went to my parents’ house for the holidays, and that maybe the check I’d won for placing in the top ten at the tournament would go to an upgrade to first class for our seats, or something like that. I’d gotten home to find out exactly why he’d been so unusually pushy about me leaving: he’d been cheating on me with someone from his office, and I’d come back just in time to find them in bed together.

  “So, what do you do when you’re not playing blackjack?” Dean’s words shook me out of my thoughts, and I threw in my chips to bet on the eleventh hand.

  “I have an office job,” I admitted. “It’s not full-time, because I need the flexibility to be able to travel, but it’s something to do with myself and it…” I stopped short. “It keeps my income stable, I guess,” I finished after a moment.

  “If you’re semi-pro, then you must do a lot of traveling,” Dean observed.

  I wiggled my hand to indicate that he was somewhat right on that score. “I haven’t gone out of the country for it yet. That’s a bit out of my price range, where I am as a player now. But I’ve done some smaller tournaments and competitions in Vegas and a few other places.”