dcnovice
Posts: 37282
Joined: 8/2/2006
Status: offline
|
Win and I stared at each other across the poker table. His face was hard and inscrutable. Was he bluffing? Did he really have a hand that could beat my four kings?
Playing for money didn't interest us, and strip poker we scoffed at as a pastime for drunken frat boys. No, we were playing for service. The loser would serve the winner for whatever amount of time we'd bet.
He'd opened with a day. I'd raised to two. Now the stare-off.
"I'll see your two days," said Win in that calm, cocky, dick-hardening baritone of his, "and raise you five. That makes a entire week of service."
A week. That was longer than I'd ever served. It would be hell and heaven all at once--submitting to Win, obeying his every warped desire.
Then I thought of my four kings. Surely they guaranteed my victory, ensured that Win would be serving me. "I'll see your week," I said with as deep a voice as I could muster, "and raise you another. A full fortnight of slavery."
I scanned Win's face, looking for signs of nervousness or fear. Nothing. God, he was a confident bastard. Either he had an incredible hand or titanium nerves. What would it be like to serve this steely stud for two weeks--or longer?
"I'll see your fortnight," Win said, "and raise you another. That makes a month of service."
Decision time. Was Win bluffing? Would I wind up his slave for a month? Or would he serve me for even longer? Which fate did I want, anyway?
I looked at him again. No tells, no clues.
Time to find out. "I fold," I said, dropping my cards face-down on the table.
"Not so fast, boy," he replied. "Show your new master what you had."
I blushed and turned over my cards.
"You folded with four kings," he said in a slow, cruel drawl. "You must want it bad, boy. Wanna see what you lost to?"
I didn't trust my voice. I nodded.
He cracked a grin wide enough to need two zip codes and tossed his cards arrogantly onto the table. They landed face-up. I eyed them avidly, eager to see what I'd surrendered to. And there they were.
Two sevens.
_____________________________
No matter how cynical you become,
it's never enough to keep up.
JANE WAGNER, THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF
INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE
|
Four Kings and a Queen - 
Profile
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread