The two of them break off their teasing to shake hands after which Chase motions to me. “Texas Tom, this here is my girlfriend Lila Hunter. She’s not a player, so keep your eyes off her purse.” It’s silly, but my stomach gets butterflies when I hear him refer to me as his girlfriend.
“Lila, this here is Texas Tom. One of the oldest players you’ll ever meet. It’s rumored he had a hand in not only inventing poker, but cards in general.”
Texas Tom’s barking laughter causes more than a few heads to turn and look at us, even over the sounds of the nearby slot machines. “Oh come on, I’m not that old!” Tom’s wheelchair inches forward and I offer my hand as he reaches for it. He surprises me by giving the back of it a little kiss and a squeeze. “Hello darling. I knew Chase was overly lucky in cards, but it’s not fair that he’s so lucky with women as well. Where did he find you?”
This time it’s my turn to laugh, although I can feel my cheeks get a little warm as well. Chase smiles at me in a way that tells me Tom is harmless.
“You can’t be from Vegas,” he continues. “I know all the pretty girls in Vegas.”
“I bet you do,” I laugh back. “And you’re right. I’m from Toronto.”
“Canada? Now there’s got to be a story there that I’m sure I want to hear.” Tom has a big wrinkled smile that’s impossible not to find endearing. He gives my hand one more squeeze before letting go.
“Well, why don’t you tell it while I go to the cashier and get my money sorted out,” Chase says, putting a hand on my back. He leans toward me and then says in a whisper clearly intended for Tom to hear as well “Don’t worry, he’s too old to be a danger.”
He then walks away toward the cashier’s cage to get the chips he needs to play.
“Are you playing as well today?” I ask Tom.
“I’ve been playing all night,” the old man replies. “I’m actually on my way back to my room for a nap. Getting old is no fun, my dear. I would suggest you avoid it at all costs. Used to be I could play for two days straight before I’d even think about having a meal, never mind a nap. Now I can barely make it through a single night without feeling like I’m going to collapse. Let me tell you a little secret,” he leans forward in his chair now, but he’s not really whispering. “This chair is more for lugging my big behind around because I’m old and tired than because I have any real issue. But no one questions an old guy in a wheelchair.”
He winks at me and I laugh again.
“Although that’s not to say I’m a picture of perfect health. That’s why I have to play poker. Chase plays so he can maintain his playboy lifestyle, but guys like me have to play just to pay for our medical bills. We don’t all live in Canada with free doctors and such. Speaking of which, tell me your story. How does a Canadian meet the famous Chase Anderson? Did you come to Vegas with a bachelorette party and meet him at one of those fancy clubs he’s always going to?”
My face turns into a grimace now, but I sigh it away. It’s more of a habit than a real feeling of loss now. “Not quite. I was there with my boyfriend at the time. The short version is that it turned out he was a jerk and Chase was there to save me from him.”
“Ah, the knight in shining armor routine. That gets them every time.”
“So you think it was an act?” I ask, playing along. Seems no matter how old a man is, he still takes pleasure in needling his friends even when they aren’t around.
“Well, you do know he’s a professional liar, don’t you?”
“Oh, I thought he was a professional poker player.”
“Do you think there’s a difference?”
I purse my lips to suppress my smile. It’s funny how it sounds now, coming from him, but how serious I was when I was saying essentially the same thing back when I met Chase. “So you think I should watch out for him, then? He’s bad news?”
Tom belts out a laugh again, his round stomach quivering in front of him as he does. “Honey, I’ll be honest with you because you’re Canadian and I think honesty is part of your national identity. If you were ever going to trust a poker player, you couldn’t have picked a better one to trust than Chase Anderson.”
I smile at him in agreement.
“But, that being said, he is a poker player, and a damn good one. You don’t win millions if your opponent knows what you’re thinking, if they even suspect which cards you’re really holding. If a poker player wants to lie to you, you can be sure you’ll never even suspect it.”
“Hmm, so you’re saying I can never truly believe anything a poker player tells me.”
“Right.”
“Aren’t you a poker player also, though?”
Texas Tom laughs heartily again. “You are a quick one dear. I can see what Chase sees in you. You’re right though. You can’t believe anything I’m saying either. Maybe Chase underestimates you when he says you’re not a player. You sound like you know how to keep your eyes open and question everything, like any professional. I’d hate to have to face you at the tables.”
I blush at the compliment even though I know he’s just an old charmer.
“Anyway, like I said, Chase is one of the good ones. My point is just you have to know who you’re with. There are poker players that can’t separate real life from the game, and you never know whether what’s coming out of their mouth is the truth or some bluff their running for god knows what purpose. But I don’t see Chase doing that. Mind you, if he did lie to you, you’d probably never know it, but I doubt he’d ever do it maliciously. In a way it’s a good thing.”
Tom’s right, of course. I never would have guessed that Chase didn’t own that house, and if the owners hadn’t surprised us I probably never would have found out. He would have bought it secretly and then one day we’d go and it would have actually been his. I get that his intent wasn’t malicious on that, but it was scary how easily he fooled me. How easily he could lie about it. “How can it be a good thing?”
“Well…” Tom paused for a moment before his face split into another grin. “Think of all the surprise parties he can plan for you that you’ll never see coming.”
I smile back, but this time it’s a little bit forced. Those better be the only lies he ever tells from now on. But how will I ever know for sure?
“I never thought I’d tire of the spa, but there are only so many treatments a girl can get…”
Chase is buttoning up a deep purple shirt and looking at me through the full length mirror of the bathroom. From where he’s standing he can see me sitting on the bed, staring at my manicured nails. He turns away from my reflection to look at me directly.
“Am I spending too much time at the tables? Are you feeling neglected?” I can see in his eyes that he’s actually concerned and I immediately feel guilty for complaining. It’s not that I have a big opposition to daily massages, but there’s a fine line between pampering yourself and just being spoiled and overindulged. As far as I’m concerned, I standing right on the edge of that line.
“I’m sorry, it’s a stupid thing to complain about.” From what he’s been telling me, he’s been winning a lot of money at the poker tables this week. Far more than we’re spending at this hotel, or the spa, or the room service. It’s just lonely eating my meals alone. Most nights he’s played so late that I’ve been asleep when he’s come back to the room, and then he doesn’t wake up until lunch. We eat together and then he leaves again. But I get that it’s his job, and I’ve already pulled him away from it enough.
“No,” Chase says, walking towards me and then grabbing my hands. “It’s not. You’re right. We came here for a vacation and for me to play a bit. The games have been so juicy though, full of businessmen looking for some action and not afraid to lose obscene amounts of money in return for a story to tell about how they sat down with a television pro. That’s why everyone comes here these days. But you’re right, that wasn’t supposed to be the focus of this trip. I don’t have to play anymore. Let’s just go and do something today instead.”
>
“No. You’re here to make money, at least partially.”
“Okay, I’ll tell you what, let’s go back to the original plan of doing both. I’ll go and play for a few hours today, and then I’ll stop around dinner time. We’ll go someplace fancy. Give you a chance to wear one of those dresses you bought.”
I smile at the thought of those dresses. I bought three of them, and haven’t had an occasion to wear a single one yet. If we hurry through dinner, maybe we’ll even have time for some of the lingerie I haven’t had an opportunity to model for him yet either. “Deal.”
Since we have plans to actually go out, I decide that one more trip to the spa is warranted, opting for a facial and hair treatment in order to look my best for our date. Although it has only been a few days, I’m feeling excited and giddy at the prospect of spending time with Chase again.
As dinner time approaches, I pull on my slinky evening gown, almost feeling like I’m getting ready for the prom and the only thing left to do is wait for my date to bring me a corsage.
One of the difficulties with having so much time on my hands lately is it’s given me a lot of time to think, and unfortunately one of the things on my mind has been the conversation I had with Tom that first day. It’s not that I don’t trust Chase, but everyone has secrets or part of their lives that they don’t share. Especially with someone they haven’t known for very long, as is true with Chase and me. The house issue itself wasn’t what bothered me so much, of course. It was the fact that Denise had been involved. The lie that hurt the most was the lie of omission, that he was sneaking around meeting her, meaning she was obviously a much bigger part of his life than he led me to believe. I know there isn’t anything going on between the two of them, but I also know that Denise would change that if she could. Hell, she’s probably actively plotting it. And although I trust that Chase is no longer interested in her, I can’t help but worry about what she might try to do to convince him. She is beautiful, wealthy, and lives in the same city he does. She has an air of sophistication about her, when she isn’t being a complete bitch, and I know that probably draws men to her like pollen to a bee.
Of course, I have my own baggage to take care of, which makes it harder to blame Chase. Harrison has been texting me lately, and given the fact that I’ve been trying to let go of all of my anger and negative feelings regarding him lately, coupled with the extra time I’ve had on my hands, I’ve been responding. Once he realized that I wasn’t mad anymore, his attitude changed. Now that he’s no longer consumed with trying to apologize and explain away his actions, he’s become friendly again. Charming, even. It reminds me of why I fell for him in the first place. And although I would never go back to him, it makes it harder for me to completely blame Chase for his relationship with Denise. He has a history with her that I’ll never be a part of, and so I can never truly understand.
I want to forget about all of that tonight and just spend some time with Chase again, the two of us having fun together like we did that first week. We’ll go to a nice restaurant, have some wine, and then come back here.
By the time he walks through the door, I’m more excited about the night than when he left, and since he’s actually come back to the room earlier than I expected, he must be as well.
“I wasn’t expecting you back for another hour,” I say, although I’m already dressed and ready since I had nothing else to do anyway. I’m happy to start the night now. It means we’ll be back in plenty of time and with plenty of energy for the second part of what I have planned.
“We have to go,” he says.
“Oh, do we have reservations?” Something about the look on his face makes me stop, though. I don’t think he’s talking about the restaurant.
“No, I mean we have to go back to Vegas. There’s a problem with the house.”
“Oh really?” Disappointment floods through me as my hopes for the night are dashed. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure, Denise didn’t say. She just said she needs me to come back as soon as possible to deal with it in person. Given that it takes so long to get back, I think we’d better leave tonight. There’s a flight leaving in 3 hours, otherwise we’ll have to wait until morning.”
He’s looking at my face, and my ability to keep my emotions in check is obviously not as refined as his. “You’re upset,” he says. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Fuck it. We can wait until tomorrow to go.”
I take a deep breath, letting it out in a sigh that shudders a bit more than I like. “No, it’s fine. If it’s an emergency with the house you should go. We can go out any time.” Just not here in Macau.
“Okay,” he nods. “We’d better get packing.” Chase moves to the closet to pull out the suitcases, still talking as he does. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise. Thanks for not being more upset. I know it’s disappointing. I was looking forward to taking you out tonight as well.”
I am disappointed and upset. Not so much at missing out on a night out, but on the circumstances. I don’t know if it’s because of all of the thinking I’ve been doing about her lately, but the mere fact that Denise is involved in us having to rush back has made me suspicious.
“Did she know we were in Macau?” I’ve been stewing on this whole house issue since we left, and given the length of time it’s taken for us to get back to Vegas, I feel like I’ve held my tongue long enough. Chase hasn’t said a word about it, nor has he looked or acted concerned other than to mention a couple of times that he hoped the deal hadn’t fallen through. It annoys me that the thought Denise could be manipulating him and using the house as an excuse hasn’t even crossed his mind. I want to say something, but I don’t want to come off as a paranoid, jealous psycho if it turns out I’m wrong.
We’re in his car, heading to a meeting with her so he knows who I’m referring to, which saves me from having to say her name.
“Uh, yeah. I had to let her know where I was in case something like this came up.”
“I see.” So he’s still been in contact with her. Of course while the house deal is still pending I really can’t expect anything different. I turn my head to look out the window, trying to keep him from seeing the expression on my face. The ghostly reflection of Chase stares at me through the glass as I struggle to seem disinterested, as if I had simply been curious. It still only takes him a moment of studying me.
“You think she asked me to come back just to ruin our vacation, don’t you?” It’s impossible to hide anything from this man, which is usually infuriating, but this time I’m happy he’s finally clued into the possibility. And I didn’t even have to be the one to bring it up.
I shrug. “I was just asking.” I only pause for a beat before my tongue continues, almost of its own accord. “But now that you mention it, that does seem to be a possibility.”
“Lila,” he begins, his hand reaching out to touch my knee.
“She wants you back,” I cut him off. I’ve said it before, and I know he doesn’t really believe it, but there’s nothing more obvious to me.
“Even if she does, who cares? I don’t want her.” He reaches up, putting his fingers under my chin and turning my head to look at his deep blue eyes. A lock of his blond hair rests just above the left one. “I want you. Only you.”
The car pulls into the parking lot of Denise’s office as he leans in and gives me a quick kiss. I know what he’s saying is true, that it shouldn’t really matter whether Denise wants him or not, as long as he isn’t interested. But I can’t help that it still bothers me. I imagine her sitting around, scheming up new ways to try to break us up and win him back. It’s petty and jealous, but I can’t wait until Chase finally stops talking to her completely.
We head into the office where the receptionist tells us that Denise will be right out, guiding us to some plush leather chairs where we can sit and wait. The office is impressively decorated, which doesn’t surprise me given who works here. Chase mentioned that she only deals with high end clients with expensive house
s, so they would expect this sort of atmosphere. Plus it fits with her own personality and tastes. She’s clearly in the right job for her, which just makes my own jealousy spike harder. I wonder whether or not I’m over-reacting after all. Maybe my feelings toward her are less founded in reality than I think. Maybe I’m just jealous of her success, about how well put together she is, or my own insecurities about how a man like Chase would be better off with someone like her than someone like me.
“Chase, darling,” I hear Denise’s annoyingly shrill voice before I see her. She sounds ecstatically happy until I turn around and she notices me as well. “Oh, and you brought your little friend.”
“You remember Lila,” Chase says, standing up. Denise comes forward to give him a kiss but Chase backs up a step and shakes her hand instead. I watch her eyes flit down to his hand in surprise and a quick grimace darkens her face before she turns it into an obviously fake smile.
“Of course. Lila, dear, there’s a coffee machine around the corner. Francesca can show you. I need to borrow Chase for a few minutes. House stuff, you understand.”
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