by A. C. Grey
“I’m going to teach you to play online poker. You’re always the first to knock it, but have you ever really tried it?”
Tess offered a non-committal response.
Zoey took the computer and quickly downloaded the necessary software. “Okay, now it’s time to create an account for you. Type in the username you want and pick a profile picture.”
Tess took the laptop, a pensive look on her face as she pondered her options. Finally, settling on her choices, she smiled and entered the necessary information. She handed the laptop back.
As Zoey saw Tess’s choices, she burst out laughing. “Seriously, Tess? You are going as ‘AwesomeRainbowGirl’ and your picture is a puppy surrounded by butterflies?” Zoey lost all control, fits of laughter overtaking her as tears streamed down her face.
“What?” Tess asked, perplexed. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Oh, nothing . . .” Zoey continued to laugh. “Nothing at all . . . if you want your opponents to think they’re playing against an eight-year-old.”
“Well, maybe I do. It can’t hurt. They won’t take me seriously and then I’ll seriously kick their ass. Besides, I like it. Puppies are cute.”
Zoey shook her head and wrapped an arm around Tess’s back, snuggling her closer. “You are adorable. Okay, Rainbow Girl. Let’s get you started.”
The spent the next hour or so playing online. Zoey couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun. All night had been fun, not just the poker. It was a refreshing change, she had to admit, to be the teacher for once. Tess wasn’t very patient and struggled to get the hang of the software.
“Why won’t this thingy work when I click on it!!” Tess complained. Zoey laughed and patiently showed her the right way to play. Eventually she caught on. By the end of their session, she’d managed to win a small amount of money. Though she didn’t want to admit it, Tess had had fun. However, she wasn’t sure how much of that was from the poker and how much was from the fact that she was cuddled up to Zoey.
“So?” Zoey asked as they closed the laptop. “What do you think about online poker now?”
“It’s alright I suppose. I still like live poker better. Maybe it’s because I like to toy with my prey before I devour them. That’s hard to do when you can’t see your opponent.”
Zoey arched an eyebrow. “Is that what you’re doing with me? Toying with your prey?”
Tess chuckled. “Maybe a little.”
“You are pure evil, Tess McLeod. Beyond sexy, but evil nonetheless.”
“You know you love it.” Tess grinned. They fell into an awkward silence as their night came to its natural end. Tess fidgeted a bit, before speaking. “I know I kind of hinted at this earlier with the whole slumber party thing, but would you like to stay over? Just to sleep. It’s embarrassing to admit, but I’m having trouble sleeping without you.”
Zoey shot her a mega-watt smile. “Yes, I’d love to. I didn’t get any sleep last night.” She chuckled. “We’re going crazy, aren’t we?”
“The only thing I know for sure, Zoey, is that I’m crazy about you.”
“Ditto,” Zoey replied as she grabbed Tess’s hand. The redhead led them to the bedroom and they slept soundly and happily in each other’s arms.
* * * * *
The next morning, the two women readied for the tournament. They stopped by Zoey’s hotel room so that she could change into fresh clothes before heading over to the casino. She emerged from her closet wearing an outfit very similar to the one that Tess had picked out for her a few days prior.
Tess shook her head and smiled. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Zoey. You look hot. Damn. I hope you’re not at my table today because I have no doubt that you’ll prove to be an incredible distraction. An incredibly sexy distraction, but a distraction all the same.”
They drove in companionable silence over to the tournament site, hands intertwined. Tess sighed contentedly. “I could get used to this,” she said as she stroked a thumb over the back of Zoey’s hand.
“Me too, Tess. Me too.” Zoey shot her a quick smile before returning her focus to the road.
They entered the casino and registered for their first event of the World Series of Poker. They had opted to start with a smaller, less-publicized tournament – the $1,000 Ladies’ No-Limit Hold’em event. Their $1000 entry gave them the chance to win hundreds of thousands of dollars and the coveted World Series bracelet if they outlasted the other thousand or so other women.
After receiving their respective table assignments, Tess pulled Zoey in for a brief good luck hug, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. “Good luck, Zoey. Not that you’ll need it.”
“You too, sweetie.” Zoey teased, unable to resist calling Tess by the nickname that had so irked her a few days prior. Tess faked a scowl and headed to find her table.
As Zoey entered the tournament room, her heart began to pound erratically in her chest. The room was huge, with hundreds of poker tables as far as the eye could see. She took a few deep breaths and repeated Tess’s encouraging words through her head. She was great. She was awesome. She was a rock star.
Zoey’s confidence grew throughout the day as more and more players fell, but she remained. Tess, off at a different table was also doing well. Zoey met up with her girlfriend . . . god, that thought sent thrills running through her . . . at a break.
Tess linked her hands with Zoey’s and swung their arms playfully back and forth. “So? How are you doing, my little rock star?” She smiled, her gorgeous blue eyes twinkling.
Zoey struggled to focus on what the redhead was saying. “Pretty good. I think I’ve got a little more than the average amount of chips. I’m holding my own. How about you, beautiful?” She smiled and shot Tess a flirty glance.
Tess tried to keep her thoughts off of Zoey’s sexy leather poker diva get-up. Somehow, she didn’t think it would be appropriate if she ravaged her girlfriend in front of so many bystanders. “I’m kicking ass. As is expected.”
Zoey laughed. “You’re never one to lack confidence, are you?”
Tess, enjoying their game, shook her head. “Nope.”
As the break ended and they returned to their tables, Zoey took another moment to survey her surroundings. There were several tournaments going on, including one which they were filming for TV. The hustle, the bustle, the excitement, the thrill. She took a deep breath and smiled. She was loving it. She was meant to be here. She was meant to be here to play poker. She was meant to be here with Tess. This was her destiny. She just knew it. The doubts were suddenly gone.
The tournament played on for hours. Eventually, they made an announcement that the final person before the money had been knocked out. This meant that all the players remaining would earn some sort of prize money. Those who didn’t last much longer would only double their $1000 entry fee. The winner would win a mid to high six-figure payday. Amongst those left were both Zoey and Tess. Zoey beamed at the news. She’d made it. She’d lasted until the money in her first World Series event. She was ecstatic.
Unfortunately for Zoey, luck was not on her side that day. She’d put all of her chips in on a pair of Aces before any of the community cards had been played. One other player called her with a pair of nines. She was a huge favorite to win the hand. However, the dealer flipped over another nine, giving her opponent three nines, beating Zoey’s hand. She had been knocked out in twenty-third place, earning about $5,500. Zoey was disappointed, but noticeably missing was her typical self-doubt. Something had clicked. She was going to make it. Sure she’d lost, but she’d played well. Poker in the long run was a game of skill, with the better player coming out ahead. However, in the short run, luck could ruin any player’s day, even the best player in the world. Zoey was beyond elated. Confident in herself for the first time in ages, she made her way over to watch Tess play.
Tess was on fire, running over everyone at her table. Luck was definitely on her side that day, hand after hand coming out in her favor. She had a
massed a huge sum of chips, which made it even easier for her to prey on her opponents, using her chip advantage to push them around. Zoey watched in awe from the sidelines as Tess slowly whittled down the field, felling opponent after opponent. She was amazing . . . breathtaking . . . magnificent. And she was all Zoey’s. The thought caused a goofy smile to play across the brunette’s face.
After a thirty minute heads-up battle against her final opponent, Tess knocked her out, her pair of eights besting the other woman’s pair of fours. Tess had done it. She’d won her third World Series bracelet. Her eyes scanned the room, looking for Zoey. Finally, her gaze settled on a pair of gorgeous brown eyes, pride and happiness reflected back at her. Tess broke out into a wide grin before a bystander pulled her away for an autograph.
Zoey hung back as Tess fielded multiple interviews and congratulatory comments from other players. Finally, the hubbub dying down, Tess made her way over to her waiting girlfriend.
“You were marvelous, Tess. You were captivating to watch and not just because you’re gorgeous. Congratulations! I can’t believe you just won a bracelet!” Zoey wrapped Tess into a warm hug. “You must be exhausted.”
Tess shook her head. “Not really.”
“What do you want to do then?”
“Take you home and celebrate.” As she said that, Tess quickly and surreptitiously grabbed Zoey’s backside, leaving no doubt as to the meaning of her words.
“I thought you’d never ask,” Zoey said breathlessly, grabbing Tess and practically dragging her towards the car.
Chapter Eleven
As they drove in silence back to Tess’s house, Zoey began running her hand slowly up Tess’s thigh. Tess did her best to ignore her attentions, not wanting to get too heated, too quickly. She nearly lost it, however, when Zoey’s hand left its place atop her thigh and made its way to the inside of her leg, millimeters from where Tess wanted her most. Zoey lightly scraped her fingernails across the fabric of the redhead’s jeans, teasing her nerve endings, which were already ablaze.
Tess bit her lip in frustration and stared out the window, attempting to maintain some semblance of control. When she couldn’t take it any longer, she took matters into her own hands, so to speak. She reached down and grabbed Zoey’s misbehaving hand, lacing their fingers together. She brought their joined hands up to her lips and placed a kiss on the back of Zoey’s hand. “Later, Zoey. Be patient. I promise you, it will be worth the wait. I’ve got all sorts of ideas of just exactly what to do with you and trust me, they’ll be a lot better than some hurried, cramped car sex.”
Zoey let out a slightly exasperated sigh. “I suppose I can wait, so long as you promise me it’s coming soon.”
Tess leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. “I promise that it . . . and you . . . will be coming soon . . . and that you won’t be able to walk straight in the morning.”
Zoey’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Tess! You’re telling me to behave myself and then you go and talk dirty like that! Not cool!”
They both laughed together, silently thinking about the events to come.
After pulling into Tess’s driveway, they both practically vaulted from the car. Zoey was upon Tess in a second, pressing her body into the side of the car, lips attacking every inch of exposed skin, hands running up and down her sides, groping, prodding, teasing.
Tess pulled back slightly. “Inside, Zoey,” she rasped. “Don’t want to give the neighbors a show.”
Zoey nodded and grabbed Tess’s hand, dragging her to the front door. Zoey continued her ministrations, snaking her arms around Tess’s waist from behind as the redhead rummaged through her purse for her keys. Zoey placed slow, wet kisses along Tess’s neck, eliciting a frustrated groan from her girlfriend.
“Tess,” Zoey husked. “If you don’t find those damn keys . . .”
“It might be easier if I weren’t being distracted by some really impatient, really hot girl.” She continued to rifle through her purse, silently cursing herself for keeping so much crap inside. Finally, she held up the offending keys in triumph. “Found them!”
The second they were inside the door, Tess dropped her things in a haphazard pile and pressed Zoey into the door. “My turn,” she whispered, as she began tracing a wet path with her lips along Zoey’s face and neck, pulling aside her shirt slightly to nip and tease at her collarbone.” Zoey responded in the only way she was capable of – wrapping her arms around Tess and pulling her even closer. Zoey gasped as a thigh shoved between her legs, pressing against her core. But just as quickly as Tess had begun, she was gone.
“Tess!” Zoey called after her as Tess walked into the next room. “Enough! I need you. NOW!”
Tess turned back, her smile teasing at Zoey’s shredded composure. “Soon enough, Zoey. We’re taking this slow.”
“Tess McLeod! If you use that word – slow, one more time. I’m gonna . . . I’m gonna . . .”
Tess arched her eyebrow in amusement. “You’re gonna what, Zoey?”
Zoey was at a loss for words.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Now follow me. I didn’t say that we weren’t going to have some fun tonight. We’re just going to do it my way. Now just trust me. It will be worth the wait.” She grinned and continued walking.
Zoey, frustrated beyond belief, had no choice but to follow her. Even if Tess decided to pull away again, to continue this torture, she’d follow anyway. She’d follow her anywhere. The pull this woman had over her was frightening, as well as exciting. She followed Tess into a room she hadn’t seen before. Inside was a poker room, decked out with its own poker table.
“Tess. You can’t seriously want to play more poker. We’ve been playing all day. No more. I need a break from poker.”
Tess chuckled. “Oh trust me, Zoey. You’re going to want to play with me when you find out the stakes.”
Zoey gave her a questioning look. “Care to elaborate?”
“We’re playing strip poker.”
As those words left her girlfriend’s mouth, Zoey nearly lost it. Her mouth went suddenly dry and her heart threatened to pound out of her chest. A jolt of excitement shot straight down between her legs and she was suddenly on fire, unable to see or think straight. How she was going to focus on winning this game, she didn’t know. But she damn well was going to try.
Tess sat down at the table and began expertly shuffling a deck of cards. “Okay, Zoey, here are the rules. We’re going to play five-card draw. You can fold your hand right away with no penalty. However, once the betting begins, your clothes are like poker chips. You can bet an article of clothing. You lose the hand, you lose that article of clothing.” Both women blushed slightly at the thought. Tess offered Zoey a flirtatious smile as she gazed into her deep brown eyes, which were sparkling with excitement and lust. “Now, let’s count our articles of clothing – we don’t want one of us having an unfair advantage” She gazed at Zoey, a bemused look on her face. “Not that it’ll matter. I’m going to have you naked in no time.”
Zoey ignored the butterflies, or what really felt more like rather large birds, fluttering in her stomach. “Oh, really? We’ll just have to see about that, won’t we? If I recall, the last time you played against me, you lost – bad.”
After quickly evening out their attire so that they both started with the same number of “poker chips,’ Tess dealt them each five cards, face down.
Looking down at her cards, Zoey pondered her options. “I bet one item of clothing.”
Tess smiled and taunted her. “Sure you want to do that, Zoey? Okay, then, I’ll match your bet and raise you another.”
Zoey quickly agreed. Both women drew a few cards and engaged in nonverbal communication – trying to intimidate each other with looks alone. Finally, Zoey made her move. “I bet one more.”
“I call,” Tess said without hesitation as she turned over her hand. She had two pair – a pair of kings and a pair of threes, which clearly beat Zoey’s pair of eights.
Z
oey muttered in mock frustration as she removed both shoes, as well as her jacket.
“See. I told you I’d be getting your pretty little behind naked in no time, Zoey.” Tess loved teasing her, knowing that in the end, all this build up would make things even more epic than otherwise would have been the case.
Zoey narrowed her eyes. “You’d better watch it, Tess, or I might just take my pretty little behind home and just celebrate your win all by myself.”
Tess laughed at Zoey’s obviously empty threat. “Just deal the cards, Zoey. The sooner you lose this hand, the sooner I can see some skin.”
Zoey rolled her eyes and dealt the cards. Tess fidgeted a bit and rearranged her cards. “I bet two articles of clothing.”
Zoey, pleased with her cards, looked up at Tess. “Confident, aren’t we? Fine. I raise you two more.” Tess called Zoey’s bet.