by Cheri Grade
Strip Poker Friends:
Game One
By Cheri Grade
Published by Cheri Grade at Kindle Direct Publishing
Copyright 2016 Cheri Grade
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Prelude
“Anna, so glad you could make it for our little game,” Elizabeth said as she opened the door with a wide smile. I still found it unnerving how nice she was being to me. She had made my life hell at school but after I had bumped into her six years later she had talked to me like an old friend.
“I’m a little nervous,” I confessed as I stepped inside the front porch. “This will be the first time I’ve played strip poker.”
“You don’t need to be nervous, silly. We’re all friends here and it is the first time for all of us. We’re all just grateful you could make it. I know Bradley has wanted to try this for ages and I’ve no idea who else I would have invited if I hadn’t bumped into you that day.”
As if in response to his name, I saw Elizabeth’s husband, Bradley come out to meet me as I took off my coat.
“Elizabeth has told me so much about you. It is the first time I have met one of her old school friends. You will have to tell me what she was like.”
“I will,” I said nodding absent-mindedly whilst searching my memory to think of some stories from school which didn’t involve her making fun of me in some way.
Luckily, Bradley didn’t seem to expect me to say anything further and led both me and Anna down the hallway. He wasn’t the type of guy I was expecting at all. He was shorter than Elizabeth, slightly overweight and his round face was noticeably red, whether habitually or because of the excitement of the occasion, I couldn’t tell.
Elizabeth was tall, blonde and blue-eyed so had always had her pick of guys although she had seemed to always keep them at arms length at school. No matter how mean she was, she had always been surrounded by both guys and girls who wanted to be seen with her. I had tried to join the group and it had been fun at first until Elizabeth decided she didn’t want me around anymore. I shuddered at the thought of the things she did to me.
“Are you cold?” Elizabeth asked, misinterpreting my discomfort. “I’ll go and turn the heating up. We can’t have people getting cold. Bradley, you show Anna to her seat and get her a drink.”
As Bradley opened a door, I got my first glimpse of their lounge. Like the rest of their house, it was immaculate. A round glass table dominated the room and had been set up with five black chairs. The two furthest chairs were already occupied.
“Anna, this is Curtis and Donna,” said Bradley gesturing in turn at a well-built black man and a short girl in a very low-cut blouse clutching a glass of red wine.
“Pleased to meet you,” said Donna enthusiastically whilst Curtis nodded awkwardly.
Bradley sat me down next to Donna and poured me some wine from the bottle which had been standing in the middle of the table as he took his seat to the other side of me.
“This is all very exciting, isn’t it,” said Donna. “I haven’t played with a group before, but I had an ex-boyfriend who was a poker player and he taught me. I still get excited at the various forfeits he had me do. Anyway, I hear you know Elizabeth from school. I was in Bradley and Elizabeth’s class at university.”
“Are you a lawyer too?” I managed to ask as Donna took a breath.
“I tried to be,” Donna giggled pushing a strand of her curly black hair out of her face. “One year of that was enough. Luckily, I had a part time job in a bar which paid really well so I went full time. I started out behind the bar but found I could make more dancing and before you ask, it isn’t that kind of dancing. All my clothes stay on. I’m hoping the same could be said tonight.”
As Donna giggled again, I was about to ask Curtis how he knew Bradley and Elizabeth as he had sat silently throughout Donna’s monologue but it was at that moment that Elizabeth came in and joined us. She had always had the gift of commanding attention as soon as she walked into the room and even Donna seemed to sense that this was the moment to stop talking.
She took the seat between Bradley and Curtis and placed a pack of cards on the table next to her already full wine glass. She paused, looking at each of us in turn checking our attention was entirely on her.
“Thanks everyone for coming,” she said. Then taking a stack of poker chips from her pocket, she proceeded to count out six chips for each of us and passed them around the table. “We have six chips – one for each item of clothing. The dealer puts in one chip blind then players have the opportunity to call, raise or fold. The game is Texas Hold-em poker. I think you have all played before so I won’t go over the rules in detail. If not, you had better pick it up quickly!”
Elizabeth smiled at her own small joke and Bradley gave a small nervous laugh.
“At the end of each hand, anyone with fewer chips than items of clothing must strip until they are wearing no more clothes than they have chips. If anyone wants to buy back an item of clothing, it will cost two chips. We play until one person is naked. Does everyone understand?”
We all nodded. “Let’s just get started,” said Donna, impatiently.
“First we need to choose the first dealer. Everyone gets a card and the highest deals,” said Elizabeth passing a card around to each of us. Together, we all turned over our cards. My king was the highest on the table.
“Unlucky, Anna,” said Elizabeth, passing me the cards. I shuffled them awkwardly and pushed my blind bet into the centre of the table.
Hand One
After managing to lose the draw to become dealer, my luck stayed bad as I dealt myself a two and seven of spades. I supposed there was a chance of a flush but other than that, it was the worst possible starting hand in poker. I tried my best to hide the disappointment in my face but looking around the table, everyone seemed genuinely relaxed. Internally I resigned myself to losing my shoes at the end of the hand. At least I wouldn’t be tempted to bet more.
To my left, Bradley threw his cards away. “I’m saving myself for later,” he said. One by one the others threw a chip each into the pot.
I dealt the flop – three cards which everyone can use to complete their hand. I turned over the three and ten of diamonds and the king of hearts. It was my turn to open the second round of betting and I knew it wasn’t even worth trying to bluff at this stage. “I check.”
Elizabeth tapped on the table indicating that she didn’t want to bet either. Curtis fiddled with his chips for a couple of seconds before doing the same. Donna rolled her eyes at Curtis. “It is too early to be trying the mind games,” she teased. “I check too.”
I dealt one more card to the board. The fourth card is called the turn – I don’t know why – and it can also be used by any players to make up their best five card hand. As I revealed the two of clubs, I recognised that it was a dangerous card for me as it gave me a pair but there were too many higher cards on the table for me to think I was ahead. It took me no time at all to knock on the table.
As the other three also checked, I started to think maybe my pair was good enough to win. Nobody was showing any willingness to raise so the hand was looking like it would go all the way to a showdown.
The fifth and final card – the river in poker speak – was the six of clubs. It was no help to me so it was an easy decision to check.
“I raise one,” said Elizabeth throwing a chip into the table. “Let’s get this started. If it was up to you we would be playing all ni
ght.” She smirked, sitting back in her chair. I envied her confidence as she sat there in her short black dress looking stunning as usual. Surely she couldn’t have many clothes before she had to take the dress off and yet she was the one driving the betting. Maybe she had a good hand, but I wouldn’t put it past her to just be trying to outplay us all.
Curtis was fiddling with his chips again, but this time he looked genuinely thoughtful as he stared sideways at Elizabeth. He tried to hold her gaze but she looked away. I thought I caught his gaze shifting to her cleavage momentarily instead. Having decided there was nothing more he could get out of Elizabeth, he took one last look at his cards and threw them face down into the centre of the table. “You got me,” he said.
“I call,” said Donna as soon as Curtis’ hand hit the table. I had only met her a quarter of an hour ago and already, I had the impression that she was the sort of person who would play impulsively and wouldn’t think things through as hard as someone like Curtis. Maybe this would be something I could exploit as the game went on.
As I observed the others, I had forgotten that I was still in the hand. Gradually I realised that everyone was looking at me waiting for my decision. I tried to make it look like I had had a hard decision as I pushed my cards into the centre of the table. “I guess I am going to have to fold,” I said.
“I have a pair of Kings said Elizabeth turning over her cards to show a King and a Jack.
“Damn,” said Donna. “I only had a pair of nines, but it was too pretty to fold.” I looked with surprise to see that Donna had been holding a pair from the start. I thought it was a very optimistic call given there was a king and a ten on the board, but Donna didn’t seem to be overly upset.
Without prompting, Donna stood up and slipped off her black high-heeled shoes. It was only once they were off that I realised how small she was. She carefully reached under her pleated, burgundy skirt, and pulled down her black tights. I think she managed it without showing off her underwear, but I could see Curtis was leering at her and a glance to my side found Bradley also had a big smile on his face.
“That’s it for me,” said Donna with a mock twirl. “Who is next?”
Without getting up, I slipped off my black shoes and threw them to the side of the room. My socks and jeans kept me covered so there was no reaction from the guys as Curtis also took his shoes off.
“My deal,” said Bradley, gathering up the cards as Elizabeth piled up her ten chips.
Hand Two
Bradley put his chip into the middle of the table slowly. It was the first time I had sensed nervousness in any of the other participants and made me doubt that he had been as keen to play as Elizabeth had told me when showing me in.
Before I had even looked at my cards, both Elizabeth and Curtis had thrown away their hands. With her pile of chips, Elizabeth could probably fold every hand tonight and be confident of not losing. Despite her next item of clothing either being her skirt or her black vest top, Donna did not hesitate before throwing in her chip to call.
I looked at my cards and had a ten and a jack of clubs and hearts respectively. I still had my socks before I had to show any skin and it seemed a decent hand so I called.
I regretted my decision as I saw Bradley hesitate as if he was deciding whether to raise, but fortunately he thought better of it and tapped the table. As he dealt the flop, I took a sip of red wine. The last thing I wanted to do was get drunk, but I felt like I might need the false confidence of alcohol before the night was over.
The flop showed two queens and a ten. My hand was good but could be beaten if either of the others had a queen. It would be a difficult hand to play as I could be beaten without knowing it. Bradley and Donna both checked to me and I gratefully checked back. It felt like a weak play, but I just wanted to get to the showdown without putting my jeans or top at risk.
Internally, I admonished myself for choosing my lacy pink underwear. It had been so easy to be confident at home thinking that, if the worst came to the worst, at least I would give everyone something to look at. Now, faced with the reality, I could just imaging Curtis leering at me as Elizabeth laughed at my humiliation as she had done many times back when we were at school.
The next card was a seven. There were no flushes possible so my hand remained as strong as it had been on the flop. All three of us checked again. If either of them had a queen, they were hiding it well. I started to become more confident that I was ahead.
The final card was a six. Again, this was unlikely to help anyone beat my hand. I was feeling excited for the showdown when, I saw Bradley reach for his chips out of the corner of my eye and put one into the centre. “Raise,” he declared.
“I didn’t like my hand anyway,” said Donna and all eyes were on me.
I shuffled uncomfortably in my seat. Bradley was concentrating intensely and staring forwards towards Elizabeth trying to give as little away as possible. I felt myself beginning to blush. If I folded now, it would surely be a matter of time before my underwear was revealed by the blind bet in any case, but would Bradley have bet if he didn’t think he was ahead?
My hand switched between my chips and my cards for what seemed like an age. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me. With resignation, I picked up a chip and threw it into the pot. “I have a pair of tens to go with the queens,” I said, hesitantly turning over my cards.
“Me too,” said Bradley turning over his cards. “That was unlucky.” For a second I couldn’t tell if he was sympathising with me or commenting on himself. I heard Elizabeth giggle before I realised there was an ace sitting next to Bradley’s ten. He looked apologetically at me and shrugged his shoulders.
Donna was again, the first to strip. She reached down and pulled her top over her head revealing a silky white bra. It was surprisingly conservative given her short skirt and top that had barely covered her. For the second time in a few minutes, I regretted my decision to wear my pink bra.
Trying not to show my reluctance, I slowly pulled each of my socks off before unbuttoning my red blouse. Curtis’s eyes widened as he saw what I was wearing underneath. Bradley seemed to be blushing even more than me but he also couldn’t seem to look away. Although my nipples were covered, the thin lace showed off just about everything else.
“Very nice Anna,” said Donna. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Gather up the chips, Bradley,” said Elizabeth with a glare. “It is my turn to deal now and I am sure we will get to see plenty more of these ladies later.”
As if broken from a trance, Bradley did what he was told. All I could think of was that it was three more hands until I would be forced to put in a blind bet. If I didn’t win a hand before then, I would be giving the guys even more of a show. Instinctively, I pressed my legs together at the thought.
Hand Three
Still looking unhappy about the amount of attention Bradley was giving to me, Elizabeth threw cards to each player. Bradley hadn’t seemed to notice Elizabeth’s displeasure and looked thoroughly uncomfortable about the position. Curtis had none of Bradley’s decorum. His tongue was practically hanging out as he shifted his gaze from Donna to me and back again.
“Hurry up Curtis,” said Elizabeth. “I’m sure these two will be giving you plenty to look at later on.”
I felt heat rush to my cheeks as I thought that Elizabeth might be right. Curtis seemed nonplussed and casually tossed his hand into the centre. Donna seemed to also have lost her sense of adventure and her cards followed. I had a cursory glance at my cards. After the last hand, I had no desire to play with anything other than a top pair. The ten and three I had picked up did nothing to convince me otherwise and I also folded.
“Just the two of us then,” said Bradley throwing a chip into the middle. He seemed to be relaxing now he could concentrate on the game. He was studying Elizabeth intently although I thought it was more to prevent himself becoming distracted than an attempt to read the strength of her hand.
“I raise,” said Elizabeth
and to my surprise she threw another two chips into the centre nonchalantly to join the chip she had put in for her blind bet.
Bradley looked at his cards again. It would cost him the rest of his winnings from the last hand to call but he wouldn’t have to put his clothes at risk unless Elizabeth bet again. I could see the uncertainty as he shifted in his chair. Elizabeth was smiling at him, her expression unreadable.
“You got me,” Bradley finally decided and threw away his hand. “It isn’t worth the risk.”
“Thank you very much darling,” said Elizabeth with a wink. She flipped her cards over to show a six and eight of hearts. “I always was too tricky for you.”
“Nice bluff,” said Donna. “At least one of the girls is showing the boys how to play – right Anna?” I could only nod. I had expected this to be a night where I could forget my history with Elizabeth but here she was dominating proceedings and with a huge pile of chips whereas I was in serious danger of being made into an exhibition for her friends.
Hand Four
Whilst we were talking, Curtis had already gathered up the cards and was eagerly passing them out. Whilst he was yet to win a hand, the chip he had placed in the centre was only for his socks and he had a roll-neck jumper still to come off before the girls would have anything to see. I had never seen a black man naked so I was naturally curious even despite my precarious position.
As Donna seemed to be taking an uncharacteristically long time to decide what to do, I looked at my cards. I had an ace and a ten. It was a good hand but I would be betting my jeans to find out. I thought of myself as a good player. I had even played in casinos a few times and at least broken even, but betting clothes felt so much more risky than just betting money. As Donna finally decided to fold, I cursed myself as I did the same.
There was nothing I had seen of Donna that indicated she was any good at the game and she seemed more than willing to take her clothes off. It would be the ultimate humiliation to lose this game to her. The fact that Elizabeth would be here to gloat too would make it too much. Donna wouldn’t be able to fold the next hand so surely, she would be the first to reveal her knickers and possibly more if the hand went badly. I found myself suddenly smiling, maybe it would be all over before the blind got back to me anyway.