All in for You

by David Horne

  “This is a good room. Not all the ones in this hotel are suites, but I always ask for one.”

  “I guess I can sleep on the couch or something. If that makes you feel better.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t mind giving up the other bed for you.”

  Toby blushed. “I don’t want to be in your way or anything.”

  “Then the best place for you is to sleep in the bed that I never use anyway. I do like to get up and sit on the couch watching television sometimes when I can’t sleep.”

  The writer chewed on his lip and nodded. “Yeah, makes sense. Let’s get settled in I guess.”

  “Don’t let me get in the way.”

  “Pretty sure I’m the one in the way. Why did you get a second bed anyway?” Toby asked the question.

  Pete had been hoping that the man wasn’t going to ask that. It wasn’t like it was embarrassing, but it was a bit of a silly reason. The card player shrugged. “It’s because the two queen-sized beds feel less claustrophobic. They’re just a little bigger.”

  “Do you have a problem with tight spaces?” Toby tilted his head. He seemed almost like a journalist when he gave that curious look.

  “Only when I sleep.” Pete shrugged. He was trying to shrug it off. He didn’t want to get into the discussion that was bound to happen. “It’s not a huge deal. I just like feeling the extra space in a room I don’t know very well.”

  “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

  “It’s not. It just means I get a bigger hotel room and a smaller bed. But a queen-sized is still a good size for one person.”

  Toby nodded along.

  Pete turned and moved to the bedroom, putting his bag on the bed near the window. “They have blackout curtains in here because it gets bright at night here.”

  “I heard a few things about the city. That was one of them. That it’s as bright as can be even in the dead of night.”

  “Only in this part of town.”

  Toby nodded.

  Pete felt the need to continue on the same train of thought. “You’ll get used to it.”

  Toby laughed softly. “Probably not. I don’t exactly take trips that often.”

  “Maybe you’ll go out more often after this trip.” Pete was trying to be comforting. It probably wasn’t going to work, but he felt the need to give it a try at least.

  This just wasn’t something that he spent years not learning how to do. He wasn’t good at making people feel better, especially when something bad had happened. He had a natural glower about him that he had been informed many times just made people more nervous when they were in his presence. So instead of helping he just started to unpack the clothes from his bag and left Toby to his thoughts.

  Chapter Five

  Toby checked his watch. This was a lot less exciting than it had seemed to be on television. He was starting to feel a little bored.

  He couldn’t see much of what was happening at the tables. It would be too much of a distraction for him to get close and everyone was just kind of filtering around him. He wasn’t quite sure where to go and just kind of flowed around with the crowd.

  “Excuse me.” Someone called out to him.

  He turned around to see a thirty-something-year-old blond woman with a headset and a clipboard.

  She offered him a smile. “Are you having trouble finding your table?”

  “Uh, no, not really.” Toby shook his head. “I’m not competing.”

  “Just spectating, then?”

  The writer nodded. “I’m a guest, I guess.” He shrugged. He had never been good at this sort of thing and he was terrified that she could see right through him. It felt like every decent poker player in the room could see his nerves. It explained all of the odd smiles in his direction. Almost like they were sizing him up.

  “A guest?”

  “I’m here observing one of the participants.”

  “What type of observation?”

  “Oh, right, I’m a writer. I’m here to watch him while I find out how to write about this.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.” Toby nodded.

  She squinted at him for a moment. “A writer?”

  “Yeah.” He nodded. He didn’t like the fact that this questioning was being repeated so much. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, hoping to get out of there as soon as he could.

  “We’ve got a place for spectators. I can take you there.”

  “Oh.” Toby didn’t say more than that. He had been there before and had already left trying to get a closer look at the activities. It was disheartening to be sent back to the small area that he would be asked to stay in again. “Right. I should have known.”

  “It’s all right. It’s pretty easy to get lost in here. Can I get your name?”

  “Uh, sure. It’s Toby Kent.”

  She stopped.

  He fidgeted.

  “Toby Kent?”

  “Uh, yeah.” The writer nodded.

  “I’ve read your books. They’re pretty good.” She offered a smile.

  His heart soared. He couldn’t believe that his name had been recognized. That was like a small shot of heaven hitting him right in the chest and he couldn’t keep the smile down.

  “So, who are you observing?” She smiled and glanced down at her clipboard.

  “Pete Billiard.”

  “Oh, I know him.”

  “Yeah, I’m shadowing him for a book that I’m going to be writing.” Toby nodded along.

  She pulled a sheet of paper from the back of the clipboard. “I have a question; I hope you don’t mind it.”

  “What is it?”

  “I was wondering if I could get your autograph. I know it’s unprofessional of me, but I enjoy your work.”

  “Oh, it’s not a problem at all.” All of a sudden, a new wave of awkwardness struck Toby. He felt his hands start to sweat. He hadn’t ever really signed an autograph before. That was because he wasn’t big enough to do big book tours or anything like that. “I don’t mind.”

  She passed over the clipboard, the loose paper, and the pen and he made quick work of adding the signature to the paper. It felt surreal like it was something that didn’t belong in the world that he lived in. Nobody ever asked him for an autograph. It just felt off.

  He wasn’t famous enough for anyone to want an autograph. He was a decent writer who did enough to make a living in the business, but that was it. He didn’t do this kind of thing unprompted unless he had gone to some sort of convention or similar to try to drum up sales.

  “Thanks.” She grinned at him and started to lead him back to the waiting area for spectators.

  “No problem.” He shook his head. “I was just trying to get a better look at the way things run around here. Make sure I know the ins and outs of this so I can write about it properly.”

  “I’m sure it’s going to be great.” She couldn’t seem to wipe the smile off of her face. It was slightly uncomfortable because it looked a little too wide, almost like it was slightly fake.

  “I hope so.” Toby nodded as they stopped near the roped off area. He wondered if she had been a fan or not.

  “Sorry, I’d let you get in closer if you could, but our players don’t really like being disturbed.”

  “I get it.” Toby sighed and stepped back in. The view was terrible from this far away, but it was as close as he was going to be allowed to the action. A small side area where he could overlook a small sea of tables.

  He was just going to have to watch and listen the best he could to try to pull out the hidden truths in this world. That was what he was good at anyway. He was good at observing.

  So, he proceeded to ignore everyone around him and pull out a small notebook, starting to take note of the conversations around him with his sharp ears.

  It was easy for him to fade back into the background and kind of get lost in the space around him. No one seemed to notice him now that he was where he was expected to stay.

  And he
knew that he could stay like that for hours. It was just a part of his craft, a learned skill that he had perfected after years of being nearly invisible to most of the people in his age group.

  It had been that way since he had been in school, never excelling at anything and never drawing too much attention to himself. Well, except for the attention of English teachers. That had always been his thing. He had an eye for art. At least written art. He had never been that good at analyzing visual art.

  So that’s what he did. He watched. And he waited. And he listened. He eavesdropped and learned about the people around him without interacting with them. There was an old scientific principle about the fact that when someone knows that they were observed it would change their behavior, so it was in his best interest to not be noticed as he watched those around him.

  He heard people discussing strategy. He heard people discussing other players. He heard people that were confident and people that were terrified of losing. Some people could lose everything if they didn’t at least break even. That hit him as a problem. Desperation.

  He heard all sorts of things, the pieces of the human condition that came together to make everything just work together perfectly. It was natural and strange at the same time, something that he idolized watching from the outside and rarely made the effort to get inside of it. He didn’t want to live in that world.

  He shook his head. That was a lie. He always kind of envied the social butterflies and the fact that they could talk to anyone. He never did well with crowds or groups and this was making him nervous. Instead of thinking about it, he focused on the job, taking the notes that were going to make his next book.

  He ended up being so stuck in the notes that he didn’t notice people slowly start filtering out of the large room. He didn’t notice as the movement around him stilled. He was listening to one of the pit bosses discussing things with one of the dealers, talking about the way this game would go. This was Texas Hold’em; it was a little different than normal games because it was about playing the players and not beating the house.

  His notes were frantic and messy, filling up every margin. He would organize the thoughts later on little index cards. That would be a project if he managed to get downtime on the trip, but if he didn’t, he would find himself doing it once he got home safely.

  He was so caught up in a conversation that he didn’t hear Pete walking up behind him. He didn’t hear the man until he said something. “Hey.”

  Toby nearly jumped out of the chair. His heart started racing and his breath caught in his throat. He managed not to scream, but he didn’t manage to respond.

  “Sorry. Thought you saw me coming.”

  “It’s all right. You just startled me.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “Just watching and taking notes.” Toby shrugged. “Observing and staying out of the way.”

  “They made you stay here, didn’t they?”

  “When I tried to sneak out, they dragged me back kicking and screaming.” Toby made a joke out of his embarrassment.”

  “Damn. Sorry about that.” Pete didn’t look very sorry about it. He was smirking ever so slightly.

  “Don’t be.” Toby shook his head and slowly unfolded himself from the seat. He could feel his joints crack from having sat too long. “Are you done for the day?”

  “All done until tomorrow night. I qualified for the finals.” Pete shrugged like it was nothing. But from what the writer had heard that day, it wasn’t such a certain thing for most people.

  “Figured you would.” Toby laughed as he stretched out his limbs.

  “How long have you been sitting there?”

  “For a while. Uh, what time is it now?”

  “Like ten.”

  “Wow, so like six hours.”

  Pete almost laughed, but the noise caught up in his throat. “Really? That long?”

  “I was just sitting there and listening to people to get a feel of the situation.”

  “Well, I’m going to get you a pass to get closer to the finals.”

  “You don’t have to do that. I don’t want to get in the way.”

  “You’re just going to be sitting closer than the rest of the crowd so you can watch closer.” Pete shrugged. “Most people that make it this far can do it.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure. They were pretty surprised that I was using the option.” Pete gave a half grimace that slightly curled up into a smile like smiling was awkward for the man.

  That face made the writer uncomfortable. He didn’t know how to react to it. It felt weird, causing a bump to form in the pit of his stomach. He knew why that happened. It was because that look on the man’s face was confusing and hot at the same time. And that was a pretty weird feeling. “Thanks then. I appreciate it.”

  “You should be a little closer to look at what’s going on. Did you learn stuff?”

  “A lot, even from this distance.” Toby nodded. “There’s a lot that goes into something like this.”

  “Yeah, there is.” Pete nodded. “Want to go grab something to eat?”

  “Uh, sure. Sounds great. I just want to run up to the room and drop off my notes first.”

  “I could use a shower. There were a lot of people around and I feel like I’m a bit out of it.”

  “You sure you don’t want to just go to bed?”

  “Nah, I like to hit the buffet after a long day. It’s nice to hit all types of food. Especially since I don’t eat all day when I’m playing.”

  Toby’s stomach seemed to growl in response. “I don’t think I ate either.”

  “Do you remember eating?”

  “No? But that doesn’t mean anything. When I’m neck-deep in research or writing it gets a little hard to keep track of things like time and meals.” Toby shrugged. This wasn’t something he felt embarrassed about. It was simply something that was the way it was. He had always been like that. It was easy to forget when you got into the zone.

  “Why don’t you eat?”

  “I just get so focused on stuff that I forget.”

  “I don’t eat because it keeps me hungry and on my feet.”

  “Really?”

  Pete shrugged. That strange half-smile was still on his face. “Like the hunger keeps me sharp. I know most people think it’s ridiculous.”

  “It might be. It’s pretty ridiculous when I forget to eat. Most of the time my friends kind of roll their eyes at me and tell me that I need to remember to eat.” Toby smiled. He was starting to get more comfortable around Pete. Maybe that was a good thing, but there was a possibility that it was going to turn out badly. “They probably think I’m just overdramatizing things.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “It’s the whole eye-rolling thing.” Toby laughed.

  “All right. Let’s get going.” Pete started to lead the way out of the large ballroom that all the tables from the lower level games were. Toby followed him, staying close so that he didn’t get lost in the crowd.

  It didn’t take them long to get into the room and separate. Pete stepped into the bathroom, leaving Toby to deal with his own thing.

  That gave Toby some time to think about the feelings this man evoked in him. Not that it helped very much. It was all still so confusing.

  Chapter Six

  Pete sighed as the hot water washed over his body. It felt good to have a moment that was just letting it all go. This had become a part of his routine over his time as a professional gambler. The moment to simply let it all go.

  But he knew that he couldn’t spend all night there in the bathroom letting the steam open up his sinuses. He had other things that he had to do. He had a man he had to entertain. He may have promised that he wasn’t going to entertain Toby, but he kind of wanted to. It would be nice for them to spend some time together, hitting one of the famous buffets in Las Vegas, even if the late-night options were more limited than the daytime ones.

  But the limited options
were still there and plentiful. There would be no lacking food anytime soon.

  He shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist as he did. There was an odd silence from outside the bathroom like he was the only one in the hotel room. He frowned and paused, stopping to listen in to what was going on outside the room.

  Nothing. He could hear nothing. No movement. No sound. If Toby were there, wouldn’t he be moving around at least a little bit?

  It was probably nothing. He told himself that. That Toby was just being incredibly quiet. He frowned. It shouldn’t have worried him like that. Pete liked the fact that he was unflappable, someone that couldn’t be shaken no matter what.

  The card player fought the urge to check outside the bathroom and instead went to dress quickly, maybe before he was fully dry, but it didn’t matter. He had to find out why Toby was being so quiet. Maybe the man had left. But he couldn’t figure out why the writer would have left him behind, or done anything outside of the room.

  Pete was still frowning as he pulled his shirt on over his head and stepped out of the bathroom in his bare feet. The room was lit up. But it was empty. It didn’t take much checking to figure that out. Toby was gone.

  But where could he have gone? Pete couldn’t figure that out. He frowned and walked to the door.

  Before he reached it, the door beeped and the lock was released. Toby stepped back into the room. He was stretching out his muscles as he walked back into the room.

  “Hey.” Pete was playing cool. His heart had been racing when the man was gone when he got out of the shower, but he wasn’t going to let that show.

  Toby nodded back at him. “Hey.”

  “What’s up?”

  Toby shrugged. “Bathroom was taken and I couldn’t hold it any longer.”

  Pete laughed. That answer made sense. He should have figured that was it. “I didn’t mean to take it over for so long.”

  “It’s not your fault. I’m the one that didn’t go for almost ten hours. I felt like I was going to burst.”

  “I don’t think you actually would have burst.” Pete shook his head.

  “If I hadn’t burst, I would have wished I had.” Toby laughed. The writer seemed to be happy. Probably because he had finally taken care of himself after hours of not taking care of it. “That would have been embarrassing to let you catch me after I let it all go.”