“One.”
“The lady only needs one card. Interesting.”
“Thanks for the play-by-play. Deal the cards.” Bryan sat back in his chair, nursing a beer.
“I’ll take three.” Anderson tossed his three discards on the table and slid the new ones closer to him.
“Dealer needs no cards. And, since this is the last hand of the night, let’s make it interesting.”
After a second, the sound of Otis playing with his chips sent a thrill down my back. My focus was on Anderson and what he would look at when he picked up his new cards. His eyes remained on his cards. Anderson had nothing, and Otis wasn’t stacking. I shoved all my chips into the pot and waited.
“You’re all in?” Bryan looked over at Otis and Anderson.
Anderson pushed all his chips into the pot without saying a word.
“Looks like we’ve made it interesting.” I smirked. “You in?”
There was a long pause, but then Otis slid his chips into the pile. The look on his face told me he was worried. I wasn’t going to back down. You got them.
Bryan shouted, “Show us what you got, people.”
Slowly, Anderson turned over a pair of tens and a pair of nines. Otis flipped his cards onto the pile of chips, revealing a straight. He sat back and waited for me to reveal my hand.
Bryan stood up, startling Rover, who had retreated to his bed in the corner of the room, to get a better look at my hand. “You pulled one card, and you ended up with a full house?”
Otis swallowed the last of his beer as he and Bryan watched me stack my winning. “Dude, you brought in a wringer to clean us out?”
“Yeah. And, to enjoy it even more, I allowed the wringer to clean me out too. Nice try. Pay the woman.”
Reaching into the bag resting on the back of his chair, Otis checked my stacks of chips one last time, then placed a stack of cash in front of me. “There you go. Forty-five thousand.”
“Thousand–” I tried to speak, but I couldn’t push any words out. “I thought the ante was five dollars. How the hell?”
“Forty-thousand. The buy-in for the game is ten.” Anderson informed me matter-of-factly.
“Ten-thousand dollars?” I stood up so fast the chair flew back and tipped over. “Why? Why would you let me play without telling me? I don’t have ten-thousand dollars. Anderson, I don’t have five-thousand dollars.”
I started feeling light-headed and grabbed the table for balance. The guys started laughing at my outrage, and Rover came over to see if I was alright.
“You said to cover you.” Anderson replied with his signature sexy smirk.
“I meant deal me in for like fifty bucks.” Bryan righted the chair behind me so I could take my seat. I placed my head between my legs and took several deep breaths.
“You won. Like you took all of our money. I’m not sure what you’re upset about.” Otis said before he went to the kitchen for another beer. “Like completely wiped us out.”
“So, not the point.” I declared as I petted Rover under the chin like I’d watch Eric do earlier in the evening.
“It’s minus the buy-in you owe Anderson for letting you sit at the table.” He organized the chips in a box pulled from the bag on his chair.
Straightening up, I gathered a few of the bottles off the table. “Whatever. I’m not taking forty-grand.”
“Fifty grand, you can keep the ante. Linda can get that in the morning.”
I froze and looked up at the three grown men staring back at me, “And so can we since we were the adults that drank them.”
Bryan said, “Who are you?”
Anderson stood and grabbed the bowl of chips, “I’ve been asking that same question since I met her.”
24
Anderson
“Let me take you home.” Jurnee looked beautiful in the morning light that beamed through the open door. I was annoyed she insisted on leaving. The poker game had ended late, so she had agreed to stay the night. For the second night in a row, I held her as she slept.
“It will take forever to take me home and get back. Besides, I’m a city girl now. I’m getting better at the train thing.”
“How about we compromise? Markus can take you, then I’ll know you made it safely.”
“I’ll be fine.” Jurnee stood on her tip-toes and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I’ll see you on Monday at the office. Go enjoy your friends. I get the feeling you have some explaining to do.”
My eyes closed, and I rested my forehead against hers. This desire for Jurnee to stay was completely the opposite of what I had felt in my last relationship. Back then, I insisted my poker weekends were off-limits to her. Alone time was also built into my weekly schedule. Karma’s a bitch.
I sighed, “You’re a stubborn lady. Just so we are clear.”
Her lips pressed against mine. I pulled her body to mine and deepened the kiss. Sucking on her lower lip, begging for them to part so our tongues could meet again. Making out with Jurnee was quickly becoming one of my favorite past times.
She pressed her hands on my chest and pulled away. My eyes opened to see her face light up from a smile. “If we start that, I’m not going to leave.”
“That was my intent.” The words surprised us both. “I meant–”
“Go! Hangout with your friends and tell them I’m sorry I beat them so badly last night.” Her hair fell over her eyes as she laughed.
I watched her stroll down the walk and turn to look at the house. Her hand covered her lips, and her gaze traveled up the height of the house. She smiled to herself and shook her head. I chuckled as she took two steps in one direction, then turned and went the opposite direction toward the subway stop. Jurnee was out of sight before I closed the door.
Entering the kitchen, Otis and Bryan sat around the island sipping coffee. Eric leaned against the counter on the opposite side of the room. As usual, the three had crashed in what had become their rooms on the third floor. My parents’ home had room enough for all four of us to have space and not feel anyone was invading. The unspoken ‘no female’ rule had been broken. Jurnee was right, I had some explaining to do.
“Should I begin?” Eric set his glass of grapefruit juice on the island and leaned over. “Do we or do we not have an agreement about introducing females to the group?”
“We do.” I was going to need more coffee for this conversation.
“I don’t think she knew who we were,” Bryan chimed in.
“Did you hear him humming his songs during the game?” Otis asked, hitting the island as he continued laughing. “What kind of music do you listen to?”
Bryan glared, “I saw your face when she recognized Eric from his signs around the city. Man, I think she is the first woman to be in Otis’ presence to not know who he is. At. All.”
“Until she sells pictures of all of you from last night that we didn’t even see her take.” Eric’s skepticism was showing.
“I can assure you Jurnee didn’t take any pictures last night.”
“Anderson, you can’t be sure. You weren’t even here when we first met her–”
“Her phone was on the charger in my room the whole night. When we went to bed, she joked that her best friend would think I murdered her because he had been texting her all night long. So, you see, I can guarantee that no pictures were taken.” By the looks on their faces, I knew that it was sinking in. Jurnee was the real deal. Something I had already determined. “Eric, look into Lansing, Michigan.”
“What are you thinking?” His phone was in his hand at the ready.
“Let’s see what the opportunities and obstacles are there. If there’s potential, we can talk about expanding west.”
“Are you thinking long term?” The shock in Otis’ voice was not lost on anyone around the kitchen island.
“I think there is money to be made in the area if that’s what you’re asking.” That wasn’t what he was asking, and I knew it, but I wasn’t ready to tell my best friends that I was th
inking long term with Jurnee.
“He’s asking if you’re serious about Jurnee.” Eric cut to the chase, earning a glare from me.
Bryan interjected before I could, “Of course, he’s serious about her. Exhibit A: she spent the night in this house. Exhibit B: he introduced her to us. He broke every rule we have in place about introducing a woman, but that isn’t really the point yet.”
“I like her.”
“He likes her.” Eric added with a roll of his eyes. “I’m doing a deep dive on commercial real estate then–”
“And residential.”
“Okay. Now, this is way more serious than I would have said. Am I looking for a particular type of home?”
“Just explore the opportunities. I’m not saying I’m looking for a house. I just want to know if there is a foothold we can take advantage of.”
Eric nodded and returned his attention to his phone. Otis and Bryan would not be so easily thrown off. I needed to step up and answer their questions. “What?”
“What what?” Bryan parroted.
“What do you want to ask me about?”
“Anderson, this is your business. She seems like a nice lady that can play poker fairly well.”
“Otis, cut the shit. She kicked all of our asses–”
“Then left the money on the table. Who does that?” Otis lamented aloud.
“She really left her winnings on the table?” Eric inquired in disbelief.
Filling my coffee cup again, I nodded and took a deep breath, “Did any of you know I went to Michigan last week for a football game?” I chuckled as the surprise spread over the guy’s faces. “We were there for over forty-eight hours. It’s been a week and guess what? Not one photo or story has been published about me being there. Nothing.”
An hour later, we were still in the kitchen, and Jurnee remained the main topic of conversation. She had been in my thoughts damn near since I met her, so this was nothing new for me. The fact she had made such an impression on my friends confirmed what I had had already determined.
“All I know is she is easy to be with, I just–”
Otis put his hand in the air. “Don’t go there. She isn’t the ex.”
Eric looked up from his phone. “And you just said Jurnee left thousands of dollars on the table that she won. That woman isn’t going to take money from anyone, let alone your dad. I don’t see Jurnee being bought off to disappear. Do you?”
“Did my ex seem like someone that could be bought off when you met her?” I grabbed the pitcher of Bloody Mary out of the refrigerator and returned to my seat.
“Yes!” Eric and Otis shouted in unison.
“Anderson, she had no idea who any of us were. I’m not positive that she’s realized who you are. Did she tell you if she Googled you or not?” Bryan inquired.
“She said there was nothing she could learn from Google that she can’t learn by getting to know me.”
“Wow.” Otis and Bryan said in unison.
“I know.” I leaned back in my chair. “People say they never met anyone like the person they are describing, but guys, she may be a one of a kind.”
“How does she feel about your daily barrage of text invitations for all the other women in your life?”
“We haven’t talked about it much. Graham’s wife–”
“Soraya.” They again said in unison.
“What, do you guys practice that shit? Yeah, Soraya brought it up when we had dinner with them, but she hasn’t asked. Speaking of…” I pulled up my phone and selected everyone in my contacts. Quickly deselecting the guys and my family members, I typed out a short text. “Send.”
“What did you just do?” Otis asked, grabbing my phone and scrolling to the message section.
“What? What’d he do?” Bryan questioned.
Eric grabbed the phone from Otis and looked up. “Holy Shit, A.”
25
Jurnee
Anderson - Please delete my number from your contact information. I am no longer interested in any communication with you. Thanks for the memories. Best of luck.
I reread the text for the fifth time. I sat on the edge of the bed and stared down at my phone. We had had such an amazing weekend together. Could not letting him take me home piss him off that much? How did I misread him this badly?
Sadness rolled down my back like a storm coming into the plain. We hadn’t declared we were in love with each other or anything dramatic, but I was really starting to like him a lot. What a colossal misread. Jesus, Jurnee.
Derrick answered on the first ring. “Great! You’re not dead then.”
“There is no one on Earth with worse judgment than me. I just got the fuck off text from Anderson.”
“You did not. I saw the way he looked at you when you were here. There is zero chance he is breaking up with you.”
“You can’t break up with someone you’re not with.” I reread the text for a second time.
“Whatever. You are terrible at interpreting what someone is saying. Read me the text.”
“Please delete my number from your contact information. I am no longer interested in any communication with you. Thanks for the memories. Best of luck.”
“Huh.”
“Yeah. Huh.” I flopped back on my bed. “Derrick, I want to cry.”
“I know you do.”
“For real. If you hadn’t picked up the phone, I might be ugly crying in a fetal position on the bathroom floor.” I combed my hair over my eyes with my fingers in an effort to hide from the unexpected direction the day had gone.
“Jurnee, you can always ugly cry with me.” He sighed. “The ‘thanks for the memories’ was a major asshole thing to say.”
“Do you mean because I bought him a plane ticket with all of my extra money?” I sat up and gathered my hair, draping it all over my left shoulder. “Or because I introduced him to my favorite places and people?”
“Well, yeah. For starters. Did you have sex with him?”
Flipping the ends of my hair up, I examined them. “I mean… no.”
“What the hell does ‘I mean… no’ even mean?” He gasped, “Oh my God! Please tell me it didn’t fit. I need to hear this right now.”
A much-needed smile spread across my face, and it reminded me how much I needed my best friend. “What am I even doing here?”
“Sowing your oats and not falling in love because that would just be a horrible turn of events. Oh, and you’re going into business with one of the most successful under 35s in New York City.”
“I don’t think I belong here.” A hair with a split end stood out, and I gave it a forceful yank. “I definitely didn’t belong with Anderson Douglas. So, maybe he was just ending it before I got too into him. Did I tell you he has a one-hour window every day that he accepts texts from women?”
“Accepts them for what?”
“They’re applications for spending the evening with him. Apparently, he selects the one that grabs his attention. And, by attention–”
“Jurnee. I get it. Are you sure about that? He told this, or you just heard about it?”
“Guess it doesn’t matter much now, does it?” I declared as I made my way to the bathroom.
“Hold on. Haven’t you spent almost every day with him for like the two weeks?”
I nodded. “Yep.”
“So, what changed?” Derrick was asking the Universe, but I knew the answer.
“He started to let me in.” I closed the toilet lid and plopped down on the seat.
“Explain.”
I shrugged my shoulders and picked at the nonexistent lint on my jeans. “Well, I met his best friends last night. We played poker together…”
“You cleaned them out, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t take the money. I swear I didn’t.”
“Jurnee, you have to tell people you went out with a world champion poker player in college.”
I rolled my eyes. “No one asked.”
“Because that’s someth
ing that everyone asks when they sit at a poker table. How much did you take them for?”
“Fifty.”
“Not bad. They can’t be mad about fifty dollars.”
“Thousand.” I scrunched up my nose and grit my teeth, waiting for his reaction.
“YOU TOOK ANDERSON AND HIS FRIENDS FOR FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS? ARE YOU CRAZY?” I held the phone away from my ear.
“First, I had no idea we were playing with that kind of money. I asked Anderson to cover me, and he didn’t bat an eye.” I held up a second finger as if he could see me listing my points. “Second, I didn’t take it.”
“Do you think he sent this text because you play better poker than he and his friends?”
“I don’t think so. When we went to bed, he said it was hot that I cleaned the table and that his friends couldn’t wait to have a rematch.” I palmed my face for bringing up the fact that we slept together.
“Was it the ‘I mean… no’ that turned the evening into a disaster?”
“Not at all. We agreed that we would wait since his friends were in the house. Albeit three floors below us, but in the house.”
“Three floors below?”
“Oh,” I nodded. “Didn’t I mention that Anderson lives in his parents’ freaking mansion?”
“Nope. I’m positive I would have remembered a fact like that. Do tell.”
Unfallen tears began to collect in my eyes, making the bathroom blurry. “I think that was the realization that I don’t fit into his life.”
“Because he lives in a big house, you suddenly aren’t good enough for him?” The annoyance in his voice was clear.
“The house has an elevator.”
“Lots of buildings have an elevator.” Derrick countered.
“His home has an elevator and a pool in the lower level. In New York City. His master suite takes up the entire top floor of the home and has a piano that he plays. Like two of my houses could fit comfortably into his master bedroom alone.”
Mister Manhattan: A Hero Club Novel Page 12