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He turns his hand over with the deck in thehing, like he’s surrendering soers around the deck "Do you play a lot?"

"Occasionally when I need h he already has I was taught never to trust anyone else when it co cards I toss the top one to the side and deal

I liftstrip poker, you’d lose after one hand since you’re only wearing a towel"

He picks up his cards, pressing back a sant of you" I flip over three cards on the bed, lining theradually expands to this know-it-all sivese have since we’re not actually raising the stakes"

He so ahead and deal another"

I do what he says and the next card I deal is an ace I have one, but I don’t get excited just yet Even though the odds are in my favor, doesn’t mean they’ll end up that way First rule of cards And of life

Luke’s expression is a mixture of inquisitiveness and boredoether "Deal the last card," he says

I turn it over and lay it down None of the cards are suits and there’s nothing close to a flush or run I have a good chance of winning or at least tying if he’s lucky enough to have an ace

"What are you s his cards "Maybe I have an ace, too"

"I didn’t knoas sot?"

He places his cards down and my elation instantly sinks "What can I say?" He rubs his jawline thoughtfully "I must be lucky"

I scrunch et pocket aces?"

"Any hand’s possible" He relaxes back on the h that I can see his thighs "Now I get to ask a question"

"Go head" It doesn’t s spread apart a little and I swear I can see his balls "Tell ht"

I don’ton acid and I wanted to see if I could fly"

He rolls his eyes "I’ve seen people tripping on acid before and you definitely weren’t" He tosses his cards aside and overlaps his hands on his lap "Come on, Violet Tell me the truth"

I frown "I really don’t want to"

"Well, you have to It’s part of the ga all the fun out of theit with pressure "Would you believeto fly?"

"Were you?" His body goes rigid "Were you trying… Did you do it on purpose?"

I drop my hand to my lap "You think I’m suicidal?"

"I don’t knohat to think," he says, sing hard "That’s why I’, and I wonder why

"I’ feelings out of ht that night?"

He shakes his head "You haven’t won a hand yet, so I don’t have to answer"

I lower aze to his cards on the bed "How the hell did you end up with two aces?"

"I guess I’m just lucky"

"Luck doesn’t exist"

We stare at each other stubbornly and then reluctantly I give up, which ht be a first for et an answer fro frouys," I say as I collect the cards froave in to him like that "That’s why I ju from them?" He hands me his discarded cards and I add them to the top of the deck

"No way" I scoot the cards across the bed toward him "That would be two questions and you only won one"

He picks up the cards with a smirk on his face "That’s okay I’ll just ask you after I win the next hand" He shuffles the deck and deals out the cards, looking so pleased with hi that next hand and he asks me the same question I refused to answer earlier, and then waits patiently for ," I answer, annoyed How the hell did he win that hand? It’s bullshit First two aces, then two queens

"What kind of so them with his thumb

"I screwed someone over"

"That’s still not really an answer"

"Well, it’s the best I can give you," I say, but he just keeps staring at ain, his sexy brown eyes weaseling their way under ive in for so farther and farther away and I know that soon I’ about it "I screwed theo"

He processes what I said and then sits up, chucking the cards aside "Wait? ‘Deal’ as in drugs?"

I shrug with my hands out to my side "Are you really that surprised?"