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The sound of a bunch of uncomfortable swallowing and shuffling greets me.

"What?" I ask. "Any of you have somebody else who's been offering you those?"

Jax rolls his eyes, "Well, actually…"

"No one we want to accept them from, that's sure," Deandre says. "Sounds like a fair form of currency to me."

"Well?" I ask.

Jax holds up his hands. "If the D-man says it's okay, then it's okay by me."

"Great." I smile tightly, then lean forward and pluck a chip from his hands, then spin it between my fingers.

I have no problem kissing any of these guys. Not even Jax, though there'd probably be more teeth involved.

But that isn't the point. I know something they don't.

Namely, that Richard was a card shark, and he left me with some emotional scars. But he also left me with a pretty good knack for playing the odds.

And I really like mine, right now.

A few minutes later, I'm seated at the table with my stack of chips. Adam is by my side, still messing around with the cards.

I hold out my hand. "Want me to deal?"

"Okaaay…"

There are some muted chuckles, but I take the deck and give it a couple of quick, efficient shuffles, then offer it to Cayden to cut. He does so, a smile tugging at his lips like he's got an idea about what these boys have just gotten themselves into.

"You guys like to pretend you're from Texas?" I ask.

Deandre chuckles, catching on, too. "Sure do."

I put on my best fake accent and straighten an imaginary hat. "All righty then."

I don't bother with fancy tricks. I just flick the cards out, one after another, nearly too fast to see. Once they each have two, I turn to Adam, then Sergio. "Big blind, little blind. Jax, you paying to see the flop?"

For a second, everything is silence.

Then Deandre says, low and slow, "I don't know, girlie. You might be too damn rich for my blood."

Jax, the ass, doesn't even look at his cards. He throws in two blue chips. "Not mine."

His eyes flash with a challenge.

Bring. It. On.

From there, we play some damn poker. I do okay, holding my own. It's clear that the guys have been playing forever, though. They all know each other's tells, whereas I can only guess. Even though I'm making all the right moves, statistically, my stack of chips starts to dwindle before anyone else's.

Finally, we hit a hand where I have no choice. I've got the cards. "All in."

I shove in the last of my remaining stack. A chorus ofooohs goes up around the table.

It's just me and Cayden at that point. He nods. "I'll see you."

He adds in the requisite chips, and at that point, there's nothing to do but show my hand.

"Flush, jack high."