Page 80 of Use Me

She thought for a moment. “You know what I was thinking?”

“What’s that?”

Ashtyn grinned. “The same thing. Well, I wasn’t thinking of renting out my condo, but I think you’re right.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

I stood, pulling Ashtyn with me. “Good. Now let’s make sure we fuck in every inch of this place before we move.”

The snow was falling—again. It was cold as fuck, and yet my dumb ass had agreed with my friends that going on a fucking yacht for New Year’s Eve would be fun. But Kenny had come across an ad for a Speakeasy cruise and wanted us to go. Besides ringing in the new year with my girl, I was looking forward to the poker tournament that was being held on the boat. The guys and I had practiced for years, though we didn’t know that we had been practicing. I wasn’t sure how the boat was going to be set up for the tournament, but I hoped that at the final table my friends and I would be playing each other. At least then I could read their tells and have more of a chance of walking away with some money.

I was dressed in a black pinstriped suit, a black button-down shirt, a red tie, black and white Oxfords and a black and white fedora. I legit felt like I was a gangster. Maybe dressing up in a getup from the twenties wasn’t all that bad. Plus, the way Ashtyn looked …

She was dressed in a gold, satin evening gown that clasped around her neck. The material hugged every inch of her curves, but what I couldn’t stop staring at was her bare shoulders. There was something about the way the curve of her neck sloped to her slender shoulders that made my mouth water and call my name. All I wanted to do was run my tongue along every inch of her skin and not stop until we were both naked and sated.

But there was no time for that.

“Ready, Cupcake?”

She grabbed her clutch. “Yep.”

We took an Uber down to Navy Pier and met up with Kenny, Jett, Clark, and Abby. Everyone was dressed as though the year had changed back to a time where alcohol was illegal, and there were a lot of underground clubs where you could drink and play cards. Most of the women were dressed in flapper dresses, but I preferred the way Ashtyn’s gown hugged her curves, though I wouldn’t mind a knee-high flapper dress I could slip my hand under.

“Isn’t this the same boat we took for the booze cruise?” Ashtyn asked as we all walked aboard.

“Sure is.”

“Maybe they’ll have Jenga set up so Abs and I can play something.”

“You don’t want to watch me win?” I smirked.

“I’m winning tonight,” Kenny stated.

“Please. You lose every week,” Jett put in.

“There can only be three winners, and tonight one of them is me,” Clark stated. He was right. There would only be a first, second and third place. Third place would walk away with five hundred bucks, second would take a grand and first place was getting five thousand.

I rolled my eyes. “You fools know I’m the better player.”

“While I would love to see you four have a catfight, I would love a drink more,” Ashtyn indicated.

“Right,” I agreed. “Let’s get a drink then figure out the dinner situation.”

Dinner was in our bellies, and a few drinks had been consumed by the time the tournament started. There were ninety-nine of us playing for first place.

There were eleven tables, each with nine players. There were six tables on the bottom level, five on the middle level and the final table on the upper level. The winner from each table would move to the main event, so the final table would consist of eleven people. The seats were chosen randomly, and I was at a table with Clark. I won.

“You’re going to the final table?” Ashtyn asked, a huge smile on her face.

“Of course I am.”

She shoved my shoulder. “Don’t be so cocky.”

“I play every week, Cupcake. It’s like second nature to me.”

“Isn’t it the luck of the cards?” Abby asked. She and Ashtyn had watched our game for the past hour or so until I’d won.