Chapter Thirteen

Part 3

On the fourth hand, Winter folded quickly. She seemed to have an affinity for holding on to her chips, which I was grateful for. Her winnings and holdings were going to make up a big chunk of our final pot. I, however, decided to stay in on this one. After the flop I had a pair of kings and a queen, and the rest of the flop cards were low, which meant that if the other guys had pairs, they were lower than mine. It was the first time the cards hadn’t stuck me in an adverse situation. I saw Gray’s bet and raised him double. Ogre stayed in and Ian folded.

“Dealing the turn,” Rick said.

I held my breath, hoping against hope for another queen. I didn’t get it. The turn was a four. But still a low card. A pair of kings was still a decent hand, and I couldn’t give up now. Not on my first good hand of the night. Then Gray helped me out a bit. He folded—with obvious reluctance.

“Your bet,” Rick said, glancing at me.

I placed a few chips in the pot—enough to make Ogre realize how confident I was. Maybe a bold move would repulse him and he would fold. But Ogre was restive and wouldn’t do what I wanted. Without flinching, he saw my bet.

All righty then. So much for my plan. Rick started to deal the river, but Ogre cut him off.

“Wait. Raise,” he said, ever concise. Then he tossed triple his bet into the pot.

My heart dropped. Winter and Ian both squirmed. Okay. This was a conundrum. What cards could Ogre possibly have? Was he just bluffing? It was impossible to tell. The guy never changed facial expression even when he wasn’t playing poker.

But come on. All I needed was a king or a queen on the river and I would have either two high pair or a high three of a kind. He couldn’t beat that, right? Whatever. I couldn’t back down now. I had to make a leap of faith.

“I’ll see that,” I said, tossing the chips in.

I heard Winter intake a sharp breath and ignored her. I was fine. Of course the butterflies in my stomach lacked my total credulity. I tried to keep them at bay, breathing slowly in and out.

You’re fine, I told myself. It’s going to be fine.

But I only had a few chips left. And if Ogre took this pot . . .

“Dealing the river,” Rick said.

He flipped the card over. It was a six.

Okay. That’s good. You still have a pair of kings, I told myself. He’s got nothing.

Ogre placed his final bet.

“I call,” I said, equaling his chips.

Come on, I thought. I need this. I need this one . . .

“Let’s see,” Ogre grunted, lifting his chin ever so slightly at me.

“Pair of kings,” I said, forcing a confident smile to my face.

Everyone stared at Ogre.

Please let me win this . . . please let me win this . . . please let me—

And for the first time all night, Ogre smiled.

Oh, crap.

“Seven-high straight,” he said, turning his cards over.

And there it was. A straight. Right in front of my eyes. Somehow I had allowed myself to grow complacent, and I had entirely missed the components right there on the table. Ian groaned. Winter sunk in her seat. Gray and Ogre high-fived as bile rose up in my throat. I had just lost half my team’s chips on a stupid, idiotic play.