Read Online Black Girls and Bad Boys: Stealing Loretta by Neneh J. Gordon - Free Book Online

hundred and gathered up his chips.
    When he walked back across the room, he
brought Loretta’s hands together and emptied their stake into them.
    She looked up at him. “What if I lose it
all?”
    “Just enjoy it.”
    The smile that spread across her face lit
her up like the sun. “I’m not playing at this table, though.”
    “Those aren’t enough chips for this table.”
The game at the far end was winding up, so they headed over there.
    There was a changeover of players and
Loretta took a seat with four guys of varying levels of toughness. It wasn’t
too surprising when they looked her up and down. They were either taking the
chance to get an eyeful or trying to psyche her out.
    He had a moment of worry that they might
get to her, but then he caught her pulling down her dress for maximum cleavage
and messing with her hair.
    He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to
concentrate playing against all that femininity. Good on her for using all the
weapons she had.
    The dealer laid out the rules, then dished
out the cards. Everyone picked up their hand. Jordan had chosen a spot where he
could see her face rather than what she was holding. Now the curiosity was
starting to get to him.
    Chips went into the pot. The bets went
around the circle, with Loretta going last. Everyone stayed nice and
conservative – no raises – and no-one folded. Like most of them, Loretta didn’t
trade any cards. The betting went round again with a couple of raises this
time. The guy with the rimless glasses and a fat cigar threw in his hand. And
then the real game began.
    Loretta was on the dealer’s right, so she’d
be last to show what she had. The guy with the ponytail smirked and put down
four tens and a king. Next was an older gentleman with the biggest grey
eyebrows Jordan had ever seen. He put down a flush without any hint of emotion.
The guy in the baseball cap showed four nines and looked like he was going to
cry.
    Which just left Loretta.
    It was too much to hope she’d win her first
hand, but Jordan’s fingernails were digging little crescents in his palms.
Another beer would have gone down a treat, but then he wouldn’t be able to
drive them home.
    She laid out a full house with a smile.
Ponytail gathered up the chips and the whole thing started over again.
    Jordan exhaled. He could handle
negotiations with wiseguys and walking into a bank with a gun, but watching
Loretta play poker was shredding his nerves. It was a while before he figured
out why – he had no clue how she’d take it if she lost.
    The next hand got dealt and Loretta folded.
She seemed to be enjoying herself, but she might have just been a good actress.
He didn’t know her well enough to be sure. Backing her for this game didn’t
seem like such a great idea any more. If she lost it all and got in a bad mood,
he’d never get anywhere with her.
    Round three. Ponytail folded, but a few
raises made for a nice big pot. Eyebrows put down a straight flush – six to ten
of hearts. Baseball cap had four sevens. He managed to look less heartsick this
time. Cigar should have folded, his two pairs was never going to win that hand.
Loretta placed the eight to queen of spades on the table and scooped up her
winnings.
    The hands went on and people started
playing like their maiden aunt who was afraid to lose the gas money. Baseball
cap dropped out. It was a relief to see him go before he had a nervous
breakdown.
    Ponytail was winning, but Loretta and
Eyebrows were creeping up on him.
    The dealer handed out some more cards. The
pot grew.
    And that’s when Jordan clocked Loretta’s
tell. She glanced up at him and looked down at her cards. The last time she’d
done that had been just before her four of a kind took a hand.
    If he’d noticed, he wouldn’t have been the
only one.
    Now he really started to sweat. She might
be okay for this round, but it would catch up with her.
    Eyebrows took the pot and they dealt again.
    Another hand to Ponytail and Cigar called
it a