at me. "Oh I can't play with that kind of money."
"Sure you can. You've been doing just fine from back there. Why not take a turn in the hot seat?"
I waved him off. "Really, I wouldn't want to ruin all your hard work."
"If I thought you were likely to do that, I wouldn't ask. Look, either you play, or we lose our spot. It'll just be a few minutes, I promise."
I eyed the men around the table. As intimidating as the prospect of playing with them directly was, it was also kind of exciting. You don't get into law unless you have a healthy competitive streak. "Well, if it's just for a few hands..."
"Excellent." He got to his feet. "Everyone, Sophia here will take my place until I get back. Play nice with her." He winked at me. "Back in a few."
I slid into his seat.
"Not sure we've ever had a girl at this table," said Ewan, clearly not happy about the fact.
"It's kind of nice," said one of the other men. "Gives us something prettier to look at than your ugly mug." Laughter rippled through the room and Ewan scowled at me, although he kept silent.
Play resumed, and soon enough Trey found himself in a tight spot. All the cards had been dealt, and he was facing a massive final bet. I knew straight away his opponent had something strong. He had shown no propensity to bluff in spots like that. But Trey appeared oblivious. Rather than folding as he should, he seemed to be considering making a heroic call. Sure it would look amazing if he was right, but the chances of that seemed impossibly low.
Sure enough, after about thirty seconds, he pushed his chips into the middle. "Call." He wore a rather triumphant look, but it quickly dissipated as his opponent flipped over his cards.
"Full house," he said with a smirk.
Trey stared for a few seconds, before smashing a fist down on the table and throwing his hand away.
"Have you ever considered taking up knitting, Trey?" Jav asked. "Or maybe stamp collecting? There's not a lot of profit there, true, but at least you wouldn't be actively losing money."
Trey just stared down at his few remaining chips and shook his head. I felt bad for him, but there wasn't much I could do.
The game continued. I still hadn't played a hand. Part of me wanted to jump in and throw my chips around as recklessly as the rest of them, but I was afraid of putting Sebastian's stack at risk.
"Is that your plan then?" asked Ewan, after a few minutes of this. "Just play scared and fold until Sebastian gets back?"
Despite the fact that he was right, I was sick of his banter by that point. "I'm not scared. I'm just waiting for the right hand to take your money, that's all," I replied, as sweetly as possible.
There were several chuckles. "That sounds like a challenge to me, Ewan," said Jav.
"That it does," the other man replied, staring straight into my eyes. I knew that from that moment it was game on between us. The second I played a hand, he'd be all over me.
And a few minutes later, I was dealt something I couldn't ignore. A pair of Queens. One of the best starting combinations possible. My pulse quickened. This was it.
I raised, and several people came along for the ride, including my new friend. The first three cards dealt into the centre looked harmless, so I bet again. Everyone folded until it got around to Ewan.
"Finally found some stones, hey?" he asked. "Alright then, let's play." He threw in enough chips to match my bet. Everyone else folded.
The next card didn't change much, but nonetheless I began to feel nervous. The first few bets in any given hand are relatively small, but as the money in the middle grows, so do the size of the wagers. There was already a large sum in the centre of the table. This hand had the potential to get out of control very quickly.
I considered just cutting my losses and giving up, but I couldn't stomach the thought of giving Ewan that satisfaction. I'd sat down to compete, and so compete I would. With shaking hands, I bet again.
He thought for about thirty seconds,
"Sure you can. You've been doing just fine from back there. Why not take a turn in the hot seat?"
I waved him off. "Really, I wouldn't want to ruin all your hard work."
"If I thought you were likely to do that, I wouldn't ask. Look, either you play, or we lose our spot. It'll just be a few minutes, I promise."
I eyed the men around the table. As intimidating as the prospect of playing with them directly was, it was also kind of exciting. You don't get into law unless you have a healthy competitive streak. "Well, if it's just for a few hands..."
"Excellent." He got to his feet. "Everyone, Sophia here will take my place until I get back. Play nice with her." He winked at me. "Back in a few."
I slid into his seat.
"Not sure we've ever had a girl at this table," said Ewan, clearly not happy about the fact.
"It's kind of nice," said one of the other men. "Gives us something prettier to look at than your ugly mug." Laughter rippled through the room and Ewan scowled at me, although he kept silent.
Play resumed, and soon enough Trey found himself in a tight spot. All the cards had been dealt, and he was facing a massive final bet. I knew straight away his opponent had something strong. He had shown no propensity to bluff in spots like that. But Trey appeared oblivious. Rather than folding as he should, he seemed to be considering making a heroic call. Sure it would look amazing if he was right, but the chances of that seemed impossibly low.
Sure enough, after about thirty seconds, he pushed his chips into the middle. "Call." He wore a rather triumphant look, but it quickly dissipated as his opponent flipped over his cards.
"Full house," he said with a smirk.
Trey stared for a few seconds, before smashing a fist down on the table and throwing his hand away.
"Have you ever considered taking up knitting, Trey?" Jav asked. "Or maybe stamp collecting? There's not a lot of profit there, true, but at least you wouldn't be actively losing money."
Trey just stared down at his few remaining chips and shook his head. I felt bad for him, but there wasn't much I could do.
The game continued. I still hadn't played a hand. Part of me wanted to jump in and throw my chips around as recklessly as the rest of them, but I was afraid of putting Sebastian's stack at risk.
"Is that your plan then?" asked Ewan, after a few minutes of this. "Just play scared and fold until Sebastian gets back?"
Despite the fact that he was right, I was sick of his banter by that point. "I'm not scared. I'm just waiting for the right hand to take your money, that's all," I replied, as sweetly as possible.
There were several chuckles. "That sounds like a challenge to me, Ewan," said Jav.
"That it does," the other man replied, staring straight into my eyes. I knew that from that moment it was game on between us. The second I played a hand, he'd be all over me.
And a few minutes later, I was dealt something I couldn't ignore. A pair of Queens. One of the best starting combinations possible. My pulse quickened. This was it.
I raised, and several people came along for the ride, including my new friend. The first three cards dealt into the centre looked harmless, so I bet again. Everyone folded until it got around to Ewan.
"Finally found some stones, hey?" he asked. "Alright then, let's play." He threw in enough chips to match my bet. Everyone else folded.
The next card didn't change much, but nonetheless I began to feel nervous. The first few bets in any given hand are relatively small, but as the money in the middle grows, so do the size of the wagers. There was already a large sum in the centre of the table. This hand had the potential to get out of control very quickly.
I considered just cutting my losses and giving up, but I couldn't stomach the thought of giving Ewan that satisfaction. I'd sat down to compete, and so compete I would. With shaking hands, I bet again.
He thought for about thirty seconds,
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