night after night (camren)

16.

"Wow. That's just so . . . " she said, then let her voice trail off.

"So what?"

"Unusual. And surprising" she said.

"Why is it surprising?"

......

You've got to be kidding me.

Her heart had raced when Lauren first said Vegas, but she reined it in, relying on her well-honed poker face. Because really, what were the chances that Lauren would hail from the gambling mecca?

Of all the places she could be from, she'd never have thought it would be the one place that had so much in common with her present, and the life of gambling she'd led. She'd been a card player long before her mandatory attendance and Austin's Thursday night games. She'd known her way around a deck of cards since she'd taught herself to play in high school, and then continued on during college at UCLA, finding late-night games in the dorms, winning handily most of the time, collecting extra money for her expenses, for textbooks, and meal plans. Back then, playing had been fun, something she enjoyed. She and her best friend had taken many girls' trips to Vegas in their early twenties. Dinah could never back down from a challenge, and even though board and video games were more of her best friend's speed, she was the ideal cheerleader when they played the tables late at night at the Bellagio.

"Just because you don't meet anyone from Vegas. That's all I mean" she said, making light of her comment. She wasn't going to tell Lauren more. Not even Dinah knew how much Camila played these days, and how desperately she needed to win. Only her hairdresser had an inkling. It was better that way, safer that way for everyone. Dinah had had a rough go of things for a while with her douchebag of an ex-fiancé, but now that she'd met Normani she was happy beyond measure. Camila wasn't going to ruin her best friend's happiness by letting her know about the crap she was dealing with. Dinah would only be worried, like a good best friend.

There was nothing Dinah could do about her debt, so there was no reason to let her know. She had to shield her best friend from her troubles. If she kept Dinah in the dark, she could better protect her from Austin's shadow, and any harm he might do. The same went for Austin; The less he knew about her family, the better. Normani and Dinah both ran successful, high-profile video shows; she didn't want Austin to get a piece of them. They were precisely the type of meal he enjoyed best - they were flush with green.

"You like Vegas?"

"I do. And I can hold my own at a blackjack table"

"Yeah?"

"Why? You think I cant gamble?"

"Why would I think that? Do I look like stereotypical pig?"

"No" Camila said with a laugh, and held up her hands in surrender, "Do you play?"

Lauren nodded, "I play poker a couple times a month. One of my lawyer buddies has a regular card-game going on. A few of my clients pay"

"Do you let them win?"

She laughed and shook her head, "Never. They'd know if I were letting them beat me. Besides, they're A-list actors and producers"

"Name dropper" Camila said, bumping her shoulder against Lauren's.

"Did I say their names?" Lauren tossed back, "Anyway, they don't give a shit how much they win or lose"

"Nobody likes losing" she said, trying to keep the sharp edge from her voice. She despised losing because it kept her chained to that man, tied even longer to a debt that wasn't hers. Nobody could shrug off losing. But then, what did she know? She didn't have tons to gamble with, so she hated losing even more.