All In

Двадцать один

Alexei's after care game is on point as he cleans us both up with a wet cloth hand towel. I stand against the counter to gain my balance back, and then turn to fix myself in the mirror. I brush my fingers through my hair and fix my lipstick. 

Alexei adjusts himself in the other mirror and situating himself to look presentable again. 

I wait at the door for him to finish, and when I go to unlock it, I feel him against my back. 

"As soon as I win, I'm going to take you home and fulfill that promise you asked me for the other day. Don't expect to sleep tonight, my Love."

"Promise?"

He lets out a low growl of sorts, and then allows me to open the door. 

Back in The Room, everyone stands around talking, but when they all see us, they quiet and stand around the railing once again. 

Alexei walks in front of me to the table, he sits, and I resume my stance next to him, waiting for the dealer to start again. 

~

Some time later, the third round comes to play, and Alexei still does not have his chip back. But when he picks up his cards, showing a queen of hearts and an ace of clubs, I do feel we have some luck on our side. 

Confidently, Alexei moves his remaining two stacks of chips in the pot, and all other men except Artem, who folds, put their remaining bets in the pot. 

I take one look around to all the women, and the one on our right is not a fan of the hand her husband pulled, based on the shift in her stance. 

The dealer flips his couple of cards, and Alexei has a couple different options to choose from. The King of hearts on the table could help get a Royal Flush, if he really is that lucky, while queen of clubs could help in getting a four of a kind. 

Based on a random class I took in college, the four of a kind is slightly more probable to happen in a game like this, so I tap my finger slightly to the left, to notify him to pick up the queen of clubs. When it becomes his turn, he does what I suggest. 

I watch everyone during each move, and the wife two to my left puffs out her chest when her husband picks a ten of spades from the flop. He either has a straight, four of a kind, or a royal flush, if she knows anything at all about poker. 

It comes to everyone's last go around, and Alexei has a four of a kind in his hand; the queens. The other five had folded last go around, so it was time to reveal Alexei's cards and the man whose wife is very proud of his hand. 

"The game is yours, Vlad." 

A smile on Vlad's face grows, and he lays his cards proudly on the table. He has the four tens. The crowd starts to clap, and murmurs echo quietly around the room. The wife practically starts to cry, but Alexei keeps his cool. 

"Oh, wait a minute", Alexei starts. The crowd goes silent, and I do my hardest to not make a face. 

With no other words, Alexei slowly lays down his cards, revealing his four queens. The entire crowd stops, and Vlad's smile vanishes. 

I hear all the wives gasp, and Dina starts to giggle. I finally let out a smile as my poker face finally has a chance to rest. Alexei stands from the table, reaches over, grabs the black chip, then turns and hands it to me. 

The room finally erupts in cheers. All eight men then stand, shaking hands with each other. The last to shake hands is Alexei and Vlad; and though Vlad is reluctant, they both end up congratulating each other. 

Alexei then turns to me and pulls me in. He plants a quick kiss on my lips. He keeps me pulled into his side as all the men start to talk as they always do.