𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐭 ♕From Beth the Eyes of Beth Harmon

XXII - Do you still like my hair?

Episode 6

Adjournment

Part 2

New York, 1967

Do you still like my hair?

♕♛♕♛♕♛

"Beth Harmon, this is Hilton Wexler and Grandmaster Arthur Levertov." Benny said as he opened the door to let in the guests that were supposed to be the night's "fun." I put the pump down figuring I wouldn't need for the next couple of hours.

"The new champ." Arthur said.

"Hi," I said, shaking hands.

"Congratulations. Benny needed a lesson in humility." Hilton said. I laughed because it was true.

"Hello Beth. I'm Cleo" A fascinating woman in a shiny black bob emerged from the pack of boys. She had a thick French accent and she leaned in to kiss both my cheeks. It took me by surprise, I didn't know how to react.

"Hi." I said flustered, brushing the hair out of my face as she walked away.

Hilton asked if I did problems. I always found them irrelevant, positions that never come up in actual games. But I sat down anyways as he showed me one he thought I might like.

"Hilton, she's not one of your problem freaks." Spoke cat eyed-Cleo. "Benny, under what mound do you hide your drinking glasses?" She said as she popped a bottle of champagne rather ferociously. "Drink?" She offered.

I looked at her, then looked at Benny. Before I came to New York to study with him, he said there would be absolutely no booze in the apartment, but lo and behold, Cleo stood before me bearing a huge bottle of champagne. I looked at him to see if this caught him off guard, which it did, but there was a hint of slyness on his face.

"No, thank you." I said to his surprise. "I should fix the food." I said , and got up to join Cleo at the kitchen counter.

"Are you here with Arthur or Hilton?" I whispered to her as the sounds of the boys' laughter and yelling became muffled in the background.

"Both of them. Neither of them. The two of them are better than one of them if you know what I mean." She said with a composed smirk. I laughed.

I've never met a woman like Cleo before. My life was generally filled with unassuming men, men that think they know everything. But something drew me to Cleo. She was a mystery. The way she commanded the room without even trying was a wonder to me. Cleo didn't need to convince you that she was the shit: she already knew she was. As soon as she entered the room, she acted as though she had Hilton and Arthur on a leash.

"How do you all know each other?" I asked as I began setting up the charcuterie board.

"A sad story, involving me, a bad breakup, and a walk through Le Jardin du Luxembourg where those two stopped me from killing myself."

I looked up at her in shock. I never would've guessed she wanted to kill herself.

"Like I say, a sad story." She said with her gaze hung low fixed on the carrots she was cutting. "But as I walked past, Arthur and Hilton were having a violent argument over a chess board and I became mesmerized by their passion. Well, that's how they tell it, anyway." We both giggled.

"No the truth is, um..." I looked over my shoulder to see the boys sitting around the table, talking and laughing about something I couldn't hear. Benny caught my eyes and held them for a second. "Benny was there, and I became mesmerized by Benny." She continued.