Lemonade and Crisps: Marjoreece One Shots

Poker Face

Reece had a standing poker game on the last Friday of the month with Autumn, Mia, and Siobhan. They never talked about their feelings, but the four were inexplicably bonded by the horrible things Roger had done to them.

Autumn, Mia and Reece had played as children for bits of candy or pretzel sticks. Mia and Reece continued over the years after prom, but it was never quite the same without Aut.

They knew that Sorscha and Viv would also be well suited for a standing Poker game, but felt adding the others would tip the scales away from what they jokingly called the "Hate Club." So, they kept it just the four of them and carried on since Siobhan came into the friend group.

This particular Friday Siobhan was not going to be able to make it. Viv was stuck on the overnights again, and Siobhan liked for her and Jamey to be home to see Viv before she left for work. So, the others had gone back and forth all week on who they should ask to be their fourth.

The obvious answer was Sorscha, but between work, family and school she barely had a moment to breathe. As Friday approached Reece just took the leap and asked Marjorie. He was glad he had done it without the others because she had shrieked at the prospect.

Friday afternoon he ran to the shop and got all the snacks and drinks they would need and took them back to theirs. It would be his first time hosting in a while. After Siobhan came into their group, she had taken over the role of host as Viv and Jamey were much better at making themselves scarce then the others.

The last time Mia had tried to host was before the boys were born, but Char had a hard time staying away and Mia found herself constantly entangled in the brunette's arms. She wouldn't normally complain, but she had lost her entire bankroll that night.

Marjorie greeted everyone as they arrived with maybe a bit too much excitement. Truthfully it would have been easier for her if Siobhan was here. She and Aut had gotten on for years now, but Marjorie was not looking forward to Mia's constant razzing.

As everyone settled in Reece doled out drinks and snacks. He knew what everyone's usual was. "Reecey, we thought you might actually cook since you were hosting." Autumn raised an eyebrow in agreement.

He laughed. "No, you're getting the same snacks you serve me." He brought everything to the table and took his place. He explained the rules they played by and the way the chips represented real money. "Each person starts with 500 in their bankroll. We never play for more than that." Marjorie's eyes went wide. The others chuckled. "We pretty much win and lose so equally that we are just passing the bankroll from month to month. Of course, we all lost the whole lot to Siobhan for about four months last year. We pretty much paid for the Serpents' Christmas."

The first round Marjorie had a decent hand but lost everything. The second round she had a bad hand but was pushed into betting more and lost that too. The third round she had a fantastic hand, but everyone folded before there was much money in the pot, so she won but not much.

She wasn't beyond cheating. Her little side hustle printing Monopoly money went well until Reece caught on. But these three seemed to know her hand before the bets were even made. The next round went by much the same, and at this point Mia and Aut couldn't contain themselves. "Marj, can't you work it out?" Then it hit her.

The next round she dogged Aut and then Mia into folding. "What did you have?" Mia was not happy by being bested by her. She threw the cards on the table. "Nada!" Both Mia and Aut clenched their jaws. "Must have just been dumb luck."

Autumn was sure had the next round in the bag and as she got Marjorie to go all in, she would be knocking her out of play. Reece had been knocked out earlier, so if she knocked her out it would be done. They never played after it was down to two people, so she saw the prize of going home looming in front of her. Aut threw her card on the table. "Two pair. I know you don't have it so let's see"

Marjorie smirked knowingly. As she threw her cards on the table, she looked up innocently. "What is this called again?" Reece looked at the cards she sat on the table. "Marjorie, are you kidding me? Are you serious right now? It's a flush. You just took Aut out. No one takes out out."

Reece immediately got a kick to the shin. "If I find out you two cheated, I will do worse than bruise your shins." He couldn't help but laugh, but he knew she meant it.

As Mia and Aut left, Reece looked at her. "So, how did you do it? Were you hiding cards under the table?"

She looked at him feigning hurt. "I didn't cheat, Reece. I just stopped them from cheating." She walked up the stairs singing, 🎶"P-p-p-poker face." 🎶