Thwaites & Thompson

Shut down

Thwaites

"Will you expose them this time?" I ask but she grins shaking her head again, feeding my curiosity.

"You're driving him crazy..." Cole chuckles and she purses her lip and eyes me coyly.

"I'm losing here..."
"Give me a break." Nala rolls her eyes.

Nala was two rounds away from being penniless.

"You're not alone my friend." Cole chuckles, pointing at his few remaining chips.

I guessed it was just going to be me and Tess then.

And I guessed right. Because soon, Nala and Cole go all in on a foolish whim and Tess hovers the table.

Her fingers were fumbly with all the chips she had before her. It was kind of cute...

"It's just me and you then." I chuckle and she nods challengingly.

Brandon walks in on us.

"Hello everyone..." He waves and I make sure I avoid his gaze and focus on my bets.
But it was harder to ignore his existence with him having his hands placed on Nala's shoulders.

"You lost?" He chuckles addressing Nala and she glances at Tess with vain.

"She's a shark." She rolls her eyes and Brandon grins at Tess.

"No way!" He chuckles but Cole confirms with a nod.

"Damn, I gotta' watch." He takes his seat beside Nala and they all watch as we both check again, exposing the last two cards.

I win with two pairs and Tess doesn't get away with just a pair of Aces.

The next round, Tess does win with a pair of Queens and an Ace kicker.

"Well played." I nod once.

"Guys, this is going to take forever..." Cole remarks.

"You two are as good..." He speaks and I turn to Tess.

"We can call it a tie if you guys want to get going..." Tess shrugs.

"The food is almost done too." Cole speaks.

"Can we keep it as it is and catch up later?" I ask Cole and he nods.

"If you want to catch up..." I smile at Tess.

"Sure." She smiles mischievously.

"Alright, let's eat." Cole announces and we all leave our seats.

I follow Tess out fully aware of Brandon and Nala stalling behind us.

"Where did you learn to play like that?" I elbow Tess.

"I had a friend who played poker for a living during highschool." She chuckles.

"He was the only junior who had a car in our class."
I chuckle.

"Go on..." I add.

I wanted to get to the part where she gets involved with him.

"I wanted to get a really fancy prom dress." She shrugs and my eyebrows shoot.

"So you asked him to teach you?" I ask and she chuckles nodding.

"I met Oliver that day..."
"And I won a hell lot of money."
"And I got the dress."
"But I didn't go to prom." She scoffed sadly.

"Why's that?" I frowned confusedly.

"I didn't even attend my own graduation." She gulps, forcing a smile.

Oh...
I felt a sting in my chest.