Love and Hamburgers [Rick and Liz Saga, Season 1]

[S01E13] "Throwing Bones"

Liz didn't want to disturb Rick and Mandy. Their interaction certainly seemed flirtatious. Yes, she liked Rick, but they had just met. Rick and Mandy seemed like they had known each other all their lives. Liz had no interest in trying to compete with that.

If Rick is interested in me, thought Liz, then he's just going to have to speak up.

Liz found 2Fly's performance to be very exciting, although she couldn't really say that she understood what it was all about. All she knew was that the beats were good and 2Fly was very animated on stage.

Soon after 2Fly had finished his set, she felt the sense of Deja Vu coming over her again. Was this where 2Fly got into the fight? Liz thought. As she turned the corner, she saw several men throwing dice against the wall. No, she thought, this is the dice game.

Liz walked up to the men playing the game.

"Can I play?" Liz asked.

The men looked her over and started to smile.

"Naw... This ain't no game for little girls. This a man's game." said the one man who seemed to be in charge of the game. Liz was almost certain he was the one who gets in the fight with 2Fly. She was not worried about it though. There was nothing she could do to change it, it was fate.

"I'm not a little girl," said Liz. She held out the five dollars she had found in the trash can. "My money is as green as anyone else's."

"Oh shit!" said another man who could barely control his laughter. "We got us a real brawler here, Jackson."

"Alright," said Jackson, "You lay your money down."

Liz put her five dollars on the floor next to the wall. The man threw five more on top of it.

"The rules are real simple," said Jackson. "You throw the dice against the wall, you miss the wall, you lose. Two, three, four, pick the money off the floor. Twelve, eleven, ten, better luck when you bet again."

"What if it's a different number?" Liz asked.

"Well then you keep rollin' til you hit that number again, unless, of course, you get ten, eleven, or twelve. Then it's game over."

"Seems fair enough," said Liz.

"Whenever you ready, girly-girl," said Jackson.

Liz threw the dice against the wall. It was a one and a three, making four. She grabbed the money.

"Four picks it off the floor, right?" Liz asked with a smile.

"Beginners luck," said Jackson a sour look.

"Can I play again?" Asked Liz.

Jackson raised an eyebrow.

"Sure," he said, "a chance to win my money back is always appreciated."

Liz put the ten on the floor and the game runner matched her. She tossed the dice against the wall. It was a one and a two, making three. She grabbed the money and counted it. It was enough to pay back Rick. If she had a choice, she would have walked away right there, but she didn't have a choice.

She turned to walk away, but James grabbed her by the arm.

"Whoa, honey," said Jackson, "Come on, ain't you havin' fun? Why don't you give it one more roll?"

"No, thanks," said Liz.

"Come on," said Jackson, "Tell you what, since you're new, I'll give you a deal. You throw that twenty dollars down and I'll throw down forty. That's two-to-one odds."

"So sixty if I win?"

"That's right," said Jackson.

Liz threw the money back on the floor and James handed her the dice. Liz threw the dice against the wall. Two-threes, a hard six.

"Alright," said Jackson. "Now we at least got ourselves a game."

Liz picked the dice up and threw them again. Once again, she threw two-threes, another hard six. Liz went to grab the money, but Jackson slapped his hand on the cash before she could get to it.

"Hold on," said Jackson. "Somethings fishy here." He picked up the dice and began to roll them in his hand trying to judge their weight and balance. "There's something wrong with these dice, I think."

Jackson slipped the dice in his pocket. He then pulled out another sixty dollars and put it on top of the pile. A crowd of people had now gathered around the game. He then held out another set of dice.

"You're going to roll again, but with these dice this time."

A large hand reached out from behind Liz and grabbed Jackson by the wrist. It was 2Fly.

"I don't think so," said 2Fly.

"2Fly," said Jackson, "let go of me. This girl is cheatin' somehow. I know it."

"You don't know shit," said 2Fly. "This girl is with me. You call her a cheater, you call me a cheater. Now give the girl her money."

Jackson said nothing, he just stared 2Fly down.

"Yo, 2Fly," said Jackson's friend, "money's been matched already. She's got to roll, at least one more time."

Most of the people who gathered around seemed to agree with that. Liz wasn't sure if that was because it really was a rule or if people just wanted to see a one-hundred-and-twenty dollar roll of the dice.

"Alright," said 2Fly as he let go of Jackson's wrist. "She rolls again, but not with yo' shitty dice."

2Fly pulled two clear plastic dice out of his pocket.

"I think everyone can agree my dice are fair," said 2Fly. "Right, Jackson?"

"I guess," said Jackson.

2Fly handed the dice to Liz. People were knocking each other over to catch a glimpse of the roll. Liz wasn't nervous though. She already knew what happened next. Two-ones, snake eyes. The money was hers.