In Between Times (Complete Novel, Mastered May 12th, 2022)

CHAPTER SIX

AMELIA:

Entering the casino, I look for a fresh table that is litter free of people or trash.

My eyes click to a table in the corner — farther away from the crowd, and the loud noises from the slot machines. "Over there," I yell over the noise, to Callie and Lina. I point at the table. They both nod as we change direction, and move in.

"Hello ladies, may I see some ID?" questions the dealer in a deep tone, as we sit at the half-rounded blackjack table.

He looks to be in his thirties. He has dark brown hair, and little to no muscle tone. A total rail of a man. Most of the dealers are bulky around here, and I would have noticed this one before. I smile at him.

"You must be new here," I say, as I take my fake ID out of my pocket and slide it across the table.

"What's your name, sir?" Callie asks in a soft, clipped tone, as she slides her ID across the table after me.

He looks uncomfortable as he meets Callie's gaze, and pulls on his tie as if it's choking him. I look over at Callie, and sure enough, she's smiling at him like she actually cares to know his name. I think I might have rubbed off on her.

"Just call me Niles," he replies, as he starts strumming his fingers on the table nervously, while looking over Callie's ID.

Callie has always been the sweetest of the pact. I call her Dixie Chick because of her appearance, and her overall subtle attitude. She's hardly ever snappy, but when she is, she's very quiet with her words. I've never caught Callie yelling, not ever. She gets a little irritated when Lina's drunk, which happens almost every time we come to the casino — and Lina's a light weight, so it doesn't take too many martinis before she tips over.

I've been best friends with Callie longer than I have Lina. When she and Robert broke up, she clanged to me like never before. We were friends while she and Robert were together, but we became ultimately unbreakable once they separated.

Callie and I actually met Lina when we went to Sasha's café for the first time, which is where Lina works. Her mother, Sasha, owns the café. We all became the pact once we shared our differences, and came to the conclusion that we all like playing games. Simple card games at the café became something much more — something incredibly real.

The table was now where we practically lived. Gambling did, in fact, become our life. And it's fun living this way.

Lina slides her ID over to him after Callie and I retrieve ours from Nile's. She looks amused as she pushes her silky black hair over her bare shoulder.

"Niles, do we really look under twenty-one?" Lina asks mockingly, as Niles looks up from her ID.

"You look young. It's necessary to check ID before starting," he replies in a formal voice, before sliding her ID back across the table.

He's new. Dealers don't ask the players to see identification until the end of the game. If they look underage. Callie is hardly twenty-one, Lina is nineteen, and I'm the youngest — eighteen. So I can see how he'd think we were underage.

"Oh," Lina giggles as she reaches for her ID where the dealer slid it.

"Here are the rules—" he starts, but I cut him off.

"We know the rules," I smile, and he raises his eyebrows at me and nods.

I take out $500, and slide it across the table along with my gold pass. Callie and Lina do the same.

"Good luck," he says, before exchanging us our chips. He then sets the front of the deck from the dispenser in front of us.

"Who wishes to cut the deck?" he asks, holding up the cut card.