Page 44 of Play For Keeps

Nobody has ever said parenting is easy.

FIFTEEN

WE’RE NOT THE FUCKING MAFIA

Jake

My poker game is shit.

I’ve lost seven hands in a row to Grayson, Tucker, Holden, and the card shark herself, my Gran. The only person playing even worse than me is Tucker, which isn’t fucking surprising.

I’m off my game. And I know exactly why.

It has been almost two weeks since I kissed Everly. Two weeks of one-word text responses, quiet walks home after she works a night shift, and nothing more.

Everly is ignoring me.

And I fucking hate it.

I scratch my fingers through my beard, which is longer than usual. I’m a fucking idiot. I knew it was too soon to kiss her, but I did it anyway. Sitting so close to her after such a great evening together, my willpower was non-existent. And the kiss was perfect. It was perfect, wasn’t it? It felt that way to me.

It was obviously too much too soon though. Everly made that pretty clear when she reminded me right afterwards that we could never be more than friends. I had every intention of going slow, but my resolve crumbled. Dammit.

It’s been so long since a woman has made me feel this way. Jade was my only serious relationship. Since we broke up, there has been no one. It has been me and my hand for a while, except for one or two flings that aren’t worth remembering.

But that day at the beach with Everly changed everything. I don’t know why, but everything with her feels right. Jacking off to images of her in my mind was working in the beginning for a while until that night we had dinner at her house.

That night I wanted more. And now things between us are more complicated than ever. But I’m not giving up on us. I just need to figure out what I need to do.

“Maybe when you’ve been doing this as long as I have, you’ll get the hang of it,” Gran says matter-of-factly, knocking me from my thoughts. She stacks the pile of chips she just won on the table in front of her as Tucker groans and drops his head in his hands.

“Listen, you’re lucky we even let you sit at the table with us,” Grayson teases him. “Watch and learn from this woman right here. She’s the GOAT of poker. She could teach you a few things.”

Sierra planned this little dinner party for Gran tonight at her house, knowing that she was missing Haven Harbor and the boys after moving into her assisted facility home. Truth be told, they’ve missed her too.

“It sure smells good in that kitchen,” Gran says from behind her cards. “I swear the cook at my place hates us all. You should see what he tried to get us to eat the other night.”

“How bad could it be?” Tucker asks, throwing down a pair of kings.

“I don’t even know. But the meat was green,” she insists.

“Okay, that sounds terrible,” Tuck says. “I’m busting you out of there next week and taking you to McDonald’s.”

Gran’s eyes light up at the mention of the golden arches. She would eat three meals a day at McDick’s if she could. Sierra and I take her there for lunch every year on her birthday.

“What else, Gran? You tell me what else is wrong and me and the guys will go down there and have a word with them.”

“We’re not the fucking mafia,” I grumble. An image of me and the guys showing up in suits and gold chains pops into my head. Gran shoots me a glare. She has zero tolerance for cursing. “Sorry, Gran. My bad with the language.”

“Now then. Since you asked,” she says, turning towards Tucker. “My neighbor, Malcolm, next door likes to talk dirty. Says he knows how to work it.”

“What! Whoa, Gran, this is TMI. I can’t deal,” I say, shaking my head. “For the love of everything, please stop.”

She heaves out a breath. “I’m not dead, Jake. I still like the company of a man. But Malcolm comes on too strong. I don’t really believe him. He’s on the list for a hip replacement. How good could he really be?”

She shrugs her shoulders before laying down a royal flush. She reaches for the pot, sliding the mound of chips into her chest before reapplying her lipstick. “Be a doll, Jakey, and grab my sweater from the couch. All this winning is making me chilly.”

Laughing, I stand to retrieve her cardigan. I stop when my eyes land on the framed family photo sitting on the mantel. My dad has his arms around my mom’s waist, smile wide. My mom gazes down at Sierra, who’s wearing a bright pink bathing suit. I’m standing next to my dad, my hands stuffed in the pockets of my board shorts, my expression serious. I remember the day it was taken. The beach was my mom’s happy place, she could walk for hours along the sand, the tide rolling gently at her feet. That’s partly why I love it too, I always think of her when I’m there.

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