Page 53 of Ladybirds

“You’re sure you’ve never played before?” he asks (again) as he shuffles the cards. Sara notices that he spends way more time ensuring they’re mixed well compared to the first hand he dealt.

Jen swats his arm, a buzzed smile curling her mouth. Sara lost track of what glass she’s on. “You already asked her that.”

Miles grumbles something unintelligible under his breath, but deals out the cards.

Sara shakes her head, glancing at her hand.

Seth hovers over her shoulder, evaluating her cards. “You’ll want to hold on to that one, Princess.” He’s so close; were he anyone else—anyone with physical form—she would feel the heat of his body at her back. She swallows, trying to banish the thought, but his mouth is so close to her ear and— “You’re only a card away from a flush.”

She feels the last word—an impossible whisper of warm breath against her cheek—and she jumps, cards slipping from her hands and spiraling to her feet.

Seth pulls away from her, casting her a perplexed look that would match her friends’ exactly had there been a touch of concern. Instead, he almost seems put out. “What on God’s earth was that?”

“Uh, Sara? You ok?” Miles asks.

“No, Captain Obvious. She’s obviously not. Honestly, what the bloody hell was that?! You just wasted a winning hand!”

Jen gives a drunken laugh, waving off his concern before Sara can bother. “She’s fine,” she slurs, before slapping her cards on the table. “I have two three’s! Do I win?”

Miles sighs. “Baby, maybe you should sit a few out.”

“What?! No, I’m winning!”

He runs a hand over his face, an exasperated (yet fond) smile dimpling his cheek. “Honey, I love you, but you weren’t even supposed to show your hand yet.”

Jen looks down at her cards proudly splayed across the table. “Oh.”

He gives her a sympathetic rub on the back. “Next time, baby.” Miles shoots her a questioning look. “You still good to play?”

Sara’s sober enough to sense what he’s really asking. “Um, yeah. I’m fine. I, uh, fold I guess.”

Seth’s still staring at her, a frown turning the corners of his mouth. “Well, I should bloody well hope so. I was fully prepared for you to be lousy, but this is borderline embarrassing.”

It takes just about every ounce of her willpower to withhold the urge to send him a scathing glare while Miles finishes reshuffling the cards and deals out a new hand.

She gets a bit better at it, though Seth insists that her poker face still needs work. Since he can’t lie, she’s stuck with no other choice than to believe him. After another ten rounds, she’s gathered almost all the chips. When she folds, Miles tosses his cards on the table with a muttered curse.

His three aces would have definitely beaten out her pair of tens.

“Ok, I know there’s something to be said about beginner’s luck, but this is bullshit.”

Jen laughs, absolutely thrilled. “She’s kicking your ass!”

“I thought you said you didn’t play!” he accuses. “It’s like you know every time I have a good hand.” He looks behind his shoulder, searching.

Jen laughs harder, but Sara only finds herself more confused as he leans in his chair. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to figure out how your cheating butt is seeing my cards.” He points to a picture on the wall—the one of him and Jen from their trip to Texas last year. “It’s the picture frame, isn’t it? The reflection?”

Seth snickers from behind his hand, looking entirely too pleased with himself. “Oh, don’t you dare spoil this for me. This is going to bother him for weeks.”

Sara rolls her eyes, though she can’t really tell which man she’s more exasperated with. “I can’t see your cards.”

“Yeah, uh huh.” Miles stands, moving to her side of the table and kneeling until they’re at the same eye level. Behind his thick-rimmed glasses, he squints as he searches the opposite wall. “Seriously, though. How the hell are you doing that?”

“She’s got skills to pay the bills!” Jen exclaims between giggles.

Sara fights a smile, shrugging. “Maybe I have an invisible friend whispering in my ear.”

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