Page 46 of Stroked Long
“So it’s just slapping a jack, no skill?”
“There’s skill,” she says as if offended. “You have to have quick reflexes in this game, Mr. Banks. You might be able to stroke long through the water and propel yourself faster than others, but in this game it’s all about cat-like reflexes.” Like the adorable dork she is, she demonstrates said cat-like reflexes, moving her hand out real fast and then retracting it. “Think you can beat that speed? Check this out.” She does it a couple more times but now with sound effects, adding to the fucking adorable sweetness that radiates off her. “Huh, good right?” She wiggles her eyebrows at me.
“Devastatingly fast,” I tease.
“Just you wait, Banks. You’re going down. You have no idea who you’re up against.”
Looking at the sparkle in her eyes that hits me straight to my core, I know I’m up against a force too great for me to comprehend, too grand to undertake.
It fucking terrifies me.
Chapter Nine
RUBY
“You can’t do that.”
“Do what,” I ask, grabbing my pile of cards to add to my collection.
“Listen, I’ve been pretty lenient up until now with your cheating ways—”
“Cheating ways,” I scoff. “What on earth are you talking about?”
Facing me completely on the couch, Bodi looks so serious in the dim light of the lit candle. The only reason I can tell he’s accusing me in a teasing manner is by the slight quirk of his lips. The entire night has been almost a one-eighty from our first hang out in his condo. He’s more talkative—not nearly as talkative as me, I still have to drag things out of him—and he is joking. And . . . oh my God, that smile and laugh has made my stomach flip so many times. It’s truly a beautiful thing to see this complex and broken-down man look so relaxed . . . and light. Makes me want to ensure that light never extinguishes.
“You’re kidding, right? When you put your card down, you don’t move your hand, you just keep it there. How am I supposed to slap the jack if you’re not even giving me a chance?”
“I move my hand.”
“Does this look like moving your hand?” Imitating my card playing, he lays a card down and hovers his hand over it, never moving it away. Yes, that is my move and it’s very incriminating, but after seeing Bodi take the first handful of jacks with ease, I had to come up with something to save my drowning self.
Living in denial, I say, “I see nothing wrong with that.”
His eyebrows shoot up. “You don’t see how that’s cheating?”
“Cheating, no, smart tactics, yes.”
“Is that right?” Moving his head from side to side, stretching out his muscles, he shakes his arms and leans forward, cards propped up and ready to be laid down. “Two can play that way, Ruby.”
Oh God, he looks so serious, so intense; what was I thinking? He’s an Olympian, competition runs thick in his blood. I am seriously scared for my slap-jack skills.
“What are you waiting for? Put your card down.”
It’s almost as if he’s salivating over this game. Why do I find it so cute? Is there something wrong with me?
“You’re looking a little intense and—”
A flash of lightning brightens the room, followed by a roar of thunder, scaring me once again. “Maybe we should call it a night.”
Leaning back, he tosses the cards to the center and smirks. “I see how you are, quit while you’re ahead once I call you out. I get it. Well played, Ruby.”
“That’s not it at all,” I backpedal, even though he sees right through me. “I don’t want to keep you up. I’m sure you need to rest to take down the pound of kale you have in your fridge.”
“Half a pound,” he corrects with a grin. Fainting, yes. I’m practically fainting. “Let me get you a toothbrush so you can get ready for bed. Do you need water or anything?”
“I’m good.”
“All right.” He’s standing now, sticking his hands in his pockets as the rain pelts against his expansive wall of windows. “I’ll take the couch. I washed my sheets today, so my bed is clean.”
