"Marie has really grown up," Tommy remarked as he took another sip of cognac. "She doesn't have time to hang out with me anymore with all the boys she's stringing along," he continued.
"Yeah, I kinda noticed that. She'd always have a different guy pick her up after filming," Eric said. He accepted the glass from Tommy to take his turn in drinking.
They were in Jake's apartment for poker night. It's a new thing Jake got them into. He says it's easier to talk during poker instead of while playing Dragon Ball, the favorite pastime of these actors.
The conversation turned to Marie when Jake thought of inviting girls over to play poker but he didn't know any ladies who were any good at it. That's when Tommy revealed that Marie was really good in poker but because of her heavy dating schedule, he doubted she'd have time to play with them.
Puffing a thick cloud of fragrant smoke, Jake remarked, "So Marie's a playgirl now, huh? She didn't strike me as such but hey, girls can be deceiving."
"Dude, you got it all wrong. She's still a virgin. It's just that she doesn't know which guy to favor," defended Eric.
"Whatever. I just want to find out if she can defeat me in poker. It's getting kinda lame winning against you two all the time," Jake said. He took another puff at his cigarette.
"It's 'coz you refuse to play for money. I'm not feeling motivated enough to kick your ass," Eric said defensively.
"We'll play for stakes when you guys can get Marie in here to give me a run for my money," replied Jake. "But I doubt she'd give you jerks the time of day so my money's safe," he grinned.
"Hah! She can't refuse me," Tommy said. "It's only Eric that she can turn down but not me," he stressed, pointing to himself.
"Eric! What the---," Tommy reacted. He reached out to smack Eric on his head.
Eric ducked from Tommy's blow. "She'll be here next week, Jake, and she'll impoverish you," stated Eric, smirking.
"Oh, I can't wait..." replied Jake with a contemplative look on his face.
x x x x x
A week later, Jake found himself at the losing end of a poker game. Incredulity was written all over his face.
He was just thankful that he will be spared from having Eric and Tommy witness his failure. His two friends had already passed out on the couch after a few rounds of drinking cognac. "This is really good stuff," Eric said right before he began snoring softly against Tommy's chest.
Marie calmly studied Jake. "Jake, are you ready to turn over that huge pot to me?" she asked.
"You're not fooling me with this sweet and innocent act of yours, Marie," Jake said. "I bet you asked Eric to give you an advantage when he shuffled the cards earlier," he accused.
"You're totally a sore loser, aren't you? I know from Eric and Tommy that you have a gargantuan ego but I didn't think you'd go so far as claim that I didn't win fair and square... AGAIN," she said firmly, arching her left eyebrow.
"Ah, finally, she showed her temper," Jake remarked with relish. "I knew that nice girl image is only skin deep."
Marie was incensed with fury. "Hah! Whereas you can't even pretend to be a gentleman by admitting defeat. Let me remind you that I'm your guest, Jake. If I'd only known you'd act like a total jerk, I would've made other plans," she retorted.
Noticing that Marie was dialing her phone, Jake said, "Are you going to call one of your boyfriends to pick you up now? Retreating from the battle already, Marie? Too bad all your boyfriends are too dumb to notice you're just playing them. I bet they really believe you're a virgin when in fact, you're already skilled in bed."
"Now stop right there, Jake," she said as she placed her right hand over his mouth. "I'm not a slut like you," she stressed.
Jake couldn't help but be fascinated by how Marie's face was flushed with fury, how fast her breathing had become due to anger. He licked the back of her hand which was still covering his mouth.
Marie was startled by the wet heat of Jake's tongue on her hand. She pulled her hand back and stared at Jake, confusion filled her gaze even as heat unfurled below her navel. It was the first time she ever had a reaction like that towards a man.
"I'm sorry, Marie. I—I'll take you home now, okay? No need to call one of your boyfriends," Jake said.
She shook her head.
"I'm really sorry for the things I said. I know you're a virgin and I apologize for insinuating otherwise," he said. "Your first lover would be one lucky bastard to have a skilled poker player like you," he said jokingly. He lowered his eyes. "Make sure not to choose a slut like me, okay?" he uttered with a trace of bitterness.
Grabbing his keys from his pocket, Jake turned to stand up from the poker table. "Let's go," he told Marie.
He watched as she slowly stood up and approached him, an unreadable expression on her face. She sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Since you're such a slut, you wouldn't mind teaching me about sex, would you?" she asked Jake.
