The cards swam through his head, dodging stacks of chips that fell into piles and slipped into a pit with no bottom. The buzzing migrated to drums, and the aces and eights flipped to the rhythm; louder and louder, the drums took over his dreams until a crescendo exploded into cards, unleashing a down pour of numbers and suits that fell in magnificent crashes on a crystalline floor.
"Hez, Hez!"
He jumped at hearing his name and the world came into focus, leaving the cards in the dark recess of his mind.
"Your ear is bleeding again." Areli appeared from the blur of sleepiness. She was sitting over him in bed, holding a tissue next to his face.
"We're going to the doctor. This is bad, and it scares me."
"It's fine. It's happened for years."
"That makes absolutely no sense. It isn't important because it's happened for a long time?" She wiped the blood from his cheek and kissed his forehead.
"I'll go to the doctor when we find one; the emergency room is expensive. I'll be okay."
She wasn't happy and he wouldn't hear the end until he finally made an appointment.
"I can't be without you, Hez. You understand? If you're gone, then Dara and I will be lost. Please take care of yourself."
"I will, promise," he reassured her.
She got out of bed trying to adjust her clothes, but the t-shirt didn't cover her green panties that peeked below the bottom. She threw on a pair of flannel pants and came back, kissing him.
"I'm going to make a pot of coffee and check on Dara." As if on cue, they heard giggling from the den and smiled.
"She has the cutest laugh. I love her. You love her too, don't you?" She rubbed his arm and kissed him again.
"I need to learn more about her, but she's important to me."
"That's not good enough. I want y'all to spend more time together without me. Why don't you take her on a date while I get my hair done today? Take her to that rib place."
There was no need to argue. She was cute, and he tried talking to her, but she was so nervous when he sat with her. Areli loved her, so he needed to make it work.
"We can do that. I should be done with my game by 5."
"I like when you play early games so you can spend time with us in the evening. Y'all need to be comfortable so we can all be together. I'm getting some coffee and I'll tell her about your date."
He watched her leave the room. Her long blonde hair fell just below her butt and his groin stirred, seeing her ass move in her pajamas. They couldn't keep their hands off each other and Areli didn't hide it from Dara, but he wasn't used to her being around all the time. His ear stopped bleeding, so he sat up and reached for a shirt. The drums played strange music when something big was about to happen, but he felt "it" was already happening. He'd brought in a lot of money. Well, a lot of money for them. The majority went to a savings account for a car, but he wanted the girls to have nice things. Their days of going without were over. He would make a living for them. Once they got their IDs, then it was on to the casinos. He tried to play online, but the buzzing and the drums didn't respond. He could win without them, but in-person games were the best bet, and he always took the best odds.
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"What're you watching, Dara?" Areli walked out of the bedroom and leaned over the couch.
"Oh, Pokemon." She giggled again at the TV.
"What's that?" Areli walked to the kitchen and started the coffee.
"It's about these cute little critters people capture and make fight each other."
"That sounds mean."
"It isn't. They like it. I think they do." She laughed again.
"You took a shower yet?"
"No, do I stink?"
Areli got the coffee going, plopped on the couch and kissed her cheek.
"No, you never stink. What is this stuffed animal?" She grabbed it and looked it over, trying to guess.
"It's a squishy."
"What's it a squishy of, then?" She squeezed it, and it was softer than she expected.
"It's an axolotl. His name is Rupert."
They laughed and squeezed it together.
"Rupert. That's funny; he's cute." She handed it back to her.
"You can borrow him if you need company."
"I have you and Hez, but I may get one, anyway. Do you feel lonely around us, Dara?"
"I get nervous around Hez."
"Why?"
"Because he's a cute guy and I hear y'all having sex all the time."
"I have sex with you all the time."
"I know, Areli, but I don't think he likes me. I'm not as pretty as you."
"You are like a redheaded version of me. Of course he likes you. I see him checking you out."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really. He said he wanted to take you on a date today."
"A date? All of us?"
"No, just y'all. It will be romantic. Ribs are you favorite, right?"
"Oh, yeah! I can't believe I've never had them. So good."
Half of Hez's winnings were in restaurant gift cards, so they ate out multiple times a week.
"Hez knows my favorite food?"
"Sure, he loves ribs too, and he pays attention to what you like. I bet he tries to kiss you afterwards."
"You're the only person I've kissed."
"It's the same, so don't worry. It's nice too. Sometimes, he gets hard when he kisses and you can feel it press against you when you hug him."
"His penis?"
"Cock or dick is better. Penis sounds too formal."
"His cock?"
"Yea, it feels nice because you know he's happy."
"I want to make Hez happy. You think I'll be able to?"
"I know you will. Let's take a shower and I'll help you get ready."
"Okay. I'm excited now. A date and ribs."
_______________________________________
Janice Hale smiled for the older man sitting at her bar. He looked to be in late 40s and his features were wicked. His blonde hair, almost white, matched his eyebrows over his light blue eyes.
"You have pretty eyes, Sir." She sat the glass of Glenlivet 18 in front of him.
