Jay’s smile only grows bigger as his eyes lock on mine. “I like to think so.”

The blonde indicates that she’d like another card (which I learned in my reading last night is called a “hit”), but the guy simply waves to show he’s sticking with what he’s got. Jay gets another card, too.

I don’t know much about this game, but I did read that the person with the closest to twenty-one is the winner, and each card has its own numerical value.

Once everybody’s cards are revealed, it turns out that the blonde has fifteen, the guy has eighteen, and Jessie has seventeen. But Jay has a perfect twenty-one, winning the game. He’d put down one hundred euros’ worth of chips, so he wins a hundred.

“This is all so exciting,” I exclaim, really getting into it. It’s fun to watch people win money.

“That was too easy,” says Jay. “Let’s make things a little more interesting.” He places all the chips he won, the ones he put down originally, plus a few more in the circle this time.

They all start to play another game, and the blonde wins. It gets more complicated, and there are lots of fancy terms thrown around, like “double down” and “five card Charlie.” Jay does his best to explain each one as we go. Along the way I have another two Porn Star Martinis, so I’m well on the road to Tipsyville.

There’s a group of businessmen sitting at a table close by, having drinks and talking loudly. As I stare at Jay, I notice he’s discreetly watching them. He doesn’t seem annoyed that they’re being loud, but he does seem to be keeping track of them for some reason. It gets me curious, so now I watch them as well.

They’re mostly middle-aged men, but there’s one man at the head of the table who looks to be in his sixties. He’s drinking a glass of wine and laughing at something the man beside him is saying. He’s the one Jay has his eye on the most.

“Jay,” says Jessie quietly as she deals out more cards. There seems to be a warning in her tone.

He lifts his head to her slowly, almost like he’d been in a trance, watching the old guy.

“What?” he clips out. I haven’t heard him be short like this until now.

She stares at him for a long moment, her body tense, then says, “Quit eye-fucking the businessmen. You’ll make them nervous.”

Jay lets out a breath and looks away, picking up the cards she just dealt him. “I was just taking in the scenery,” he mutters.

“Sure,” says Jessie, then in a barely audible voice, “Tell that to the white shotgun look in your eyes.”

I momentarily wonder what she’s talking about, slipping my phone out and covertly looking up what “white shotgun” means. Turns out it’s a mob term for killing someone in such a way that they vanish without a trace. Okay, that’s not weird at all. Or disturbing.

In the next game, Jay wins by the skin of his teeth with eighteen, trumping Jessie’s seventeen. After seeing him play a number of times at this point, I really am impressed. If I were Jay, I’d almost have enough for my new sewing machine right now. Soon the young guy leaves and then the blonde does, too, but not without slipping her number to Jessie before she walks away.

Jessie smiles to herself as she shoves the piece of paper in her pocket.

Jay glances at the blonde’s retreating figure. “How’s that working out for you?” he asks curiously.

Jessie cocks an eyebrow. “How do you think? She’s got a bangin’ body.”

“Yeah, and enough jewellery to sink the Titanic.”

Jessie snickers. “So, any more gambling for yourself tonight, sir, or are you done?”

Jay’s gaze lands on me. “I’m thinking we’ll give our little virgin a chance to play.”

I shake my head. “Oh, I don’t know. I’m still not entirely certain of the rules.”

“We’ll go slowly,” says Jessie.

“Like any good de-flowerer,” Jay puts in.

“I’ll have you know I was de-flowered quite some time ago,” I blurt humorously while pointing a finger at Jay, the martinis well and truly taking their hold.

Jessie laughs, but Jay turns in his seat to give me a heated look, his lips curving in an almost smile. “Come on, then, let’s hear the story.”

“Not a chance,” I answer sassily, rummaging in my bag for my chips. With a proud look on my face, I set down ten euros’ worth.

“High roller,” says Jay with a chuckle.

Jessie gives him a scolding look before saying to me, “You don’t have to bet big like this flashy bastard. Just put down whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“I know,” I say, my heart thumping with anticipation. When I get my cards, I pick them up and hold them close so that Jay can’t see, annoyed with him for slagging me off about my small bet.

I doesn’t matter anyway, because I end up losing.

We play two more games, with me only putting down ten euros each time. I lose once and win once. The win gives me the confidence to go bigger, so I bet fifty euros this time. Two of the businessmen from the group Jay had been staring at come over and take seats at the table. I feel a bead of sweat trickle from my temple as I wait to see what the result will be. My original hand contains an ace and an eight of clubs, so I stick with it, my heart fluttering with excitement. I’ve got nineteen altogether. That’s good. Very good. I cross my fingers, hoping Jessie has lower than that, or something over twenty-one.

When she reveals she’s only got fifteen, I practically jump off my seat with glee. I won! I just won fifty euros. Wow! I’m so elated that I throw my arms around Jay’s shoulders and give him a big hug. I’m tipsy, but I still notice how good his body feels all pressed up against mine. He hugs me back, his warm hand at the base of my spine for a moment. Then I pull away.

“This calls for a celebratory drink,” I say happily.

“Yeah,” Jay replies, giving me a tender smile.

From the other side of the table, I hear the businessmen chuckling while one of them jokes, “Christ, if she’s that excited for fifty euros, I’ll give her a hundred for a blowjob.”

Ugh. What a sleazebag. Unfortunately, Jay heard him say it, too. He gets up from his seat, his happy transforming into pissed in a heartbeat.

“The fuck did you just say?” he asks as he steps over to the two men.

The one who said it is too drunk to realise he should be scared. He gives Jay a dirty look. “I said,” he enunciates, “I’ll give her a hundred for a blowjob. Those lips would be so worth it.”

His friend is in hysterics now, and I go to Jay, placing a hand on his elbow. “Leave it. They’re just arseholes.”

“Yeah, Jay,” Jessie adds in a serious voice. “Leave it.”

We might as well be invisible, though, because it’s like Jay can’t even hear us. He takes another step toward the guy who’d mouthed off, staring down at him furiously. “Apologise now.”

The guy makes an unattractive snort. “Fuck you.”

“No, fuck you,” says Jay before shoving him in the shoulder. Outraged, the man loosens his tie and rises from his seat.

“Don’t you dare touch me,” he spits, then looks to Jessie. “You work here — shouldn’t you be calling security?”

“I should be,” she answers with a raised eyebrow. “I’m thinking I’ll give it another minute, though.”

“This is ridiculous. This piece of shit just attacked me. I’ll be having words with your manager.”

“You go right ahead.”

Jay gets up in the man’s face, and his friend tries to calm him down. “Look, we don’t want any trouble.”

“Oh, yeah? ’Cause this fuck seems to be asking for it.”

“Christ, I’m sorry if I made some joke about your slut over there. I was only having a laugh.”

“Okay, let’s see how funny you find this,” says Jay before landing a punch to his jaw and then an uppercut to his ribs. The man stumbles back into his seat, clutching his jaw in his hand, a look of shock on his face. I don’t think he believed Jay was actually going to hit him. Even I didn’t really believe it until it was happening.