“Not that you need it, but good luck,Ace,” he said and then gave me that sexy grin.
“Ace?”Iasked, not sure what that meant.
“You keep getting lucky with the aces—seems fitting,” he said, and his grin became a full-blown smile.
Oh,Ifelt that smile take over my body.Heatfilled me, andIstarted to sweat.I’dnever played blackjack before, butIknew getting aces this many times in a row was uncommon, so his joke seemed appropriate.
“Okay, one more round for me, and thenI’mout,”Karynsaid next to me.
I smiled at her, my excitement too big to form proper words, as we waited for our next hand.
Tara dealt everyone’s first card.AsIlooked down at the table,Isaw the dealer’s up card was an ace, but since the second card was facedown,Ihad no idea what else she had.
My cards showed yet another ace along with a two.Knowingthat an ace can either be worth eleven points or one point, and knowing this may be my last game of blackjack sinceKarynwanted to leave,Idecided to chance it.
“Hit me,”Itold the dealer.
She flipped another card for me, revealing another two, bringing me to either fifteen or five.Notliking either of those numbersIhit again.Justmy luck…Anothertwo.
Hmmm…Whatto do?
Sitting at either seventeen or seven,Ilooked around to see what everyone else had.Karynhad nineteen and decided to stay.Ilooked briefly next to me to see thatHawaiianhottie had fourteen, and he decided to hit for another card.Hehit a six, bringing him to twenty.
“Looks likeI’vepulled some of your luck,”Hottiesaid beside me.
Not yet ready for this to be over,Ichose to hit again.Athree.
I was no blackjack expert, butIwas pretty sureIshould stay since my total was twenty, but knowing the dealer had an ace showing, twenty may not be good enough.Iwas going to have to play this hand as a ten.
I knew the man next to me had twenty, but whatIdidn’t know was what the dealer had.
“Whatcha gonna do,Ace?” the hunky man beside me asked.
Now, here was the thing about me.Iwas a big competitor.Ididn’t always need to win, butIwould never be the first one to give up.Itwasn’t in my nature.Becauseof this,Idecided to hit again and take a chance like he had.
A ten.
NowIhad twenty, same as hottie.Sweatstarted to form all over my body.Butwho knew what the dealer had?Withan ace showing,Iwas convinced she had twenty-one.
I either had balls of steel or was filled with stupidity.Iturned to the man next to me, hopefully sending him the message thatIwasn’t backing down. “Hitme,”Isaid, turning back to the dealer.
The group of people that had formed around us gasped.
Jess, holding on to my shoulders behind me, squealed a little from the thrill of it.
The dealer flipped the card over in front of me—ace.
The man next to me chuckled, mumbling, “Anotherace.”
Holy shit!Twenty-one total on six cards!Thedealer turned over her other card revealing a nine.I’dwon again—this time in dramatic fashion.
The table went wild asJessandKarynscreamed next to me.
“Oh myGod, that was insane!”Jesshalf yelled, half laughed.
“Your turn to buy drinks!”Karynannounced to me.
“I’ll let you buy me a drink too,” the man next to me said.
