The Millionaire Gambler (Ashley's Choice) (3 page)

He answered after a couple of rings.

“Hello.”

“Uh..hi.  Jason?”

“Yes.  Who's calling?”

“This is Ashley James.”  There was silence on the other end.  “From the Lattetude coffee shop. Remember?”  Ashley, thinking better of making this call, moved to hang up the phone.

“Oh, hi.  I was hoping you'd call.  I'd still like to take you out on a date, if you're interested.”

“Um...sure.  I guess.” 
I sound like an idiot,
she thought.

“How about dinner?  Tomorrow OK with you?”

“That will be great.  Uh...bye.”  She started to hang up.

“Wait!” he said.  “Don't you want to give me your address so I can pick you up?”
 

“Oh, right.  I live at 2350 Lemon Tree Road, apartment 701.”

“Seven o'clock OK with you?”

“That will be great.  Thanks.”

She hung up.  Ashley was embarrassed. 
He must think I'm completely brainless.

Still, he had asked her on a dinner date.  She'd try to make the most of it.  If Jason thought she was an idiot, so be it.  At worst, she'd get a meal out of the deal.  Maybe he really was interested in her.  What might come of that?

-----------------------------------------------

Ashley had spent a half an hour trying to decide what to wear, finally deciding on her old standby - the short, little black dress with spaghetti straps.  It looked great on her, and with her small breasts, she didn't even need to wear a bra with it.  She added a pair of Manolo Blahnik pumps that she'd spent months paying for and hoped she'd look good enough to impress Jason.  Her hair wasn't exactly cooperating today, but she did what she could with it, using a combination of rollers, a curling iron and grim determination.  The humid Texas air didn't help much, but dealing with that was an everyday battle that Ashley was never going to win.

With a final dash of carefully-chosen lipstick and the addition of her fourth pair of earrings, she declared herself ready for this dinner date.  She hoped she didn't do anything to embarrass herself.

Jason picked her up promptly at seven.   He was impeccably dressed, of course, and his car was equally impressive.  He'd arrived in a Lexus, and it didn't look like an entry-level model, either.  Jason opened the car door for her, and Ashley took a deep breath as she sat down, taking in the smell of the rich, luxurious leather seats.

They drove a few miles to one of the better steak places in town.  Dallas is full of restaurants that could be called “a steak place”, but many are mediocre, some are good and a very few are great.  This one fell into the latter category, with dark wood paneling, leather chairs, and a wine list that was dozens of pages long.  The
maître d
' put them at a cozy table near a window.  There were candles and white linen on the table.  In short, it was a perfect romantic setting for a meal.

Jason ordered a bottle of Bordeaux and, with Ashley's blessing, steaks for the two of them.  Ashley had eaten filet mignon before, but she'd never had one that tasted like this.  The steak was rich, velvety and buttery and virtually melted in her mouth.  The wine was simply exquisite, and was certainly better than the boxed variety that she and Erin kept around the apartment.  It paired wonderfully with the steaks.  This was not the sort of meal she was accustomed to eating on her coffee shop pay.

Jason, on the other hand, apparently had both expensive taste and the means to pay for it.

“So, tell me a little about yourself,” he asked.  “Who is Ashley James?”

“There's not much to tell.  I'm originally from Spokane.  I moved here after college to take a job as a paralegal.”  Ashley took a bite of a rather sizable and delicious sautéed mushroom.

“How did that work out?” Jason asked.

“Not so well.  My boss, the lawyer, was a creep who couldn't keep his hands to himself.  The job paid well, but I was forever having to fight the guy off.  I guess that's how it works in corporate America these days.”

“Sounds like you just got unlucky and found the wrong boss.”

“It worked out, sort of.  It turned out that he was engaging in all kinds of financial fraud.  The state found out about it, and he's now in prison.”

“I guess that worked out about as well as it could have.  You couldn't find another job in that field?”

“Well, the economy isn't doing so well right now, even here.  If I could work on an oil rig, I'd probably have a job.  Legal work?  There are a lot of people competing for paralegal jobs.  Besides, that last job left kind of a bad taste in my mouth.  I think I just needed a change for a while.”  She took a sip of wine and smiled.  It really
was
delicious.

“Do you like working at the coffee shop?  It doesn't seem like all that great of a job.”

“It's fine.  Michael is a good guy.  He looks out for me.  The job has minimal stress.  I get a fair amount of time off.  And the coffee is free,” she said, laughing.

“I guess there's always that.  You meet lots of people, too, I suppose.”

“I do.  I like chatting with people.  Some more than others.”

Ashley smiled and took a bite of her steak.  This was a much better meal than she usually had for dinner, which usually consisted of pizza, nachos, or whatever else she could throw together in a hurry.  It wasn't that she didn't like to cook, but Erin wasn't always around, and cooking for one is just a lot of trouble.

“This steak is wonderful,” she said, in between bites.  “So, tell me about Jason the gambler.  I've never met a professional gambler before.”

“I'm originally from Los Angeles, but I went to school at Harvard.  I'm a lawyer by trade.  I used to play poker in the dorms and online and I got pretty good at it.  In the end, I decided that I'd rather do that than practice law.”

“Where do you play?  When I think of gambling, I think of Las Vegas or Monte Carlo or something.  What are you doing here?”

“There's a lot of poker in those places, and Vegas especially.  That's where the really big tournaments are.  I'd like to play in those, if things work out.  But there are a lot of private games in homes and small clubs around the country.”

“Really?”

“Especially here in Texas.  There's a lot of money here, and a lot of people who enjoy playing cards as a pastime.  Of course, they don't advertise the games online.”
“How do you find them?”
 

“Word of mouth.  You meet somebody.  He introduces you to somebody else.  Next thing you know, you're booked for a month.”

“Isn't that illegal?  And dangerous?”

“Yes, and no.  The cops won't find out about the games unless somebody complains.  Besides, there are some pretty important people who play poker around here.  Mayors, judges, politicians.  You'd be surprised.”

“I guess so.  I never really thought about it.  I don't know anything about poker, really.”

“If you like, I'd be happy to show you a little about the game.  I'll teach you after dinner.  The basics aren't that complicated.”

They finished their delightful meal with dessert and coffee.  Afterwards, Jason drove them to his apartment.  It was huge and well-furnished, and had a balcony that overlooked a small lake.

Jason poured a couple of snifters of brandy and handed one to Ashley.  She put it under her nose and took in the aroma before taking a sip.  Jason then pulled out a deck of cards and spread them out on the coffee table.  He went on to explain the game of Texas Hold 'em, and how each player got some cards but that there were also other cards on the table that could be used in any player's hand.

“Isn't this a game of luck?” she asked.

“Really, it's more a game of skill.  You have to know, after your first two cards have been dealt, whether it's likely that you can build a winning hand from that.  You also need to know how to bluff the other players.  More importantly, you need to know when you
can't
win a particular hand.  There's nothing worse than throwing a lot of money into a pot you know you can't possibly win.

“What kind of money are we talking about?”

“Pots of a few thousand dollars are pretty common, even in games around here.  It's a good living, though there are times when it isn't going so well.”

Ashley shook her head.  “Wow.  You seem to be doing well. I just had no idea that you could make a living around here playing poker.  Obviously, I run in different social circles than you do.”

“I don't exactly advertise what I do, obviously.  Discretion is important in this business, both in terms of where you play and with whom you play.  How's your drink?”

“Wonderful, thank you.”

Jason took a sip of his brandy, put his snifter down, and moved a bit closer to Ashley on the sofa.  He took her hand and kissed it.

“You look beautiful tonight.”

Ashley blushed.  “Thank you.  I don't get to dress up very often anymore.”

He put his arm around her and pulled her close to him.  She opened her mouth slightly in anticipation of a kiss.  She wasn't disappointed.

Jason's lips met hers and Ashley quivered. 
Is this really happening?
she wondered.

He moved to kiss her again.  His lips were firm but gentle, and hers were receptive and greedy.  She slipped her tongue into his mouth and their tongues met in a passionate dance.  Ashley felt herself growing warm in her most private of places.  It had been a while since she'd last had sex, and her growing wetness would soon give that away.  Even more of a giveaway were her now-erect nipples, which could clearly be seen through her thin dress.

Jason placed a hand on her thigh, just below her hemline.  He slowly moved his hand up her thigh, touching her ever-so-lightly.  Ashley got goosebumps all over from the teasing touch of his hand.  He began to kiss her neck, and the touch of his hand and his lips on her flesh made her tingle as though small jolts of electricity were running through her body. 

Jason's exploring hand soon found her damp thong, and his fingers traced the outline of her mound.  Ashley felt herself growing increasingly damp, and thought she might come just from the touch of his fingers through her panties.  His touches were gentle but persistent, and he seemed to know exactly where to touch her to get the maximum response.  A moment later she gasped as he slipped a finger underneath her thong and into the wet folds of her intimate flesh.

He removed the finger and licked it.  Ashley became even more aroused at the sight of Jason enjoying the taste of her.  Then he gave her a deep kiss.  Ashley wasn't accustomed to tasting herself, but the pleasure of Jason's kisses soon made her forget about that.   He stood up, and taking her by the hands, pulled her upright from her seat on the couch.  While kissing her again, he gently pulled her spaghetti straps over her shoulder, and watched as her dress fell effortlessly to the floor.  Ashley wasn't wearing a bra, and she now stood there wearing only her wet thong. 

She instinctively crossed her arms over her breasts. 

“Please, Ashley” he asked.  “Let me see you.”

She hesitated a moment, and then lowered her arms.

“You are beautiful,” he said.

Ashley blushed with embarrassment.  “You're just saying that.”

“No, I mean it.  You are gorgeous, and you have a beautiful figure.”

“Thanks.  I'm just a bit sensitive about my breasts.  They're not much to look at.”
“They're amazing, and they suit your body perfectly.  I wouldn't change a thing.”

He pulled her to him again, and she began to unbutton his shirt.  As she untucked it and pulled it away from his torso, she finally got a look at his chest and abdomen.