Stepbrother Dearest(41)

“Everything is fine. We’re still driving. We’re gonna stop soon. Don’t worry, okay? I’m sorry I had to leave you.”

“I’m alright. The worst is over. I’m with Greg and Clara for the night. Just take care of Elec. He shouldn’t be alone.”

“Okay. Thanks for understanding, Mom. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

We were approaching our destination, so I nudged Elec. “Wake up. We’re here.”

He rubbed his eyes and looked over at me as we continued down the long driveway.

“Are you taking me to visit the magical Wizard of Oz?”

He was right. The approach to the building kind of reminded me of the yellow brick road with the massive castle at the end.

“No, silly. It’s a casino.”

“We escaped from a funeral so that you could take me gambling? What the f*ck?”

When I turned to look at his face, I expected to see a confused expression, but instead, he was giving me that rare genuine smile that I’d only seen a few times—the one that told me he was just messing with me. It was the same look that always made my heart flutter.

Then, he started laughing hysterically into his hands. I think he was delirious.

“You think it’s distasteful?”

He wiped his eyes. “No, I think it’s f*cking brilliant!”

When I pulled into a parking spot, he was still laughing.

“Well, you told me to take you to the polar opposite of a graveyard, Elec.”

“Yeah, I was thinking maybe a Zen Japanese restaurant or I don’t know…a beach?”

“You want to leave?”

“Hell no. I would have never thought of it myself, but shit, if there’s one place where you can drown your sorrows, this would be it.” He gazed out the window then turned to me with a look that gave me chills. “So, help me drown my sorrows, Greta.”



***



The influx of cigarette smoke when we entered the building had nearly choked me.

I hacked. “You’re not gonna have a problem finding your cancer sticks in this place. In fact, everyone might as well be smoking here. The second hand is just as bad at this quantity.”

“Try to have fun, sis.” He shook me jokingly. My body’s reaction to his strong hands on my shoulders wasn’t surprising. If he kept touching me like that, this was going to be a long day.

“Please don’t call me that.”

“What would you prefer I call you here? No one knows us. We can make up names. We’re both dressed in all black. We look like mafia high rollers.”

“Anything but sis,” I shouted through the dinging sounds of the hundreds of slot machines as we entered one of the casinos.

“What do you like to play?” I asked.

“I want to hit one of the tables,” he said. “What about you?”

“I just do the penny slots.”

“The penny slots? You’re going wild today, huh?”

“Don’t laugh.”

“You don’t go to a casino like this to play the slots, especially the penny ones.”

“I don’t know how to play any of the tables.”

“I can show you, but first we need drinks.” He winked. “Always liquor before you poker.”

It took me a second. Always lick her before you poke her.

I rolled my eyes. “God, some things never change. At least you’re back to making dirty jokes. That means I did something right today.”

“Seriously, this idea…” He looked around. “Coming here…it was perfect.”

After we bought some chips, I followed Elec to a room with dimmed lighting where people were playing table games. There was a bar in the corner.

“What are they playing?” I asked.

“Craps. It’s a dice game. What do you want to drink?”

“I’ll have a rum and Coke.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back. Don’t go winning anything without me,” he said, walking backwards with a smile.

The grin on his face made me truly happy even though I knew all of this was only a temporary diversion from the pain he was experiencing earlier.

As I waited for Elec to return with our drinks, I made my way over to one of the tables and stood just behind the players who were standing. A red-faced inebriated man with a Southern accent and a cowboy hat smiled at me before returning his eyes to the game.

Not understanding how the game was played, I daydreamed and stared at the table until everyone started clapping. When the drunk guy found out he’d won, he turned around and grabbed me by the waist.

“You, pretty lady, are my good luck charm. I haven’t had one win tonight until you showed up out of nowhere. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

His breath reeked of beer, and sweat soaked through his shirt.

I smiled at him because it all seemed pretty innocent. That is, until he whacked me on the ass…really hard.

When I turned to walk away, Elec was approaching with two drinks in his hand. He was no longer smiling.

“Tell me I did not just see that f*cking slob smack you on the ass.” He didn’t wait for my answer. “Hold these,” he said.

He grabbed the guy by the neck. “Who the f*ck do you think you are putting your hands on her like that?”