Somewhere Between Love and Lust Ch. 06

Chapter Six - A Little Fun on the Side...

Part One - I Meet Toni

Tammy stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her. I stood out on the balcony, smoking a cigarillo with Veronica. The ladies were going out tonight by themselves, as a date night. I was free to do whatever I wanted. I looked at Veronica, who was already dressed and ready for their evening out. She wore a very form fitting red dress that hugged every curve. Her breasts stood out, and cleavage was popping out of the top. There was a slit up the side that reached half-way up her thigh. Her make-up was perfectly done, emphasizing her beautiful brown eyes, and her pouty lips. She had, of course, painted her lips in her signature Chola style, making them stand out. I really wanted to kiss her, but knew I had to be satisfied with simply admiring them for now.

She took a few puffs of the small cigar and handed it to me. "So, Brad, what're you gonna do tonight?"

I took the cigar from her and puffed on it a few times. "I'm not sure yet, to be honest. I'm thinking about hitting up the casino - maybe I'll catch a comedy show, or even go to the piano bar and listen to some live music."

I felt lips on the back of my neck. Tammy's arms wrapped around me, and I felt her bare skin pressed against my back. She hugged me tight, and kissed me again. I handed the cigar to Veronica, turned around, and kissed Tammy. I didn't stick my tongue in her mouth, knowing she didn't care for how I tasted when I smoked cigars, but she stuck her tongue in my mouth. We kissed for a few minutes while Veronica sat and smoked the cigar.

She broke the kiss and pulled away. "There's a guy carving ice with a chainsaw. That might be fun to watch," she said, stepping back into the room. Her own dress was laid out on the bed. She picked up the dress and shrugged into it. It was a short, black dress, with an open back, and spaghetti straps. She sat down and pulled on her black fishnet stockings, and then sat down at the table to curl her hair and put on her make-up. I turned back to watch the sea go by. We were supposed to be in Mexico the next day. I was looking forward to crystal blue waters and white sandy beaches.

"Chainsaw ice carving, huh? That could be fun."

Veronica handed me the cigar and stood up. She kissed me on the cheek and patted me on the ass as she stepped into the room. She went to the bathroom, where she freshened up, brushed her teeth, and put on her perfume. I sat down and watched the blue waters of the Caribbean go by as I smoked.

A few minutes later I heard them talking, making sure they had their ID cards, and their phones were charged. "Okay, hun," Tammy said from the doorway. "We're headed out now. We have a 6:30 dinner reservation. You have fun. And remember, this is your night, too. Have fun! Don't stay in..."

"...unless that's what you wanna do..."

"Right! Y'all have fun. See you later," I called from the balcony. I heard the door close. I took a deep breath of sea air, and sighed. It was difficult to get time to myself these days. I went from living alone, and socializing when I wanted to, to living with two other people, plus socializing on their terms. It was exhausting. I was happy for the peace and quiet. The sound of the waves was comforting.

The sun was dropping down, and the moon and stars would be out soon. I stepped into the room and ordered room service. I didn't want to fight the buffet crowd, and really wasn't in the mood to go to a restaurant. In fact, I was happy to have the alone time. While waiting for my food to arrive, I ran up to the bar and got myself a few drinks. I had a slight buzz by the time my food arrived. I handed the waiter a $5.00 bill and thanked her for my food. The sun was down, but it was a gorgeous night out, so I took my food out and ate on the balcony.

I dozed off, probably because of the booze, in the chair on the balcony, and was awakened a few hours later by bassy music pulsing from the room above ours. The sound of multiple voices, and possibly a party, could also be heard. I leaned out and looked up to see several people at the railing of the balcony above mine. A tall blonde woman, wearing a sundress, and smoking a cigarette, was talking to a brunette woman, who was also smoking. I really wasn't in the mood to deal with a party, so I decided to go to the casino. I took a quick shower, put my khaki kilt on with a beige and blue Hawaiian shirt, and slipped on my Birkenstocks, gathered my money, grabbed my case of small cigars containing my lighter, got my ID card, and went to the casino.

I love casinos. The sounds of the machines going off; people talking and having a good time; the sound of chips clacking together; the smell of stale smoke and too much perfume, mixed with alcohol all felt very comforting and relaxing. The black jack tables were furthest from the door I used. The bar between me and the black jack tables was mostly empty, so I stopped and got a bourbon and Coke before strolling over to a mostly empty table. In fact, most of the casino was empty, with the exception of a bachelor party in the corner, full of drunk fraternity assholes who were chasing waitresses, spilling drinks, being loud, and generally being obnoxious.

The craps table had a good sized group around it. I glanced at the point and bets and saw thousands of dollars on the table. A guy close to where I was standing turned and looked at me. "Good luck gettin' in on this action," he said, taking a drink.

"Oh, yeah? Why's that?"

"'Cause this shooter is hot, man! He's hit every point for the last hour. It's madness. I've never seen anything like it. Noone wants to leave the table."

Just then I heard, "Hard eight. Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Pay the shooter. The house loses again!" The table went up in a round of cheers.

"See what I mean?! This guy can't lose."

I looked around the table but there was no room. Several guys gave me the stink-eye when I looked in their direction for a spot. It didn't take much to realize I was an unwelcome interloper in their little party. I nodded vaguely and headed in the direction of the blackjack tables.

As I walked past an alcove I heard a woman saying, "I told you I don't wanna hang out with you, creep!"

"I'm not askin', sweetheart."

Looking over I saw a drunk frat dude harassing a very cute, very thick black girl. She looked at me as I looked at her. There was a pleading look in her eyes. I quickly walked over to where they were. Without hesitation I grabbed the drunk by his earlobe and gave it a hard twist. He yelped and reached for me, so I twisted it harder. I leaned in as I spoke quietly. "Did you know that if you were to go over the side of the ship, they wouldn't be able to come save you? You would be lost at sea. Lost in the open ocean. Drunk, and dumb. Shark bait."

By now I had his head cocked to one side. His yelp had drawn the attention of the rest of the crowd of guys, but none of them made a move.

"Did you also know that it only takes 12 psi of pressure to rip human flesh?" I pulled a little harder, giving his earlobe a good twist. He had become very cooperative. "It would be a shame to miss your friend's wedding. It would be an even bigger shame to be eaten by a shark because you're a rude bastard. Now, apologize to the lady before you lose your ear."

"Fuck you!" he said, and quickly wished he hadn't, as I twisted his ear hard enough to put him on the ground, and to tear a bit of his earlobe free from the side of his head. I reached up and put my finger in his blood and then showed it to him before smearing it on his face.

Now his friends were paying closer attention, and one of them stepped over to me.

"We don't want any trouble here."

"Tell your friend. He was harassing this lady. That's unacceptable. If you don't teach him some manners, I will." The friend nodded. "I see two options: He apologizes, I let go, he goes with you, and we don't see you for the rest of the night."

"And the second option?"

I smiled and gave his ear enough of a twist to pull more of it away from the rest of his face. Blood was running down his neck now.

"I see," said the friend. "Well, there's security over there. Maybe I should call him over."

"Oh. That'd be great. Then he can ID you, realize half your party is underage, and you can deal with that in addition to the mess here." He went silent. "What's it gonna be?"

"James. You gonna be cool?"

The drunk nodded.

"Good!" I said. "Now, apologize to the lady."

"Ma'am, I'm sorry I... harassed you."

She nodded but didn't speak.

I turned his head to look at me and leaned down. "If I see you again, and you're bothering anyone, for the rest of the trip, I'm gonna make good on my threat. You understand?"

He nodded again. I looked at his friend. "And before you get any ideas of jumping me later, just know, I'm an expert at hand to hand combat. Don't fuck with me. You will not like the results. Capiche?"

He nodded. I let go of the boy's ear and took a step back at the same time. He stood up, holding his ear. He touched where the flesh had torn and looked at the blood on his hand. His buddy put an arm around him and helped him over to the group. As soon as they were back with their posse I saw them all glaring at me, but they were all children, and none of them had the guts to stand up to me. They cleared out within minutes.

I looked down at the young woman. "You okay?" She nodded. "Are you here with anyone? Can I help you go anywhere?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm okay. I'll just head to my room."

I nodded. "Right on. Well. Be careful. Make sure to steer away from those idiots."

She smiled up at me. It was a sweet smile. Genuine. I turned and headed for the blackjack tables. I found one that was mostly empty, except for a very tired looking woman on the end with a dwindling stack of chips. It was clear she was just going through the motions. I took out $500, set it on the table and sat down. The dealer looked up at me. She must have been in her mid-forties. Her hair was neat and pulled up in a tight bun on the top of her head. Her name tag said "Mabel".

"How would you like that?"

"Quarters are fine," I said, taking a drink.

Mabel gave me a stack of $25 chips. I pulled them in front of me, leaving one in the circle for my bet. I won the first hand. And the second. And the next one. I got dealt a pair of Aces, which I split and won. The dealer either kept busting, or I simply beat her hand. My luck was great. Soon my five hundred dollars was six hundred. Then seven hundred. Then I played a big hand and won a few hundred off of it. I couldn't believe the luck I was having. Pretty soon there were other players sitting down at the table. If they split tens, I glared at them. I even told one woman she was dumb for splitting a pair of tens. It didn't take long before they left and it was just me again. Playing and winning. The waitress kept bringing me drinks, and my stack grew.

"It seems things are going well for you," I heard in a whisper. I looked up to see the beautiful brown eyes of the young woman I had helped earlier. "What's your secret?"

"No secret," I said, smiling at her. "I just follow the rules. Play the way the House plays, and hope Lady Luck is on my side."

"That's it?" she asked, sitting in the empty chair next to me.

"That's it. Blackjack isn't a mysterious game. There are rules to it, and they generally favor the House. But if you're smart, and you keep your wits, and don't get too drunk, you can usually do okay."

"You're doing okay," she said, nodding towards my growing stack of chips. I had already colored up a few thousand dollars and pocketed the chips. I played with the strategy my grandfather, an oil executive who played in Monte Carlo regularly, had taught me: pocket your winnings and never touch them; when your buy-in is gone, walk away. I already had several grand in my pocket, plus the five hundred in chips I was still playing with, and then some.

I smiled at her and nodded. "I've been lucky tonight. I'm not usually this lucky." I took out my case of cigarillos, took one out and lit it. I puffed on the little cigar as the dealer shuffled the deck. I offered my hand and she took it. "I'm Bradley."

"I'm Toni. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too." I noticed her watching me smoke the cigar. I took out the case, opened it, and offered her one. She took one from the case, put it up to her thick lips, and lit it for her. She puffed on it a few seconds before drawing on it hard, making her cheeks suck in. I couldn't help but notice how sexy her lips looked wrapped around the cylinder. My attention was drawn back to the table by the dealer.

"Sir? Are you still playing?"

"I am!" I said, pushing a hundred dollar chip out. She dealt me a Blackjack. I just turned a hundred dollars into three hundred. I let it ride for the next hand. Mabel dealt me a twenty and then busted. I let my six hundred dollars ride again.

"That's a lot of money..." Toni said just as the dealer busted again, turning my six hundred into twelve hundred. "You're very lucky, aren't you?"

I smiled at her, noting the curve of her sensuous neck, and the dark chocolate tone of her skin.

"I am tonight. I'm not usually this lucky. Typically I lose my buy-in by now, but tonight I'm doing very well."

She licked her thick lips with her pink tongue. The contrast was beautiful. I felt my dick twitch under my kilt and was suddenly glad I wasn't wearing tight underwear. Or anything constricting, for that matter. I split my stack of winnings, leaving half on the betting circle, and putting the rest in my stack in front of me. Then I added up another grand worth of chips, colored them up, and pocketed the chip.

"Do you play?"

"No. I don't even know the rules."

I took several puffs of my cigarillo while she did the same. Just then the waitress appeared with another bourbon and Coke.

"I'll have one of those," Toni said to the waitress as she set my drink down.

"Yes'm. Would you like another, too, sir?"

"Yeah. That'd be great." I put a $20 chip on her tray.

Mabel dealt me a pair of Aces, which I split. One won, one lost. I broke even.

"Y'know, you don't have to know the rules to play. If you want, I'll teach you."

Toni puffed on her cigarillo, her lips forming a tight circle. She blew a few smoke rings and shook her head. Then she put her hand on my forearm. "I'm not much of a gambler. I prefer... a sure return on my investment."

"I see..."

"Blackjack!" Mabel said.

I left my chips on the betting circle and nodded at Mabel. She smiled at me and dealt me another winning hand. I couldn't believe the luck I was having.

"How would you like to get outta here?" Toni asked, stroking my forearm.

I reached down and felt the chips in my pocket. There were several $500 chips, and quite a few $1,000 chips as well. It was my best night of blackjack ever. In fact, I had just turned $300 into almost two grand. I was on a winning streak and really didn't want to walk away from it. On the other hand, I had this very sexy, very ready woman waiting for an answer.

"Let's finish smoking first, then go get some fresh air. How's that sound?"

She pouted a second, then nodded. "I've never seen anyone even play this game before," she said, moving her hand from my arm to my thigh.

"What're you doing in the casino?" I asked just as Mabel dealt herself a Blackjack. I rolled my eyes, but didn't get mad. Instead I just pushed a few chips out. I was playing with hundred dollar chips now, and was almost Cavalier about my betting. I knew I had done well. I didn't want to be wasteful, but at the same time, I was distracted.

"I like the sounds. The sounds of chips, and the machines, and the people talking. It's lively, right?"

"I feel exactly the same!" I said, oblivious to the Blackjack Mabel dealt me. Oblivious to my winnings.

"Sir? You letting it ride?"

"Yes, I am."

I was dealt an eleven. I doubled down and hit twenty. Mabel busted. I cleaned up. My cigar had gotten down low enough it was almost burning my fingers, and starting not to taste so good anymore. Just then the waitress came around with mine and Toni's drink order.

"Y'know, I think I'm ready for that fresh air if you are," I said to Toni as I crushed my cigar out in the ashtray. She took a few more puffs of hers and crushed it out, while blowing the smoke out of the side of her mouth in a thin line. I loved watching her lips pucker to blow the smoke out.

"Yeah, babe. That sounds good."

I raked my chips up. Then I pushed a five-hundred dollar chip over to Mabel. "That's for you. Thanks for a great night." I gathered my chips into a chip tray and stood up. I was a little woozy from all the bourbon and Cokes, but still had enough of my faculties to know I needed to take my chips to the cashier. After a minute of looking around I found the cashier's cage and went over. I placed my tray of chips on the counter, and then emptied my pockets. The cashier was a middle aged woman who looked like a heavy smoker. Her skin was drawn and leathery, and her eyes were dull. She counted the money while Toni and I chatted.

"That's twelve thousand fifty. How would you like that?"

I handed her my room keycard. "On my account please. I don't wanna walk about with that kind o' money."

She took my keycard, scanned it, pushed some keys on the computer keyboard, printed me a receipt, and handed it to me. "There ya go, hun. Have a good night," she said as we stepped away and I checked the receipt. Toni wrapped her arms around my arm and hugged it. With drinks in hand we stepped out onto the gangway that ran around the ship. It was breezy and warm, but the ship had stopped moving. We were anchored off the coast of Mexico, with the lights of Cozumel, and the sounds of partying on a nearby yacht coming across the water.

"It's nice out here," I said, stepping up to the railing, looking over the water to where the party barge was anchored. The party was in full swing. People were splashing around in the water, some were floating on innertubes, and two guys on jet skis were making big circles around the yacht. "Well, they seem to be having a good time." I turned around and looked at Toni. It was my first time to really look at her. She was much shorter than me - the top of her head was at chest height. Her hair was natural, but braided on the sides. She was very curvy too, with a soft face and a sweet smile. Her skin was the color of rich hot chocolate. Not crappy hot chocolate from a packet, but rich, homemade hot chocolate. Her lips were full, with small gold rings in a snakebite piercing. Her eyes, though. They were more gold than brown. There was a lot of intelligence in her eyes. She was wearing a short black skirt, a leopard print crop top that just barely covered her breasts, and leopard print peep toe high heels. She had incredible legs.

"They're fools, though," Toni said, stepping up to me.

"Why do you say that?"

"I'm no expert, but I don't think swimming in the ocean at night is a good idea. In fact, I wouldn't go very deep even in the daylight."

"Sharks?"

She nodded. "I dunno why, but I fear them. I only came on this cruise so my bestie wouldn't have to come alone. She bought the tickets as part of a honeymoon package, but the groom... well, he changed his mind at the last minute. Otherwise, I would not be on this ship."

"I'm glad you're here," I said, reaching into my sporran and taking out the cigar case. I opened it and took one out and put it between my lips, then I offered her one. She took it, and with a lot of effort I managed to get them both lit. We sat down on the lounge chairs, smoked our cigars, and watched the party across the water from us.

"I dunno if you're interested, but I have some smokables back in our cabin, if you wanna get fucked up with me..."