The Beginning of Us (152 page)

The dealer took my money and gave me eight hundred and fifty five dollars’ worth of chips. Since the table had a one hundred dollar open, I potentially could only play eight hands if I didn’t win any hands and no one raised it pre-flop. 

In Texas Hold'em, every player is dealt two cards face down. Everyone who wants to play places a bet and everyone who doesn’t want to play folds by giving their cards back to the dealer. After everyone puts in their chips and either matches the big blind (also known as an ante) or matches the highest raise, the dealer burns one card (also known as discarding) and then turns three over which is known as the flop. Everyone either bets or folds again, and then the dealer burns one card and turns another over which is known as the turn. Once everyone has bet or folded again, the dealer burns one last card and then turns over one final card, which is known as the river. Everyone who is still playing bets or folds again, and then you turn over your cards to see who has the highest hand.

Since the big blind was a hundred dollars and the small blind was fifty, I thought to myself that this was probably a bad idea.  Now that 
he
 was here, I was glued to my seat.

I didn’t play my first hand. I was dealt a seven of clubs and a two of diamonds. I knew enough to know that a seven-two was the worst hand in poker. 
Great, is this how this is going to go?
 I looked up and he gave me a smile that I interpreted as 
Hey I know what you did last night!
 I felt my face start to heat as I remembered the details of that night all too clearly. 

While the dealer dealt the next hand, his friend turned to me and started to introduce himself and his friends. “Hi, I’m Jason, this is my wife Becca, and this here is Brandon,” he said, nodding towards my hottie.  The older gentleman sitting at the table introduced himself as Stan, but didn't know Brandon and his friends. Finally, he had a name and the woman he was with was not his girlfriend. I was relieved. When we’d danced, I hadn’t thought once about the possible girlfriend I’d seen him with at the airport.

“Hi, I’m Spencer, and this is Ryan.” Since I knew Brandon went to my gym, I didn’t feel that I should give him our fake names…especially after that dance and since I wanted to get to know him. God, did I want to get to know this 
gorgeous
 man! 

“So ladies, where are you from?” From the tone of Jason’s question, I knew he already knew the answer.

“San Francisco. And you?” Two could play this game.

“Wow, what a coincidence. So are we,” Jason said, answering my question.

“You know, you look like this girl who goes to the same gym as me,” Brandon said as he looked into my eyes, making my palms grow sweaty.

“Oh yeah? I just started going to that new gym, Club 24, a few weeks ago…You know, come to think of it, you do look kind of familiar.” Our eyes locked on each other and he flashed me his smile. We both knew who the other was, but I kept playing his game.

“Yeah, then I know I’ve seen you there a few times,” Brandon said with his knowing eyes.

Over the next hour, we all made small talk, talking about San Francisco and why we were in Vegas. Ryan, with her big mouth, explained to everyone that I was playing poker because I had just hit a jackpot on a slot machine and I wanted to try to double my money for a 
Louis Vuitton
 purse. 
Thanks Ryan. Now I was thoroughly embarrassed. 

Brandon and I caught each other staring throughout the wee hours of the night. We didn’t mention the previous night once. He gave me his signature heart-stopping smile frequently.

I was winning most hands I played, and I thought that I was about to reach two thousand dollars. The next hand, the dealer dealt me pocket kings. That being a strong starting hand, I raised pre-flop to four hundred dollars. Wow, that was a fourth of my rent. Everyone folded except Brandon.

On the flop, the dealer turned over a King of Clubs, Ace of Diamonds and a Two of Spades. 
Three of a kind, not bad
. I swallowed hard, trying to maintain my poker face and then I bet five hundred dollars. Brandon called. The dealer turned over an eight of spades on the turn. No help to me. I bet another five hundred dollars and Brandon called again. The dealer then turned over a Seven of Hearts on the river, again was no help to me.

Knowing that a three of a kind was a strong hand and there was no chance for a straight or a flush, I pushed all my chips in the middle and said “All in.” Brandon looked up at me and flashed me that smile that I was already falling in love with. I knew I was in trouble. 

“I call,” he said. The dealer counted all the chips I had put in the middle. It totaled one thousand six hundred and fifty dollars. I was nervous. I couldn’t believe I had just bet all that money. My heart started to beat fast and my palms were sweaty. This was it. I could either win enough for my purse or go home empty-handed.

I turned over my pocket kings revealing I had a three of a kind. Still smiling, Brandon turned over pocket aces. 
Shit! Of course.
 Brandon also had a three of a kind, but it was aces and that beat my kings.

I was stunned. What are the odds? “Ah Spence, you lost all your money!” Ryan said mournfully. 
No shit Sherlock! 

“Yep, well it was nice playing with you all,” I said as I stood up. “Time to call it a night, Ry.” I was extremely disappointed, but at least I’d finally met Brandon officially. 

Ryan and I turned to leave, but stopped when Brandon spoke. “Hey Spencer…”

I hesitated for a slight moment then turned. “Yeah?”

Smiling, Brandon said, “See you at the gym on Monday.”

“Okay,” I said with a huge smile on my face. I probably looked like a complete idiot as I grinned from ear to ear, but I didn't care. Vegas had turned out to be everything I wished for and more.

Ryan and I walked out of the room, there were butterflies in my stomach. As soon as we got out of earshot range—at least I hoped we were—we did a little victory dance and jumped up and down. The hottie at the gym finally talked to me. Unlike Vegas' slogan, not everything stays in Vegas—thank God
!

*~*~*

Ryan and I made it home from Vegas on Sunday afternoon. We were both exhausted; partying all weekend took a lot out of us. We ordered pizza and lounged in our PJs for the evening as we’d already decided it was going to be an early night for both of us. “Are you nervous about seeing Brandon tomorrow?” Why did Ryan always seem to ask the obvious questions?

 “
Um, yes.
” God was I nervous. It would be the first time we were “alone” together after Vegas and our dance. I had no idea what was going to happen. 

 I tossed and turned all night because my brain would just not shut off.

The next day, work progressed as a normal Monday, very slow. I thought it would never end. Finally, at five, I made my way to the gym. My guest pass was expired, so I had to buy a membership. 

When I got to the front desk, there was a person in front of me. While waiting, I looked around, but I didn’t see Brandon. Finally, it was my turn. “Hi, I need to purchase a membership,” I said to the guy at the front desk. 

Before he had a chance to respond, I heard Brandon say from behind me, “Luke, I’m taking care of Spencer’s membership.”

“Yes sir, Mr. Montgomery,” Luke said.

Just then, Brandon was on my right leaning on the desk. I quickly sized him up and down. He was dressed in black basketball shorts, a dark blue tank top that clung to what looked like perfect abs and what I knew was a rock hard chest. His biceps were big but not too big. He was perfect. “That isn’t necessary,” I said to Brandon.

“It’s the least I can do for taking all your money!” he said with laughter in his voice.

“Ha ha, very funny. But really, you don’t need to.  It was just money I won in Vegas anyway, so no big deal.” 

“Spencer, don’t worry about it, I kind of own this place.” 

“What? Really?” I wasn't expecting him to say that, I’d just thought we went to the same gym, not that I went to 
his
 gym!

“Yep, now go change so we can work out,” he said, his tone a little bossy, but I liked it.

I hurried and changed. Brandon was waiting for me when I exited the locker room. “Ready?” he asked.

“Yep.” We walked over to the treadmills. Again, this reminded me of a scene in one of my favorite books. If every workday ended like this, I might never retire.

After running on the treadmill for twenty minutes and sharing those flirty glances, Brandon asked if I wanted to go to the weight room. I had never lifted weights before because I thought I needed to do cardio only. I didn’t want to be bulky like a man, but he assured me that I needed both. Who was I to argue? He was, in fact, the owner of the gym, so I figured that meant he knew his stuff.

In the weight room, he showed me some basic exercises. While I was concentrating on trying not to pull a muscle, he was working on his triceps. He was leaning backwards on a weight bench with his legs stretched out in front of him while doing backwards pushups. That’s when I saw the sexiest thing I had ever seen. Not all men have it, but when they do, it made my mouth water. People refer to it as “the horseshoe”. It’s where the tricep is so defined, it makes a horseshoe shape on the back of your arm when the muscle flexes.

Just as I started to lick my lips, Brandon looked up at me. “You like what you see?” 
Fuck, did I ever!

“Uh huh…” was all I could muster out of my mouth.

“Good,” he said with a wink.

After we were done in the weight room, Brandon walked me back to the locker room. “What are you doing tomorrow night after the gym?” he asked.

Not wanting to seem over eager, I pretended to think for a moment, and then casually said, “I don’t really have any plans.”

“Would you like to have dinner with me after we work out?”

“Sure, I would love to,” I said, smiling at him. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” I turned and walked into the locker room. 

*~*~*

When I got home, Ryan was in the living room watching TV. She started to grill me about my night at the gym. 

“So tell me. Did you kiss?”

“While working out at the gym?”

“He could have cornered you in the ladies locker room.”

“I wish!”

“So what did 
you
 do?”

“First of all, Brandon has the sexiest body I’ve ever seen!”

“You didn’t kiss, but you had sex?”

“What? 
No!
 I can just tell. While he was lifting weights, he had the horseshoe on his triceps for crying out loud!”

“Wow, that is sexy,” she agreed with a wistful sigh.

“I know, right? Also, he owns the gym.”

“Holy shit! Really?”

“Yep, and he took care of my membership.”

“Ah, I’m so jealous of you right now, Spencer,” Ryan said as she slouched down on the couch.

“I know. I can’t believe this is happening. Oh, and we are going to dinner tomorrow after work.”

“I hate you,” Ryan said quietly and crossed her arms over her chest.

“No, you don’t.” 

“Yes, I do!” We both laughed. Ryan was never good at hiding her jealousy.

CHAPTER FOUR

The next day at the gym, Brandon joined me for the Tuesday kickboxing class. The instructor gave us a weird look when we entered the class. I thought for a second that maybe it was because the owner of the gym was in her class but then I remembered he was in here last week, too. This time during crunches, we partnered up right away.

After I did my set of fifty crunches, we switched positions so he could do his set. I had my hands on his feet to hold them down as my face leaned close to his bent knees. His basketball shorts slid up his leg a little exposing his thick muscular thigh.

When he was on number forty nine, Brandon crunched up and quickly brushed his lips with mine, taking me by surprise. He did the same with number fifty and it took everything I had not to straddle him in the crowded class and return the kiss. I was starting to really enjoy working out again.

After the class, I went to the locker room to shower and get ready for dinner. I had brought my clothes so I didn’t have to waste time running home to get ready.

I dressed in a simple navy blue a-line dress that fell loosely above my knees. The dress was sleeveless with ruffles down the front. I accented the dress with a rope-braided belt, snake-skin wedge heels and a ruffle clutch purse, all cream colored. Given that I didn’t want to keep Brandon waiting, I quickly blow-dried my hair and put in my go-to princess cut diamond stud earrings.

When I exited the locker room, Brandon was leaning on the wall outside the door waiting patiently for me. He was dressed in dark denim jeans, and a black pinstripe long sleeve button down shirt with his hair a little spiked, but in the messy just-fucked look. He smelled like the fresh air mixed with warm sunshine, the ruggedness of the earth and all man. I still couldn’t place his cologne even though I had smelled it before.