I took Shonnie by the hand and we waltzed over to a blackjack table. “One Dollar, Minimum Bet.” This was to be a training session and a trial run. An ‘Introduction’, if you will.
“Hey! You said something about teaching me ‘counting the deck’ in Blackjack? Was that bullshit, or what? I have never played blackjack. What is it?” She said.
“Surely you played ‘Twenty-One’ as a kid, right? Or was it all ‘Strip Poker’ or ‘Strip Poke Her?”
“Asshole.”
“Seriously Shonnie, I just want you to get a feel for the game. Tomorrow, I will teach you how to count. You seem to have some ‘Rain Man’ in ya. No offense.”
“Rain-man?”
“Never mind. I will tell you later. You just listen to me, as we are gonna sit together here. Tomorrow, we hit The El Cortez, and we will be in disguise. They have one of the last double-deck games in town.”
“Double deck? Disguise? Get the fuck out!”
“I’ll explain later. Please sit down and think about what you want to drink. The waitress will wanna know.”
We sat at ‘Third Base.’
The dealer was a perky blond with a name tag: It read: “Hi! I am Debbie from Des Moines! Live it Up!”
And as the hours wore on, I taught her basic BJ play. She was good with it. Very good.
We never bet much. This was just for training after all, (and we already had our stake) and I did distrust the dealers at the Plaza anyhow, so we just chilled.
“This is boring.” Shonnie finally said.
“Honey, you’re learning the game. Relax!”
“Well, I like craps better.”
“Darling, we all do, but this one is gonna pay off for us tomorrow night. Trust me.”
“Whatever.”
We did the Blackjack thing for some hours and then I bought her a bagel at the coffee shop and took her to bed. She was ready, and fell asleep just as soon as the blond hair hit the pillow.
I was left alone with my thoughts, and my plans, and a hard on.
“Sleep Princess,” I thought. Then slept too, curled around her.
