A/N: Thank you all again for the wonderful reviews and story alerts. I want to thank my Beta: FaithInSnape, for all her help and cleaning up the chapter! I have been enjoying all of your thoughts on what the girls did in college and how you are all pro-guys right now. A little anxious to see aren't we?
Enjoy this next chapter and remember to R&R:)
Black Jack
Edward's POV:
The guys and I walked back into our room, already excited about being with the girls again in a couple of hours. I began to think that we were all starting to fall for them. I had noticed the way Rose was falling all over Emmett when he walked out in that shirt. She practically pounced on him like prey. I made my way to gather up some clothes and headed into the shower, anxious to get the salt water and sand off of me. As I stepped into the shower, I took in a deep breath, reveling in the fresh scent of the soap. I thought about the fact that Bella was right next door, doing the exact same thing, and wondered if she were thinking about me right now, the way I was her. I heard the door open, but did not think much about it. After being roommates for so long, we have gotten used to the fact that we can never really get much privacy.
"Yo, Edward, my man," Emmett's voice boomed out in a loud laughter. I could hear the steady stream of him taking a leak, "I think you might need some help with that wood. I just don't think that your hand is going to be able to handle it much longer."
I looked down to see what exactly what he was talking about and noticed that I indeed had a rather large boner going on. I quickly turned the hot water off and finished up my shower in the cold.
"I really don't think the cold water will work this time," Emmett said, flushing the toilet and causing all of my cold water to turn to a raging gust of scolding water.
I quickly turned off the faucets and grabbed my towel, wrapped it around my waist and barged out of the bathroom.
"Thanks for ruining the moment for me, Emmett," I growled at him.
Emmett brought his hands up to his face in defense, "Man, I was doing us all a service."
"Wait, what is going on?" Jasper asked coming in from the balcony.
"Edward was in the shower," Emmett started "Lets just say that the wood was drifting."
Jasper looked at me, his eyes big, "Please Edward, tell me that you did not flag the dog all over the shower stall?"
I was bewildered, as much as I love these guys, they can all have a dirty mind, "No, I did not do such a thing. I am not like the two of you." I gathered up my clothes and began to get dressed, while Emmett went in for his shower.
After about an hour, we were all set to go. We decided that we would just go ahead down to the Lido bar early and grab a few drinks. Just hang out and be guys for a while. After the first round of beers came, along with a bowl full of peanuts, we settled in to watch the baseball game that was being aired on the bar's TV.
"So, Edward, being a virgin and all, do you have any questions for us?" Emmett asked, taking a sip of his beer.
"Nope, I think I learned all that I needed to between mom and dad. Not to mention medical school," I looked over to Emmett on my right and Jasper on my left, "If and when the time comes, I think I could hit the bulls eye."
"Yes, remember, you need to put the rabbit into the hole," Emmett turned to look at Jasper, "I am kind of curious on how your moms told you about the birds and the bees."
Jasper turned a deep red, as much as we all loved Jasper's family, Emmett still had his mind on one thought about them. I could see Jasper tighten his fist around the can.
"Emmett, even though I was adopted, my parents still taught me things," then Jasper brought on a small smile, "Maybe even things that you would not even know about."
"OHHH, does Jasper have things hidden up his sleeve? And I am not talking about these," Emmett held out his arms and began to roll up the long sleeves of his cotton shirt.
"Lets just say that my mothers taught me more on how to respect a woman and her needs, if you know what I mean, then you will ever know."
"Ok, Jasper, please do tell," Emmett said as I just sat back in the bar stool crossing my arms, curious as well as to what Jasper had been taught, "Lets start with the basics, how did your parents teach you how to put a condom on?"
Jasper propped his elbows up on the counter and put on the most serious and straight face, "A cucumber."
I coughed back a laugh at the thought of sitting down at the kitchen table with a pre-teen Jasper and his parents staring down at him going through the play by play on a cucumber. But Emmett on the other hand was not as nice, he let out a booming laugh, which caused some people close by us to turn their heads.
"You have got to be kidding me, they used a cucumber?"
"Well, what did your parents do?" Jasper retorted.
Emmett got quiet, then sat back looking at us, "My mother showed me how to put one on."
"On what?"
Emmett's face turned a light shade of pink, my thoughts beginning to wonder what they used as a demonstration model, "My dad. My mom got down on her knees while my father whipped out the family tree for all to see."
My face must have had horror written all over it, "You are telling me, that your parents sat you down on the couch, your mom plopped out your dad, and they used each other as a sex demo?" I asked, still shocked. I knew that his family was close, but that was a little too close.
"Well," Emmett said, "As least it was a real demonstration. What did your parents do, Edward!?"
I looked at them and tried to think back, "Actually, nothing. We just had the talk."
"You mean you don't even know how to put a condom on?" Jasper asked.
I shook my head. I had never really thought much about it, since I had never found any one that I wanted in that way. At least not until Bella. Truth be told, she was the only one that brought on something like the shower scene a couple of hours earlier. But I was not about to tell the guys that. They already think of me as the odd ball out. Even Jasper is more normal with his politically incorrect family.
"Alrighty then," Emmett said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet, "I think that a demonstration is highly in order." He pulled out a silver packet and proceeded to rip the end off.
"Hey, excuse me! Do you have an empty bottle that we can use?" Emmett yelled over to the bartender. My face, along with Jasper's, was rapidly turning a deep red. The bartender brought over a bottle that had a long and wide neck on it. A cucumber would have been a better model thin an empty bottle of rum.
"Watch and learn," Emmett said, taking out the small round, flat disc.
"Oh, and just what are we going to watch you do?" Rose's voice came out of thin air. We all turned around to see the girls standing behind us, trying to look over our shoulders. Their eyes darting back and forth between the empty bottle and Emmett's hand that was holding the clear disc, his hands suspended over the bottle neck.
"Is that a condom?" Alice asked, causing Emmett to squeeze his hand shut tight around the Trojan.
"No, it' nothing," Emmett stammered out, I was not about to go and rescue him on this one, "we were just talking."
"What about?" Bella asked, she put her head down on my shoulder and I could feel her warm breath down my neck.
"Oh, just about Jasper's parents," Emmett said, I stomped on his foot, "Ow, what was that for?"
The girls looked at us, confused about what was really going on.
"OK, I'll bite," Alice said, "What does Jasper's parents, a bottle of rum, and an unused condom all have in common?"
"Fine," Jasper said standing up, "We were talking about how our parents taught us how to put a condom on. Emmett's parents used each other. Meaning, dad brought out, you know his package, while mommy was on her hands and knees shoving it on."
The girls kept moving their eyes back and forth, shock obviously written all over their faces. It was silent for a while, until Bella cleared her throat.
"Um, Emmett, your family seems to have been rather close. Is there anything that you feel you need to talk to us about?" I saw Emmett roll his eyes.
"Well, if you think my family is off, then you are going to love Jasper's!"
That brought all of the attention off of him and straight to Jasper. Alice climbed up onto the bar stool to look him in the eye.
"What is strange about your family?" Alice asked moving his blond hair out of his eyes.
Jasper looked at me with pleading eyes. I brought my hands up and let him know with my eyes that he was on his own with this one.
"I was adopted and raised by a lesbian couple. There now you all know my dirty secret," he said, reaching around Alice for his beer.
"That's cool," Alice said, then reached over to pick up the rum bottle and waved it in front of us, "But that does not really explain this. Did you all get a head start on us?"
"No, we were just playing around with the empty bottle," Emmett said, standing up, "By the way, where is Macy?"
Smooth, Emmett, change the subject.
"We already dropped her off at the pool," Rose said, placing her hands on Emmett's chest, "We thought that we should head down to the Casino and play a few games."
The idea actually sounded good to me. I had actually been thinking about going down there anyway, to play some of the slots and maybe try my hand at poker.
I finished off my beer and stood up, taking hold of Bella's hand, "Let's get going, then."
"What did you girls want to play?" Jasper asked, leading us to the stairs to walk down to the next level.
I saw that Alice winked over to the girls, that immediately brought my attention that they had something planned, "Oh, we wanted to play a few slots and some Black Jack. Do you all play?"
Actually, all three of us played rather well. Jasper was always the best at it, though.
We walked into the glitzy Casino, which looked like it could put any in Vegas out of its misery. The sounds of the slots dinging, the bar maids walking around with hardly anything on. Alice led the way to a Black Jack table.
"Good evening," the dealer said, "Will all of you be playing?"
"Yes," Bella said with an odd sense of confidence in her voice.
"Very good. The minimum to start is two hundred dollars," I reached in pulled out my room card.
"You can charge the guys to this card. Two hundred a piece." The dealer took my card, as Bella threw their room key on the table for the girls.
"Twelve hundred in chips," he yelled out and a banker came over to give us our stacks.
As the dealer began to hand out the cards, I noticed the girls kept communicating with their eyes. Something was definitely up. I looked at my first hand and my confidence grew. I was determined to not lose all that money. Little did I know that the girls wanted to wager something more than money.
Alice's POV:
This was going better than I could have imagined, but it was time to raise the stakes a little. After four games, it was down to Jasper and I. Edward was the last to fold and get up from the table. Before leaving to find Bella, he whispered in Jasper's ear and slapped him on the back. Chances are it was 'you better not lose'. The same saying I got when Bella folded out on the first hand. I knew that if we lost, Bella would never forgive me. However, I could see that the future would be very bright for Bella and Edward if I did, in fact, lose. Part of me wanted to throw the game, just to see the look on the guys face when we had to pay up. Yet, I am not one who likes to lose. I like competition just as much as everyone else. Just as the dealer began to deal the final hand, I looked up and noticed that everyone was back, along with a crowd that managed to come check out the game.
I turned my attention to Rose and Bella and nodded my head slightly to let them know that I was going to make my move.
"How about we raise the stakes a little," I asked, after the first of the cards were dealt. The dealer placed our second card down. The dealer had a three. Low. Even if it was an Ace under neither, it still would not be a win. I looked over to Jasper's top card: an ace. Tricky. He could play that two ways. I looked down at my top card and saw a queen. Already I had the upper hand. I just need a ten or face to easily win.
"What are you thinking? Jasper asked, looking at his bottom card. The guys stood silently behind him, keeping their faces as smooth as granite.
"We play for shirts," I replied, shrugging my shoulders like it was no big deal.
Not only did Jasper's eyes dance and began to smolder, Edward and Emmett's did the same thing, "Whose shirts?"
"If I win, you and the rest of you guys, lose those god awful shirts that you bought in Hell and we girls get to give them a proper burial."
"And if I win?" Jasper asked.
I kept my face just as still as everyone else, "We will show you guys a little secret about how we earned money for college."
I saw Emmett whisper down into Jasper's ear. I already knew that they would fall for it, but odds were, he wanted to keep his shirt and see what we did.
"Deal," Jasper said and then threw all of his chips into the center of the table. I followed suit. I already knew that I did not want the dealer to hit me.
I picked up my cards and placed them on the table. Just as I thought: a twenty. The odds of him beating that were slim. Jasper smiled, looked over to the guys and then placed his hand on the table: an ace and a king. A perfect twenty-one.
I heard a low growl and looked up to see Bella fuming, "Alice!!"
I just sat there motionless. I thought for sure that I would win! After all, I never lose! Or at least not at this game. My parents loved cards, they had taught me every trick in the book. How to hold the perfect poker face, when to call it quits and walk away. Yet, here I sat, losing! I breathed in a huge breath. The guys were each clapping Jasper on the back as he stood up and gathered up all the chips. I pushed myself away from the table and went to go stand by the girls. Now to put our side of the bet into action. But I knew it would not happen without Bella having her word first.
"Alice," she started when I was in ear shot, "You promised, that this would not happen!"
"How was I to know that they would actually be good? Especially after we saw all the empty beer cans? I thought that them being slightly intoxicated would be to our advantage."
"I can't do this," Bella said standing with her hands on her hips.
"A bet is a bet," Rose said, "and besides, you are awesome at it. You were one of the best ones."
"No," Bella said, pursing her lips together.
"Bella, we have to," I said, "Now come on and suck it up."
I took her hand, but she did not budge. I let out a huge sigh. I knew of one way to get her to go, the same way Rose and I had the first day we had walked into that job. A job that Rose had found and thought that we would all be good at. And I might add, we were the best at it. But after college was over, we promised to never do it again. I looked down at my feet, wearing the same shoes as that first day, then looked at my best friends' feet. I knew that we could do this.
"Come on, Bella, and I promise, never again." I held out my hand and Bella huffed before reluctantly taking it in hers.
We walked over to the guys, who were all standing there with huge smiles on their faces as if they just won the lottery.
"OK, a bet is a bet and we are ready to pay up," I started, "Meet us down at the dance bar in fifteen minutes."
I then took the girls by the hand and went to the bathroom. I counted to twenty before stepping back out, finding that that the guys were no longer standing around.
I looked at our outfits, suddenly surprised that the guys had never said anything about our attire. But I knew they would be saying something soon.
"Are we ready?" I asked them. Rose was excited, this was her territory that we were crossing into, something that she loved to do. The attention is why she wanted to start the job anyway. Bella looked like a deer caught in headlights, she always had. Until she takes that first step and it is like she gets transported. I knew that we could do this. It is just another day, another job. Work, that is what it was and would always be.
We made our way through the crowded club and up to the DJ. I requested a couple of songs and gave him our information, just like all those other times. Then I went to the bartender and told him who we were and what we are planning and why. He looked up to the DJ who nodded. I looked around and saw that the guys were sitting on one of the couches, but had a perfect view of the bar. I put my hand in the air and waved to them. They caught sight of us and began to walk over to the bar.
"Well, are you all ready to pay up?" Emmett asked. All of us girls had our backs against the bar, waiting for our cue.
"Yes, we are and if you stand right over there, you should have the perfect view," Rose said, pushing the men away from us and then we proceeded to make our way behind the bar.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have some very special guests in the house tonight. If you'd all turn your attention to the bar, I'd like to introduce you all to some girls that came all the way from New York City's original..."
A/N: I know that I am evil to end it there, but figured it will be a good cliffy!! As always, please review!! Keep those ideas coming, we will be finding out in the next chapter:)
