Chapter Six: The One Where Poker is Involved.
vi: Oh my goodness, I can't hide it. You just smiled when you walked by me, oh my goodness - Warning signs that no one showed me.
Rachel doesn't like being wrong – in fact, in the girls house, the only one that readily accepts being wrong is Brittany. Inevitably, this causes problems, but nevertheless, Rachel is angry. She swears up and down that she hasn't done the accounts wrong, but Mike only raises a brow at her in amusement. She's running out of money, and fast. She seriously did not want to get a loan out to put on this production, and had been very sure previously that she had enough money in the bank to fund it. Well, that had been from her previous loan.
Rachel groans and sends Mike a helpless look, to which he replies, "Don't get stressed, just manage your finances back. You're spending too much on frivolous items." She's about to fire back, indignant, when he continues. "You are. No room for arguments there. For one, in terms of private and personal spending, why are you spending so much on toiletries? I mean, really? Then, you need to food shop somewhere cheaper – no, I don't want to hear objections. Also, 30 dollars on one item of make-up? Rach, you must be crazy!" He declares with wide eyes.
She pouts, "That make-up is essential to my looking good in the morning and presenting the right impression to my cast. I can't have them thinking that looking orange is alright! That would be honestly disastrous to everything I'm working for. I mean, honestly, Michael..."
"Rachel, how many times have I told you that my name is not short for Michael.."
"How many times have I told you that I don't believe you?"
He rolls his eyes, but decides to let that conversation go, "Look, bottom line, you've to cut back everywhere or you're facing some serious repercussions. Trust me." He stares her in the eyes as he says it, trying to convey how serious he is. Rachel seems to realise this though, as she resigns herself to nodding slowly. "And I'll drop around to your theatre one of the days after work to help designate areas to cut back on. Deal?"
She's silent. "I suppose I don't have much of a choice, do I?"
"Nope." He grins.
Rachel stands from Mike's tiny table in his kitchen, and paces for a minute or two, leaving him waiting patiently, "I'll ask Finn to take a smaller pay.. You think he will?" She turns to him, worried.
"Believe me, he'll take whatever cut you want him to."
She smiles at this. "I hope you're right. I'm going to need all the help I can get!" She glances at her watch, "I better get back and make some dinner. My turn tonight! See you at nine for poker?"
"Definitely," He nods, and follows her out the door. He locks his own, and then says goodbye as he enters the boys apartment, and she enters hers. Four days ago, Finn had declared a poker war after Quinn had ditched some bet with him. Instead of strip poker, Finn went all out – they're playing for money tonight.
Yes, yes, Mike knows; it's a bad idea waiting to happen. Everyone knows they're better in their underwear than left with no money.
On Rachel's orders, they're all doing some sort of task in preparation for poker. No one else seems to think that that much preparation is required, but Rachel had been adamant. How can one play cards without appropriate snacks? Also, the surrounding area must be free of all dirt and mess as everyone will be distracted. Finn had wisely refrained from pointing out that no, only Rachel would be distracted. Perhaps Kurt, too, but unlikely as it's not his apartment.
He's currently organising the chairs around the table in an 'orderly fashion' – whatever that means. He and Puck then have to sort out the chips and wait for the others to get ready. As he finishes, everyone is sitting except Quinn, who is breezing around the kitchen, all the while humming to herself. She's getting the dips and chips – eating chips, not like the chips Puck had to deal with.
It ends up being him and Rachel heads of table again, with the boys down his left, and the girls down his right. Kurt is facing Santana, Mike facing Brittany and Puck facing Quinn. He feels they're all ill-matched, but he doesn't want to make everyone change for the sake of who you're staring at.
Besides, he is happy with who he's staring at.
"Ok, how do you wanna' play this, Hudson?" Puck asks, dealing the cards.
"Since we always win, maybe we shouldn't play for money..." Mike states, looking uneasily at the girls.
Santana takes immediate offence, "Uh, excuse me? What do you mean you always win?"
"I wasn't aware we took teams," Quinn adds, raising a brow at the boys.
Puck scoffs, "Please. You always help each other out.. And let's be honest, if it were boys versus girls, we would win. Every time."
"Want to put your money where your mouth is, Puckerman?" Santana asks, head raised challengingly.
"Let's not all do something we'll regret," Mike tries, knowing he's the voice of wisdom usually.
"That the fear of losing talking, Michael?"
He narrows his eyes at Rachel, picking up the cards Puck put in front of him, "These bitches goin' down."
There's a round of cheers from the boys, and Kurt falters, "Am I with you lumberjacks then, yeah?"
"'Fraid so, Gillian. You are a man, are you not?"
Kurt doesn't respond, only picks up his cards. He knows how this will go already; Santana and Rachel will become really competitive and insist on playing until they win, Brittany will invent random winning hands, Quinn and him will eventually get bored while Puck and Finn bask in their glory. Despite it being their first time playing with money, he also knows that Mike will be steadily reminding them throughout how much they've lost.
An hour and a half in, and Mike tilts his head towards Rachel, "Don't you think you should fold?" His tone is urging her to accept, but being the stubborn mule she is, she raises her chin and tells him that he'd like that.
Puck casually throws a question to Santana, "So where's flower boy?"
Word had somehow gotten out about Blaine's surprise – even though Santana is adamant that she didn't tell any of them. Which makes Kurt think that Rachel got it out of him when Santana came home in an unusually chirpier than normal mood. Why Rachel? Because, of course, she had been the one to tell them. Kurt eyes her suspiciously, and finds her with a deviant smile.
Santana doesn't bat a lid at his question, "Stop trying to distract me. You don't give a damn where he is. My question though, is why don't you get yourself a girlfriend instead of obsessing over my lovelife? Oh, that's right. None will take you cause you've the maturity of a ten-year-old. I'd give Finn twelve by the way, so that's really saying something."
"Baby, don't be so jealous. We can't all be capable of pulling every night – some of us have to settle. I get that. Now come on, you gonna' raise, or what?"
Finn folds and excuses himself for the bathroom, which Kurt is glad for, because he's been complaining about it for around an hour now. To emphasise Kurt's point, Puck tells him that it's about time. Rachel folds, too and inconspicuously goes after Finn. This seems to go unnoticed by the others, but it piques Kurt's interest hugely. It's much more interesting than the stupid game, that's for sure. Believing it to be fruitless and a money-waster, Kurt declares himself out and goes to get some wine.
He wants to be sitting on the arm of the couch, which will allow him to face the bathroom, nonchalantly with a glass of wine in his hand when they come out. Oh yes, he is all for the dramatics.
Meanwhile, Santana is glancing over her cards to judge everyone else. Puck never reveals anything, she's used to that by now. He always wears the same satisfied and amused expression when they play. Santana's not about to lie, she hates that expression. Quinn's wearing a predictably bored look, which tells her that she hasn't got anything exciting. Brittany has long ago abandoned her cards and is making smiley faces with her chips. In between giving Rachel – before she left - annoyingly disapproving looks, Mike only appears pensive. Kurt, Finn and Rachel are gone and she revels in the win she's about to receive.
"Straight, my friends. Read it and weep." She says slowly, laying down her cards.
Mike sighs and throws down a few pairs, and Puck stops her hands from collecting the pile of chips, "Ah, ah, ah my friend. Such a good friend." He says lovingly, but mockingly, too. He shows his hand and she sinks back against the chair, defeated, but not finished.
Quinn clears her throat then, "I do believe that I win this round, ladies and gents. Pay up."
Puck looks impressed, "Looks as if I underestimated you this round, Fabray. Who knew you could be subtle." She sticks her tongue out jokingly, and he laughs. Santana grumbles something about a poker face.
Kurt is poised perfectly when Rachel and Finn emerge from the bathroom, deep in conversation and unaware of his prying eyes. Finn is concerned judging from his furrowed brows and his mouth set in a thin line. Rachel is gazing up at him apprehensively and apologetically, laying her hand on his bicep gently.
"I don't mean a complete wage cut, Finn. I would never ask that of you, I just meant a little less than what you were expecting. Also, I think we should keep the whole toilet thing between ourselves... though I swear I saw nothing. I don't know what you take me for, but I don't revel in listening to pee. I certainly didn't want to see you do it. Honestly, I'm a little surprised you were able to.. No stage fright there I see."
Finn gives her that 'you're crazy' look for a moment, but then shakes his head, "Rachel, I didn't expect any pay."
She's confused. Kurt can't help but roll his eyes and feel rather bored with the whole situation. They're both so stupid and so annoying. So annoying, Kurt silently muses. "You- well, what were you expecting me to repay you with?" She asks, her expression a mixture of horror and indignation.
"Hey! What do you think I am? I expected nothing in return. Jesus, Rach, you make it so hard for people to be nice."
"Excuse me then for assuming you'd want to be paid for a job. What a silly theory of mine, I'll just toss that one out the window, shall I?"
Finn waves her off, and begins to walk back to the table, "Why don't you just sit down and resume losing more money."
"Losing more money? Okay Finn Hudson, let's have at it. Me, you, and a hand of cards. Bring it." At this point, everyone else has been drawn to their conversation, and there's a slight buzz in the room as the anticipation mounts.
"Girls and boys are tied anyway," Puck exclaims, a sort of excitement in his bones, "You can win it for us, Finn. Berry's not even that good!"
"She's decent," Santana shoots back, and then puts her arm around Rachel. "Finn scratches his nose when bluffing."
Kurt sits back as this develops; he thinks it can only end in tears. The phone rings and as he's beside it, Kurt picks it up, "Hello?... No, this is not Quinn Fabray.." He feels a smirk blossom on his face as the girl in question's eyes dart over to his.
"Kurt, give me the phone," She holds out her hand expectantly.
In the background, he acknowledges that the poker game has begun, but he pays no heed to them. Unfortunately, neither does Quinn. She lunges at him, and he steps back just in time. "Oh? She never told me she was expecting a call, apologies... No, no, don't -" It's then that she tackles him to the ground. They've garnered the attention of everyone else now, and they cheer and laugh as they battle.
The phone is knocked out of his hand, and Quinn climbs off of him to run and get it. Clearing her throat, she stands and straightens herself. "Hello?"
Kurt watches in amusement as she shoots him a glare and goes to her room in a flurry of apologies and questions of wellbeing. Still on the ground, he turns to the others and raises is eyebrows, "What?"
Mike chuckles, then turns back to the game, "Nicely played, Kurt."
"That? Ladies and gentlemen, that was just a warm-up. Wait until she brings him home!"
Puck frowns, "Who home?"
"I don't know, that guy on the phone. He sounded studly even over the phone."
Rachel places her hand down, so no one can see, and wonders aloud, "Why didn't she tell me?"
"God, I don't know Rachel, it might have something to do with your massive trap."
"I resent that, San. Look Finn, are you prepared to be crushed, or what?"
"Awh, you're just hot air, Rach."
"I raise you five."
"I see your five, and raise you ten." She throws in her chips and eyes him with a challenge.
Finn can't back down, although usually he's not this stubborn, "All in."
"Finnie, are you sure you want to do this?" Her smile is sickly, but he only nods. She's all in, too, and pushes her pile into the centre of the table. Puck and Mike are standing behind Finn, waiting anxiously for them to reveal their cards, while Brittany and Santana stand behind Rachel.
Rachel reveals her hand first, "three of a kind, my good man."
There's a pregnant pause as everyone waits on baited breath. Rachel leans forward a little unconsciously, eyes pinned on Finn. He holds her gaze for a minute, and then leans back, muttering in a defeated tone, "You win."
A beat of silence. "I—I win? I win! I WIN!" She jumps out of her chair and she, Santana and Brittany share a three-way hug. They jump around in celebration then, with Brittany breaking out the robot and Santana doing the cabbage patch.
"In your face, Puckerman!" Santana exclaims joyfully, clinking her glass of cider with Rachel's. "This is cause for celebration my girlies."
Puck pats Finn on the back in commiseration, "Don't worry about it, dude. We'll get them back. Sickened for now though."
Mike nods, "We'll win all that money back, definitely."
Finn isn't as perturbed as Mike and Puck are. He's staring at Rachel laughing and celebrating with Brittany and Santana with a small smile, "But look how happy she is."
Puck frowns. He and Mike exchange a glance, and then dive for Finn's turned down cards. Finn claps his hands over them first, "It's over, I lost, I lost!"
"You gotta' know when to hold 'em,
know when to fold 'em,
know when to walk awaaay..-"
"Rachel give it up, I've had enough singing for tonight," Mike states wearily from his place lounged across the couch. Needless to say, Santana insisted on everyone staying up for drinks – despite it being a thursday night – and not many could object. Mike, though he usually had great willpower when it came to this kind of stuff (never with Santana), couldn't refuse. Kurt, caring a great deal about appearance and beauty sleep, left hours ago. That leaves the remaining seven.
He can safely say that most of them are fairly hammered. He hopes he can see straight in the morning for work, at least. Santana sits at the end of the couch he's lying on, and his legs are on top of her. Brittany has somehow managed to keep her clothes on this time, but passed out in the corner. Quinn, Puck and Finn are rotating playing spit at the table behind him. While Rachel – well, Rachel is singing her heart out at the top of the room. Again.
"God damn, Quinn. Just let me win something tonight." Finn groans, much to her delight as she pushes all the cards towards him.
"Hey, what can I say? It's my game."
"I do believe I beat you, Q.." Puck states, trailing off mockingly.
"Beginners luck."
"We've played this loads of times!"
Quinn ignores him, "So, Finn... What would you say to a date with my boss?" He lurches so suddenly that the table lifts, and one of the glasses falls to the floor and smashes. Rachel is over like a light. She hates messes in her apartment, it always must be spotless. In addition to this, she's sick to death of her no-brain friends breaking all of her glasses. If only she had civilised, sophisticated friends.
Quinn rolls her eyes at Finn's reaction and helps Rachel clean it – as well as Finn, while Puck watches lazily – and Rachel thinks that Quinn is probably the closest to sophisticated.
"Puck, you could help?"
He gives the blonde a grin, "Sorry, I wish I could.. but I really don't want to."
In retaliation to a stupid retort, she flicks a piece of salsa at him that had fallen onto the table. Yes, sophisticated.
"Let's not play that game. I'll just win that one as well," He says nonchalantly.
"Oh? You think so?" Rachel realises at this point that not all of them are actually drunk. Some are able to monitor their intake of alcohol – she, Finn, Mike and Brittany are not included in that bracket.
Quinn picks up a glass of water and holds it threateningly over his crotch before leaning close to him, "You want to make a bet?"
Puck can't break away from her gaze. What's more is that he doesn't want to (never wants to) and only moves closer so that their noses are almost touching. His eyes flicker to her lips for such a brief moment, that one would miss it if they were not observing closely. (Why all their friends always miss it.) He knows it's stupid. He knows he shouldn't.
But dammnit, she always knows what buttons to press. "Try me."
The cold is unwelcoming and presents a shock to his system, but Puck takes it in his stride and maintains his calm demeanour and amused expression. "Are you quite finished?"
"Is that a challenge?" Her tone is questioning, and Quinn is looking at him as if he's severely idiotic now. Puck supposes he is.
"Not necessarily." He responds suavely. Smooth, Puckerman, smooth. Crisis averted with minimum damage to reputation and ego. He has done it again, and takes a moment to relish in his awesomeness.
"Well that's not an answer." She always knows which buttons to press. Which is why, in a flurry of movements, he has her thrown over his shoulder and is carrying her to the bathroom. "Puck! Puck!" she's banging her fists against his back, but he's not backing down this time. "Noah Puckerman!" He winces a little. Ouch, she means business.
Oh well. So does he. He turns on the shower knob on the wall, and sets it to cold. All the while, a wriggling blonde struggles against him. He's never noticed how weak she is until now, and is struck by how easy it would be for a man to overpower her at any point in time. (It makes him feel slightly uneasy.)
"Q, I want you to remember that you love me, that you can't live without me and most of all, that you brought this upon yourself." He then dumps her unceremoniously into the bath tub, laughing hard as the water cascades down her face and drenches her hair and clothes. His laughter fades when he notices she's simply staring at him.
"God, you're so hot right now. All that manly control you had... It—It got me kind of hot and bothered, Noah," the way she whispers his name at the end immediately as him hot and bothered. She's staring up at him with those captivating eyes filled with lust and want, angling her body so that her breasts are pushed higher and her legs are tantalizingly glistening with water in the dim light of the bathroom. It only takes him a minute to lean down towards her.
It's then that she pulls him in with her. "Looks like you need a cold shower, babe."
Okay, so first offf... sooo sorry about the long wait in updating! I've had exams the past two weeks. I've one more left, but it's not for ten days, and it's French so I think I'm good for it. Anyway, back on track now. I'm eager to get this story up to the point it used to be at! But.. but, please, could I have more reviews? I'll be ever so grateful. Virtual hugs and money for all!
I don't own glee, Friends, "the gambler" by Kenny Rogers or "Oh My Goodness" by Olly Murs. Great album btw, I recommend it!
Snippets of next chapter:
"He's the perfect Roger, Rach! His hair is curly as well, which means he's bendy and good for dancing."
~
Kurt hesitates before throwing it back to Quinn, "You didn't tell him about Puck?"
She wishes he hadn't said that. Had it been really necessary to say that? no. Just Kurt and his big mouth. With one look, she makes it clear she's not happy with him, and scrambles to find something to say to Sam, who's waiting patiently, "We.. We have a history, is all."
Kurt raises an eyebrow, puzzled, "It's a lot-"
"A history." Quinn repeats. Kurt finally gets the message and sinks back against his chair, silenced.
~
Hopefully that's enough to intrigue you to read the next chapter! haha... I aim to update sometime later in the week, after I write more. I'm still way ahead in chapters but would like to keep it that way :) Thanks for reading, and reviews are like Quam duets! haha.. Which are good in my books, btw. Very, very good.
CN.