“Your turn.” Max’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts for a moment.

I lift my eyes from my cards, run my thumb along the edge of the stack, then finally push a few chips into the middle. “Raise.”

“Of course.” Max mutters, rolling his eyes. “Should’ve seen that coming.”

Pietra lets out a quiet laugh as she rearranges her cards.

I don’t answer. My attention is already somewhere else. She’s sitting directly across from me. One elbow resting on the table, her chin casually propped up on her hand.

When I suggested she could just sit with us and watch, she claimed she finally wanted to understand how poker worked.

She’s been sitting here for almost forty minutes now and maybe looked at the cards three times. Her attention is fixed on something completely different.

On my hands. I noticed it after only a few minutes.

Every time I deal the cards, stack chips, or absentmindedly roll them between my fingers, her eyes follow every single movement. So focused, as if nothing else in the room exists.

Anyone else probably wouldn’t have noticed. But I did. Because I know that look. I know exactly what she’s thinking. Not about poker, odds or bluffs.

She’s thinking about what those same hands feel like when they touch her once we’re alone.

The thought makes the corner of my mouth lift before I can stop it. I lift my cards, slowly turn them between my fingers, and watch out of the corner of my eye as her gaze follows the movement.

She doesn’t even realize she’s doing it.

“Alright.” I set the cards back on the table and look straight at her. “Quick test.” She blinks in surprise. “What?”

“You’ve been paying attention this whole time, right?”

She nods immediately. “Yeah.”

“Good.” I gesture toward my cards with two fingers. “What would you do right now? Fold, call, or raise?”

For a moment, she just looks at me. Then her eyes drift downward again to my hands. I have to fight back a grin. “Well?”

She opens her mouth. “I…would raise?”

“Why?”

I can practically see her mind scrambling for an answer. But none comes. Because she doesn’t have one. “I…don’t know.” She murmurs quietly.

Max chuckles. “I don’t think she’s learned anything today. She has absolutely no idea what’s going on.”

“I do!” She protests immediately. I raise an eyebrow. “Then explain why.”

She presses her lips together. She hasn’t been paying attention at all. At least not to the game.

My gaze settles on her again. She notices me looking and lifts her head. For a brief moment, our eyes meet. Then she looks down again.

I slowly lace my fingers together, letting my thumb glide over my knuckles, and watch as her eyes once again follow every single movement.

That look. Almost dreamy. And I know exactly what’s behind it. I know she isn’t wondering how to play poker.

She’s thinking about those same fingers tracing over her hips, her stomach, and her legs. About the way I lace our fingers together. About how natural every touch between us feels, even though no one knows those touches exist at all.

A small crooked smile settles on my lips. Just enough for her to notice. Her eyes immediately dart up to my mouth. I can see it in her expression. She realizes that I figured her out a long time ago.

Her cheeks instantly flush red, and she lowers her gaze again, this time to the table. I chuckle quietly and turn my attention back to the game.

“So?” Max asks impatiently. “Are you playing or not?”

Without another word, I push my chips forward. “Call.”

We turn over our cards. A quiet curse slips from Max as I grin and pull the pot toward me. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” He mutters, tossing his cards onto the table in frustration. “I’m out.”

Pietra throws her cards into the middle as well and stretches with a quiet sigh. “Me too. I think that’s enough for today.”

“Already?” {{user}} asks in surprise.

“Yeah.” Pietra smiles. Max pushes his chair back and gets to his feet. “We’re gonna head to bed. Good Night.”

I just nod. “Sleep well.”