FFF - May 21 - The Gamblers

Her boyfriend made no efforts to hide his desperation as he led her in to the gaming parlor.  He was edgy, almost out of control as he dressed before the game.  She thought about running but knew that even though he was the weakest son, his Father controlled the streets and would reel her back in within hours if she tried. 

The smoke-filled room was dark, with awful ancestral art on the walls.  She hated her ancestors for making her poor and desperate enough to need this monster, and she hated him more with every game he lost, with every piece she had to remove.  All the while he just watched her humiliation, impotent to change a thing as his opponent sat and smoked. 

It was Smoker’s final roll.  The right combination would allow her to be claimed and taken.  She calmed her thinking and looked at the hand that held the cigarette.  It was smaller than expected, softer, smoother, and manicured?  Her mind raced as she noticed more curves, subtle, hidden, bound, under his vest.  Suddenly the thought of being claimed lost its sting as Smoker’s hand released, smiling at her as the dice hung heavy in the air. (200)

100-220 words."...heavy in the air..."

The dice seemed to swim before his eyes and the pips on the points rolled an flipped and laughed at  him.  The smell of opium hung heavy in the air and it was permeating his pores and his perceptions.  He had to keep his wits about him.  The inscriptions on the wall had started talking to him and he needed their advice as the tension mounted and the wire beneath his vest channeled sweat down to the microphone on his hip.  The girl was no help, she was supposed to be his contact, a friendly face, but now she was sitting naked except for the panties that he had bought her.  What the fuck?  This is no time to be teasing me!  We have one chance to get reps from two of the biggest gambling rings in the city. 

He tried to calm down but his glasses fogged and he wondered what possessed him to wear a pastel shirt into this hell-hole, the sweat stains must be huge, he thought, but then she moved to cover her breast and he saw her thumb catch on her nipple.  FUCK!  Are you playing with yourself now?  As her knee started to fall open she arched her back and he knew he had to get out.  Who’s side was she on anyway?

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Written in a flash, these two ideas aren't as fully developed as I'd like them to be, but I liked taking them from 2 perspectives.  Hers is the obvious one, she's on the table as the prize but what if she suddenly realized that being won by another may not be such a bad idea.  But how did she get there n the first place?

As for him, he's just a undercover cop who's in over his head and is possibly being sucked by a once loyal ally.  Is she a victim at all, or just another player on the bad guy's team?  Is she there to help or distract?  I see him being played by Jason Schwartzman in the movie.

Have a great weekend and make sure you get out to Panser's site to see who else is writing this week.