“Excuse me?” The guy’s girlfriend didn’t seem too keen on the idea, for obvious reasons.

Liz said. “Bachelorette party to-do list. Totally harmless, I promise.”

“Oh,” the woman said with a grin. “I remember when I had to do all that shit. Hideous, but fun at the same time.”

Liz nodded.

“Your friend looks shitfaced,” the girl said.

Liz laughed. “Pretty much. I think we’re going to wrap it up if your guy here gives the okay.”

“Fine with me if my wife says yes.”

The woman leaned forward and looked at Jenna. “Go for it, honey.”

Liz got out her camera as Jenna kissed the top of his head. She got the shot and thanked the couple, then took Jenna by the hand.

“You about ready to call it a night?”

“Hell, no. I’m ready for another drink.”

Liz rolled her eyes. Oh, Lord. This was going to be a long-ass night.

***

Gavin got his second card from the dealer.

A six, which gave him twelve.

What the fuck. A twelve? How could he keep getting such shitty hands?

“Dude,” was all Ty said next to him. At least he commiserated.

Gavin flicked his fingers to take a card. He had to hit on the twelve. He had no choice.

He pulled a nine from the dealer and grinned.

Twenty-one.

The dealer ended up with eighteen and Gavin raked in winnings.

“You lucky sonofabitch,” Mick said, setting down his bet for the next hand. “Who the fuck pulls a twenty-one out of a twelve?”

“I just did.”

They played several rounds, and after that one winning hand, Gavin’s luck changed. When the dealer reshuffled the deck, Gavin cashed out, figuring he wouldn’t press his luck. He and Mick moved over to the craps tables. They both did well there, so Ty and Garrett joined them along with Ty’s friends from his hockey team, Eddie Wolkowski and Victor Putinov.

“Too bad Cole can’t be here,” Gavin said. “He loves to gamble.”

“Yeah, well, he has a game tomorrow and I have a bye this week, so he’s shit out of luck,” Mick said with a smile as he tossed the dice across the table.

Everyone surrounding the table cheered as the numbers came up a win.

“But I’m in the luck,” Mick said with a wide grin.

It had been a good day. They’d gone to the shooting range earlier in the day. Nothing like firing off some machine gun rounds in a controlled environment to let off a little aggression. It turned out Victor was the most accurate. Ty had accused him of spending time in the Soviet military. Victor laughed and told them he used to hunt rabbits and that’s why he was such a good shot, though he didn’t need machine guns to take them down.

Then they’d headed over to the raceway and driven some very expensive cars. Gavin had chosen the Ferrari, which had been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There was nothing like having all that power in his hands as he’d fired it up and taken it around the curves at the Las Vegas raceway. It had been a thrill not only to drive the car, but to watch the other guys drive the cars they’d chosen. Impressive machines, and a lot of fun.