"Ohhhhhhh God......". Karen groaned as she steered her minivan around the sharp corner. Her eyes darted around and she bit her lower lip as she drove past the dozens of homes that lined this upper middle class neighborhood. She sat as low as she could in her seat...another little factor that made driving her behemoth of a vehicle more challenging. The LAST thing she needed was for someone to see her while she was...
...driving naked.
Well, technically she wasn't completely NAKED. After all, she WAS wearing a pair of sandals, earrings and a watch. And she DID have her left arm draped over her bare breasts. And of course...she wore her seatbelt.
"Oh my GOD what have I gotten myself into???" she said out loud as she came to yet another in a series of stop signs. "I can't believe one of Michelle's neighbors saw me!!" she squealed, referring to the naked run down Michelle's driveway to the minivan (that then seemed to take FOREVER to unlock) that Karen had endured just moments ago.
As she pulled away from the stop sign, she cursed her bad luck...and poor judgment.
"WHAT was I THINKING????" she glanced down at her naked body...not that she needed a reminder that every stitch of clothing she had put on this morning was now going home with other people.
Karen and three of her friends had started getting together for weekly lunches about 3 months ago. They all lived in the same town, had kids in the same school system, and lived within a 5 mile radius of each other. All four women were in their early to middle 30's with kids ranging in age from 7 to 11. And all four were "stay-at-home" moms.
The lunches were a nice departure from their everyday lives of getting kids ready for school, cleaning, shopping, working out, etc. They started out meeting every Wednesday at noon, and always switched houses, each taking turns at hosting the next get together.
Of course, the lunches turned into gossip sessions and sometimes wine was served. Before long the hour-long little luncheons turned into 2 hours, then 3 hours.
It was Maria who suggested poker in the first place. It was about a month back. Maria's house had a pool...and all 4 of them were sitting around it in lounge chairs one day, sipping frozen margaritas, discussing how poorly the school system was run here.
"SO ladies...who is up for a little wagering?" she had said. And within 10 minutes they were sitting around Maria's kitchen table, playing 5 card draw.
Soon, they were meeting twice a week. The stakes were always the same. They'd buy in for $10 each and play until someone had all the money. Or until 3PM...whichever came first. And that system worked well. Each woman had won a few times, although Maria was certainly the dominant player.
But today things changed. A wrinkle was added. A monkey wrench was tossed into the machine.
30 minutes into the game, Maria was out of money.
"Oh this sucks you guys!!" she said as Karen raked in the pot, winning it on a great bluff. "I don't want to just sit around and watch you all play...it's only 1:00! Let me buy in for $10 more."
"Nope...sorry girl...no can do." Said Tammy, actually sporting a visor on her head today, looking the part of the professional card player. Tammy was the oldest group member at 35, but was in the best shape physically by far. She had that classic runners body and GREAT definition in her arms, legs and abs. She always wore sporty little outfits, and her shoulder length blond hair in a pony tail. "It would throw off the equity of the game. Everyone has to be in for the same amount, otherwise you'd have an advantage."
And while that was not necessarily "true"...Tammy knew that the others felt the same way about Maria as she did. That woman could flat out play poker, and the sooner she was out, the better!
"Oh that is so unfair..." Maria said, and stewed in her seat for a minute, frowning while another hand was played. Then she spoke up again.
"Well...what if I were to 'sell' something to one of you to get some of the money back?" she suggested. "This way, it's the same $40 that's in the pot."
"Sell something?" said Candace, the youngest of the four. Candace was one of those girls who had just a beautiful face, but was carrying about 25-30 pounds more than she did before she had kids. She had long straight dark hair, and carried most of that extra weight in her butt and thighs...amazingly, she had a fairly flat tummy! "Like what...furniture? Your car?" Those comments brought laughs from the group.
"Um no...I was thinking more like...my top." Said Maria, quickly scanning the others for their reactions.
The women looked from one to another with somewhat surprised looks. Candace smirked and took another sip of her wine.
"Miss Maria...are you suggesting we play Strip Poker?" Tammy said.
"Oh...is that what you call it?" Maria said, then winked. Candace and Tammy giggled a little. Karen smiled, but uneasily.
"So...what do you propose?" Candace asked, raising an eyebrow. She had already finished off one glass of wine and was well into glass #2. Maria was as well.
"Well, since we limit the betting anyway to $1 each per hand...let's say that an article of clothing will 'buy' me in for one hand. Then, whoever wins the hand, wins the clothes too." Maria said, now actually unbuttoning a button on her light blue sleeveless blouse.
"OK... say I win your shirt. Can I bet it again later?" Tammy asked.
"Sure. Let's say every article of clothing is worth a dollar. You can bet it in place of a dollar." Maria said...unbuttoning another button. Her black bra now slightly visible underneath.
"What about the ante?" asked Candace. So far, there had been a 25 cent ante per hand.
"Hmmm..." Maria thought for a moment. Then smiled. "OK, how about this. Once you are out of cash, there is no more ante for you. However, to play the next hand, you have to put an article of clothing into the pot at the start. If you win...you put it back on and get the money in the pot too. If you fold or lose, then you lose it to whomever wins that pot."
The girls all looked around at each other. Only Karen seemed to have any hesitation, but she didn't want to be the one to quash the whole thing. The others seemed to be interested! What was the harm anyway...it was just the 4 of them. Maria was divorced, and her kids wouldn't be home for a couple hours...it's not like anyone would catch them playing. She decided to go along. For now....
"OK...so when is the game over then? When one person has all the money AND all the clothes?" Karen asked.
"Well...that might take too long. Let's say the game is over as soon as the first person is out of clothing." Maria said, her shirt now completely unbuttoned and some impressive cleavage now showing.
"Um..what's considered "out of clothing"?" Karen asked. "Like...all...I mean...um...naked?"
Maria smiled, as did Candace. "If that's how far you are willing to go..." Maria said. "Let's leave it up to each player."
"And shoes do NOT count." Said Tammy. "Or jewelry. Tops, bottoms, undies only. And since it's her house, Maria can't just run upstairs and get more clothes to play with either..."
"Oh I KNEW I should have worn a bra today!!" said Candace. That drew laughs from everyone...Karen included.
"OK..." said Maria, taking her shirt off and tossing it on the table. "Deal me in!"
And that was how it started. And it had gone well for Karen at first. When Maria ran out of cash, Karen still had $13 left. And Maria lost that first hand and her shirt along with it, to Candace. Then the run of bad luck began. Loss after loss after loss. Maria was winning back cash (Candace hung onto the shirt for a while). And Karen was losing it. QUICKLY!
Pretty soon...it was Karen who was sitting with no more dollar bills in front of her. The other thing in front of her was an empty wine glass...her second. It was now 1:55 PM.
"Oh God..." she said. "Um....I guess I'm out?"
"Oh come on Karen...be a sport!! Put up that cute little shirt for a hand!"
"Quitter!"
