To tell you the truth I don't really know how to play poker. But now I always help Daddy with poker night. The very first time, he told me I would be his lucky charm.
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'Babygirl, Daddy is going to have some friends over tonight to play games. Do you want to be my lucky charm and help Daddy?' he said with a cocked brow.
'What do I have to do?'
'You just have to do what Daddy tells you to.'
That night I helped him clean, set the table and put out snacks. His friends arrived and Daddy introduced me to Dan and Rick as his special girl. Dan smiled at me politely but shyly and Rick shook my hand with both of his in a way that wasn't formal at all, but familiar. I served them drinks and refilled snacks but mostly sat next to Daddy as they played. He taught me how to shuffle and I would deal the cards under his directions at times, even though I didn't really know what I was doing. Sometimes I would wonder around the table to look at Dan and Rick's cards, watching and learning quietly.
As the night went on Daddy would squeeze my hand from time to time, run his hand through my hair as he chatted to Dan and Rick. That was normal - Daddy always did that. But it got later and later and Daddy started resting his hand around me, his fingers grazing over my bare skin at times and making me feel warm. I gave Daddy a fresh drink at some point and he took the glass, looking me right in the eye in a way that made me freeze up and then he pulled me up into his lap. I sat watching again, Daddy resting his chin on my head like he did sometimes. I gazed at Dan and Rick across the table, studying their faces, trying to see if they would 'give something away' as Daddy had said they might do. I studied Rick first, noticing his posture and the way he held his body.
He seemed completely calm and at ease, not slouched in his chair but without tension. His eyes gave him away I think. Even though he was seemingly relaxed his eyes stared hard at his cards, you could tell he was thinking really hard. When I looked to Dan, at first he was watching Rick - Dan was almost like the opposite of Rick in that he was sat upright and somewhat tense but his face was passive albeit alert, his eyes would flicker over details everywhere. I think he meant to look at Daddy and assess him like he had Rick but he caught me studying him and held my gaze, that shy, polite smile gathering. I looked away blushing, there was something about the eye contact that made me feel a bit vulnerable. I noticed his empty glass so I slid from Daddy's lap and went to make another drink.
When I returned, I placed Dan's drink down beside him on his coaster and leaned in slightly to peep at his hand. As I hovered a moment to compare them with the cards I was directed to deal before, he inclined his head to whisper, 'if you're going to give me away I'll have to keep you here'. He shifted back as if he hadn't said anything at all and I hesitated another moment before turning away to return to sit beside Daddy and I felt the back of his hand caress my thigh as I withdrew. I felt goosebumps bloom all over my body.
Daddy pulled me onto his lap again and curled one arm around me, holding his cards in one hand while the other began to massage my shoulders. His hands gently kneading my flesh, wandering from my shoulder down to my arms, briefly encapsulating me in his own as he reached around my body to touch my opposite arm before skimming over my waist and gripping my thighs. He continued to drink, chat, deal and play cards between his touches as if it was completely natural and I let the warm, muzzy feeling of his hands on me fill me up. But more and more I would miss his touch when it left my body. I try not to get too distracted and follow the round again but when I notice Rick redirecting that hard stare to Daddy's hands, only glancing back to his cards now and then and playing cards distractedly, without care, I wonder what he is thinking about. The round ends quickly and there's a pause before Daddy speaks again.
'What did you think, baby?'
'I think I got most of it. I think I could play if you taught me properly.'
'Sometimes I forget what a clever little girl I have,' he chuckles.
'Do you know who won?'
I looked at the chips all over the table that I had completely forgotten the values for and then at Dan and Rick. Although Rick hadn't been distracted most of the night he still hadn't seemed very celebratory that frequently. And even though Dan was more discreet when he won he still seemed to have less chips and papers than Daddy. I turned in his lap, 'Daddy did you win?'
He grins wolfishly.
'Your Daddy can be clever sometimes too.'
'How much did you win?!'
He leans in and I can feel his lips just brushing the shell of my ear as he whispers, 'Oh, Daddy hit the jackpot baby.'
I turn to face Daddy, confused, but Rick rises from his chair drawing my attention as he begins to gather glasses and things from the table as if he was packing up.
'Honey, do you know that sometimes people bet things that aren't money?' Rick asks without looking up.
'Watches and things like in the movies right?'
He chortles as Daddy's arms wrap around me tightly and he returns his lips near my ear. I can feel his hot breath.
'Anything valuable,' Rick finishes.
Daddy's voice is different, low and husky, when he asks me 'what's most valuable to Daddy?'
