his eyes. “Look, I get plenty of this crap from Ma and my sisters, all right? All I’m doing is making sure Gabe is treating you the way he should. He doesn’t have the best track record. I didn’t mean to walk into the Spanish Inquisition.”
“Well then, I guess you’ll think a little harder before insinuating he’s cheating on me next time.”
“You’re too much.” He split the deck in his hand. “What’s the game?”
“ Bitch Rummy … since you’re being a little bitch.” I stuck my tongue out at him.
A glow radiated from his eyes, and he laughed. “You want to play Nonna’s cards?”
Nonna was Vance’s grandmother. She had been blind as a bat, hard of hearing, and was tough as nails, but she could whoop anyone’s butt in a game of Bitch Rummy, her game, which is a cross between Spades and Gin Rummy.
Nonna had been the central matriarch in the DeLuca family for as long as I’d known Vance, but she’d passed away a few days into January. Vance had had a hard time coping with the loss. In light of everything happening with his dad, I thought playing Nonna’s game would make him happy.
“I have a fond memory of playing cards with you, your dad, and her that one Thanksgiving. Even though she did kick everyone’s butt.”
“She always won. I have no idea how she did it either. She was an amazing woman.”
The air in the room had gotten heavy, and I needed to lighten it up. “She was.” I narrowed my eyes and smirked. “So let’s see if you have the balls to beat me.”
His lips curved into a salty smile. “Honey, if the queen had balls, she would have been the king. Game on.”
We laughed as he dealt the first round of cards. The object of the game, contrary to a standard game of rummy, was to wind up with the least amount of points in your hand. Thirteen rounds of cards are played, and the person with the fewest points at the end wins. There are also a lot of other little rules, which Nonna would have never let you forget.
Vance and I took turns dealing, and at the end of twelve rounds, the score was neck and neck. I’d won more rounds, but when he’d won, he’d caught me with more points in my hand, which he rubbed in my face every opportunity he got.
I dealt the final round and kings were wild. This was the round Nonna always loved the best for some reason, probably because the odds were usually stacked so high in her favor no one stood a chance of beating her. After I dealt the final card, I looked at my hand. I organized them from lowest to highest. I had three wild cards, nothing short of phenomenal for the last hand. I was so going to win and smash it in his face forever and ever. But since I dealt, he played first.
“All right, do your worst.”
He wore an overconfident grin. “Oh, I will.”
He drew a card from the deck, and after some consideration, laid a run of six cards down out of the eight in his hand, discarding one, and leaving him with a single card. I almost died on the spot. Wild cards have extremely high point values, and he almost caught me with over one hundred and fifty points. It would have been a landslide of a victory. I suspected Nonna was in the room and stacking the deck for him.
I needed to unload my points, but the problem was I couldn’t. My palms started to sweat, and I tucked my hair behind my ear.
“What’s going on, getting nervous over there?”
“Shush. I’m thinking.” I drew my card from the deck and kept reorganizing my hand, looking for some kind of miracle. The best I came up with was to lay four cards down, but I was still stuck with three after discarding, and they would be enough to give him the win.
“That the best you got in there?” Vance said with a smug smile.
“You know, sometimes I want to throw things at your face. Your arrogance can be extremely annoying sometimes.”
“I know. Gets under your skin, doesn’t it?” He twitched his brows.
He drew a card, and I knew almost instantly he’d won by his
“Well then, I guess you’ll think a little harder before insinuating he’s cheating on me next time.”
“You’re too much.” He split the deck in his hand. “What’s the game?”
“ Bitch Rummy … since you’re being a little bitch.” I stuck my tongue out at him.
A glow radiated from his eyes, and he laughed. “You want to play Nonna’s cards?”
Nonna was Vance’s grandmother. She had been blind as a bat, hard of hearing, and was tough as nails, but she could whoop anyone’s butt in a game of Bitch Rummy, her game, which is a cross between Spades and Gin Rummy.
Nonna had been the central matriarch in the DeLuca family for as long as I’d known Vance, but she’d passed away a few days into January. Vance had had a hard time coping with the loss. In light of everything happening with his dad, I thought playing Nonna’s game would make him happy.
“I have a fond memory of playing cards with you, your dad, and her that one Thanksgiving. Even though she did kick everyone’s butt.”
“She always won. I have no idea how she did it either. She was an amazing woman.”
The air in the room had gotten heavy, and I needed to lighten it up. “She was.” I narrowed my eyes and smirked. “So let’s see if you have the balls to beat me.”
His lips curved into a salty smile. “Honey, if the queen had balls, she would have been the king. Game on.”
We laughed as he dealt the first round of cards. The object of the game, contrary to a standard game of rummy, was to wind up with the least amount of points in your hand. Thirteen rounds of cards are played, and the person with the fewest points at the end wins. There are also a lot of other little rules, which Nonna would have never let you forget.
Vance and I took turns dealing, and at the end of twelve rounds, the score was neck and neck. I’d won more rounds, but when he’d won, he’d caught me with more points in my hand, which he rubbed in my face every opportunity he got.
I dealt the final round and kings were wild. This was the round Nonna always loved the best for some reason, probably because the odds were usually stacked so high in her favor no one stood a chance of beating her. After I dealt the final card, I looked at my hand. I organized them from lowest to highest. I had three wild cards, nothing short of phenomenal for the last hand. I was so going to win and smash it in his face forever and ever. But since I dealt, he played first.
“All right, do your worst.”
He wore an overconfident grin. “Oh, I will.”
He drew a card from the deck, and after some consideration, laid a run of six cards down out of the eight in his hand, discarding one, and leaving him with a single card. I almost died on the spot. Wild cards have extremely high point values, and he almost caught me with over one hundred and fifty points. It would have been a landslide of a victory. I suspected Nonna was in the room and stacking the deck for him.
I needed to unload my points, but the problem was I couldn’t. My palms started to sweat, and I tucked my hair behind my ear.
“What’s going on, getting nervous over there?”
“Shush. I’m thinking.” I drew my card from the deck and kept reorganizing my hand, looking for some kind of miracle. The best I came up with was to lay four cards down, but I was still stuck with three after discarding, and they would be enough to give him the win.
“That the best you got in there?” Vance said with a smug smile.
“You know, sometimes I want to throw things at your face. Your arrogance can be extremely annoying sometimes.”
“I know. Gets under your skin, doesn’t it?” He twitched his brows.
He drew a card, and I knew almost instantly he’d won by his
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