What are the Odds? Pt. 01

"I'm taking 20 dollars of your chore money to put gas in the car. You won't mind since I could beat your ass and take it. Get in." The Taurus was long past its prime if such a thing could be said about a Taurus and if there was a car version of Uncle Shane, this was it. The sun dried maroon paint continued its long slog to dullness and the roof competed that trip long ago. The heater didn't work but the AC did for the warmer months and that was the only bright spot to the cigarette stained interior and a radio that only managed to play AM. Hez sat in the passenger seat while Areli moved the garbage over and got in the back.

"We have a detour after Gadsden. I hope you got your A game, shitdick, because you're going to play with some big boys. I'll front your fee, 200 dollars, and I keep 80% because you're too goddamned stupid to have money. Goldilocks can sit the other room unless she wants some of their company."

"I wish you wouldn't talk to me like that Uncle Shane." He turned to the backseat and took the cigarette out of his mouth, pointing at her. Hez, readied himself. He never said much to her but Hez would get it later.

"I don't give two fucks what you wish and you're writin' checks this little bitch (he popped Hez on the back of the head) can't cash. Remember that the next time you smart off."

Areli's cheeks were turning red as she started tearing up and Hez clenched his fist. He could take him, right then. If he hit him fast, then he c-. Areli's hand was on his side, reaching from the back seat, between the seat and door so Shane couldn't see. She patted him and he held for a minute, calming down. Not yet, he thought to himself. Not yet.

The trip to Gadsden was nice. They went down the back of the mountain and hit the interstate midway, making good time. Shane started drinking about 20 miles out but he kept it to a minimum as they approached the small city. There wasn't a lot here for some, but it was a metropolis to Hez and Areli. Shane took them to a shopping plaza and gave them two hours. They didn't have phones so Hez made sure his watch worked as Shane drove off, leaving them.

"I want to go over there for some clothes. What about you? You need some clothes too."

He eyed the stores and nodded. I may go over there and look at the knives in the sporting goods store. "Will you get me a hoodie? I don't need nothin' else, really." He handed her 125 dollars. "Buy what you can for yourself, okay?"

"C'mon Hez, you need things too. I just want a night gown that ain't torn."

"Just get what you want. I promise. Meet in an hour and we can get something to eat over there."

"Okay, one hour."

Areli walked to the TJ Maxx and he waited until she was inside before walking away from the sporting goods store and into the book store that she really wanted to go into. It was big and overwhelming so he looked around for help and spotted a girl his age shelving books from a cart.

An hour later, Hez met Areli outside of the burger joint and she was beaming.

"That was awesome Hez. I love shopping. It's expensive though. Did you find a pocket knife?"

"Nah, it's okay though." He tried to hide the bag but she saw it.

"Wait, did you go to the bookstore? I didn't go there because I knew I'd spend all my money. What'd you get?"

"In a minute. Any money left?"

"Yea, a few dollars. Here."

"This is enough for us to split a big burger and some ice cream."

"It's fine. You need more than that. I took some snacks from the house."

"No, we share," he said. "We never get burgers or ice cream so c'mon."

They sat on the sidewalk outside with their bags, splitting the burger (no tomatoes since Areli didn't like them) and shared a cone after. He wasn't full but he was happy.

"You like this hoodie?" She pulled it out and seemed to be hiding something in the bag but he liked the black hoodie and hugged her before reaching into his bag, grabbing the Hunger Games books.

"Wait? You spent your money on me? Hez? No."

"You need to finish them and look." He pulled the picture of Katniss out, handing it to her.

"Oh! That's her. She's the best. You're the best! I can't wait. I'm putting this on my mirror."

"Good. You deserve nice things." She smiled at him when he said that. It was the new smile. The one she developed since they started getting closer.

"I wish I could kiss you."

"Why can't you? No one knows us."

She looked around and kissed his lips with a big smile after. "I have a surprise for you too." She grabbed a light blue ball cap with the white patch on the front. A black tractor was stitched inside. "For my farmhand boyfriend. This color is really nice on you."

He did laugh at that one.

"You get anything else?" She asked.

"Yea, it's a grammar book. We ain't goin' to live here forever so we need to talk better. We can practice since we don't have much schoolwork."

"I guess you're right. What are those books?" She looked in the bag as he looked around.

"Leave 'em in there. Just look in." She turned white and quickly looked straight ahead while she sucked the last of their soda from the straw.

"I guess we need those. I want to learn more than what Dara told me. They have pictures, I hope. Make sure Shane doesn't see that. He'll beat you for sure."

"He won't look in a bookstore bag so we're good."

He was right, Uncle Shane never glanced at the bag as they left the shopping center. Shane started as soon as he got in the car.

"Alright, this is a bigger game with some boys I know here and I put you in it. A win is about 1500 dollars which will earn you another 200 bucks and I'll take the rest since I'm letting you and Rapunzel live in my house. Don't fuck up. I hope that wasn't luck last night because I'll beat that 200 dollar buy in out of you. Understood?"

He could take a shot at him at a red light, kick him out of the car and drive away with Areli, drive until the gas went out and try to start somewhere. The realization that he didn't have an ID or a birth certificate calmed his clenched fist as they turned into a subdivision. Her hand was on his again, from the back seat, as they pulled into a driveway fifteen minutes later.

"Rapunzel, sit in the house with the other women and shut the fuck up. They don't want to talk to you or be your friend. Hez, we'll walk around to the back, the game's in the garage."

He walked his sister to the front door and knocked as Shane walked around the back.

"I'm scared Hez."

"Look, just read your book and hopefully I win. Don't talk to nobody. I don't like it here." An emaciated woman answered the door with a cigarette and a baby on her hip.

"What?"

"Hello, ma'am. I was told I could sit in here while my brother played cards."

"Well, do you want a goddamned invitation? Please madam, come into my abode. Ignore the shitty diaper smell and don't touch anything you didn't bring with you." She walked back in the house leaving the door open.

She gripped Hez's arm but finally let go to walk in. He wanted to stop it there but she turned back to him and smiled.

"Just win, okay."

______________________________

The large metal building in the back was nicer than Shane's kitchen but the crowd didn't look much better. Hez counted about 20 people. Shane ignored him and made the rounds, leaving with one or two people before coming back inside to find another group. He found a chair in the corner after they ran him off from the tables. He sat as far away from them as he could and thought of Areli.

"Alright, assholes." A large man with a booming voice quieted the room. "We have a first, second, third prize and everyone else can piss off. No fightin' or you're out. If you lose, shut up and watch or go the fuck home. I don't care but don't help your buddies or you're out. Keep it clean."

Hez was at table one and the buzzing started as he sat down. The players were better than the guys at Shane's house but not much. Two players were out fast, going all in with obvious bluffs, well, obvious to him. The buzzing turned to music after a few hands and he knew a tell from every man at the table.

"Hey baby, you need a drink? I'll get you one." Hez turned to see a girl with a serving tray. She had a small top on that tied just below her cleavage and her skirt was not much of one but she made sure to move so everyone noticed it.

"I'm good ma'am. Thank you."

"Ma'am? I'll show your hot ass, ma'am. Let me know if you're up for some after game activities, baby. I'm offering a discount." She ran her hand on his shoulder before moving over to a man who went by Tiny. He wasn't tiny by any measure.

"Fuck it, fold." Tiny threw his cards in but they flipped over and the buzzing exploded in his head. It was a good hand, really good, but not as good as his. Tiny's tell said he was going to go all in on it, or at least stay in the hand, not a fold. She moved to another player. Fold. He felt the buzzing in his eyes now. They were a team.

He thought hard about what to say. They were all together on it. She was signaling them. Areli was in the house and he couldn't risk a fight so he put his cards low, scooted closer to the table and played. Sometimes silence is best but the game got harder.

The blinds increased and the "waitress" was visibly agitated with him. She couldn't see his cards.

"Hey, you gonna' fucking play, son? You take too fucking long." Tiny wasn't happy with him either and Hez saw his tell again. Tiny had a good hand and his was flustered so Hez started the set up.

"Sorry, I don't mean to take so long, sir. I'll fold. I don't think my hand is very good. When I'm a better player like you, I won't get into messes like this."

Hez saw Reggie's eyes from the other side of the table before the exchange with Tiny. Reggie, he had a hand. He blinked rapidly when it was a winner. All Tiny had to do was fall for it.

"Fuckin' right, kid. You have a long row to hoe to get to my level. Give it 15 years. I'm all in."

The buzzing stopped, and Hez smiled.

Reggie almost jumped when he met the bet. A straight. Tiny was out.

"Fuck you, Reggie. You get one goddamned good hand and you act like an asshole. Fuck you."

Reggie raked in the chips. "Fuck you, Tiny and fuck your chips. Well, never mind. You ain't got no chips." The other players laughed but not Tiny. He ran around the table to Reggie but the dealer stopped him before the two guys at the door ran over. Tiny was out the door followed by the waitress. Without their help, his friend was put out and Hez had a nice stack going into the last part of the game.

After several hours of play, he was in the final three so he would at least get Shane's money back but the buzzing was playing a heavy song as one of his opponents made a terrible all in bet leaving Hez one to one.

"Damn kid, you're good or lucky but you're stupid. Tiny was cheating and you saw it. It's the only time your face gives anything away - when you're not looking at your cards and I recognized it. Don't worry, we beat his ass good, all three of 'em, but you were next until I realized you weren't a part of it; you're just a chicken shit."

Hez felt the buzzing turn to pounding drums as the cards were dealt. He tried to ignore the tall man who stared him down across the table. He didn't know his name but he knew enough to not ask.

"Maybe I could help you toughen up. Your uncle says you're strong but stupid. Maybe you need some guidance. I could put you and your sister up in the house and I'll find work for both of you. You could play cards and she could, well, play. Good money for you and she'll adjust."

He planted his feet to leap across the table as the drums in his head replaced the buzzing and banged against his temples, keeping him down. The odds were flashing for him again but the thought of Areli caused a ripple in his mind. She was life. Everything. She- she was safe. He felt it. This was a distraction. Tiny, the waitress, her. None of it was true. He was trying to get in his head but the drums kept everyone else out and let something else in.

"Adjust to what? Your little dick or that pink but plug your whore shoves up your ass?" Hez asked.

The room erupted in jokes and whistles.

"Damn, Jonesy, you holdin' out on us? I don't remember that prison story.

"C'mon guys, don't call him 'he' it's 'they'"

"Someone 'bout to get they ass beat."

Hez had no idea what a butt plug was or where that came from. It wasn't even his voice he heard in his head, but the cards were clear in his mind and the tall man, Jonesy, wasn't in charge anymore. The game was short and the air tense but Jonesy never said a word after that and they were halfway to Harlen before Shane spoke up.

"Jonesy will kill you. Not today. Not tomorrow, but you're dead so there went cards in Gadsden for us anymore. He won't come on the mountain 'cause of Jim, but you fucked up, boy."

Areli had her head against the window, looking at the oncoming headlights as they drove. Hez won a lot of money for Shane but he had 200 dollars towards their running away fund and the buzzing was silent.

"Then we play somewhere else."

"Sure, I'll just take you and poltergeist girl to Vegas. They'll love you there."

"Vegas? What's that?"

"Seriously, runt? Shit, I keep forgetting you're a dumbass and my sister kept you bottled up in that cult."

"It wasn't a cult. Stop saying that." Areli pursed her lips and gave as mean a look as her red cheeks would allow.

"Yea? Well the FBI still isn't sure about that, Rapunzel, which is why most of them are in jail now. How the hell you defend someone that killed your mom and dad? Fucking cunt."

Hez moved, but Areli leaned into the front seat and put her hand on his shoulder."

"Ohh, someone is being defensive. You need a little ass whoopin? Remember I know all the cops out here so take that swing and folks will never find your body. We won't need Jonesy."

His blood pressure spiked but her hand on his shoulder held him, again, for now and he heard the feint beat of drums as he calmed down.

Shane took a bag out of the trunk when they pulled into the farmhouse, drugs he assumed, and went to his room, thankfully. After he made some microwave dinners for him and Areli, Hez showered and sat in his room working on his and her school assignments for the day before he opened the bag and pulled out the sex book. Areli came in from her shower before he could open the first page.

She was wearing a new night gown. It looked like satin, light green with thin straps over her shoulders falling into a loose flow of fabric that seemed to dance around her body. She was stunning. Her hair was loose, flowing down her back and she grabbed several hair ties that she kept on his dresser to put it up in a long pony tail

"You like it?" She twirled in the loose gown.

"Yea, it's nice. You look really, uhm, nice."

"Do you get hard looking at me in this?"

He just nodded his head as she walked to the bed.

"I want to show you something else."

He sat up as she pulled one strap down, then another, and let the gown fall to the floor by his bed - their bed. He'd never seen her topless. Her breasts were large with barely visible nipples that sat high on her pale skin and seemed to puff out into points in his direction. Moving his eyes down her stomach, he became fixated on her red panties and the hints of the hair underneath the lace that adorned the front.

"They're satin. I got three pair; they came together. White, black, and red. They were cheap so they won't last long, I bet, but I thought they were cute. I want to start looking cute for you, Hez."

He still hadn't spoke but his cock was raging even before she bent down to pick up her gown and turned around to lay it on his small desk. Her pale rounded ass pressed against the satin and bounced a little when she moved. He pulled his boxers down before she got in the bed and scooted next to him.

"I'm ready, now. Kiss me."

The kiss was still clumsy but when their tongues met they seemed to be locked in a dance, learning as they went, and his body responded to the smallest of her touches as she rubbed his chest. He ran his hand down her back to the soft satin that covered her ass and squeezed her cheek feeling his cock twitch when her delicate fingers found the tip.

"Do you want me to do what we did yesterday? Move my hand up and down?"

"Yea, that feels really good."

"Will you kiss my neck? I want to see what that feels like." He immediately kissed down her chin and into her neck, moving her blonde hair that tried to escape from its ponytail. Her breathing changed as he kissed near her ear and his knees shook when she gripped his cock.

"Kiss down my chest, my boobs. Do you like them?" He whispered, yes, as he lowered his head at an awkward angle to reach, with her on her side, stroking him. She noticed his plight and raised up on her elbow letting her puffy nipple land near his mouth. Instinctively he wrapped his lips around it causing her to catch her breath.

"Oh, I wasn't, that feels really good. Keep doing that." She was stroking him faster the more he sucked and her nipple harden in his mouth as he ran his tongue over the light ridges and flipped her nipple with the tip. She squeezed harder every time he did it and he heard wet sounds as the clear liquid flowed out of his hard cock.

"Hez, I think you'll run out soon and that's when we stop."

"Don't stop, Areli. Please."

She kept stroking him, faster, letting her hand slide over his wet cock as his head started to swell.

"This feels different. So good. Don't stop." His stomach fell and a sensation covered his body as he tensed and gripped a handful of her ass while his knees locked and the world started to spin. His cock exploded, shooting white steams everywhere, covering him and landing on her breasts. She kept stroking until the last stream shot out of him and the rest ran down his dick over her hand.

The held each other and didn't speak. Only their breathing interrupted the quite November night.

"So that's how that happens." Areli was in shock and Hez still had a tight grip on her ass when she rubbed her fingers together playing with the thick white semen that covered them. She got up from bed to grab a towel and he admired her ass as she bent over to grab it.

"What did that feel like, Hez? That was crazy." She wiped off the semen that landed on her nipples and stomach, handing him the other end of the towel when she wiped her cleavage.

"I've never felt that before. Can you feel that? Let me show you. How do we do it for you?" Hez reached for her.

"I don't have semen but since mine gets wet like yours then maybe, but I don't want to tonight. That was enough. Can we kiss a lot before we fall asleep?"

"Yea, we can do that." He wanted to look at her more but she put on her new nightgown and let it fall down her body as she leaped back into bed - to avoid the monsters, and cuddled against him.

"Hez?"

"Yea?"

"You're my boyfriend now, now that we did that so I don't want to hear you say you're not."

"Okay, Areli. I'm your boyfriend now." She kissed him and rubbed her head against his.

"I'll wear pretty things like this but you have to hold me and keep me warm and I want to kiss every morning and when we leave each other. We're a couple now. You know what? When we run away, I don't want my own room. I want us to have a room together. Our own place. That sounds nice doesn't it?"

"It does, Areli. I'll be a good boyfriend and take care of you." He kissed her again and felt a small tingle in his stomach when she rubbed his chest.

"No, we'll take care of each other. We'll save our money and run away one night. We'll watch each other's backs. Us. Good night, Hez."

"Good night, Areli." After another kiss she turned around and he held her.

"Hez, you don't have to hide it anymore. I don't mind feeling it get hard. I like it so you can always stay close to me when we sleep."