All In

"Hey there," she said to him when he finished counting his chips.

"Hey yourself and wow! You look...wow!"

Erin smiled and said, "Would it be too forward of me to tell you I haven't been able to think about anything but us...together...trying again...all day?"

"I don't think that's forward at all. I call that being honest because I had a terrible time concentrating on the game—especially after I saw you. Did I say 'wow!' yet?"

"Yes, you did, but I like hearing it...from you."

"Then...wow!!" He looked around to make sure Kendra wasn't lurking in the shadows before taking her in his arms and kissing her right there in public.

"Mmmm. You must be a mind reader," she told him as their kiss ended.

He smiled at her and said, "Can you tell me what else I'm thinking right now."

She put her hands on the sides of his head and closed her eyes. After a couple of seconds she pulled them off quickly and said, "Why, Mr. Garr! I had no idea you thought those kinds of thoughts."

He put his arms back around her and said, "I do, but only about you."

"Mmmm. I like hearing that, too," she said before kissing him back. "I believe we have unfinished business upstairs...in your room."

"Why, I believe you're right. Since at first we didn't succeed..."

"We need to try, try again?" she finished the saying for him. "You know, I like the sound of that, too!"

They held hands all the way to his room. The door no sooner closed behind them than Erin dropped her clutch and pulled him onto the bed. "Get this dress off me," she told him as she playfully bit his lip after a nice, long kiss.

"Yes, ma'am," he said as he helped her back up and out it.

She was standing in front of him wearing nothing but stockings and heels and the silver pendant. She was trying to be brave, but inside she craved his validation as she stood there exposed for the first time in her life.

"Wow!" he said as he looked at her. "Erin, you are so incredibly beautiful." From the neck up, she was a very pretty girl. From her shoulders to her sex, she had the body of an adolescent boy. But there was nothing boyish about the freshly shaved area that resembled the toe of a camel. He long legs were thin and shapeless but not at all unattractive. To Cole, she was his Venus de Milo. He kissed her as she began working on unbuttoning his shirt.

"You really do make me feel beautiful, Cole." Her fingers worked methodically on each button as he pulled off his own shirt. Without waiting she then unbuckled his belt, then his pants, and finally his zipper. She pulled them down and Cole stepped out of them. "You okay?" she asked as she got ready to pull down his underwear.

"Very okay," he told her. Just as Erin had felt a lot of internal discomfort so too did Cole. He was more than thankful his new lover had nothing to compare him with and yet he still felt horribly...inadequate.

As Erin saw him for the first time she smiled and said, "I love it." She kissed him and said, "It's perfect."

"Do you mean it?" he asked as he felt himself growing.

"Of course I do," she said kissing him back. "And I can't wait until you're inside me."

Cole picked her up and laid her gently on the bed then took the spot next to her. After he kissed her again, he lowered his head and began swirling his tongue around her large areola. Her nipples were soon rock had and Erin moaned with pleasure as he gently sucked on each of them.

"Mmmm. I had no idea something so small could feel so good!" she moaned as he sucked harder while using his tongue, as well.

"Well, you'll soon find out if something small feels good or not, huh?"

Erin laughed and when Cole looked up at her she said, "I love you so much."

Cole had been smiling too, until she said that. "You what?" he said stopping what he was doing.

Erin put her hands over her mouth and said, "Oh, my God! I have no idea how that came out. Oh, Cole, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to..."

He slid up closer to her face and put his hand on it. "The only question I have is—did you mean it? Do you really love me?"

Her eyes were darting back and forth between his as she whispered, "Yes. I do mean it. Are you angry because I said it?"

Cole smiled and shook his head gently. "Not at all. I'm happy. I'm happy because...I love you too, Erin."

"You do?" she said as tears welled up in her eyes. "Don't say it back just because I..."

"Shhh," he said. "I said it because I mean it. I love you, Erin."

"I love you too, Cole," she said pulling him to her to kiss him passionately. "Please make love to me now. Please?"

Cole went back down to were her boobs should be and spent a very long time on each nipple telling her how beautiful and perfect she was as Erin moaned and sighed at his touch. He then moved back down south to give her a repeat performance of the night before.

Erin cried out over and over as Cole kept his face buried deep in her warm, wet, newly-shaved pussy as he gently licked her swollen clit. "I'm going to cum again! Fuck me, okay?" she begged.

"Uh-uh," he told her. "Go ahead and cum for me, honey."

"Honey? Oooo! Oh...my God! Yes!! Oh, God...YES!!" Erin's body shuddered again as she cried out. Erin was gasping for breath as she said, "I love you so much, too...honey." She was stroking the back of his head with her hand as her body stopped shaking.

Cole moved up to mount her when she said, "Uh-uh. I want you first." She pushed him over on his back and pushed her long brown hair behind her ear.

Cole was fully erect and maybe all of four inches long yet nicely thick, but Erin didn't care. He looked so...perfect to her and she lowered her mouth onto a man's penis for the first time in her life. She instinctively used her lips as she took him. "Oh...fffuck!" Cole called out.

Erin raised up and said, "Did I do something wrong?"

"Uh-uh. Not at all, honey. That felt so incredibly good."

He gently pushed her head back down then let go as she opened her mouth and took him again. This time, Erin used her tongue, pushing against him as she raised and lowered her head. "Oh...sshit!" Cole groaned. "That feels so good, sweetheart."

Erin was truly in virgin territory and she wanted to please this man she loved in every way possible as she did her best to quickly learned what he liked. Her heart was pounding out of her chest as she sucked and licked. But that's not why she was so excited. Hearing him call her sweet names no man had ever used for her before was almost, if not more, wonderful than the newness of making love itself.

Cole gently grabbed her hair and lifted her up letting her know he was ready. Erin eagerly rolled over on her back as he reached for a condom in the drawer by the bed.

"You don't need that unless you want it—sweetheart," she told him tenderly. Her breathing was slow and deep and the look in her eyes told him she trusted him.

He tossed it aside and climbed on top of her. "You ready, my love?" he asked her.

"Just be easy, okay?" she asked him.

Expecting the experience to be painful, Erin clenched her body tight. She felt him at the door of her Vault and then suddenly he was inside her. It not only didn't hurt, it felt...nice. Having nothing to compare it with, Erin had no idea how different sex would be with a man two or even three times his size. All she knew was that she loved him and it felt nice—very nice.

As he took her as fully as he could he said, "You might need to use your fingers to...you know...cum again."

"I don't need them," she assured him. "You feel wonderful inside me. I love you so much, Cole."

He kissed her and made love to her and for the second time in his life didn't feel ashamed. He loved this woman and she loved him and neither of them cared about the others...shortcomings.

Within two minutes, he came inside her and Erin loved the feeling of finally having a man's cum splash the inner parts of her body. Short Round or not, he'd hit the target as far as she was concerned and she'd never been happier in her life even though she didn't cum a second time herself.

They lay in each other's arms for quite awhile just holding one another before Cole said, "We need to tell Kendra, you know."

"I do," she said. "How do you think she'll react?"

"You can never tell with her. She could do or say pretty much anything."

Erin laughed and said, "She better not call me 'mom' or something like that."

Cole rolled back on top of her and smiled. "Oh, right. If you married me then she'd be your..."

"Cole Garr. Don't you say another word!" She smiled at him and said playfully, "Unless of course, you were going to ask me to marry you."

"What would you say if I did?" he asked her brushing the hair away from her face.

"I guess you'll have to actually ask me to find out," she teased smiling at him. "For now, it just feels so amazing to finally be in love. Did I tell you I love you yet?"

"You did, but I like hearing it," he said basically using her words from before.

"Well...I love you, I love you, I love you, I LOVE you!" Out of nowhere she said, "Can we make love again?"

"If at first you don't succeed?" he said. He couldn't but laughed when that made her giggle again.

"I want to try again and again and again."

Cole made love to her again and Erin used her hand to help her cum. She didn't care one bit she'd always need a little extra help to 'get there'. All she cared about was being with this wonderful, kind, loving, attentive, handsome man.

When they were done he asked her if she'd stay with him that night.

"As long as I can be gone long before your daughter shows up in the morning."

He looked at her very seriously and said, "You mean...our daughter?"

"Ooooh...YOU!" she said playfully as she pulled him on top of her and kissed him.

Erin was up at 5am and Cole heard her. "Did I wake you up?" she asked.

"Yes, but I'm glad you did. Do we have time to um...try, try again?"

Erin smiled happily and said, "We'll make time," as she crawled in next to him and immediately took him her mouth before making love.

She was gone and back home getting ready for work before Kendra even showed up. Today, she was in uniform and told her dad she wasn't going to stay there. She just came by to wish him good luck and let him know she'd be back after work.

She saw the open condom on the dresser then looked at him then back at the packet. "Um, Dad? Is there something you need to tell me?"

Cole felt sick to his stomach yet also kind of excited. "Um...no. I don't think so," he told her.

"Did you have an escort in here last night or something?" she said as though it was her business.

"No, no escorts, Kenny-kin," he told her truthfully.

Kendra just stood there staring at her father as she thought about Erin and the new look and the gorgeous white dress and the heels and... "No. No way," she said as she glanced back over at the open package. "Uh-uh. You did not... Did you?"

Cole looked down at his watch and said, "Oh, look. It's time to head downstairs. Can't be late, you know."

"Daddy? What are you not telling me?" she asked as he nearly pushed her out the door.

"How about we leave this alone until we have a chance to talk this evening?"

"Oh, my God! I think I'm gonna be sick again," Kendra said hoping the two and two she was putting together didn't add up to four.

After another grueling day that ended much earlier due to the number of people who'd been eliminated, Cole was done by 6pm. He was now up to 275,000 chips and in 10th place overall. There were only 40 players remaining and he was now guaranteed at least 35 grand and had a still had an outside chance to make the final table.

He got texts from both Kendra and Erin that they would be there by 7pm. Erin arrived first wearing a very pretty green knit top, khaki-colored shorts and a pair of tan/beige mules that made her once again tower over him. "Hi!" Cole said as she hugged him.

"Kendra knows," she told him as they kissed hello. "Or let's say she strongly suspects."

"Yeah, she was putting it together this morning in my room."

"I heard all about the open condom," Erin said trying to laugh. "So how do you want to tell her?"

Kendra was striding toward them and saw Erin with her arms around her dad. "Okay, would someone please tell me what the fuck is going on around here?"

Cole took Erin's hand and said, "We're seeing each other."

"Seeing each other? What does that mean—seeing each other?" She looked at Erin and said, "My dad is still very vulnerable and if you're just using him because..."

"Kendra? Erin isn't using me. Okay? This is mutual and well, it's more than just seeing each other."

"Oh...my...God! That condom? That was... Oh...my...GOD!!"

"Honey, listen to me, okay? I'm happy, Ken. For the first and only time since Mom died, I'm happy."

She looked at her father's face and saw it in his eyes. She looked at Erin and saw the same look. "Do you love my dad?" she asked not sure what she wanted to hear.

"Yes," Erin answered her. "I do love him."

"Dad?" she said wanting to hear it from him.

"I love her too, honey. Very much."

"Jesus. You guys just met and you're doing it and you're love. Wow. I think I need I a drink," she said. "Maybe two." She looked at both of them again then said, "If you both love each other, if you're both happy, then...well, I can't imagine anyone better for my dad than you, E."

"Really? You're not mad at me?" she asked hopefully.

"Mad? No, of course not. Confused as hell, maybe, but not mad."

Everyone laughed and Cole said, "Drinks are on me if you really want one."

Kendra gave him a look and said, "Uh, no thanks. I'm still not ready to go back down that road just yet. In fact, I think I'll let you two have the evening...and um...the night? to yourselves."

Kendra hugged her father and said, "I'm happy for you, Daddy. If you're happy then I'm happy."

"I am, Bug. I promise."

She stepped in front of Erin and said, "I'm happy for you, too."

"Thank you, Kendra," she said.

"Just don't expect me to ever call you mom, okay?"

This time, Kendra laughed with them, too, as she told them goodbye.

Erin stayed the night again with Cole and made love with her twice then again early in the morning. "Good luck today, honey," she said as she left.

It was just before 5pm when Cole went all in with four hearts hoping to make a flush. His opponent had three 10s and unless a heart came up, he would be out in 9th place. The turn brought the six of spades and everything depended on the river. "One time!" he called out having had several 'one times' already.

When Cole saw a heart, he pumped his fist and said, "Yes!" until he heard so much noise he had to look again. It was indeed a heart, but it was the 10 of hearts giving his opponent four tens or 'quads' as they were called. It was over. He shook the man's hand and wished him luck as he walked away eliminated in 9th place.

A tournament official escorted him to the cashier and informed her Mr. Garr was the 9th-place finisher. Moments later she handed him a check for $123, 475. "We've already held back 40% in taxes, Mr. Garr. That's your actual take and congratulations."

Garr looked at the check for a moment then went outside and hailed a taxi. An hour later he was back at the hotel where Erin was waiting for him. "I got your text saying you'd be out for a while Where did you go and are they done for the day?"

"I'm out. I lost."

"What? Oh, Cole! I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be," he told her. "I did a lot better than I thought I would. I finished in 9th place and got a nice little payout."

He showed her the check and Erin shrieked with delight. "That's impressive! Your first major tournament and you made the top ten. That's amazing!"

"Yeah, that was nice. But I found out there's something a lot more important to me than poker, now," he told her as they sat down in the dining room.

"There is?" Erin asked quietly.

"I thought about going someplace else, but this place, this casino, is where so much of what matters most to me happened."

"It is?" she asked as her heart was suddenly in her throat.

"So why would I go anywhere else on earth to ask the woman I love to marry me?" he said as he dropped to one knee in front of her. "I went shopping just before you got here," he said opening the small, white box which contained the huge diamond ring.

"Oh, my God!" Erin said. Her hands were shaking so hard she couldn't stop them as she covered her mouth and tried to listen to his words.

"Erin, there were many days when I didn't want to live since Sharon died. Poker gave me a reason not to want to die, but you've given me a reason to want to live. I love you with all my heart and you make me happier than I've been in so long. Erin Alexandra Collins, will you marry me?"

Tears were streaming down her face and her head was moving up and down furiously but she couldn't speak. "I'll take that as a 'yes' then," he said as he steadied her hand and slipped on the ring.

Erin squealed with happiness as he stood up so he could help her do the same. "I'm engaged!!" she shouted to everyone and yet no one. A small group had stopped when they saw a man on one knee and by now some 30 or people were watching. All of them burst into applause and called out congratulations to them both.

"This is the happiest day of my life!" she told him as she held him then kissed him. "I don't really understand poker, but I'm so happy it exists!"

Kendra took the news very well later that evening when her father told her and even teared up when she saw how happy he was. "Mom would approve, Daddy," she told him.

"But Mom's not with us, honey. What matters most to me is...do you approve?"

Kendra smiled at Erin and said, "I do. Wholeheartedly!"

"Then I have some more news," he said. "I'm not going back to Michigan. I'm staying here and I'm going to play poker for a living. You can have the house if you want it, honey, otherwise I'm going to sell it. Either way, I'm staying in Las Vegas with my beautiful fiancee."

"And I'm getting out of the Air Force at the end of the year when my enlistment's up," Erin said.

"And we hope to start a family," Cole said. "How do you feel about that, Ken?"

Kendra sat there quietly thinking for several moments before saying, "I think I'm okay with that."

"What's that look all about then?" her dad asked.

"Well, I'm just trying to figure out how all this will work. Let's see, my best friend will be my stepmom and her children will be my brothers or sisters so..." She looked at both of them then threw up her hands and said, "Works for me!"

Cole did put the house up for sale. He took Erin 'home' for a few days to pack things up and coordinate with a long-time friend who was a realtor. They drove his car back out to Nevada and began looking for a home of their own. They settled an a beautiful four-bedroom place that was just under 3,000-sqft and closed on the house a few days after the home in Sterling was sold.

They got married the following month in a place called A Little White Wedding Chapel with Kendra, her two uncles, Jared, and Erin's family and friends in attendance.

Cole began playing in cash games and was winning far more than he lost allowing them to start their own family the following year just six months after Erin left the Air Force.

She gave birth to a baby boy they named Sterling Collins Garr and Kendra was thrilled when asked to be his godmother—adding to the wonderful new brand of craziness.

But sometimes crazy works and in this case, it worked like a charm.