Loose Ends

The next two months passed in a blur, with only a few notable incidents...

---

On his first day back at school, James noticed that his social stock had risen significantly.

Before the weekend, he was shunned as a pariah, with no one paying special attention to him.

James had liked it that way. It made it easier for him to traverse the corridors between classes, and avoid unnecessary small talk with people he had no interest in, who shared the same disinterest in him.

Now, he was stopped in the hallways by the sports jocks, who gave him high-fives and back slaps as if he were always part of their circle. Some had tried to make small talk about the last game the school had played, and the margin of glorious victory, or how close the defeat was and how unfair the referee was being. After receiving his bemused, blank look, they stuck to the minimal courtesies.

The cheerleaders and beautiful girls, who previously would slide their gaze right across him, started smiling and flirting a little. He received two phone numbers that first day, each with a wink and a hurried entreaty to give them a call or a text.

The strangest were the rich second generations. They said that they had heard he was a good poker player from Phil, and had started to invite him to private games that James surmised were similar to Phil's game.

A quick check with Phil had netted the following reply.

"Just looking out for my man. Don't accept any of the private games yet, we'll figure out a way to get you involved in those later. Feel free to hit up the chicks, but don't knock them up. Last weekend should have only just whetted your appetite."

James had blanched at the suggestion a little. He still had Gina on his mind.

---

Speaking of Gina, Biology lessons had become more interesting.

Where James had been subtle in sneaking glances at the teacher, he was now sometimes unable to control his gaze, often shifting into full out staring as Gina taught.

Since most of the boys in the class had the same behavior, he didn't stand out too much to a casual onlooker, but Gina was definitely noticing. To her credit, she maintained her cool in public and ignored him like she ignored all the other young, hormonal male teenagers that were paying more attention to her movements than her lessons. The only thing she did differently for James was pay slightly more attention to the audience at the beginning of class so she could pick out where he was.

Of course, unlike the other boys, James could vividly imagine all of Gina's curves under her dress shirt. Some days, he could almost swear he could look past her shirt and see the way her bosom moved as she walked around the whiteboard, or how her chest poke out as she reached to write something at the very top.

He remembered the lingering touch of her fingers, the taste of her lips, and the feel of soft, yielding flesh under his palms.

James definitely still had Gina on his mind.

After the first week of sending unrequited, electric gazes across the room, Gina had found James after Biology class on Friday and asked him to her office after school.

There, Gina had laid down the law.

"James. I know we were intimate, and almost very intimate, over the weekend." Gina began, "But, this is the school. You have to be more discreet. We have to be more discreet. Otherwise, I will lose my job for improper relations with a student."

"I'm sorry Gina. I'll do my best." James promised.

"Please call me Ms Chung while we're at school. Imagine how it would look if it got out that a student not only knew, but was in the habit of casually addressing me by my first name" Gina reminded James.

"Yes Ms Chung." James said obediently. He couldn't quite hide his disappointment. He had thought that they shared something special, and was hopeful that it had, or would lead, to the start of something blossoming.

"Oh James." Gina said in an exasperated tone. "It's not that I'm ditching you like a pair of soiled underwear."

This rather ill-timed analogy brought back flashes of Gina bending over to remove her lacy red bikini briefs.

Gina noticed his distant gaze and was unable to hold back a soft giggle. She could guess what he was seeing in his head.

"Look. Remember how you said to ask you again when there was nothing hanging over my head?" Gina continued.

"Yes?" James said hopefully.

"If you still feel the same way at the end of the school year, after you graduate, come find me then." Gina promised.

"I will. Feel the same way I mean. And come find you." James stammered through a response. His attempts at being suave were still marred by inexperienced jitters and nerves.

Gina looked to make sure her office door was closed, before leaning forward and giving James a soft peck on the lips.

"Now go, before people get curious. If someone asks why you were here, I was worried about your grades and asking you about your plan for applying to college." Gina said, pushing James away verbally.

James left in a daze, his head solidly floating on cloud nine.

---

The truth was, Gina was equally infatuated with James, but much better at considering the potential risks and downfalls.

The reason she scanned the class at the beginning was indeed to pick out where James was, so that she could thereafter avoid looking at that particular section of the class.

She knew that if she made eye contact with James when he was giving her the puppy eyes, or if she caught James in the middle of his piercing gaze, it would be very difficult for her to avoid flushing.

She'd never had this problem with Phil. With Phil, all she felt was contempt, and it was easy to mask contempt as coldness. It was this coldness worn around her like a suit of armor that had given her the reputation of being dispassionate.

James was different though.

In her twenty-two years of life, through the two misguided, physically focused relationships in high school and college, through the difficult times in her modeling gig in London, and through the degrading episodes with Phil and his guests, James was the only man to be able to hold back.

Not just hold back, but look at her as if she were a living, breathing human being. See her as a person rather than a piece of meat, a prize waiting to be taken, or a set of warm holes for them to play hide-the-salami in.

That thoughtfulness and genuineness had given James a special appeal. When coupled with his innocence and his hidden dry wit, Gina couldn't help but rue the fact that he wasn't four years older and a peer that she had met on the streets.

Then again, a random person on the streets probably would not be able to accept her past or the deeds she had done, the reasons be damned.

Also, although James wasn't muscular or built by any means, he had a certain slender wiry look to him that was comforting to look at. He was just comfortable, and she felt a deep sense of security around him.

It was only two more months until graduation. Hopefully James would stay the course. She had seen how some of the female students were beginning to throw themselves at him, no doubt aided and abetted by Phil's encouragement. She wouldn't blame him if he were to succumb, but it would probably put a rift between them and bite into that secure feeling she had.

It was only two more months. She had to be strong.

---

Outside of school, James had also been making good progress on his missions.

He had been playing slowly, focusing on the most basic of games - 9 max no-limit Texas Hold'em, and sticking to only about 2-3 hours of play a day after classes ended.

James played at the lowest limits for now - one and two cent blinds. He figured that it would be a good, cheap way to familiarize himself with the online game and grind out the large number of hands he needed to complete his missions.

However, while this meant that he wasn't losing any more money, he was also not making any progress on his debt to Phil.

Maybe once his missions were completed, he would be able to use the rewards to jump up in stakes. James thought.

---

[ Mission: It's Just a Number - 9,000 / 10,000 hands played. ]

[ Mission: A Clean Slate - 2,500 / 5,000 hands won. ]

After almost two months, James was feeling much more confident about his game.

He had experienced all kinds of hands, from having his Aces beat by a random hand who had called an all-in "wanting to gamble", to giving and receiving all kinds of ridiculous beats. He had even seen two other players hit straight flushes.

Once he had graduated from high school, he would complete the requirements during the break and start making inroads into his debt.

Also, once he had graduated, he would go find Gina.

He only had to wait a little longer.