BLACKJACK CLUB

The MSS Temptation's main dining room smelled like butter-seared ribeye and expensive champagne, and Riley Matthews-Hunter was on her third glass of both when Isadora tapped her water glass with a fork and stood up at the head of the long table.

Six KUM sisters had been chosen by the MI crew earlier that afternoon, pulled from the rehearsal floor based on a combination of game station performance, energy, and what Isadora called "ambassador potential" but what Maya called "vibes." The six sat across from the MI Ship Committee in a configuration that Riley had watched Isadora arrange with the precision of a chess master, alternating personalities so no one would be stuck next to someone who couldn't hold a conversation. The result was a dinner table that crackled.

To Riley's left sat Priya, a KUM junior with dark curls and a laugh that could be heard three decks away. To Maya's right was Jordan, tall and broad-shouldered, who had spent the last twenty minutes debating Farkle's sound system specs with genuine technical knowledge.

Aubrey was between twins named Sloane and Selene, who finished each other's sentences and had already coordinated their outfits for the evening in a way that felt either charming or unsettling depending on how much champagne you'd had.

Isadora had positioned herself between a quiet senior named Theo and a kinetic sophomore named Brooklyn, and she was managing both conversations simultaneously while cutting her steak into perfect, equal bites.

The steaks were thick-cut, medium-rare, served on white plates with a red wine reduction that Isadora had personally approved during the menu tasting that morning. The champagne was Krug, which was more than Riley expected for a rehearsal dinner, but Isadora had said something about "setting the tone for the weekend" and nobody had argued.

"To the MSS Temptation," Isadora said, raising her glass. "And to the six women who will help us make this ship unforgettable." "To us," Priya said, grinning, and the table raised their glasses.

Riley caught Maya's eye across the table. Maya raised an eyebrow, a micro-expression that Riley had learned to read fluently over the years, and this particular raise meant she was having a good time and wanted Riley to know it. Riley smiled back and ate a piece of steak that was so good it bordered on indecent.

Dinner unspooled over two hours. The KUM sisters relaxed in stages, first becoming louder, then funnier, then finally settling into the kind of easy comfort that came from being treated like equals by people who could have treated them like interns.

Jordan told a story about accidentally setting off the ship's fire suppression system during a stage test that morning, and Farkle laughed so hard he knocked over his water glass. Brooklyn demonstrated a card trick using Isadora's business cards that was genuinely impressive, and Isadora watched with the focused attention she gave everything, then asked Brooklyn to do it again, slower, so she could figure out the method.

"Where'd you learn that?" Isadora asked. "My roommate's a magician." "Your roommate's a magician," Isadora repeated, making a note on her tablet. "She's going to put that in the event file," Maya said to Riley. "She's going to put everything in the event file." Theo, who had been quiet most of dinner, leaned toward Isadora and said, "I heard there's a new Blackjack Club on the ship."

Isadora's expression shifted. It was subtle, the kind of shift that most people wouldn't catch, but Riley had been working with Isadora long enough to recognize the look of a plan clicking into place. "The Blackjack Club," Isadora said. "Yes. It opened this morning. We haven't tested it with a group yet." "We should test it," Sloane said, and Selene nodded. "We should absolutely test it," Aubrey agreed, setting down her champagne glass with the deliberate placement of someone who had already thought three steps ahead.

Isadora looked around the table. The KUM sisters were enthusiastic. The MI Ship Committee was on board, in some cases literally. Farkle was already pulling up the club's technical specs on his phone. Stuart was calculating something, probably revenue projections.

"Full test," Isadora said. "Gameplay, atmosphere, drink service, social integration." She paused. "I'll open the private room." "The private room," Maya repeated. "It has a lock," Isadora said, and this time her mouth definitely twitched. Riley felt a pulse of heat that she attributed to the champagne and chose not to examine further.

The Blackjack Club was on Deck 7, tucked behind the ship's main theater, and it was beautiful in a way that Riley hadn't expected. The walls were paneled in dark wood, the lighting was warm and amber, and the tables were real felt, not the synthetic stuff that cheaper ships used. A bar ran the length of one wall, backed by shelves of bottles that caught the light like a stained glass window. The private room was in the back, separated by a sliding door, with its own table, its own dealer station, and its own sound system that Farkle had already started adjusting before anyone else sat down.

Isadora had arranged for a dealer, a woman named Carla who had dealt cards on cruise ships for eight years and who looked at the group with the calm, unflappable expression of someone who had seen everything and was surprised by nothing.

"Rules," Isadora said, standing at the head of the table while everyone settled into chairs. Carla shuffled with the quiet efficiency of a machine. "Standard blackjack. Dealer hits on sixteen, stands on seventeen. Blackjack pays three to two."

"And the stakes?" Aubrey asked. Isadora looked at Aubrey. Aubrey looked at Isadora. Something passed between them that Riley couldn't quite read, a negotiation conducted entirely in eye contact. "Clothing," Aubrey said. "Clothing," Isadora confirmed.

The KUM sisters exchanged glances. Priya bit her lip. Jordan cracked her knuckles. Sloane and Selene looked at each other, had an entire conversation without speaking, and nodded simultaneously. Theo's expression didn't change. Brooklyn grinned.

"Strip blackjack," Maya said, leaning back in her chair. "On a company ship. During a company event." "The event is testing the Blackjack Club," Isadora said. "This is a stress test."
"Of the club or of us?" "Both."

Maya looked at Riley. Riley looked at Maya. They'd played this game before, in their penthouse, with Aubrey, and the results had been memorable. Riley's body remembered before her brain did, a warmth spreading through her that had nothing to do with the champagne.

"Deal," Riley said. Carla dealt. The first few hands were cautious, everyone feeling out the table, playing conservatively. Priya lost the first hand and removed her shoes, which felt like a warm-up. Jordan lost the next and took off her jacket. Then the cards started turning.

Brooklyn hit on fifteen and busted, losing her shirt. She was wearing a sports bra underneath, which prompted a groan from Sloane, who had been hoping for more. Selene lost the next hand and removed her jeans, revealing legs that were toned from what Riley guessed was years of dance. Theo lost two hands in a row and removed both her cardigan and her tank top, sitting in her bra with an expression of total calm that made Riley think she'd done this before.

The champagne kept flowing. Carla dealt with mechanical precision. The pile of clothes on the side table grew. By the seventh hand, Brooklyn was topless, her breasts small and firm, her nipples hard in the air-conditioned air. She didn't cover herself, just sat back in her chair and drank her champagne like she was at a business meeting. Sloane and Selene were both down to underwear, their matching bras a navy blue that looked intentional.

Priya had lost her shirt and her bra in consecutive hands, and her breasts were full and heavy, and she held her cards in front of her chest in a way that was more playful than modest. Jordan was down to panties and a tank top. Theo was in her thong, her body lean and angular, and she hadn't blinked.

The MI Ship Committee was faring better, but not by much. Isadora had lost her blazer and her blouse, sitting in her bra and skirt, her posture perfect, her expression analytical, as if she were calculating odds rather than losing clothes.

Farkle had been eliminated early and was sitting in the corner with his laptop, taking notes on the club's lighting design. Stuart had lost his shirt and was watching the game with the detached interest of a spectator.

Aubrey was down to her dress, having lost her jacket and shoes early but nothing since. She played with a card player's instincts, hitting and standing with a confidence that suggested she'd spent time in actual casinos.

Maya was in her flannel and pants, having lost only her jacket and boots. Riley had lost her blouse and was sitting in her bra and pants, which was more exposed than she wanted to be this early in the game, but the cards had not been kind.

The ninth hand was the turning point. Priya busted with a twenty-two, losing her skirt. She stood up to remove it, and when she sat back down, she was in a thong that left very little to the imagination, and Jordan's eyes tracked her legs as she crossed them.

Brooklyn lost the next hand and removed her skirt, then the next and removed her thong, and she sat naked in her chair with her legs folded beneath her, completely unbothered, her body compact and athletic. "I'm out," Brooklyn said, raising her glass. "Someone deal me back in when I have clothes to lose." "You don't get dealt back in," Isadora said. "Then I'll just watch." "Feel free."

The watching was, Riley realized, almost more intense than the playing. Brooklyn's eyes moved around the table with frank appreciation, and when Selene lost her bra in the eleventh hand, Brooklyn's gaze lingered on Selene's breasts with an openness that made Selene's cheeks flush.

Sloane lost her bra next, and the twins sat side by side, topless, their bodies similar but not identical, Sloane slightly fuller through the hips, Selene with a scar on her left collarbone.

Jordan lost her tank top, then her thong on the next hand, and she was naked, her body strong and solid, and she sat with her legs apart without self-consciousness.

Theo lost her bra, then her thong, and she was naked too, her body spare and elegant, and she folded her clothes and placed them on the pile with the same precision she applied to everything.

Priya lost her thong on the next hand and was naked, and she sat back and let the room look, her breasts resting on her chest, her legs crossed, one foot bouncing.

Five naked KUM sisters. The sixth, Jordan, followed two hands later when she busted on a risky double-down. Six naked women sitting around a blackjack table, drinking champagne, watching the remaining players with the attentive interest of people who had nothing left to lose.

The MI Ship Committee ladies with the same focus, brought to everything, their cards held close, their bets calculated. Stuart had lost his pants and was in his boxers, which he handled with the awkward acceptance of a man who had not expected his evening to go this direction. Farkle was still in the corner, fully clothed, taking notes.

Aubrey, Maya, and Riley were the most dressed female people in the room. Aubrey was in her dress, a fitted navy sheath that she'd worn to dinner, and she'd lost nothing else since the first two hands. She played with a slight smile that Riley found both attractive and infuriating.

Maya was in her blouse and pants, having lost nothing but her jacket and boots, and she was playing aggressively, hitting on hands that most people would stand on, and somehow winning. Riley was in her bra and pants, and she was aware of her own exposure in a way that was heightened by the six naked women watching her from across the table.

"Another hand?" Carla asked, shuffling. "Another hand," Isadora said. Carla dealt. Riley looked at her cards: a king and a six. Sixteen. She could stand and hope, or hit and risk. She glanced at Maya, who was studying her own cards with the focused expression that meant she had something good.

"Hit," Riley said. Carla flipped a five. Twenty-one. "Nice," Jordan said from across the table, and Riley felt a flush of satisfaction that was disproportionate to the win but entirely proportional to the fact that six naked women were impressed by her blackjack skills.

Isadora busted on the next draw, a ten pushing her to twenty-three. She unhooked her bra with a single motion and set it on the pile, her breasts full and heavy, her nipples dark, and she didn't flinch.

Stuart lost his boxers and was naked, and he sat down quickly and reached for his champagne. But no one realized that the Chairman of the Board of Minkus International was now naked with a group of KUM Sorority sisters. He knew his wife Jennifer would tease him forever.

"Final three," Aubrey said, looking around the table. The room was warm with bodies and champagne and the amber light that Farkle had calibrated to what he called "social warmth." Nine naked people and three who weren't. The dynamic had shifted in a way that Riley could feel in her skin, a charge that ran between the clothed and the unclothed, a tension that was not quite sexual but was not quite not.

"Final three," Maya agreed. She looked at Riley. "How are we playing this?" "To the end," Riley said. "To the end," Aubrey confirmed. Carla dealt three hands. Aubrey got an eighteen and stood. Maya got a nineteen and stood. Riley got a seventeen and stood. Carla flipped her hole card: a sixteen. She hit. A five. Twenty-one. The table groaned.

Aubrey stood up and reached for the zipper on the back of her dress. She pulled it down slowly, the fabric separating to reveal the line of her spine, the clasp of her bra, the band of her thong. She stepped out of the dress and laid it on the pile, then reached back and unhooked her bra, letting it fall forward off her shoulders. Her breasts were full, larger than Riley's, her nipples pale pink, and she stood in just her thong for a moment before hooking her thumbs into the band and pushing it down. She stepped out of it and sat back down, naked, her blond hair falling over her shoulders.

"I was hoping to outlast both of you," Aubrey said. "You were hoping wrong," Maya said.
Carla dealt again. Maya got a twenty and stood. Riley got a twelve and hit, drew a nine, and stood at twenty-one. Carla had twenty. Push. No one lost. "Again," Riley said.

Carla dealt. Maya got a fifteen. She looked at her cards, looked at Riley, looked at the table. She hit. Drew a six. Twenty-one. Riley got a twenty and stood. Carla busted at twenty-six. The room was down to two. Riley in her bra and pants. Maya in her blouse and pants. Six naked KUM sisters, a naked Isadora, a naked Stuart, a naked Aubrey, and a fully clothed Farkle who was still taking notes in the corner.

"This is the hand," Maya said. "This is the hand," Riley agreed. Carla dealt. Riley looked at her cards. A queen and a nine. Nineteen. Solid. She stood. Maya looked at her cards. Her expression didn't change. She stood. Carla flipped her cards. A ten and a jack. Twenty.
Riley stared at the table. Nineteen to twenty. She'd lost. "Shit," Riley said. "Language," Maya said, but she was smiling.

Riley stood up. She reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, letting the straps slide down her arms. Her breasts were exposed, her nipples hard from the air and the tension and the way Maya was looking at her. She set the bra on the pile and unbuttoned her pants, pushing them down along with her thong, stepping out of both. She sat back down naked, and the room felt different from this side, the air on her skin, the eyes on her body, the vulnerability of it mixed with something that was not vulnerability at all.

Maya was the last one clothed. She sat in her blouse and pants, the only dressed female on in a room full of naked people, and she looked at Riley with an expression that Riley knew well, the expression that meant Maya had won and was going to enjoy it. All night. "I believe this is my table," Maya said. "It's everyone's table," Isadora said.

"It's my table tonight." Maya gathered the cards and shuffled them herself, her hands quick and practiced. She dealt a new round to anyone who wanted to play, and the game continued, and the naked KUM sisters laughed and drank and played with the freedom of people who had nothing left to hide, and the room filled with the sound of cards and champagne and bodies shifting against felt.

Farkle looked up from his laptop. "The lighting in here is really good," he said. "Farkle," Maya said. "I'm just saying. For the notes." "Make a note that Maya Matthews-Hunter won strip blackjack on the MSS Temptation." "Already did," Farkle said, typing.

Isadora pulled her tablet toward her, still naked, still composed, and typed something. She turned the screen toward Maya. It was a new line item in the event budget. "Blackjack Club, private room — stress test complete. Result: satisfactory. Note: Mrs. Matthews-Hunter remains undefeated. Recommend weekly testing sessions." Maya raised her champagne glass. "Approved." "Already approved," Isadora said. "I approved it while you were reading."

Across the table, Aubrey leaned toward Priya and said something that made Priya laugh and spill champagne on her bare chest, and Jordan reached over to wipe it off, and Priya didn't stop her, and Brooklyn watched with the attentive interest of someone who was very much enjoying the view.

Riley leaned back in her chair, naked, warm, her wife the last clothed female in a room full of beautiful, undressed people, and thought that the MSS Temptation was going to be the best event Minkus International had ever run. Maya caught her eye and mouthed "later," and Riley felt the promise of it land in her body like a hand between her legs, and she crossed her own legs under the table and smiled.

Later was going to be something.