RELUCTANT PRESS

"You've got a bet!" I said, anticipating her face when I played the greatest hand I had ever drawn.

One by one, Joyce laid her cards on the table. Four sevens and a queen! I had lost! Against all the odds, a hand with four of a kind had lost! The money was gone, and worse, I must now submit to being this woman's plaything for a full day.

"Too bad, Dude," said Tony. "You had a great hand. I'd have done the same thing myself with those cards."

Joyce looked me up and down. She seemed to be undressing me with her eyes. "Well now, Honey," she said. "You will show up at my house at exactly 8:00 A.M. on Saturday. That's when you will begin your twenty-four hours as my slave. Understand?"

"Yes, Joyce."

I hung my head in shame. We took our poker bets seriously, my buddies and me. If I did not live up to the conditions of the bet, the guys would probably turn me out as being untrustworthy.

Joyce handed me a slip of paper with her address on it. "Make sure you're on time. I have some wonderful plans for you," she said, then she scooped all the money on the table into her purse, said good night to the other guys, and left.

The next two days passed uneventfully except for Friday afternoon when I was walking on Main Street downtown and saw Joyce coming out of a lingerie store.

She saw me and waved. "See you tomorrow, Sweetie." she smiled and walked away, giggling.

I showed up at the address she had given me at eight sharp the next morning.

Joyce met me at the door dressed in a pretty print dress and low heeled pumps. Her hair was still in its pony-tail. "You're right on time. That's very good," she said, smiling. "Come on in, Sweetie."

Her home was a small three bedroom house in a middle class neighborhood.

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