Episode 5 (Aurora Season 1)

Aurora locks up the casino, ensuring our privacy for the rest of the evening.

Aurora: "Okay baby. Name of the game is Texas Hold 'Em."

Blowing her cheeks out, Aurora makes pistol fingers and pretends to fire off a few bullets at me.

A. Play along.

B. Get serious.

C. Make fun of her.

---

A. Play along.

I throw a hand over my chest like I've just been shot.

MC: "Aughh! Right through the heart!"

Aurora laughs, and I swear I see her cheeks turn red.

---

MC: "So since this obviously isn't your first rodeo, where do I start?"

Aurora pats the bar stool next to her.

Rolling my eyes, I take a seat.

MC: "The only thing I know about poker I learned from pop songs on the radio."

She opens up a bottle of wine and pours out a glass.

It's thick and rich as red velvet, and despite myself I long for a sip.

Aurora: "Stripping it down to the basics, poker is just about getting the best five cards."

Aurora: "And if you don't have them, you lie straight through your teeth."

She grips the chilled bottle of wine for a moment before pressing her cool fingers against my bare throat.

MC: "Eep!"

I yelp and slap her away.

Aurora: "You have to get a better hold of your emotions, too."

Aurora: "A careless mistake and you might wind up falling into a lot of trouble."

She's looking me dead on as she says it, serious for once.

(I think that advice applies to more than just poker.)

After we play a few rounds together, I actually start to enjoy myself.

Aurora: "You'll get the hang of it, baby girl."

Aurora: "Just give it time."

Sitting as close to me as she is, she only has to swing her leg out a bit to nudge mine.

I nudge her back.

Aurora: "This is the most fun I've had with a girl in a while."

MC: "I bet you say that to all your kidnapping victims."

The dark humor strikes the right chord with her, and she laughs under her breath.

Aurora: "Just the cute ones."

She refills her glass, draining the bottle to the very last drop.

Aurora: "Once we win, you can use these skills to become a little hustler yourself."

I gather up the cards, nerves making my hands twitchy.

MC: "If I win, I'll go right back to my old life as soon as possible."

The gangster expresses neither approval or displeasure.

I swallow the nervous knot in my throat, tapping the cards into order.

MC: "...So maybe we should take advantage of the moment."

Aurora is definitely buzzed.

Not as wild and reckless as when Franco had banned her from the Ruby Heart,

but a persistent, low warmth radiates from hr as she sits closer to me.

Aurora: "How so?"

Daring to look up at her eyes,

I can't see that energetic glint she gets when she's trying to fluster me.

They're dark brown, nearly black, simmering with desire.

Darting up, I try to kiss her only to be met with her fingers instead of her lips.

Aurora: "Hold up. None of that. Not yet."

She traces the outline of my lips once,

nails scratching just down my chin before she reteats a safe distance.

Aurora: "Don't get me wrong, I love it when a girl gets aggressive."

Aurora: "But we're supposed to be working right now."

Aurora: "Business first, pleasure later."

She waits for me to respond.

Swallowing past my wounded pride,

I nod quickly and we get back to work with no more distractions.

Aurora plays cold with me for the rest of the night and well into the next day.

Around lunchtime,

I'm with the rest of the gang in the kitchen.

Ash and I feed Seymour bits of cooked food.

Until Aurora waltzes into the kitchen and drags me off,

citing work as her excuse while Chance mutters under his breath.

MC: "More practice?"

Aurora shoves me into the elevator,

bracing her hands on either side of my face.

Aurora: "Nope! I'm taking you out tonight,"

Aurora: "so we're going to kill time together until then."

I can't meet her eyes, scared now that she might kiss me when I'm not ready.

Or that she won't try to kiss me at all.

(I'm not sure which is worse.)

(She's pulling me every which way.)

MC: "Play now, work later?"

Aurora: "That's right."

Aurora: "Your bathing suit is in my room."

Aurora: "Meet me by the pool."

MC: "I didn't pack a...?"

She winks and steps back as the elevator doors slide shut.

In her room, I find a gift from Aurora.

I'm hesitant at first, but it fits me surprisingly well.

Aurora is lounging outside, waiting with a drink and a smile.

Aurora: "Wow, wow! Nice!"

When she sees me, she pushes two fingers into her mouth,

and whistles so sharply it makes Seymour come running to her side.

Seymour: "Woof!"

Aurora: "Not you, bud."

She scratches behind his ear.

Aurora: "I knew you'd look good in that. Come over here!"

She hefts up a gigantic water gun as I approach.

Leaping to her feet, she points the barrel at me and I flinch.

Aurora: "Scared I'll get you wet?"

MC: "Shut up."

Aurora chuckles.

Aurora: "Open your mouth."

Confused but interested, I wait for a moment before doing as she says.

She aims the gun at me and pulls the trigger.

Warm, clear vodka squirts into my mouth.

It's too much for me to swallow in one go and I cough as Aurora laughs.

MC: "You sneaky...!"

Aurora: "It's cake flavored."

Aurora: "Do you like it?"

She takes aim again and blasts me with another stream of it.

MC: "I'd like it better in a cup and not all over my chest!"

Aurora: "We'll have to agree to disagree on that front."

Sitting on the edge of the pool,

Aurora wraps her lips around the barrel of the gun and takes a literal shot of vodka.

I sit next to her, kicking my legs in the water.

It's a bright moment, an eye of calm in the hurricane that had swept through my life.

Just a few days ago I had been fleeing for my life.

(And now I'm here, with my protector-slash-kidnapper, drinking vodka and goofing off by the pool.)

What would have happened if my parents had been home instead of me?

(I find it hard to believe Aurora would kill them. That doesn't seem her style.)

Seymour sits on my other side, placing his head on my lap.

Reaching across, Aurora rests against me so she can comfortably pet him.

Aurora: "I wish you weren't sad, ."

I pull back from her in surprise, looking into her eyes.

She looks mournful, genuinely so...

Aurora: "So cheer up!"

Until she puts both hands on my shoulders and shoves me into the pool.

MC: "Ahhh!"

Taking her by the arms, I drag her into the pool with me.

Sputtering, I leap out and start splashing her furiously.

Seymour runs away from the water with his tail between his legs.

Aurora: "Oh no! You got me!"

Aurora feigns dismay, throwing her arms around my shoulders as we bob in the deep end of the pool.

I lock my arms around her waist, holding her tight.

MC: "Yup."

Standing this close to her, I feel safe for the first time since this started,

all my worries chased away.

Yoshimitsu: "Incoming!"

The moment is ruined by a huge splash as Yoshimitsu cannonballs into the pool.

The waves knock Aurora and I apart,

and when I start paddling to the edge of the pool to pull myself up,

Chance is standing above me.

Chance: "..."

He reaches down and helps me out, but holds onto my arm before I can pull away.

Chance: "Having fun with Aurora?"

The way he says it is so cold, accusational.

Ash: "Bang!"

Chance blinks and winces as Ash pulls out his own water pistol,

blasting the leader straight in the face.

The rest of the gang leap into the pool one by one,

relaxing and making small talk over their drinks.

Later that night, Aurora takes me for a drive.

She helps me out of the convertible, leading me toward a nondescript building.

Aurora: "Just follow me."

There's two series of doors, each guarded and needing a special password.

Once we're inside the building proper, the whole atmosphere changes to one of revelry.

A waiter comes to me at once, offering me a sparkling drink from her platter.

Aurora parts through the crowd like a shark through minnows,

finding her mark at once.

Aurora: "Hello, dears!"

A loud, happy cry goes up at her arrival.

She takes a seat and crosses her long, long legs, on display for the world to see.

Her outfit accentuates all her natural beauty,

the plunging neckline drawing more than a few eyes to our table.

(Including mine...)

MC: "Do I get a turn?"

Aurora: "Not yet. I want you to watch."

We spend more time schmoozing with the locals than playing.

Aurora: "Do you know who has what?"

I nod, and point to one of the players.

MC: "He has the best hand."

I take care to keep as close to her as I can, so we can have a whispered conversation.

Then a loud voice makes us both jolt, as someone shoves their way between us.

Joy: "Hey, is that A.J.?"

Wendy: "I think it is!"

Aurora's head snaps up at the unfamiliar voice,

as three giggling women run over to our table.

Aurora: "...Well. If it isn't my favorite girls."

Irene: "A.J.! It's been too long."

One of them with pretty black curls shoves right past me, linking arms with Aurora.

(What the...? Rude!)

Wendy: "A.J., are you going to come hit the slots with us?"

Wendy: "You promised you would!"

Aurora: "Oh, dear."

Aurora: "Did I?"

The way she says it makes it clear she hadn't forgotten at all,

egging them on to tease her some more.

Sharp jealousy sparks up in me.

(I mean, I knew she was popular, but...)

But it's one thing to know and another thing to see.

Joy: "You can't weasel out of this one, A.J."

Joy: "We've got a big bottle of the good champagne with your name on it."

A distinct flare of pleasure lights up in Aurora's eyes, burning hot at the suggestion.

And then she catches sight of me, shoved to the side by the ther girls.

Aurora: "Ah... I'd love to, you know I would. But..."

Aurora links her arm with mine, giving the other girls a knowing wink.

There's a few grumbles,

but they accept that wordless excuse as Aurora leads me away.

Aurora: "Business first."

Aurora: "Pleasure later."

I look up at her with confusion as we approach another table full of people throwing dice.

Aurora: "Give me your luck, little lamb."

Understanding in a flash, I lean closer and blow on the dice.

Aurora: "Now I'm sure to win."

She squeezes me a little closer.

(It's silly, but I'm glad she asked me and not one of the other girls...)

Aurora explains the game to me and we play a few rounds.

Each time, she brushes her dice off on her shirt and then asks me to blow on them or kiss them.

(And we're winning!)

Aurora quits whie she's ahead, taing her winnings and going to another table.

She acts as my teacher and guide showing me all the rules of the different games.

It's two in the morning by the time we leave.

Back outside, Aurora opens the door to her convertible for me...

until a hand reaches past me, taking it by the window and shutting it.

Joy: "Leaving without me, A.J.?"

It's one of the women from before, angling herself between Aurora and I.

Aurora: "Oh. Joy? I..."

Aurora tilts her head to the side, clearly tempted.

Aurora: "I have to drive this little lamb back home."

The woman laughs, stepping past me to press both her hands to Aurora's chest.

Joy: "So why not drop her off and then take me home after?"

Aurora smiles, gently taking the woman's face in both her hands.

My stomach sinks.

(You know this isn't anything serious. It doesn't matter if she flirts with other girls.)

Aurora's voice is cold, sweet, and sharp.

Aurora: "Take a hint, Joy."

Aurora turns her back on Joy, dismissing the woman without another word.

She [Joy] huffs off in a clatter of high heels.

(What was that?)

Aurora opens the car door for me again, but we don't leave right away.

I'm stunned, and Aurora seems... more than a little frustrated.

MC: "Um. Why...?"

Aurora shakes her head, gripping the streeing wheel.

Aurora: "I'm already sharing the bed with you, baby."

She sounds tired.

A. But there's room for three.

B. Do you like me?

C. Is there something you're not telling me?

---

C. Is there something you're not telling me?

MC: "Just tell me the truth."

MC: "There's something going on here that you won't tell me,"

MC: "and I'm tired of playing guessing games."

---

Aurora sits stiffly, staring straight ahead at the dark parking lot.

Aurora: "...I don't want those other girls."

Aurora: "I want you."

(Yeah... sure you do.)

She sighs.

Aurora: "But the first night you got here..."

Aurora: "Chance made me promise to keep my hands off of you."

MC: "Wait. What?"

MC: "...Chance doesn't decide who gets to touch me and who doesn't."

She grips my chin, keeping my eyes on her.

Aurora: "No, but we... we're close."

Aurora: "I won't break a promise I made to him."

Aurora: "I know he's just worried about me."

Aurora: "He knows I lose my head over pretty girls, and you..."

Her voice gets rough, low with agonizing want as her fingers move from my chin to my lips.

Aurora: "You're trouble."

MC: "Rory..."

I can feel her breath on my lips, hot and wet in the darkness...

until the loud rattle of the door handle makes us jump apart like a pair of naughty teenagers.

Strange Man: "Aurora James, get your ass out here!"