Love in Barcelona

Amelia Mae Carter "You better not tell anyone but God." I turned my head slightly to see my best friend, and only friend Louisa. A confused look spread on my face as she walks towards me, with my laptop in her hands. I looked at the screen and saw two, recently bought, tickets to Port Olimpic. "You need this, I need this." Louisa continued as she put on her best pouty face. Oh why, can I never say no to someone who's so dear to me. Louisa's surprise happened a week ago. Now here I am, on a yacht in the Mediterranean Sea, drinking my sangria without having any regrets. "Lou, this was your best idea yet renting this yacht and practically dragging me out of work." I said as I gave her a half hug and also trying not to spill my sangria. "Well, after failing to expose politician Rump and having our successful careers coming to a full stop, I knew you needed a get away." Louisa sighed as she sat on her recliner. "... Plus, I personally prefer staying here, on a yacht on the Mediterranean Sea and being able to drink and enjoy myself than go job hunting" We both laughed. "A big hand to you, my honorary travel agent," I hold my glass up to salute her and took another sip. "Alright, pace yourself. You don't want to be wasted at the casino tonight." She shook her head. "What? I'm just having fun. You told me to have fun and that's what I'm doing." I said, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah right, but Amelia Mae Carter does love to spill all the tea on her i********: story." Louisa cringed and sat up. "... And that little rendezvous you pulled off, made us the laughingstock of the office." She frantically went on. "Louisa, we don't have internet access remember and no one knows where we are." I said as I try to calm her down. "I also promise you, that I won't make out with you without your permission. I do want a man in my life." I put on a face of mock horror as she breaks out in laughter. "Well, we'll always have each other sugar bear," Louisa winks at me, topping it off with an overly fake flirty face whilst wiggling her eyebrows. "My ass is spectacular for sure, but you can just admire from afar Lou," I said as I dismissively wave a hand. As Louisa stood up, she said "As fun as this banter is Amelia, the launch will be ready to take us to the casino at nine tonight, but we need to have dinner before that." "Alright, just try not to think of me in the shower!" I exclaimed as I started filling another glass with sangria. "Trust me, that won't be a problem Amelia." Louisa said as she walks towards her cabin. I do not know for how long I was passed out, or when I passed out, but the moment Louisa woke me up, everything was a blur. One moment I was on the deck of the yacht. Next in the shower, also trying not to spill my guts out. Then the casino, where I sobered up after realizing that I won four million euros. Louisa James A few hours later I find a very drunk Amelia sleeping on a recliner, with her mouth wide open. I take a few selfies with her and then proceed to wake her up. "Amelia! Wake up! You need to take a shower. The launch will be here in an hour" I shake her and look in horror at the big and empty sangria saucer next to her on the table. "Hey, stop already! I hear you, you buzzkill!" She swats at me a couple of times. Amelia is not a nice drunk when you piss her off. "Come on, up with you already," I pull her arms and she stumbles out of the recliner. "Are you happy? I'm up and I am heading to the shower." she says as I watch her unsteadily walk towards her cabin. "Very happy, you didn't forget dinner before we hit the casino right?" She turns around and raised an eyebrow at me almost daring me to continue. "We are having dinner remember? You are in no condition to go to the casino right now." I chuckled. "Yes mother," she slurs in a baby voice and just like that she's off to get ready. It took Amelia forever to get ready, an hour or maybe less, I've always hated waiting. Then we went to the restaurant of a nearby hotel. "Amelia, honey I want you to behave, do not shamelessly flirt with random men." I said as I took a seat. "Gosh!" Amelia exclaimed. "You sound just the way my mother's supposed to sound. I glared then sighed. "Let's just have our dinner and have fun at the casino." Apparently luck is with Amelia tonight. Here I am, stone cold sober and down over a hundred thousand while Amelia is up over one million euro's after five more shots. We needed to get out of here soon. She's had control of the dice at this craps table for nearly an hour. The crowd is growing, but luckily, this is a middle aged group so I don't have to worry about Amelia terrorizing some random guy. "Let it all ride!" Amelia shrieks, the crowd gasps, and I am ripped from my thoughts. "Amelia! Are you mad??!! Betting one million euros on a roll of the dice?" I think I am going mad watching her. "It's only money Lou! Live a little!" With that she throws the dice and rolls a seven. The crowd cheers and applauds. "Okay Ames, can we please go now? You're making me nervous." "Nuh-uh, no can do. I'm on a roll - get it a roll Lou- oh I c***k myself up," All I can muster is a face palm at how out of control Amelia is behaving. "Alright Lou, I'll make you a deal. I win this hand; I'll call it a night and we'll leave." Amelia said as she patted my shoulder. "...And, because I am such a selfless person, I'll share my winnings with you." Alright, having a selfless best friend does have its advantages. "You bet Ames. Let's just get this over with please," Now the sad thing is, I am actually excited about this roll. She rattles the dice in her hand, tosses them, and... "Seven!!" the crowd cheers out in unison and Amelia is getting high fives from everyone. As the high fives became a little less, I hugged her then said "Incredible night Ames. I can't even imagine how you'll top that tomorrow night." "I'll think of something. Let's call it a night." Amelia says as she gives a wave to her gambling worshippers. We cash out Amelia four million in winnings then make our way to the launch, and head back to the yacht for the night. Luca Cerrioni Meanwhile, at the casino executive office, Luca's satisfied eyes over looked the casino floor. Suddenly, the office door opened "Shalom, good work. Sit my friend," I motioned to the chair across him. "Luca, all due respect, but do you know what you're doing? I mean, letting that woman leave with millions?" I know he means no disrespect, as my partner he's only looking out for me and also himself. "Yes. Think of tonight as a temporary loan," I smirk whilst lying back in my chair. "What loan are you talking about?" "Can you put those lucky dice in my vault first?" He nods while I watch him deposit the dice inside. "Luca, in all these years, I've never known you to rig a table and let alone someone walking away with that much money. You've always pulled the dice switch and took the pot back." "You see, the payout for this is bigger, much bigger than a few millions," he looks at me confused, and rightfully so, he has no idea of my plan. "...Tell me Shalom, do you know who those two women are?" "I have no idea." Obviously, I thought, this guy is continually at work and not because I want him to. "Allow me to enlighten you. The curly haired one is Louisa James and the loud mouth brunette is Amelia Carter. They're both well-known journalists who went down trying to expose a big shot politician. "So, you do want something from them. I thought that you were going loco." Shalom chuckled. "...Must be something big. Aren't you concerned that Carter will walk away with the money and not come back?" "Shalom, I've sat here for years watching people. I know what people will do inside my casino before they know themselves. My sources told me Ford and Carter were coming and, knowing what I do about them, I predicted Carter's actions perfectly." "Trust me Shalom, Carter will strut into this casino tomorrow night like she owns the place and, by the end of the night, she's going to get the surprise of her life," I can't help but smile again in satisfaction as to how easy it was to get Carter on the line.