Queen of Spades (House of Car...

A/N: For those of you whom noticed, my chapter titles have all been the Major Arcana cards from the Tarot. This chapter's title is the first of the Minor Arcana cards. From here on out, the titles may have numbers in them that are out of sequence, and that's so that the title and meaning of the card still reflect the theme of the chapter. Not expecting this to make any sense to anyone other than me, but if it gets confusing to you guys, let me know. Thanks!

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Alice and Salali had run around the malls, getting in on the post Christmas sales that sprung up like acne on a teen's face. Malcolm was forced to try and mass grade the exams from his classes if he wanted to take a weekend off for his brother's wedding, or else Salali would have pulled him along too.

Salali had bluntly told Alice that if she was going to be spending a weekend with Malcolm in a flashy hotel with a casino, they needed to get her clothing so he wouldn't be able to keep his hands off of her. Alice had burned a vibrant shade of red at how casually Salali discussed her relationship with Malcolm. Eventually Salali confessed that she hadn't been 100% sure that they were together until they took the time apart for exams. Before that she figured there was mutual interest, but after seeing how being apart was affecting both of them, Sal had deduced that she had a pair of love struck fools on her hands.

So now that Salali had Alice to herself in a mall full of sales, the large Native woman was determined to discover the perfect dress for Alice to wear to the wedding, the perfect lingere she was to have underneath, even the accessories had to pass her seal of approval. It was like shopping with a whirlwind, yanked from one shop to the next, and forced into whatever Salali deemed appropriate to try on.

Alice slumped into a chair, bags beside her sore feet and marvelled that the table didn't collapse when Sal leaned her weight on it. "I am so very, very done with shopping Salali. Pointe shoes don't hurt me as much as shopping with you does." she confessed with a sigh, smile playing at her lips.

"You say such hurtful things." Salali mock moaned in heartbreak. Alice grinned at her friend and offered to buy lunch. Yummy mall court food, ick. Alice thought as she grabbed Roasty Jacks {A/N: I just made myself hungry writing that. Roasy Jacks does roast beef dip sandwiches that are uber yummy}

They were eating in peace as Salali and Alice plotted her outfits for the wedding when Alice saw a face she could have gone without. Lexi and her friends stopped next to their table, sneering down at Alice and Salali. "Now I know why a skank like you had to sell herself so often. You needed the money to afford youyr grandmothers eating habit." she insulted as her friends laughed.

Alice looked up at them, more amused than offended. She didn't even have to reply, Salali beat her to it. "Little white girl, I could break you and suck hte marrow out of your bones, do you really think insulting my friend here is going to endear you to me? Now run along before this stops being entertaining and I scalp you for bothering me." the large Native woman's voice was ever gruffer than usual as she purposefully made herself sound crazed and dangerous.

Lexi looked shocked at Salali, obviously not used to adults casually threatening her. "You're done here, door's that way." Alice told her schoolmates.

"You're pathetic." Lexi hissed at Alice and walked away, nose up in the air.

"Someday she's going to have to thank you and ask for forgiveness, and when that happens, I want to to remind her of today." Salali said sagely, finishing her meal.

"Won't do any good. I've told her repeatedly what the difference between a stripper and a hooker is but she just doesn't get it yet. She was actually worried I was going to infect the male populace with an STD that she would eventually catch." Alice shook her head, amazed at some people's willful ignorance.

"Do you and Malcolm need to stock up on condoms for the wedding?" Salali bluntly asked, making Alice's face flame red once again.

"Ah... it...it's alright Sal. Got that covered." Alice waved off the question, not entirely comfortable discussing such things in a public place. A lot of people didn't know what Depo Provera was and she really didnt want to have to explain the birth control injection while in a mall.

"Ok. I'll take care of Monster while you're away, though I'll have you know that he sits on your bed waiting for you to get back. Unless we're playing, in which case he is still a normal puppy." Salali switched topics and they discussed the growing personality of Monster. He was a serious puppy, but still had moments where he was goofey and cute. Talking about the dog helped ease some of Alice's anxiety over the wedding. She had never actually been to a wedding before and she had no clue what to expect. A fact that was making her nervous now, because when they got back to the apartment, Alice had to pack. Malcolm would be taking her to the hotel tonight and hte wedding was tomorrow.

Alice discovered the hard way that packing with a puppy who wants attention is a neigh impossible task. She'd throw her socks into the suitcase Sal was lending her and Monster would fetch them out for her. She'd fold clothes carefully and stack them inside to have him lay down on top of it all and wag his tail at her. Malcolm arrived long before she was ready and walked in on Alice chasing Monster around while he dragged one of her bras accidentally tangled around his collar. Salali was laughing tears on the couch, grabbing her vast stomach while she guffawed and Ace was cursing in as many languages as she could remember. Monster just thought it was all fun and games.

Malcolm scooped the playful puppy up and unhooked Alice's bra from his collar. Monster took the opportunity to lick Mal's face and Alice shook her head, finally laughing at the situation. She grabbed the garment and gave Malcolm a quick kiss on the cheek. He was surprised at her open affection, unaware that Salali had figured them out a while ago.

"Sal knows. Sneaky Indian. Talk to her, I need to finish packing." Alice explained and wandered back to her room. She could hear them discussing it as Monster followed her back in. This time she closed the door so he wouldn't have an escape route if he grabbed another piece of clothing. Finally she got it all packed away, impressed with how much clothes one wedding needed. She had her outfit for driving, pajamas, the dress for tomorrow and a final change of clothes for the day after the wedding, plus a spare outfit for the wedding reception and under garments. And shoes, and accessories and...... Alice ran throught hte mental checklist, sure she was forgetting something. Actually she'd had that feeling for a while now, like she'd missed an important date on her calendar but she didn't remember what. Shrugging aside the worry, Alice picked up her bag and walked out to see Malcolm and Salali sitting on the couch still talking.

"Alright, I am as ready to go as I will ever be." Alice announced, setting her bag down beside the door.

"Away we go then I guess. Have a good New Year's Sal." Malcolm got up from the couch. Alice went over and hugged her housemate goodbye. Moster seemed to realize she was going away again and went crazy, jumping and barking for attention.

"Monster shush!" Alice snapped her fingers and he quieted down. "If you're a good boy for auntie Sal I'll bring you home a treat." she coaxed.

"Auntie Sal? Does that make him daddy Mal?" Salali asked, and Alice choked on a laugh.

"I'm really not singing up for the breeding program just yet." Alice grinned at Malcolm's raised eyebrows. He was smart enough to not get involved in this little reparte.

"Get going before you give this man a complex." Salali laughed, packing her pipe with the tobaaco Ace had given her for Christmas.

Alice held Malcolm's hand as he grabbed her bag and led them out to his jeep. His own suitcase was in hte back already and he added hers next to it. It was a fair drive to where they were going so she got comfortable, plugging her mp3 player in so Malcolm could hear her latest efforts as DJ Mask. She was still trying to figure out how to get the school to go for hiring Mask for Prom, but she had already started to draft together a set list for the entire dance.

"So you'll be going to Prom, but not going to prom?" Malcolm asked.

Alice nodded. "It's not like I want to go with you as my date so there's not much point in me being there as a student." she shrugged. "At least this way I can make some money off of it." she added in when he frowned at her reasoning.

"I thought most girls dreamed about Prom only slightly less than they did their own weddings?" Malcolm asked, slightly teasing.

Alice laughed. "You seem to forget how I grew up. First as a tomboy with no mother, then with hte Walters. Really girly things like that were never my thing. I've dreamed and schemed my 18th birthday party six ways from the sun, but never prom or a wedding."

"You are not like hollywood says girls should be." Malcolm taunted with a smirk.

"If we were in Hollywood, my boobs would be bigger and you'd sparkle." Alice retorted, making Malcolm snort. They settled into idle chitchat after that, commenting on the songs the radio played and pointing out interesting features they drove passed.

Finally Alice spotted signs pointing them to the hotel/casino and perked up, anxious to see what it was like inside. She remembered travelling with her father as a little girl, but this was the first real trip she'd taken since. Running away somehow just didn't count as a trip, because she'd honestly hoped to never return. Though Alice had to admit to herself that if she hadn't returned, then she would never have seen Malcolm again, and he was a highlight in her sad life.

They parked their car after retrieving a lot chit and then made their way inside the hotel. "This place is pretty swank." Alice whispered to Malcolm as they waiting in line for the consierge.

"I'm glad you like it. Whatever you do, do not ask how much this place costs." Malcolm whispered back. Alice gave him an alarmed look but he smiled at her so she wasn't sure if he was joking or not. They retrieved their room cards and headed upstairs, both declining the bellboys offer.

Malcolm opened the hotel room door and let Alice preceed him in. Both of them were a little awkward with bags and the knowledge that when Malcolm had reserved this room, it had been to take Shawna to the wedding with him. Alice set her luggage up on the chair near the bathroom and left her clothes inside, except to hang up the dress she'd bought for the wedding. It was a rich, dark blue with gold pattern on it, a knotted neckline that hit high up but left a gap of cleavage exposed and the rest of the dress was loose and flowy. It hadn't been cheap but Alice had loved it the moment she saw it on the hanger and it had fit her like a dream. But Malcolm hadn't seen it yet and she wanted to surprise him with it tomorrow, so she left it in the garment bag.

"Room service?" Malcolm asked as Alice explored the hotel suite. She nodded yes, trusting him to pick food that she liked, he fed her often enough he knew her preferances and stared into the bathroom. It was huge, tiled black with little glints of silver and gold flecked throughout. There was a glass doored shower in one corner, with that fancy rainforest style nozzle, and a mammoth jaccuzi in the opposite corner. She noticed that the vanity had a space for sitting in a chair and two different sinks. This place was not the cheapest room in the hotel.

"I am so going to run a bubble bath after our early dinner." Alice promised outloud to herself.

"That might be fun to watch." Malcolm whispered in her ear, making her jump. She hadn't realized he'd snuck up behind her like that. His arms wrapped around her waist and he hugged ehr against his chest.

"Pervert." Alice said with a laugh, leaning back against him. He rested his head against hers for a moment and they stood silently, just enjoying the moment. Until someone knocked at the door. Malcolm kisseed her cheek and wandered away to go grab the room service.

The trolly rolled in and Alice started to drool at the smells. She always lost her appetite when she had nightmares, and both Salali and Malcolm were fussing with her over her weight loss the past few weeks. It hadn't been intentional, but between pushing herself in dancing, not sleeping and forgetting to eat all the time, and Alice had dropped almost ten pounds in two weeks. And had the headaches to prove it. It didn't seem like tonight she was gonig to have that problem, the aromas of hot gravy, roast beef and mashed potatoes lured her in like flies to honey.

They set up the food in the dining area of the suite and dug in, stealing food from each other's plates more often than eating their own. Alice swallowed a smirk when she noticed a bottle of wine on the cart, amused that at seventeen she was sitting in a ritzy hotel, with a goregous man eating a fancy meal and about to drink a bottle of good red wine. Definitly not the standard definition of a seventeen year old girl's good time, but Alice was loving it. Malcolm ended up taking hte bottle of red wine with them into the bathoom when Alice started the bubble bath jacuzzi going. No one had told her to not add the bubbles if she wanted to run the jets at the same time though, so she ended up with a mound of bubbles forming until Malcolm cracked up and helped her figure it out.

"When I'm rich, I am so buying one of these..." Alice groaned, soaking in the ginormous jaccuzi. Malcolm was way over at the other end, smirking at her.

"And what exactly are you gonig to get rich for?" he asked, pouring out the wine.

"I'll take over the world after I graduate." Alice waved his concerns away with a laugh. She sniffed at the wine and sipped it, impressed with the strong berry taste. "It's like alcoholic jam." she commented, making Malcolm chuckle.

"Apothic Red from Gallo." he read the bottle, passing it over for her to read as well.

"Are you trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?" Alice asked, eyebrows raised.

Malcolm gave her a dark grin. "I can't see why not." he replied, making Alice smirk. "I wanted to spend time with you tongiht before kidnapping my baby brother for his bachelor party." he confessed.

Alice smiled at him and set the glass aside. "Why waste time then?" she asked and slid through the bubbles until she was floating over him. Malcolm stayed reclining in the bubbles, though his hands came up to hold her waist.

"Because Diego isn't getting here until eight tonight, so we have time." Malcolm smirked at her and pulled her closer despite his words. Alice glanced at her watch and noticed that it was only 6, so they had two hours to... entertain themselves.

Her lips danced over top his, lightly brushing as she refused to properly kiss him. "Well if we have the time then..." she breathed, and pulled out of his grip, gonig back to her side of hte bath. "I might as well enjoy my relaxing bath time." she taunted, louging out on her side.

Malcolm gave her one of his dark fire looks and it made her heart race again. She scolded her body for it's reaction to a simple LOOK, but privately had to confess that she was as addicted to his body as others got to heroin. And he seemed no better off as they stared each other down across the slowly dissovling bubbles. "Alright then. We'll relax." Malcolm agreed, turning up the jets of the jaccuzi.

He stretched under the water, purposefully washing himself so Alice had to watch the water drip off of his body. She bit down a smile and untied her hair from it's usual braid. She lowered herself in the water and tilted back until her hair was fully submerged and then carefulyl arched back up. She heard Malcolm audibly swallow as she draped the now wet and heavy hair over her shoulder to cover her front like a wet shirt would.

"Nice and relaxing." Alice raised an eyebrow and sipped at her wine. She was surprised to find the bottle empty beside the jacuzzi, her head buzzing with the heat of hte bath, Malcolm's stare and the wine.

"Very." Malcolm agreed, finishing his own wine. Alice stared at him as he swallowed, the muscles in his neck and chest echoing his movement. She held an internal debate over what was more important to her right now, quenching the fire he had burning inside her, or keeping her pride and making him come to her. Just as she decided that she could live without her pride, Malcolm met her half way. Their two hour window disappeared far too quickly after that.

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A/N: So tempting to write that bubble bath scene out....... so very very tempting....... ah who am I kidding, let me write it and I'll post it ASAP.

Next chapter is the wedding! I want to hear what you guys think the bachelor party Malcolm is gonig to will be like.

I also want to know if you guys want me to post a one off from Malcolm's POV? I can either do it of the bachelor party, or another part of the 온라인카지노게임 that has already happened. What do you guys think?