Seven of Spades2: Trick Roller

"What do you guys think?" Levy asked after telling the story of how he met Adrianna and the difficulties she faced.To protect privacy, he, Marcus and Wendy hid in Marcus's study.

"It sounds like she suffered a lot," Marcus said.

"Indeed. I don't even know the whole picture."

The Andersons exchanged glances, and then Wendy nodded. "Why don't you give us this Natasha's phone number, let's see if we can meet Adrianna tomorrow? If all goes well, we are happy to adopt her."

"Thank you," Levy said, dazed with sudden relief.He fished his phone out of his pocket and continued: "You guys have no idea how much this means to me."

"You are so sweet and caring about her so much."

For the second time today, Levy has been called "sweet" and he can't even remember if he's ever been described that way before.Not knowing how to accept such a compliment, he had to smile shyly, read out Natasha's number, and asked Marcus to write it down.

Before long, they were back at the party, where several members of the Anderson extended family were cleaning up the mess from lunch and laying out sumptuous desserts; Dominique, with such a sweet tooth, must be craving his teeth.The lazy summer wind that filled the crowd in the backyard before was gone, replaced by a strange energy, ready to move, which made Levi extremely vigilant.

It took him a minute to find Dominique who was standing beside the crowd and whispering to Carlos, and Carlos' face was a little pale.As soon as Levi joined them, Dominic stopped talking and smiled at him, "How are you doing?"

"I think it's fine. You're—"

Carlos gestured to someone behind Levi, and soon Marcus yelled, "Jasmine, can you help me in the kitchen?"

Jiasmin looked puzzled, put down her drink and went into the room.As soon as the back door closed behind her, the rest of the party scurried around like a kicked ant's nest.

The tarpaulin in the corner was lifted to reveal a pile of crates underneath. Wendy rummaged through it and handed something to a family member who ran over—it was a picture frame, and Levi noticed it when he took a closer look.After fist bumping Dominique, Carlos stopped thirty feet from the back door, fiddled with something in his trouser pocket.The person holding the box ran over and formed a big "V" formation with him as the center, and the rest of the family members gathered beside them.

"My God," Levy said, "he proposed?"

"That's right." Dominic grinned, kissed Levy on the cheek, strode away, took the frame he was supposed to take, and stood next to Carlos' right.

Levi moved closer to the others.He found that the photos in the photo frame were all of Carlos and Jasmin, and he could tell from the changes in their appearance that the photo frame covered many years of the two together; the photos at both ends of the two teams were taken earlier, and the middle one Taken recently.Wendy stood to the left of Carlos, holding up an empty photo frame with today's date engraved on it.

The music from the speakers suddenly cut off.The moment the back door opened, new music was played. This is a piece of string music and piano music, very soft and familiar.Levy listened to a few bars before he realized that this was a changed version of the song "Love Is All I Want[1]" in "The Phantom of the Opera".

Jasmine and Marcus came to the backyard together, seeing the spectacular scene before her, her mouth was wide open and her face was full of doubts.Her dad gently encourages her to move forward, and she looks side to side at the photos as she walks.Levi saw the moment when she suddenly understood all this.

With tears in her eyes, she walked down the photo-strewn road to the place where Carlos was waiting for her.He had looked nervous before, but now he had a big smile on his face, looking at her like she was the only one in the whole backyard.

The crowd fell silent, only soft music was still playing in the yard, and even the dogs stopped barking.

"Jasmine," Carlos said, "when we first met, I knew who I was supposed to be, but I was afraid to be myself, trying to ignore that part of me. You taught me to Embrace who you are and teach me that I don't have to hide who I really am, and I don't have to be ashamed of it. You've always been my source of strength, my comfort, my haven."

He choked up and had to stop to clear his throat.Jiasmin wept quietly, tears running down her cheeks.Levi looked at Dominic and found a soft smile on his face.

"From you, I feel unconditional love," Carlos continued. "My family rejected me, and your family accepted me with open arms and hearts without hesitation. That's why I chose to live in Doing this here — this is one of the rare places where I feel truly safe and loved, surrounded by people who have become my family."

Wendy stepped forward and squeezed his shoulder from behind.He smiled back at her, then got down on one knee.Jiasmin held her face in her hands.

"I love you, Jasmine." He took out a ring box from his trouser pocket. "I want us to be family forever. Will you marry me?"

He opened the ring box.Levi couldn't see the ring clearly from this angle, and after hearing Jiasmin take a big breath, he put down his hand in shock.She nodded, and whispered with tears, "Of course." Carlos put the ring on her, got up, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her.

There was shouting and cheering from the crowd, and the big guys surrounded the happy couple like a tide, hugging, kissing, and congratulating.Levi walked through the enthusiastic crowd and came to Dominic.

"It's so beautiful," he said, looking up to see Dominic's eyes were unnaturally bright.He found himself overwhelmed by the proposal, and he didn't even know Carlos and Jasmin that well; he could imagine how touched Dominique would be. "Did you know beforehand?"

"I planned it for Carlos," Dominique said.

Levi pressed his head and kissed him.His lips were still sore, so the kiss couldn't last long, but after the two separated, he pressed the other's forehead again and took a deep breath of Dominic's body.

Everyone at the party wanted to speak to Carlos and Jasmine for a few minutes and take some photos, but in the end Levi and Dominique made it to the front of the line.As Dominique hugged them, Levi smiled and said, "Mazeltov[2]."

Jiasmin opened her arms and hugged Levi tightly.He was taken aback, but soon recovered and hugged back.After she let go, he shook Carlos' hand again.

"Look, isn't it beautiful?" Jiasmin said while showing him her ring—platinum filaments were intricately woven into delicate geometric patterns, holding up a large solitaire. “My great-grandmother received it in the 1920s—perfect Art Deco vintage[3].”

Levi glanced at Dominic, and it was obvious that the other party didn't know what he was talking about. "It's beautiful," Dominique said.

Everyone was excited, and the party entered a new round of climax.Marcus then put on a more hilarious playlist on the speakers, some people danced, others improvised, and got together for a flag football game[4].One of Jasmine's aunts lit fairy wands for the children to play with, and the little ones ran around the yard laughing and screaming.

After about an hour, Levi needed to take a break from socializing.He resigned and came to a relatively quiet corner, while sipping coffee, he watched Dominic fight with other dogs on the mottled grass with the rebellious girl.

"Hey," Carlos walked over with a bottle of beer in his hand, "Can I sit here?"

"sit down."

Carlos sat down on the chair next to Levi, and they drank quietly for a while, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

"The surprise you designed for Jiasmin is really thoughtful." Levi finally spoke.

"Thank you, she deserves it." Carlos glanced at the center of the party, Jasmine was surrounded by relatives, and they sighed "Oh" and "Ah" at the ring.He turned to Levy again and said, "Well, uh, I want to tell you something, kind of embarrassing."

Levy raised his eyebrows, waiting for him to speak.

"Dominic has been acting weird this week. Nervous and agitated, not like him at all. I thought it had something to do with the serial killer thing at first - ah yes, I know about it. Now that Dom is at my house I found a bug in my smoke detector, and it's only human to tell me why."

"You and Jasmin are in no danger," Levi said, feeling guilty for involving them in this mess. "Seven of Spades won't hurt you."

Carlos waved his hand. "It's okay. Dom explained it to me, and I'm sure he'll protect us if something happens." He looked down at his hand, scratching the label on the bottle with his fingernail. "Ever since he told me about the 'Seven of Spades,' I thought, is that why he was so anxious before? But the truth is, Dom was never anxious, at least not over serial killer, life-threatening dangers. This kind of normal thing is anxious. In this world, there is really only one thing that will make him on the verge of losing control."

He stopped talking and didn't say what he really wanted to ask.Levi kept silent and drank a few more sips of coffee leisurely.

How much can he disclose to the other party what he knows is appropriate?Carlos was obviously worried, and he wanted a reassuring answer to what he was afraid of, or a solid hammer.It wouldn't do Levy any good to dismiss him casually.

"He's not gambling," Levy said. "He just almost did this week and it messed him up a bit. But he'll be fine."

Carlos nodded.In the yard outside, Dominique lay flat on the ground, laughing while fending off the enthusiastic licking of the dogs.Seeing this scene, Levy couldn't help smiling.

"Listen, Levi, you didn't know Dominique very well when he was gambling," Carlos said, "but Jasmin and I saw the whole thing—the whole shitty way things went downhill. Gambling turned Dominic into a completely different person. He was no longer responsible, he was reckless even more reckless. And he became... mean."

"'Mean'?" Levi said, shaking his head doubtfully.It was hard for him to imagine. "I almost wonder what that looks like."

"Don't," Carlos said flatly, "terrible to death. I'm ashamed to say it, but the relationship between me and Jasmine and him was not as good as it is now. His situation was so bad that we almost Gave up on him. I don't know where Dom would be today if it wasn't for the sick girl. Probably in prison - you know what happens to people who can't quit gambling."

Levi frowned and asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I think he is in love with you. I want you to promise that if he starts gambling again, you will not give up on him. You have to remember that the one who changed his temperament when he was deeply involved in gambling is not the real him. I want You promise you'll help him get back on track no matter how difficult it is."

Levi stared at him, speechless for a moment.Carlos shrugged sheepishly.

"I know that's a lot to ask of someone you've only been dating for three months. I also know that you two haven't progressed to making those promises. But Dominic is my best friend. , and you—you're like the type of person who won't give up on anything. I just need to hear you say it."

Levi looked across the yard again.Dominic sat up, scratched the rebellious girl's ears lightly, and kissed the tip of her nose again.Levi looked at this scene, and a sharp and painful pain crossed the sensitive part of his heart.

"I won't let anyone hurt Dominic," he told Carlos, "even Dominic himself. I promise you."

"Thank you." Carlos reached for the bottle and touched his coffee cup.

Dominic stood up, brushed the dust off his trousers, and walked towards them, followed by the rebellious girl. "Hi, you," he said, turning to the back of Levi's chair, putting his arms around Levi's shoulders, bending down and kissing the back of his neck.

In the early days of the "Seven of Spades," Martin and Levi wondered how the murderer got behind Philip Dreyer and wiped his neck while he was sitting in his office with the door open.How many people can you trust to stand behind you while you sit?Martin asked.

At that time, the answer in Levi's mind was: it was so small that he could count it with one hand, and there were more, because only his parents and Martin were on the list.Even Stanton would feel uncomfortable standing in that position.

At this moment, he didn't have the slightest anxiety.He puts a hand on Dominic's arm and rests his head on his stomach, feeling warm and content.

"What are you talking about?" Dominique asked.

"No big deal, just too excited, slow down." Carlos said.

"Well," Dominique said, nuzzling Levi's neck, "there was a lot going on at the party. Do you want to go home?"

"I'm fine, you don't have to leave early to take care of me."

"My reasons are entirely selfish, believe me." Dominic bit Levy's ear and said in a low voice. "I want to take my boyfriend, friend, friend home and do unspeakable nasty things to him."

"Dominic, is there a mistake?" Levy said, embarrassed and a little bit ready to move.

Carlos grinned. "Okay, I'll take that as a hint that I'm on my way." He winks at Levi and returns to the party.

Dominic ravages Levi's neck more and more intensely, sliding his hands over Levi's chest in a voluptuous motion that hints at the pleasure to come. "Come on baby, let's go."

Hearing the hoarse voice call out this pet name, Levi shivered all over.

"God, you're so hot like this, I'll never get tired of it," Dominique said, walking in front of Levi and pulling him up from his chair. "We still have to say goodbye to everyone. It's going to take a while. It's too late, or I'm going to suffocate and I have to drag you into the bathroom and hold you against the wall to lick you."

"You're talking like it's something bad," Levy said, then laughed as Dominic jokingly shoved him into the crowd.

[1]? AllIAskofYou, from the classic musical "Phantom of the Opera" (Phantom).

[2]? Hebrew: Congratulations.

[3] Art Deco, the decorative art style that was popular in the 20s, mainly developed in New York.

[4]? Flag football, the rules are similar to ordinary American football, except that the task of the defender is not to knock down the player with the ball, but to take away the flag tied on his waist, and physical contact is prohibited throughout the process.