Page 5 of Keep Vegas

“Dude, I’ve never fucking seen you like this. It’s like you’re itchy. Or your shirt’s uncomfortable. You keep pulling it to try and make it fit. And I know you’re doing it so you don’t think about her. Just talk to the girl.”

“I’ll think about it.”

He’s right. And if she hooks up with anyone else, I’ll freak the fuck out. Maybe we could do this thing for like a minute, while we’re in France and far from our everyday lives. I’ll keep it casual, and we’ll have fun while we’re here. Get it and her out of my system.

Texas yells up at us and reinforces his earlier plan. “You’re not getting married just fucking around in France.”

I ask Danny, “Is that what you and Lizzie are doing?”

“No, not at all. I’m not fucking around. I’m going to marry that girl.” He smiles, and it’s bright as anything.

I shove him. “You’re fucking serious.”

“As a heart attack. But you should definitely stop avoiding Makenzie. She’s insane, so just up your alley.”

We walk a little further, and I hear a thumping beat, and I love it. I want to fuck it out. But I want to do it with Makenzie. I do something I haven’t done yet. She doesn’t even know I snagged her number. I text her.

Tony: Hey.

So stupid, but I don’t know what else to say. There’s no answer. Fuck me.

I look up at the lights flickering on and off in the giant old building down a skinny street. There are way too many college-aged kids in faux fur and feather boas for this to be anything but what I need. I watch them disappear through a door about halfway down the block. This is the place for me to forget I’m a dopey ass waiting for her to answer my text.

“Gentlemen, hard left.”

Colton remarks with a groan, “What? Where are we going?”

Danny smirks and says, “You’ve known him this long and you still need to ask?”

I lift my arm in the air, and even Tex joins in.

In a chorus heard by the gods, “To adventure!”

mak

Kris and I are doing shots and dancing around near the bar. Mags and Lizzie keep their dance circle tight, so no one gets between them. We have a dick parade rubbing up and between us every time we turn around. It’s a good time, but I’m kind of pissed the fuck off that this dude keeps popping into my mind. Tony’s like an annoying little mosquito bite that I can’t scratch. I shake my hair out and do another shot. I’m wearing the little white top I found at Emmaus. It’s sheer and tight, and I have a tank underneath, but it’s really cool.

We push up against the men trying to keep their place between us, then Kris gestures to the bar. I follow her.

“We need to toss those two back. I need a bigger fish.” I laugh. She’s six feet tall, and they were both more my height than hers. She surveys the room and points. “There we go.”

A giant man is standing by himself against the wall, bopping his head. She shoots whatever the bartender just put in front of us and waggles her fingers at me. She left me with the tab and the bartender scowls as I fake a laugh. I don’t have the money to cover these drinks. Fuck. I sit on the stool, so they don’t get pissed, and order another drink. I’ll sip it and eye fuck someone until they come over, and I can ditch them with the bill. It’s my only choice.

I swivel towards the dance floor, and a very swarthy-looking man cocks his head at me. I play with the stir in my drink, then look back up to see if he’s still there. He is, and now he’s staring at my legs. They are good legs. I cross them, then smile at him ever so slightly. Please let this bait work. I can’t make any sudden movements, but I glance over my shoulder just as he steps toward me. Thank God. I’ll flirt a little, disappear, and hope we never cross paths again. It’s a shitty thing to do, but it’s kind of my only option. I don’t want the girls to know about my tight budget. I did have an idea today, but I’ll see if it pans out tomorrow.

As he leans over me, I quickly finish my drink and signal the bartender to pay.

“You’re not leaving, are you? We have yet to share a drink.”

Thank you, short skirt.

The bartender puts the check down and my target swipes it before I can even pretend to reach for it.

“Awfully confident I’m staying, aren’t you?”

His hand moves to my knee. I don’t love that. But I do love that he grabbed the check.

“I was thinking of dancing.” I literally bat my eyelashes at him. There has got to be a better way of figuring out my bar tab. He gestures for another round. I smile at him.