Nothing Stays In Vegas (17 page)

At dinner the night before, the guys had switched from beer to wine and the four of us split two bottles with the men drinking more than their share. By the time we left the restaurant, Andrew insisted on trying his luck at the craps tables where he promptly lost a couple hundred dollars, maybe more. I didn't want to think about it. 

Instead of calling it a night, he was just getting warmed up and with Ryan feeding him booze, the two of them could not be talked out of playing blackjack as well. It was well after two by the time I was able to drag him back to the room. 

Even though I was annoyed, I was relieved that he was too drunk to want to fool around. With thoughts of Leo occupying every spare moment, the last thing I wanted was to be intimate with my husband. And I knew that was wrong, on so many levels. Andrew was passed out on the bed before I'd even brushed my teeth. 

But he must have slept it off because when I stepped out of the shower, Andrew was awake. 

"Lex, come back to bed."

"Can't. I have to get going." I tied the robe snug around me and shook my hair from the towel. 

"Going where?" he mumbled his voice thick with sleep. "You said you were going to show me the strip and it will still be there in an hour. Take that robe off and come back to bed."

"Oh, Andrew. I forgot to tell you." I combed out my hair before grabbing my moisturizer.

"Forgot what?"

"I promised Nicole I'd help her out today with some last minute things. I'm sorry I can't hang out with you today, but maybe-"

"What the fuck?"

I ducked around the mirror and faced him. "Excuse me? Don't swear at me. Are you still drunk?"

He probably was and I really didn't want to deal with any more of that. He was not only unpleasant when he drank, but down right obnoxious. Apparently that carried over to the morning after as well.  

"I'm not swearing at you," he said. "I'm swearing at your total preoccupation with her. It's a wonder to me how she can function at all without you."

I took a deep breath. "Are you serious? This is her wedding. It's my job to be there for her."

"It's always something, isn't it," he mumbled but I still heard him. "Anything but me."

"You're acting like a child."

"No, if I was acting like a child, at least I'd get some attention." He sat up and the sheet fell from his body revealing his bare chest, reminding me that it'd been a long time since I'd seen him naked.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," he said but it was obvious that it was anything but. 

I took a deep breath and decided not to push that particular issue. One problem at a time was more than I could handle. 

Besides, Andrew was already back on the issue of Nicole. "Her wedding is tomorrow," he said, "Is it too much to ask that I spend one day with my wife?"

"You will," I said and grabbed a pair of khaki shorts and a black silky tank. I returned to the other side of the mirror, to change. "Just not today."

"What am I supposed to do all day?" 

"Andrew, really. You're a big boy. You'll be fine on your own," I said and grabbed the hair dryer. His next words were drowned out by the white noise. I tried to ignore him as he got out of bed and stumbled past me into the shower. 

I did my best to dry my thick hair but before long, gave up. The desert heat would finish the job. As soon as I clicked the dryer off, Andrew was ready to pick up the argument. 

"You can't ignore it you know," he said from the shower.

"What are you talking about?"

"Lexi, this trip was supposed to be about us."

"No, it's supposed to be about Nicole and Ryan. I told you that." I swiped mascara on my lashes. 

"And us," he insisted. "Maybe you haven't noticed, but we haven't been very close lately."

Was he kidding? 

"You have to be kidding." I dropped the mascara tube into my makeup bag.

He clicked the water off and reached out for a towel. "When's the last time we had sex?"

"It's hard to have sex when..." I wanted to say it was hard to have sex when I resented him so much. But I didn't. "...when, you're working so much. You could come home and spend some time with us."

"Us?" His reflection filled the mirror as he stepped out of the shower with the towel wrapped around his waist. 

"Yes, us. Your wife and child. Remember?" 

My cell phone chirped. A text from Nicole.

Where r u? 

The hard lines of his face melted and his voice softened as he said,  "I want to spend time with you, Lexi."

And that was the problem right there. "It would be easier to be with you if you were home, playing the role of family man once in awhile."

"But would a family man do this? " He slid up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. He smelt like soap and I could feel exactly what he wanted through his towel. I shivered, not in a good way, before I could stop myself but he took it as encouragement and kissed my neck. 

"Hmm..." he moaned. "Nicole can wait." 

My irritation flared again and I shook him off. "You're unbelievable," I said. "It's not always about you, Andrew. Nicole needs me." I pushed past him and grabbed my purse off the dresser. 

"That's right," he said the anger back in his voice. "Someone always needs you. What about me?"

"Please, don't do this now."

"So, you're going to choose her over me?"

"It's not about choosing." 

"It's always a choice, Lex." He looked me straight in the eyes and I got the distinct feeling that we weren't talking about Nicole anymore.

My phone chirped again. 

Hello? R u alive?

I grabbed my phone and punched in.
Coming

"I have to go."

He ignored me and went into bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

###

It took forever to get around the stupid hotel. Even though I jogged through the halls and into the lobby, it was still almost ten minutes later before I found Nicole outside by the taxi stand. 

"Finally," she hollered when she saw me. "I think he's going to start charging me by the hour. Get in." She pointed to a black limousine waiting at the curb. 

"A limo? Again?'

"It's my wedding weekend. I'm traveling in style." Nicole flipped her hair and ducked her head as she slipped into the car. I followed, sliding along the leather seat until I was at the opposite end of the huge space.

"What's wrong?" Nicole asked.

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"No you're not. You're never late, ever. Something's wrong."

I sighed. "Andrew and I had a little argument this morning. It's nothing."

"Spill."

"He's mad because we never spend anytime together. We haven't had sex in ages."

"Like how long?"

"I don't know...a few months."

"A few months?" Nicole sat straight up in her seat. "Lexi, that's awful. No wonder he's grumpy. What's the problem?"

"Honestly, I have a really hard time being attracted to him sometimes."

"You have to be kidding me," Nicole said. "I mean, Andrew's hot, Lex."

"I know, he is. It's just..." I struggled to find a way to tell her that my husband's tendency to totally neglect our son was a complete turn off for me and was destroying our marriage bit by bit. "Maybe it's just me."

"It's definitely not you," she said. "Maybe it's-"

"So," I said, desperate to change the subject, "what's on the agenda today?"

A grin lit up Nicole's face. "Dirty lingerie."

"What? I thought we were shopping for the wedding."

"We are," Nicole said. "I need something fun for the wedding night."

"Right. We'll find you something pure and chaste." I grinned.

"Screw chaste," Nicole roared. "I want dirty."

We both broke into giggles while the driver closed the privacy screen.

###

Nicole wasn't kidding when she said she wanted dirty lingerie. After a quick trip to Victoria's Secret, she declared all the silky and lacy garments were "too pretty" and "not slutty enough." So we made our way to Fredrick's of Hollywood where, upon entering into the red and black store, Nicole announced, "Now this is what I'm talking about."

I tried to help her choose something wedding appropriate, but it soon became clear that her idea of wedding appropriate and mine were totally different. She steered clear of anything white or cream. Her color of choice was black, not red, because it would clash with her hair, but she selected a few items in various bold shades as well. 

I found a plush chair outside the waiting room and settled in as she started trying things on.

"So, what's Ryan doing today?" I asked her through the curtain.

"I think he's hanging with Andrew. I got a text awhile ago that said they might go have a bit of a bachelor party," she said. "Oh, this one's hot!"

"Let me see," I said. "A bachelor party? What does that even mean when there are only two of them?"

Nicole emerged from the dressing room clad in a black leather bustier and matching thong. "What do you think?"

She did look hot. "Maybe a bit too dominatrix for your wedding night," I said. 

She glanced down. "You're right," she said and disappeared again. "I think Ryan said they were going to have some drinks."

"It's not even noon."

"It's Vegas. And I wouldn't be surprised if they went to a show or something. It's not really Ryan's style, but it's traditional."

"A show? Like strippers?" I couldn't imagine Andrew stuffing dollar bills into some girl's g-string.

"That's exactly what I mean," she said. "Ohh, I really like this one." She whipped the curtain open and revealed herself in an emerald green satin corset with matching panties.

"How did you even get that done up so fast?" 

 "Hidden zipper," Nicole grinned and spun around for me to take in the full effect. 

The corset gave her a tiny waist and pushed her breasts up so they were almost bursting out of the cups. I had to admit, she looked hot. Dirty sex hot, not slutty. 

"That one," I said. "Ryan won't be able to keep his hands off you."

Nicole beamed. "Perfect. That's exactly what I'm going for. Now, what about you?"

"Me what?"

"You should get something," she said as she twisted to admire herself in the mirror. "Maybe it will help Andrew forget about your little fight this morning."

I thought of the black negligee still in my suitcase. And the argument we'd had. The last thing I wanted to do right now was put it on for him. "I don't think so," I said.

As if he could sense me talking about him, my phone chirped with a text message.

Sorry. Dinner tonight?

"Is that Andrew?" Nicole asked through the curtain.

"Yup, he wants to have dinner tonight. He's sorry."

"There, he's sorry." Nic appeared redressed. "And we all know, it's always the man's fault, so go with it." She grabbed the green satin number, hesitated and then snatched the black leather bustier too. "For another night," she said and grinned. "Maybe tonight. Is it wrong to have sex the night before the wedding?" 

I laughed. "You're doing everything so non-traditionally; I don't think it'll make much difference."

"Good. Then go to dinner with your husband. I'll be busy." Nicole swept past me on her way to the cashier. "I'll meet you outside."

I looked down at my phone, sighed and typed.

7 Steak place

A moment later, his response came through.

C u then

###

"We need to be back at the hotel by one," Nicole said leading me through the mall. "So, let's grab a quick bite and head back."

"What's at one?"

"Ryan got a call from our wedding coordinator last night. I need to finalize a few details."

"I thought everything was done." 

"Well, that's the thing," Nicole said. "I'm having a little trouble picking out flowers and the cake and-"

"Nicole." I grabbed her arm, stopping her and forcing her to look at me. "Are you kidding? The wedding is tomorrow."

She looked down. "I have trouble making big decisions, you know that."

"There's only four of us. It's not like you have two hundred guests."

Nicole's head snapped up. "Just because it's a small wedding doesn't mean that I don't want everything to be perfect." 

She looked like she might cry so I softened my voice. "No, of course not." The last thing I needed was for her to have another melt down. "It'll be perfect. Everything will be amazing."

"And you'll help?"

"Of course I'll help," I said. "Let's get going then. It might take awhile for the limo driver to get down the strip."

Chapter Sixteen

I was beginning to feel claustrophobic. All around me were pictures of weddings, flowers and cakes lining the walls of the tiny meeting room. Photo albums were stacked on the table and Nicole was flipping through one, stopping on every page to comment on some detail that I probably would never have noticed. 

"With her hair twisted up, you can see her earrings," Nicole said pointing to the bride in the picture. "Do you think I should wear mine up?" 

Before I could answer, she'd turned to the next page and was criticizing the bride's choice of flower arrangements. I grabbed a peppermint from a bowl on the table and popped it in my mouth.

Ignoring her, I glanced at my watch. It had been fifteen minutes since the concierge had brought us to the meeting room. The wedding planner was late.

"What time did you say she was supposed to be here?" I asked.

"One. And it's not a she," Nicole said not taking her eyes off the album. "The lady I was dealing with left. I have someone new. A guy I think."

I choked on the mint and started coughing. Nicole handed me her water bottle and smacked me on the back. 

"Are you okay?" she asked after I took a few sips of water and the coughing subsided.

"I think so." I took another gulp of water. "A guy?" I asked.