Vixen in Vegas (Sinful Novellas) (4 page)

Two hours later, as predicted, I paid the maids, loaded the last of my bags, stuck the realtor lock box on the door with my spare key in it and headed to Jolie’s apartment. I pulled up and saw her watching for me on the balcony.

“Be right down!” She shouted as she stood up and rushed back into her apartment.

It was close to 7pm. There would be no need to break any land speed records. We wouldn’t be able to check into a hotel in Little Rock until 3pm. We could stop for gas at our leisure, drive the speed limit, eat inside the restaurant…shoot; we might even have time for sight seeing. Road trips are the best kind of adventure.

“Where do you want to go for dinner?” She asked as she hopped into the car.

A smile broke across my face. I knew she’d ask. I had given this much thought. We had time on our hands and I wanted one truly decadent meal together, one memorable night before we headed out of town for good.

“Ruth’s Chris,” I announced.

“One of our favorites. Let’s go,” she agreed happily.

We chattered about everything and nothing on the short drive to restaurant. We knew we could be there for a couple of hours. It was perfect. There was something about the ambiance of the place, the dark woods, the low lighting, the high comfort, the minimal stuffiness of most higher end steakhouses. It felt homey.

I pulled up and let the valet park for us because…I could. We walked in wearing sundresses and sandals…not exactly the nicest clothes, but definitely not the worst. I will never understand people who go to nice restaurants in jeans and sneakers. There’s something really disrespectful about that.

We decided on a high top in the bar, since the bartender was one we were familiar with and it would give us a chance to relax and talk. He walked over and smiled the minute we were seated.

“Hello, ladies! It’s been too long! What can I get you?” He asked happily.

“It’s going to be even longer. We’re headed out of town. Moving,” Jolie announced.

He stood still, surprised. “Wow. I didn’t see that coming.”

“That’s how we roll,” I joked.

“Can I offer you some wine, or a cocktail?” He asked.

I shook my head. “Sorry. Driving through the night. No drinking. Can I get a Coke, please?”

“Of course,” he responded. “And for you?” He asked as he looked at Jolie.

“Let’s start with a sweet tea now and lots of coffee after we eat,” she said lightly.

Moves agreed with us, especially once the stress was over. We barely had time to settle in before our drinks arrived and he took our dinner order.

“I just want lobster bisque, the large chopped salad, and the Ahi tuna appetizer,” I said as I closed the menu and passed it to him.

Shaking her head, Jolie looked at me in disappointment. “I want a cowboy ribeye Oscar…medium rare,” she said seriously. “And loads of bread and butter. LOADS.” She passed him her menu and turned back to face me.

“Can I have your asparagus?” I asked.

Smirking, she said, “Maybe I want it.”

“You never want it. You hate asparagus,” I reminded her. “You hate smelly pee, you hate eating vegetables that look like limbless trees, and you said they taste like the dookie.”

Laughing, she nodded. “You got me. I just wanted the crab cake. You can have my asparagus.”

It looked like she was going to say more, but instead, her mouth slammed shut. Her face took on a hard look. She suddenly had a white-knuckle grip on her glass.

“Ummm,” I began slowly, “you can keep the asparagus if it means that much to you.”

She shook her head. “It’s not the asparagus. It’s Kyle.”

I closed my eyes and sighed. I forgot how much he loved coming here after work. I waited to feel something…maybe regret, or hurt. I should have felt hurt, right? I mean…a week and a half ago I found him working overtime on his secretary. Only, no feelings ever came. It didn’t bother me in the least. It was peculiar. Just to be sure, I turned toward him. I could tell he was seated at the bar based on the direction that Jolie was mean mugging it.

Maybe if I saw him sitting there with her, I’d feel something. So, I turned. He appeared to be alone. He appeared to be miserable. I didn’t feel anything when I saw that either. Hmm.

Sliding off the high backed stool, I walked over to him at the bar. When I reached his side, he turned to look at me. He didn’t know how to react. I saw it in his eyes. He wasn’t sure whether to be happy or duck and run for cover.

“Alysin, it’s good to see you,” he began tentatively.

I laughed. “I wish I could say the same.” He flinched. “Don’t worry! I’m not happy to see you, but I’m not upset, either. Let’s say I’m pleasantly ambivalent?”

He looked at me in a way that suggested he was marveling over and analyzing my reaction. “You look great. Just getting back from vacation?”

“You could say that.” I shrugged.

He sat up straight in his stool and looked at me. “Listen, I’m sorry. I never meant…”

Without thinking, I had put a finger to his lips to silence him. “I’m ambivalent, remember? I don’t care. You hurt my pride at most. I’m fine.” I smiled. “No, I’m better than fine. Jolie and I are leaving town…for good. Tonight. We’ll never see each other again. I wish you the best.” I took my finger away. “Sorry. You had the best. I wish you happiness. How’s that?”

He smiled at me. It was a sad smile filled with regret. “Okay. I’ll work on that.”

The bartender motioned to me. “Oh, looks like my food is out,” I said. “Goodbye, Kyle.” And without waiting for a response, I all but skipped back to my seat.

“How’d it go?” Jolie asked as the bartender placed our meals on the table.

Shrugging, I replied, “Fine. I felt nothing. It was great. And I know I’m ready to move on.”

Her brow furrowed. “Did you have any doubts?”

My head dropped to the side as I considered her question. “Hmm. No. I didn’t. I guess I thought maybe I should have? I mean, we dated for two years. I should be upset, right? I should have mourned, but I never really needed that. I didn’t even need to say goodbye. Call it…an experiment.” I smiled.

Then I turned my attention to my meal. It tasted amazing…all of it. Once we were finished, we even ordered dessert. I had sweet cream and berries. By the time we left, Kyle had already disappeared. His absence didn’t faze me in the least, just as his presence had never pleased me. I was ready for bigger and better things. I was ready for BE.

By the time we reached the hotel Thursday afternoon, it was time for check in. Somehow we had managed to time our stops perfectly. We paused around 1am to change into more comfortable clothing. For me, it was a tank top, jersey knit shorts, and flip-flops. We even brushed our teeth in the gas station. It was funny in that
I can’t believe I’m getting ready for bed when I’m really only riding in a car all night
kind of way. Then, after we switched off and Jolie woke me up at 7am, we stopped at an IHOP. I love the stuffed French toast. It’s nothing like French toast. It’s like dessert for breakfast. Life should involve much more decadence than it does. I take mine where I can get it. Food. Luckily, I don’t look like it. As long as I stick to my no baby policy, I should have no trouble staying that way.

Then we drove a while longer, stopping once to pee and stretch, then again for lunch. Lunch was far less decadent, but that’s good, too. Having a nice Caesar Salad and sour cream baked potato at Wendy’s was nice. Having that Chocolate Frosty in a waffle cone…even nicer!

Finally, at 3pm, we arrived at the Best Western Premier in Little Rock. We had looked at pictures online and it appealed to us. It wasn’t just the free buffet breakfast. Did I mention I love free buffets? It was the rooms and the pool area. They had pictures of comfy seating around an outdoor fire pit. I love that. Strike that. I love the idea of that. I haven’t really done that. We weren’t big on camping when I was growing up. This was my chance to try something new.

So, we checked in, we changed into our suits. Jolie loves her tankini. Me, I am now rocking a monokini. Yeah, I caved. I kept seeing them everywhere. Finally, I bought one. In the back of my mind…I thought BE might find it to be sexy. There was one way to find out.

“Hey, Jolie?” I asked as I swam around the shallow end of the pool.

“Mmhmmm,” she murmured as she rested in the cushy lounger.

“Do you have your phone with you?” I started toward her.

Sitting up quickly, she grabbed her phone and held it to her chest. “Back off my phone, bitch. I made a promise. This is no emergency.” She scowled at me.

“I just thought that maybe you could take a picture of me and send it to him. I miss him. We haven’t spoken but that one time. I’m dying,” I moaned. For dramatic effect, I crawled up the cement steps and kept crawling until I was beside her. Looking up at her, I batted my eyelashes. “Please,” I begged.

Sighing, she studied me. “He misses you. He does. He’s trying to be strong, but he has texted me several times, checking in. Does that help?”

Hell yeah, it helped. Suddenly, I didn’t feel so badly, I didn’t feel so weak. I wasn’t suffering alone. He was just suffering under my radar. “What did he say?” I asked as I slowly sat up and slid onto the nearest lounger. I was trying to play it cool, but that was ridiculously difficult.

“He misses you, too,” she began slowly, carefully. “He called me on Sunday to make sure you were doing better. Then he texted on Tuesday to make sure you were still planning on meeting him. He even texted this morning to make sure we drove carefully.” She smiled at me. “He loves you. He worries over you. He can’t wait to see you, either. Better?”

Striking a sexy pose on the lounger, I gazed at her playfully, “Want to give him a picture of what he’s missing…just to tide him over…torture him a little?” I winked at her.

Throwing her head back, Jolie let out a huge laugh. “Let’s do it.” She stood up and walked over to stand at the end of the lounger.

I posed on my back, with my face upturned towards the sun. Then I lay on my side and pretended to read a magazine. Finally, I lay on my stomach. All the while, Jolie took pictures. This made me happy. When we were done, she sent them. I wondered over his reaction. A few moments later, her phone chimed and she gave me a thumbs up. That was enough.

Getting moved in such a rush had taken a toll. Driving across the country was a challenge. There was a light at the end of the long endless tunnel. BE was waiting for me. He was taking care of me from afar. He was looking out for me.

We had a light dinner, followed by a heavy conversation over wine at the fire beside the pool. It was lovely. And scary.

I guess I hadn’t really thought past getting to Vegas. As big a planner as I was, I never considered what would happen past the reunion. All I thought about was seeing him again. Sitting by the fire while sipping a nice Moscato with Jolie changed all that.

“So, think BE is your happily ever after?” She asked seriously.

I had just been gazing down at the rings on my fingers and jumped at her words. “Nah. It will be fun while it lasts, though,” I said in an attempt to brush it off.