“So, again, I ask—” I hold up my hand to stop Lucy mid-sentence and her mouth falls open in a gasp.
“I have the reservation paper; in fact, I have two—one in my carry-on and the other safely stowed away beneath this plane in my luggage.” Lucy nods as if pleased with this information. “But even if I didn’t, or by some crazy chance I was to lose both of those papers, I have a third copy still in my email on my phone.” Her shoulders seem to visibly relax before me as she lounges back in her chair. “It’s also registered under my name so if you don’t chill out and stop being a thorn in my ass, I will lock you out of the room in your damn underwear and write food for the homeless with permanent marker across your chest.”
“Bitch,” she mumbles and Robyn does an imaginary high five in my direction as she plugs her ears with her earbuds using her free hand. Tapping away on the screen mounted to the back of the chair, she quickly finds something that seems to please her. She then slouches down the best she can to watch the movie playing before her.
“She is going to be a complete buzz kill.” I focus my attention on Zara while she leans in close to talk to me. “Remind me why we brought her?”
“She’s your sister,” I remind her and she wrinkles her nose and sticks out her tongue faking disgust. “She’ll be fine once we get there and get settled. She can have a few drinks and—”
“Last time she drank, she stripped off her shirt and danced around the room belting out the words to every song that the DJ played. When she didn’t know the words to a song, she’d just make random shit up and continue to sing along.”
“Okay then, she’ll be perfect for Vegas.”
“Yeah,” Zara chimes in, “because it sure didn’t go over so well at my grandparents' fiftieth wedding anniversary.”
What the fuck? “Seriously?”
“Oh yes.” Zara’s smile grows even wider. “Grandpa shook his head and told someone to get her a shirt. Grandma tried to pull the tablecloth off the table to cover her up and ended up spilling all the drinks still on top of it all over everyone that sat with them.” By this time, I’m finding it difficult to hide my own amusement and shock as I imagine this entire scene taking place in a room full of older guests. “My boy cousins thought it was awesome because her shirt was white and thin with a bra didn’t cover much at all. Every time she took a drink, she dumped half of it down her chest. Now they can all say they saw their first set of boobs. I told them to leave out the part that they belonged to their older cousin though. Some people may frown upon that shit.”
“Oh my god!” I chance a look at Lucy and can’t seem to imagine Miss Prim and Proper doing such a thing. She’s wearing a fucking cardigan for god’s sake.
“Regretting extending that invite now, aren’t ya.” I didn’t have to even look at Zara to know she was smiling from ear-to-ear.
This weekend is going to be epic. One I’ll never forget. Like ever.
***
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, right? That’s my only rule for this weekend. I’m twenty-three, getting ready to start my first big girl job since I graduated college and this is my last weekend before all of that. I’m ready to cut loose and enjoy myself. The last thing I want is for someone to tell me I am drinking too much, or not eating enough. I plan on having all the fun.
I step up to the counter with Lucy glued to my side. Trying to hold back my smile, I lean in and confess to the cute clerk how I’ve managed to lose my reservation confirmation. The reaction from Lucy is by far one of the best. She gasps like the drama queen and comedian she is, holding her hand to her chest like I committed the crime of all crimes.
Zara laughs, leaning against the counter just behind her, as her sister proceeds to put on the show. “I guess we’ll have to find a good alley. Hey!” She slaps the counter and offers the guy behind the desk her most flirtatious smile, “That is unless you’d like to put us up in one of your fancy suites, and, in return, we’ll let you spend the evening with us.”
“We will not,” Lucy quickly responds, frantically looking around to see if anyone around us has picked up on the offer Zara just made. “You’ll have to excuse her.”
“Or not,” Zara retorts while unfastening her top button, causing the man’s eyes to fall to the space now gaping open on her shirt. “It’s your choice, handsome.”
“Can’t you locate reservations by last names and cards used to make it in the first place?” Lucy gives me a stern look and I bite my lip to keep from laughing. The man drags his eyes away from my adventurous best friend and swallows hard. Poor guy was probably about to explode.
When his gaze lands back on mine, he blinks a few times, likely trying to refocus on the check-in rather than Zara’s boobs. All the blood that rushed from his head straight to one central location I’m sure made concentrating extremely difficult. “Card,” his voice squeaks, “and ID please.”
Zara pouts, pushing off the counter and turning around to look out of the vast hotel lobby. It was early afternoon and it was already swarming with people, most carrying drinks in their hands.
“Ms. Randall, I have you and three guests in a suite,” poor guy uttered, still struggling. I also notice the way he continues to watch Zara, waiting for her I’m sure to turn around once more and look at him. Ten to one he was hoping the offer to accompany us is still open.
Truth: Oh, you poor guy, obviously cast under Zara’s seductive spell, and hoping for more. My friend is all flirt. It’s never gonna happen, buddy.
“How many keys do you need?”
“Four,” Lucy says at the same time I say two. “What?” She shrugs, “There is no way I am relying on any of you in order to get myself into our room. You couldn’t even keep track of a piece of paper that you made backup copies of.”
Reaching into my purse I pull out the paper and wiggle it before us. The scowl covering her face makes me laugh along with Zara and Robyn. Hell, even the cute guy behind the counter finds humor in it.
“Do you plan to spend the entire weekend with that stick up your ass?” Zara arches her brow at her sister and Lucy repeats that ghastly look where she pretends to be embarrassed and maybe even offended. Okay, fine, maybe she wasn’t pretending, but seriously the girl needs to lighten up. We’ve only been in Vegas for less than an hour and I am already trying to figure out how we can persuade her to leave the room all weekend. It is like vacationing with a grandma. Okay, not my grandma. She is wilder than Zara, but I’m referring to most grandmas that would rather play bridge than dance and drink.
“Are you planning on being a whore?” Lucy finally counters back, flinching from the word she rarely speaks and then looking around to ensure no one heard her say it.
“Yes,” Zara utters without pausing, and Robyn jumps in to high five her. She is such a dork sometimes, like a five-year-old ready to celebrate every small accomplishment, even if it is making fun of Lucy.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Robyn cheers her on.
These two girls are exactly the kind of friends you bring to a place like Vegas. They won’t let you waste the time here doing lame things for sure.
“Should we drop our bags off before we find us some good candidates or—” Robyn continues doing a strange little shimmy and all of us laugh. Well, all of us but Lucy.
“I need to change.” I break the silence, looking down at myself and scowling at my frumpy attire. Traveling clothes are meant to be casual and comfortable. I’d brought so many flashy clothes, dresses and club clothes that I rarely get a chance to wear as of recently. I have every intention of wearing them while here. They make me feel ambitious and sexy. They make me feel good.
“Let’s roll,” Zara utters as she drags her bag away, then pauses, looking back at the man behind the counter. “What time does your shift end?”
“Six,” the poor clerk quietly answers, causing me to laugh. The guy looks innocent—interested but intimated from the Zara effect. Zara will ruin him.
“How about you seek me o
ut afterwards and we’ll find an empty closet or something?” she offers with a wink. Lucy starts pushing her toward the elevators and the guy swallows so hard I swear I hear it from where I still stand before him.
“Is she serious?” A low whisper leaves him, his stare still locked on her. “She’s joking,” he says, finally looking at me, “right?”
Shrugging, I back away and find myself enjoying his eager look. It would seem that the fun had just begun, and I refuse to let Lucy or anyone else damper this trip.
***
Two hours later, the four of us are dressed, well the three of us as Lucy is still wearing the same thing. Okay, correction: She changed her pink cardigan out for a blue one. Lucy needs to seriously get some action in Vegas, the hot man candy kind that can make her forget all about her boring cardigans.
Zara, Robyn and I are dressed to the nines with our designer dresses and high heels with our hair all styled wild and crazy. I chose shortest dress in shimmery red, strapless and snug along with my silver Hollywood-style shoes. Large hoops in my ears and other silver jewelry complement my attire. Confidence radiates from me as we all stand in front of the mirror and look at ourselves. I am the tallest and my silver sky-high Louboutins make me stand out even more. My short bobbed, blond hair is on point tonight as it is styled to perfection.
“We stick together,” Lucy says in her best motherly tone.
“Does that still stand even if we find some hot guy to show me a good time?” Robyn grabs her purse and walks toward the door. “I mean, we could keep it as discreet as possible, ya know, just push the skirt up a little and if I wrap my legs around his waist just right, I’m sure it would hide most of his junk. I can’t make promises though that I won’t holler out some pretty vulgar instructions to the guy. Sometimes a woman just has to demand what she wants.”
“Oh my hell,” Lucy groans, but it does nothing to tame us as the three of us find it entertaining to push her a little more.
“Damn straight,” Zara adds as she follows Robyn toward the door and I move in close behind. “They think they know what a woman wants and some do. I just can’t wait around for them to figure out their shit. If I want a man to swivel his hips, I’m gonna tell him to swivel his damn hips. If I want him to go slow, he better bet I’m gonna instruct him just how slow to go.”
“And if I want his head buried between my—,”
“Enough!” Lucy demands making us all laugh. “Is this how the three of you are going to act the entire trip?”
“I didn’t even say anything.” Not that I wasn’t planning on adding in my two cents, I just hadn’t yet been given the opportunity to chime in yet.
“You would have.” She thinks she knows me. “Can’t we all just agree to go downstairs, have a few drinks, and conduct ourselves like respectable women.”
“But, Lucy, we can be blah, blah, blah respectable women at home. Vegas is about the wanton woman, right, girls? It’s time to get our party on! Get ready to loosen up, Lucy!”
“Exactly, Hallie! I’ve been trapped in a job I hate, living with a guy I hate even more for far too long,” Robyn pauses and we all do the same. “I’ve been forced to be someone I’m not for years, listened to my parents constantly tell me what to do, and trapped in a bubble. It’s time I start living my life the way I want.”
Robyn continues as we all silently cheer, at least I am right now in my head.
“I came here with my girls to have a good time. I came here to let go and be wild. I don’t plan on doing anything illegal, but I can assure you I’m doing a lot of the shit I haven’t been able to before like drinking until I puke, fucking a hot and willing guy I barely know. The last thing I need is someone criticizing me for my choices or telling me what I’m doing wrong. I’ve had that long enough, Lucy.”
We remain quiet as we listen to Robyn.
“If you want to spend the weekend traipsing around like your better than all of us, like you’ve never wanted to just let go of the rules and live a little, then fine. Do it. But do me a favor and leave the mothering act in the room.”
“At least if you get drunk here and start dancing shirtless, you won’t have people telling you to cover yourself up.” Zara tries her best to break though the tension that now hangs in the air. “Who knows, you may even make some pretty great tips. Are you wearing a white, see-through bra this time too?”
Lucy tries to roll her eyes and fake annoyance, but the smile she wears shows us something different.
“Fine.” Her shoulders relax a little, “I’ll try to let go. But please do me a favor and let us all know if you are planning to sneak off with a guy. That goes for all of you. I just think we should know where everyone is for the most part, just in case.”
“Agreed,” we all say in unison before stepping out in to the hallway and shutting the door securely behind us, ready to rock Vegas so hard that we will barely remember our names.
CHAPTER 2
Levi
“Damn,” I say with a low whistle as I look around the room we are staying in. “You weren’t joking when you said you’d scored us one hell of a stay.”
“The Skyloft,” Leo gloats proudly. “Perks of having a father who’s a damn good attorney. When the owner of MGM calls and wants him to clear up a legal matter and keep it discreet, it gives my old man a little pull. So here we are, with a kick ass 3-bedroom loft, all the room service we want at the expense of the owner of this hotel. If he offers, then we take it, men.”
“That we do.” Kane bounces on the couch, stretching his arms out over the back of it. It is a crisp white couch that forms a big U shape in the center of the sunken living room. A large bar is nearby, stocked with all the alcohol we would want, and the entire wall behind it is ceiling-to-floor windows overlooking Las Vegas. This place is fucking insane.
“This is my kind of bachelor party,” I add looking over at my brother. “You up for this, Linc?”
“I’m game.”
Lincoln is older than me by four years. Half-brother really as we have different fathers. His wasn’t one of the best types of guys and our mother left him when she was pregnant with Lincoln. Three years later, she met my father and then along I came. My dad has never once treated Lincoln as if he wasn’t his biological son. To me, he is my brother; it doesn’t matter how it all took place.
Lincoln, though, is the exact opposite of me. He is quiet on most occasions, shy even. It takes him a bit to warm up to new things. He prefers to be hidden away in his office pushing numbers for all his top paying clients. I prefer to be out in the public, in the front of all the action. I know our father would much rather I’d worked for him in his big cushy office, but finance just isn’t my thing. Can you say boring as hell?
It took a lot to convince my parents that I wasn’t throwing my life away when I invested in my first restaurant. Then they came in for opening night and realized that I had a knack for taking a starving business and making it thrive. Twenty-five and already I have two restaurants and a night club of my own in Chicago. Each one growing even beyond my own dreams.
Life is fucking good.
“Why don’t we order some food?” Lincoln walks into the large expanding living room and sits in a chair. “I don’t think anyone has eaten anything and drinking on an empty stomach won’t help any of us.”
“I thought we were here to get crazy before the big wedding next week?” Kane looks to me for help.
“It is a bachelor party.” I shrug and Lincoln ignores us as he thumbs through the room service menu. Someday, he’ll make a great father as he has patience in spades.
“Why don’t we just let buzz kill feed us?” Leo emerges from one of the bedrooms and walks toward the bar. “While we wait, I’ll make us all some drinks.” I watch as he adds what appears to be whiskey into four tumblers. “We’ll eat and then we’ll go downstairs and cause some trouble.”
“Trouble sounds good,” Kane replies with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “I’m always up for some trouble.”
/>
“Or we could just behave and not get arrested this weekend?”
Did I happen to mention that my brother acts like he’s fifty sometimes?
“That happened once,” Leo announces as he walks toward the living room, now carrying a tray full of drinks. “And let me just add that the guy had it coming. Who in their right mind walks up and kisses another guy’s girl on a dare? I was right fucking there.”
“She wasn’t even your girl,” I add with a laugh.
“She would have been if that asshole wouldn’t have interrupted us,” he declares.
“You sure about that?”
“She was so in to me,” Leo states confidently as he passes out the drinks to each of us.
“Do all women have that look on their face when they are in to you?” Kane makes air quotes to emphasize the last part.
“What look?” Leo appears honestly confused.
“Like they’re about to scream for help.”
“Or puke,” I quip and they all look at me. “Admit it man, that poor girl was happy to have some random guy suck face with her in order to break free from you.”
“Jealous.” Leo sits back in the chair with a smirk on his face. “You all only wish you had game like me.”
“You’re right.” I nod my head sternly. “We envy you and so want to be you, Leo. You get all the ladies, and the rest of us sit around only wishing we got the attention you did.”
“Burgers,” Lincoln interrupts and I realize he’s been ignoring all of us the entire time. “Fries too, is that good with all of you?”
The three of us chuckle at how oblivious Lincoln is.
Lincoln calls down for the food before any of us can disagree and puts in the order, while the rest of us explore the loft.
Three large beds make up the living space. I’d be concerned about where the fourth person would sleep if there wasn’t a big ass pillow top type thing just off the small kitchen. It’s tucked back in a corner and the damn thing is softer than the beds themselves. Granted it isn’t an actual room—more like a little comfortable hangout overlooking the city—but that didn’t matter. Hell, there are enough pillows, huge ass things, to block out anyone’s view. Being up as high as we were too, I could fucking sleep naked and no one would know. “Dibs,” I call out and none of them seem to argue.
Blackout: A Romance Anthology Page 69