I wink at her. “Alright, let’s go. We’re meeting Christine at the club.”
“I guess we’ll find out tonight if she’s friend material or not.”
“Yeah. Hopefully she won’t be another Vivian. Blah!”
Adrienne groans.
The cab drops us off in front of The Stratosphere about twenty minutes later.
“We’re actually about five minutes later than I told Christine, so she may be around here somewhere. I told her to meet us out here instead of up in the bar.”
We look around through small groups of people trying to see if we can spot her anywhere. Right as I’m about to take my phone out to call her, I see her walk out the front doors.
“Hey,” she greets. “Sorry, I had to pee,” she says with a smile.
“No problem. We just got here anyway,” I respond.
“You look great!” Adrienne says, admiring Christine’s dress.
The right side is white, while the left side is black. It’s a fairly low cut V-neck that would look more scandalous if she had bigger boobs.
“Really? You think this is okay?” she asks, looking down at herself. “When Emilie told me where we were going, I had to hope I had something decent to wear.”
“Yeah, I love it,” I respond.
“Thank you.”
“Well, let’s head upstairs, ladies,” Adrienne says.
We make our way all the way up to the Air Bar that sits at about eight hundred feet above The Strip. Once inside, we go straight to the bar and order some frozen margaritas. Adrienne takes us to a spot inside, near a window so we can watch people jump to their deaths. Okay, not really to their deaths, but they’re on the “ride” that has you jump from the top of The Stratosphere to the bottom.
“These people are crazy!” she exclaims as we watch one of them free fall all the way down. “I’d totally shit myself if I did this.”
I laugh. “Yeah, I know I’m a little out there, but you won’t catch me jumping from the top of this building. People are fucking crazy. Knowing my luck, the cable would snap or something and I’d be dead on the street in three seconds flat.”
We stop watching for people to jump, and find a small booth to sit at.
“So, Christine, have you lived here in Vegas all your life?” Adrienne asks, talking loud enough for her to hear.
“Yeah, I’m a lifer,” Christine responds.
“Us too,” I say. “I need a vacation soon.”
“Hey, we can go to California soon,” Adrienne says, wiggling her eyebrows.
I know she’s talking about the trip Jace planned for her. She’s been talking about going, but she wants Troy and me to go with them.
“I know, but someone has to get their shit together,” I respond.
“Psh. You both do.”
“Boy problems?” Christine asks.
“You could say that. Sometimes men just make you want to chop them in the throat.”
Christine laughs. “Yeah, I know.”
“Do you have any crazy man in your life?” I ask her.
“No. No crazy man or sane man for that matter. I wish. Well, I don’t wish for a crazy one, but you know.”
“Yeah. I feel ya. Men are the ones that make us crazy!”
“You’re right about that,” she says with a giggle.
“Let’s stop talking about men, and go dance,” Adrienne exclaims from beside me.
“Sounds good to me,” I say before I drink the rest of my margarita and get up. The other girls do the same and we head to the dance floor.
After dancing through four songs, we all try to find the bathroom. When we get there, Christine goes into the only open stall while Adrienne and I touch up our sweaty faces.
“She seems okay, right?” I mouth more than whisper to Adrienne.
She nods and mouths, “Yeah.”
When Christine comes out, Adrienne takes her place in the stall and Christine begins fixing her makeup. A lady exits the other stall and leaves without washing her hands. Christine and I exchange a disgusted look before laughing.
“Christine, what color are your eyes? I’ve been trying to figure it out, but didn’t want to stare at you like a psycho,” I say with a laugh.
She gives me a small laugh. “They’re hazel.”
“Oh okay. I couldn’t tell if they were just super light brown or green.”
The toilet flushes and Adrienne comes out and washes her hands. I go use the bathroom and hear Adrienne ask Christine a question.
“Okay, I hope you don’t take offense, but what ethnicity are you? I get that question all the time, and I’m sorry if you do, too,” she says with a laugh.
I hear Christine laugh. “I do get asked that sometimes,” she says. “I’m half Puerto Rican and half black.”
“Oh okay. I’m mixed with all kinds of things,” she says with a laugh.
I flush the toilet and walk out to wash my hands. “Yeah, I’m just white.”
We all laugh and then head back to the bar. I order us all shots, and we get more frozen margaritas. After those drinks are gone, we dance for another half hour before finding a spot to sit down at.
“Fuck, my feet are killing me,” I complain. “I need to learn to bring a pair of fucking flip flops in my purse.”
“Yeah, let’s just sit here for an hour and dance in our seats,” Adrienne says. “These shoes are cute, but shit!”
A light appears from her purse. “Adrienne, your purse is glowing,” I point out.
“Oh! It’s my phone,” she says, reaching in and pulling it out. “It’s Jace!” she squeals with a smile on her face.
“She’s all in love and shit,” I say to Christine.
“Shush!” Adrienne says and smacks my arm. “Oooh, looks like somebody wants to meet up with somebody.”
“What?” I ask.
She gives me a pointed look and purses her lips. “Oh.” Troy must be asking where we are still.
“They want to meet us at another club. Y’all wanna go?” she asks.
“I’d love to, but I don’t think this old body can handle anymore,” Christine says. “I’m tired, and my feet hurt, too. I think I’ll just go ahead and call it a night.”
“Are you sure?’ Adrienne asks. “And you seem far from old.”
“Yeah. I had plenty of fun already. I really appreciate you two inviting me out. I may not be too old, but I live an old lady life. This dancing in heels thing is new to me,” she laughs. “Maybe another time?”
“Sounds like a plan!” Adrienne replies. “We can plan to have lunch sometime.”
“That sounds perfect.”
We make our way out of the club, pushing through sweaty, grinding bodies until we reach fresh air. Once we make it downstairs, we say good-bye to Christine who hops in a cab that’s waiting outside the hotel. Adrienne and I slide into another one behind it.
“So where are we meeting the sexy bastards at?” I ask.
“Stop acting like you’re not excited to see Troy,” she says with a grin.
“Yeah, yeah,” I say, unable to hide my own smile.
“Christine seems nice, huh?” she asks.
“Yeah. Definitely better than Filthy Whore Face.”
“Vivian?” I ask with a laugh.
“Yep!”
“I hope she doesn’t feel like we ditched her for the guys.”
“Nah. I wouldn’t have agreed if I were her either. Meeting new friends’ boyfriends and friends; it’s too much for one night, and she barely knows us. She’ll come around.”
“True, not everybody can be as outgoing and awesome as me.”
“Shut up!” Adrienne exclaims as she hits my arm playfully.
She gives the cabbie the name of a club, but I’m already in my own mind, thinking about seeing Troy, that I don’t catch the name of it.
“Man, look at that girl’s ass right there!” Nico shouts. “It’s pretty much hanging out of her dress.”
We all turn to look, and sure enough her ass
is almost all the way out, and she isn’t wearing underwear.
“I need to get in front of her. The show will be much more interesting from that point of view,” he yells again.
Right as he’s about to walk away to go get a better view, the girl pulls her dress down.
“Looks like you’re too late, baby boy,” I say as I slap the back of his shoulder.
“Man,” Nico whines.
“She probably heard you fuckin’ yelling about it,” Jace says.
We all laugh and turn back to the bar. Nico is already drunk, which isn’t surprising.
“Yo, where’s Marc at? I thought he said he was coming,” Jace asks.
“Yeah, he said he had a client, so he’ll be late.” I look down at my watch. “Should be here soon, actually.”
“I haven’t seen a whole lot of Marc lately. He must have a lot of clients,” Jace says.
“I know. He keeps going out of town, too. Must be getting fucking paid!”
“Hey guys,” Nico says as he lays his arms over mine and Jace’s shoulders. “I think Marc has a secret life. I’ve been suspicious of him for a while now. I mean, he’s almost never around anymore,” he slurs. “We haven’t had poker at his house in a long time, and I’ve seen him talking to these people all… secretly.” He narrows his eyes when he says secretly.
“Whatever man. You’re drunk,” I say with a laugh.
“Nah, for real! Maybe he’s a drug dealer. Or maybe he’s a pimp.”
“Okay, Nico. He’s a drug-dealing pimp,” Jace says, humoring him.
“Speak of the mother fucking devil!” I announce when I see Marc making his way over to us.
He smiles. “You talkin’ about me, boys?” He gives us all a half handshake, half hug greeting.
“If you’re a drug-dealing pimp, we are.”
“What?” he asks with a short laugh.
I shrug. “Nico thinks you have a secret life.”
Marc looks over at Nico who doesn’t say anything. “Well, if I had a secret life, I think I’d pick something better than a drug dealer or a pimp,” Marc laughs.
“Nico’s also drunk,” Jace chimes in.
“Ah,” is Marc’s response.
Marc sits down to the left of me while Jace sits on my right. Nico and Kade go off to do God knows what.
“So what’s up, man? What’s been going on?” Marc asks me.
“Carla’s back.”
“What? What does that mean?” he asks.
“It means she showed up at my house wanting to be friends, and then left me a gift asking me out to lunch.”
“What the fuck?” he exclaims.
“That’s what I said,” Jace responds.
“What are you going to do about that?” Marc asks.
“Nothing. Hopefully she’ll just leave me the fuck alone.”
Marc grunts but doesn’t say anything else.
“So what you been up to?” I ask Marc. “You really haven’t been around a whole lot lately.”
He sighs and signals for the bartender. “I’ve just had some demanding clients lately. A few of which have booked me for weekend trips.”
“Well, that’s a lot of money right there,” I say.
“Yeah.”
“Hey, Jace. How’s Adrienne?” Marc asks.
“She’s good. She’s out with Emilie right now. They’re probably on their way over here now.”
“I thought this was a guy’s night?” he asks with a smirk.
“Yeah, me too,” Jace says, looking at me.
“What? Why are y’all lookin’ at me?” I ask.
“This fool’s been asking about Emilie all night. Asking me if I knew where her and Adrienne were gonna be at and shit. Now he’s gonna act like he doesn’t want her around,” Jace says, shaking his head.
“I didn’t tell you to invite them over here. I just asked how long they planned on staying wherever they were.”
“You also asked if I planned on meeting up with Adrienne tonight.”
“So?”
Marc and Jace laugh and shake their heads.
“Fuck y’all,” I say, taking a drink.
Okay, so maybe I want to see Emilie. Big fucking deal. I need to talk to her, and since we can’t seem to connect on the phone, this works out.
“Hey, baby!”
I turn and see Adrienne drape her arms over Jace’s shoulders and onto his chest, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“Hey,” he responds, turning his seat and pulling her on his lap.
“Hey, Troy,” she greets.
“Hey,” I smile.
I turn to my left and see Emilie.
“Hi, Marc,” she says, giving him a small hug. “Troy,” she says coolly.
“Emilie” I respond casually.
“Oh, God!” I hear Adrienne exclaim with a loud laugh.
Emilie shoots her a serious look. With a sigh, I down the rest of my drink.
I stand up and turn around. Emilie is right in front of me, so I lean down and talk into her ear. “Will you come with me, please?”
She looks up at me and nods.
“We’ll be back,” I say to the group.
I grab her hand and walk outside the bar, leading us to the side of the building where there are few people.
“You look beautiful tonight,” I say, admiring the way her dress clings to her curves.
“Thank you. You look good, too.”
“Thanks.”
There’s an awkward pause.
“Troy.”
“So.”
We both start talking at the same time.
“Sorry. Go ahead,” I say.
“Well, I was just gonna say that I’m…”
“Hey!” Nico drags out, almost falling over as he rounds the corner. “What are you two doing back here? Trying to have some fun?”
“Trying to have some privacy,” I snap.
“My bad,” he says, raising both arms up.
Kade comes up, grabbing for Nico. “Sorry. I’m getting him in a cab and back home now.”
I jerk my head in acknowledgment before facing Emilie. “What were you saying?”
“I don’t know. Maybe right now isn’t a good time to talk,” she responds, looking away.
“No. Right now’s the perfect time to talk. We can leave and talk somewhere else. There’s tons of cabs lined up out front. Let’s go get in one and go somewhere.”
“What about Adrienne and Jace and everybody else?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll let Jace know that we’re leaving. I’m sure him and Adrienne will leave soon after.”
“Okay.”
I pull my phone out and shoot Jace a text. I see Emilie on her phone, and I’m sure she’s texting Adrienne. When we get to the street, there’s a cab dropping someone off, and I’m quick to get to the door before it drives off. Holding the door open, Emilie slides in and I get in after her.
“Wanna go to my house, your house, or somewhere else?” I ask.
She chews on her bottom lip for a second. “My house is fine.”
Emilie gives the cab driver her address, and we sit in silence. This has to be the most awkward cab ride ever. I’m sure the driver is wondering what’s up with the couple who got in the cab but hasn’t said two words to each other. After what seems like several, long, uncomfortable hours, we arrive at Emilie’s place.
I watch her as she pulls her keys out and unlocks the door. She pushes it open and steps inside all without saying anything. I follow her and close the door behind me.
“I’ll be right back,” she says with a glance over her shoulder before disappearing into the hall.
When she comes back in the living room, she’s wearing pink and black pajama bottoms and a white tank top. She sits on the opposite end of the couch I’m on and faces me.
“So,” she drags out, waiting for me to start talking.
“Right. Emilie, I thought about what you said the other day and you’re right. It’s not fair for me to say I don’t trust
anyone when I don’t give them the chance to prove themselves trustworthy. We’ve been friends for a while now and I really like you. I’ve loved getting to know you when we’ve gone to lunch or just talking at the club. You’ve never given me a reason to think you were a bad person. I understand these are my issues, and I need to learn to let some stuff go. However, what’s happened to me has shaped me into who I am today. I never thought I was living in the past, but I can see how that makes sense. Anytime I thought I might have feelings for someone, I’d think about Carla and my cousin and what they did, and I’d get angry all over again. Having your trust and heart broken by your fiancé and your family is something that’s hard to get past.”
I stop talking and wait to see if she’s going to say anything.
“I won’t pretend I know how that feels, because I haven’t been in that exact situation, but I have been in situations where I’ve learned you can’t trust everybody. You live and you learn, Troy,” she says with a small shrug of her shoulders. “I didn’t allow a few people who turned out to be untrustworthy assholes turn me into someone who thinks badly of everybody.”
“I don’t think badly of you,” I say.
“You just don’t trust me.”
With a sigh, I get up and sit on the coffee table in front of her. I grab her hands and she shifts her position so she’s looking at me.
“I can learn to.”
I can see the moisture building in her eyes. She continues looking at me without saying anything. I wonder if that wasn’t the right thing to say. Shit. I’m always saying the wrong thing.
“Troy,” she sighs. “I’ve liked you for a long time, probably since that wedding. We haven’t kissed since that night and every time I’m near you that’s all I think about. How it would feel to have your lips on mine again. But I’ve also enjoyed just hanging out with you, laughing and joking.” She stops talking momentarily and bites on her bottom lip, obviously wanting to say something more. “Do you think it would be easy for someone to trust you? Considering, you know, your job.”
I sit up straight. “I suppose not. Are you saying you don’t trust me either?”
“No. That’s what’s fucked up about this situation. I shouldn’t trust you. I shouldn’t want to be in a relationship with someone who has fucked countless women, and still does, I guess. You get paid to go on dates with women, take trips with women, and sleep with them. Yet,” she pauses, examining my face for a few seconds. “And yet, I trust you. I trust that if I gave you my heart, you’d do your best not to break it, because you know the pain of a broken heart. I know you’d do everything in your power to protect me. But if you continue your job, you’d be hurting me every day. I understand that your job was here before me, and I’d love to have a shot at us, but it will never happen as long as you’re an escort. I’m sorry, Troy. I’m a selfish bitch.”
Unforgivable Sin Page 4