Full Figured 8

by Skyy

  “Nope. That’s stuff Dakota wears. Remember, the theme is something new.”

  Dakota threw her hands up and let them fall freely back down to her side. “This is crazy. I’m checking in a completely empty suitcase and a carry-on with nothing but”—she looked through the carry-on—“a toothbrush, toothpaste and deodorant.” She shook her head. “I can’t.”

  “I know you can’t. That’s why you’re not going to Vegas. The stranger in you is going.” Billie threw her hands together in excitement. “Isn’t this great? It’s like a Lifetime movie or something isn’t it? Wallflower plans a trip to Vegas but blooms into a rose when she gets there?”

  Dakota watched her sister bounce on the bed in glee. “Well, I’m glad you’re excited about this. I’m scared to death,” Dakota admitted.

  “You said it yourself; you were scared to go without your girls anyway. So what’s the difference?” Billie stood up and rested her hands on Dakota’s shoulders. “Come on, sis. You can do it. Throw caution in the wind. Live on the wild side. Take advantage of being twenty-five years old, sexy, and single. I promise you won’t regret it.”

  As Dakota now sat on the plane with her stomach in knots, she was already regretting it.

  “Ma’am, I’m going to need you to push your seat all the way in its upright position and put your tray up,” the stewardess said to Dakota.

  She hadn’t heard the initial request over the intercom because her mind had traveled back to her conversation with Billie earlier that day, prior to Billie taking her to the airport.

  “We’re about to land.”

  “Oh, okay. I’m sorry.” Dakota smiled. “Thank you.” Dakota pulled her seat all the way forward, put her snack tray up, held her breath, and prepared for landing.

  Dakota truly didn’t feel like herself once she stepped off that plane and entered the Las Vegas, Nevada airport. She felt more like Alice in Wonderland. If a person was truly trying to leave their old self behind and had never been to Vegas before, it wouldn’t be as hard as it might seem. Heck, even if they had been to Las Vegas before it still couldn’t have been that difficult. There was just something in the air there; something exciting, or as her sister would have put it, something new. She took a deep breath and inhaled whatever it was in the air. And Dakota truly felt brand new indeed.

  As she walked toward baggage claim she looked around at all the people and heard the sounds and saw the blinking lights of the slot machines. She felt as if she was in a whole new world. What surprised her most was that she wasn’t scared, not one bit. Her blood was pumping and her heart was beating faster than usual, but this was pure adrenaline. She was anxious to be a part of this piece of the world.

  The people from different walks of life were buzzing about. Try as she might to find similarities between those she crossed paths with, she couldn’t. Or, maybe that’s just who Dakota was. She couldn’t because that’s not who she was; she didn’t know how. She saw no cliques. No stereotypes. No one looked to be trying to fit in and, most importantly, she didn’t fit in anywhere. No one fit in. Who were these people and where had they come from? Would she find anyone on this trip she’d be able to relate to, or who might be able to relate to her?

  The only stranger you will meet is yourself. Her sister’s words immediately came to mind. This wasn’t about other people. This was all about her. Dakota allowed her sister’s words to sink in; then she thought about how she could begin to put them in motion.

  She cleared her throat, straightened up her shoulders, then with her head held high took her next step; her first step away from Dakota. The Dakota back in Flint would have held her head down and only focused her eyes on her path and the signs leading her to her destination, which was baggage claim. But this new Dakota, this perfect stranger, was just the opposite.

  “Hello,” Dakota said to a woman that looked to be heading to her departure gate.

  The woman smiled and nodded.

  Hmmm, that wasn’t so bad, Dakota thought. Shyla was always talking to people she didn’t know. One hello could turn into a half-hour conversation with a perfect stranger. She was just so free, so confident, so interesting. Dakota had always been envious of Shyla’s ability to just strike up a conversation with someone. Now here she was, taking baby steps toward doing that same thing.

  Passing by was a gentleman taking a bite out of a pretzel. He held a laptop case on the same arm as the hand he was using to eat the pretzel. In the other hand the man was rolling a small carry-on.

  “Good afternoon.” Dakota smiled.

  The man did a double take, smiled, then returned the greeting. As rushed and preoccupied as the man appeared, no way had Dakota thought he would take the time to greet her, but he had. Not only that, but when she decided to look back at the man over her shoulder, he was returning the gesture.

  “Oh my God,” Dakota said under her breath as she quickly turned back around. “Oh goodness!” Dakota felt like she’d run into a brick wall. Instead it was a man who had been walking in front of her. Obviously while Dakota was admiring the man behind her, the one in front of her had halted his steps for some reason.

  “I’m so sorry,” Dakota apologized to the gentleman.

  He turned around with his mouth opened, prepared to speak. For some reason his words got caught. He quickly recovered them though. “It’s, ah, quite all right, Miss, Mrs. ...” he fished.

  “Just call me Dak ... Marie.” Dakota’s insides were screaming, why did you just do that? while on the outside a smile was plastered on her face.

  “Marie.” The man extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Marie. And apology accepted. By the way, I’m Leon,” he said.

  Dakota extended her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Leon.” As Dakota finished up shaking Leon’s hand, someone accidentally bumped her as they hurried by. “Oh, I guess we shouldn’t be standing in the middle of the Las Vegas airport of all places. Anyway, again, nice meeting you.”

  “Same here,” Leon said, then began walking again.

  It was just a little awkward with both Dakota and Leon walking side by side. Dakota was the one who decided to break the ice. “So do you live here in Vegas?”

  “Oh, no,” Leon replied.

  “Here for business or pleasure?”

  “That depends,” Leon said.

  Dakota nodded. Her insides were about to explode. Leon had just opened a door and she knew if she walked through it, things could get crazy. She hadn’t been in Vegas for a good five minutes. Did she really want to get caught up before ever even leaving the airport? Absolutely not. She at least needed to plan out how she wanted to ... planning. That was something Dakota would do, but her alter ego, Marie, wouldn’t Marie be more of a fun, spur-of-the-moment type of chick? There was only one way to find out.

  “Depends on what?” There, Dakota had walked through the door, or at least allowed Marie to do it. And Marie had left it open for whatever might follow.

  “Depends on if I can find something else to get into besides business. Something that might be pleasurable.” He looked Dakota up and down. “What about you? Is this the place you call home or are you here for business and/ or pleasure?”

  “No, I live in the Midwest. As far as business or pleasure”—she gave Leon the once-over—“I’m thinking both.”

  He made sure to look away from her so that she couldn’t see the blushing in his eyes. It wasn’t quick enough. For the first time in her life Dakota had actually made a man blush, or at least the first time she’d ever noticed or paid attention. She wasn’t one that typically made eye contact. But Marie did ... and she liked it.

  Dakota had always been the one waiting on the other person to make the next move. But she was now realizing that making the first move set the pace and allowed the one setting the pace to be in control. If it made any sense and without sounding like an oxymoron, she wanted to lose control and be the one in control.

  “So who knows?” Dakota continued, “Perhaps we both may end up engaging in a littl
e pleasure.”

  “Without a doubt,” Leon said.

  Upon finally arriving at the baggage claim area, Leon and Dakota started to head their separate ways. Dakota’s first stop before heading to get her suitcase was to the bathroom. She’d been holding it for the last half hour.

  “Excuse me, Marie!” Leon called out to Dakota, who in turn kept looking around for the ladies’ room. “Marie.”

  Dakota only turned to see what rude person was yelling out someone’s name when she realized it was Leon trying to get her attention. Just that quickly she’d pushed her alter ego aside. She’d have to do better.

  “Yes,” Dakota replied, taking a step back toward Leon.

  “With all the crazies that are in the world today, I know my chances might be slim,” Leon stated with very little confidence, “but do you mind sharing with me where you are staying?”

  The only thing that came to Dakota’s mind were all of those real-life horror stories her father had shared with her from countless ID Channel shows he’d taken in. Leon must have seen the wheels of skepticism churning in Dakota’s head.

  “On second thought, why don’t I just give you my number? I’ll be in Vegas the next few days. If after you handle your business portion of the trip and you want to engage in a little pleasure—I don’t know, dinner, a show, or what have you—please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Does that sound fine?”

  Dakota exhaled. She was about to shoot down Leon’s initial offer. No way was she going to tell him exactly what room he could come find her in in order to slice her up into a million tiny pieces. Now the latter offer was doable. Dakota removed her phone from her purse and took it off airplane mode. She then added Leon as a contact as he rattled off his phone number to her.

  “Well, hopefully before my trip is up I will have heard from you,” Leon said. “If not, I guess meeting you will be the most pleasure I have on this trip. Because the pleasure of meeting you has been all mine indeed.” Leon smiled then headed toward his baggage claim carousels.

  “OMG,” Dakota said under her breath as she watched Leon walk away. “Lord, let him be real and not vanish away as if he’s been nothing but a vision.”

  Dakota couldn’t stand there too much longer to make sure Leon wasn’t a figment of her imagination and would just poof away into thin air. If she did, she’d find herself standing in a puddle of her own bodily fluid. She looked up and around, finally spotting the women’s restroom, and then made her way inside. There were just a couple people standing in line in front of her. While she waited her phone rang.

  “Hey, Trice,” Dakota answered after looking at the caller ID.

  “Is my little Pooh Bear safe and sound in Vegas?” Trice cooed through the phone. “I feel like a mama whose baby bird just left the nest.” She did a little fake cry.

  “Trice, cut it out,” Dakota said. “Yes, I’m here. Still at the airport. But I’m okay.”

  “How was your flight?”

  “It was good. I just landed a few minutes ago.” Dakota noticed she was next in line and she’d just heard a toilet flush. “Look, I’m in the restroom now. I’ll check in with you later once I get settled into my room.”

  “All right, chick. I’ll call Shyla and let her know you made it safe and sound.”

  “Thanks, Trice, and I’ll talk to you guys later.”

  “All right, love you!”

  “Love you too. Bye bye.” Dakota couldn’t hit the end button quick enough. She dang near knocked over the lady coming out of the bathroom stall running into it. “Sorry, ma’am,” she apologized and then relieved herself just in the nick of time.

  After handling her business in the restroom, Dakota made it over to her baggage carousel. Everyone else had dispersed. There was only one suitcase still circling around on the conveyor. Just as Dakota was about to go grab it off, an airline worker did so.

  “Oh, that’s mine,” Dakota called out. “I had to make a pit stop in the bathroom, but I was coming to get it.” She felt the need to explain herself for abandoning her suitcase.

  “Oh, no problem,” the gentleman said until he actually lifted the bag. Then he made the same strange face as the airline worker who had checked in her suitcase made.

  “It’s empty. I know,” Dakota said, embarrassed. “I, uh, plan on uh, hitting the jackpot and doing some shopping.” Once again she’d felt the need to explain herself, only with a lie this time.

  The worker just smiled, nodded, and passed her bag to her.

  “Thank you.” Dakota smiled. Once the worker was out of face view she sighed and then rolled her eyes up into her head. “Lord, Billie, what did I let you talk me into?”

  Chapter 4

  The online pictures and reviews did not do Dakota’s room at the Rio All Suites Las Vegas hotel justice. It was fabulous! The entire hotel was fabulous. It wasn’t on the strip with all the other dozens of hotels, but had free shuttles to the strip if that’s what the guests so desired. It felt more upscale, away from all the hustle and bustle and riffraff of the strip. Dakota hadn’t really gotten to experience the strip besides her taxi ride from the airport to her hotel. But, she planned on experiencing every inch of Vegas that she could in the little bit of time she had.

  But first things first; she had to get some shopping done. It was only noon Vegas time thanks to the three-hour time zone difference. The kickoff registration and reception for the conference wasn’t until six that evening, so Dakota had plenty of time to go do a little shopping so that she’d at least have something to wear this evening and for tomorrow’s seminar.

  Not having any unpacking to do, Dakota went and opened her blinds to the beautiful Las Vegas skyline. Then just like she was doing a commercial promoting Vegas, she opened her arms wide and fell back on the king-sized bed.

  “This is heaven!” she shouted out.

  Dakota lay there for a minute, taking in the relaxation. She looked over at the nightstand where her eyes fixated on the remote. She went to grab it but then stopped herself. “No, no, no. That’s something Dakota would do: sit and watch television. You’re Marie now. Your life is far too exciting to sit around all day watching the stupid box.”

  An hour at the airport, an almost four-hour flight and an hour and a half getting to the hotel and checked in was cause for a shower. Dakota kicked off her loafers with a two-inch rubber heel, stripped her casual khakis off, her three-quarter length yellow cotton blouse, and underclothes, then went into the bathroom. She admired the granite countertops, tile flooring and a walk-in shower. She went over to the shower and started the water. Thank God the toiletries provided were that of the hotel’s on-site luxurious spa. At least Dakota didn’t have to use bar soap until she could hit the mall.

  After lathering up and washing off hours of travel, she stepped out of the shower onto the thick, soft mat and grabbed the thick, soft hotel towel. After drying off, reality hit Dakota. The only clothing she had to put on was the clothing she’d just taken off. Billie, before driving Dakota to the airport, had sat and watched like a hawk as Dakota packed. She made sure she didn’t pack anything other than deodorant, a toothbrush and toothpaste.

  “Old or new breath; it’s still going to stank,” Billie had playfully told Dakota.

  Even though Dakota had to slip back in the clothes she’d been in all day, she still felt clean. She grabbed her purse then went and got on the elevator, taking it down to the lobby. She took in all the excitement of the casino. With dim overhead lighting, the whole place looked like a disco, lights everywhere. There were scantily dressed cocktail waitresses offering free drinks for those partaking in the gambling fun.

  Dakota coughed. And there was smoke. She waved her hand across her face. Both she and Marie would have to get used to the smoke. Dakota made her way over to the check-in counter. The line wasn’t nearly as long as it was when she arrived to check in, but it was still long nonetheless. She spotted a podium that had a concierge or bell boy behind it. There was only one person in that line and th
ey were already being tended to. She walked over and waited patiently, speaking to a couple of people along the way.

  Everyone was just so friendly there, Dakota felt, compared to the folks she ran into every day in Flint. But then again why wouldn’t they be? Most people were probably in Vegas on vacation with the big hopes of hitting it big in the casinos. On top of that, drinks were on the house? What wasn’t there to be happy about?

  “May I help you?” the gentleman behind the podium asked Dakota.

  “Yes, sir, you can. I need to do a little shopping.” She paused. “Well, actually a lot, but just a little for now. Where is a great place to shop?”

  “Well, it depends on your taste. A lot of the hotels on the strip have some amazing shops, including right here at the Rio. There are the Forum Shops at Caesars located inside Caesars Palace hotel, but they are pretty high end. Then you have the discount shops such as Ross along the strip and the Fashion Show Mall on the strip. With 1,888,151 square feet of space, it’s one of the largest enclosed malls in the world.

  “Oooohh. A Ross.” Dakota was always on a budget and loved stores such as Ross, TJ Maxx, and Marshalls. That was music to her ears.

  “Yes, ma’am, and our complimentary shuttle can ...”

  While the gentleman spoke to Dakota, so did Marie. Marie wanted to go to the Forum Shops at Caesars. It sounded so elegant, and it was definitely something new. Dakota had to agree with her inner voice. Perhaps Dakota might have loved discount shops, but Marie wanted to ball like Tasha Mack from the BET sitcom The Game. No one could predict to the day how much time they had on this earth. What if she never made it back to Vegas again in her life? Then she’d never be able to say she hit the high-end shops at Caesars Palace Las Vegas.

  You only live once.

  “The Forum Shops. I’d like to go there,” Dakota told the gentleman, interrupting his spiel.

  He then gave her instructions on how to go about taking the free shuttle over to the strip. He also provided her a map of the strip, circling Caesars Palace for her.