Looking at her, Lance couldn’t suppress a laugh.
“I think the diversion is just what we need. We can get away from town and have a change of scenery. Enjoy some good food and a good show.” Waiting in her room, Lance called out to Kimberly who was packing in her bathroom. “I know of a chick singer you would probably like,” he teased, “You know—all that mushy romantic ballad crap.” Lance bent over to pick up her day bag. “Geez, what’ve you got packed in here…a set of weights?” he grumbled as he carried the bag from her room.
“I packed a couple books on Disney that I thought we could read on the way to Vegas.” Kimberly checked herself one last time in the bathroom mirror. She had on minimal blush and no other makeup. There was a sparkle in her eyes as she anticipated the chance to spend more time with Lance. A real date with Lance, she thought to herself. She wore a layered, peasant top and a pair of white jeans. Cute and just a little flirty, especially for her. “And what do you mean ‘mushy, romantic ballad crap’?” Kimberly, hands on her hips, stopped in the arched opening of her bathroom, to face Lance.
Lance looked up as he put the strap of her suitcase over his shoulder. “Wow,” he mumbled appreciatively, catching sight of her. He had to clear his throat before he could continue. “Oh, I mean, mushy, romantic, ballads that everyone loves,” he amended with a chuckle.
“That’s better.” Kimberly gave him a sly, half-smile. “You know, we could always look for some twangy, my-dog-died country crap for you, if you prefer.”
“No, no, that’s fine.” His hands were held up in a mock surrender. “Are you ready? I think you might have forgotten a pair of shoes….or ten….in the closet.”
“I guess so.” Looking around to see if she missed anything, Kimberly didn’t really hear him.
“Then, let’s go.” Lance reached out to her with his hand.
She took his hand and then pulled him back toward her. “Kiss me first.”
Lance looked into her beautiful eyes, wanting nothing more than that kiss. He had remained a little reserved up to now, not sure if Kimberly was on the same romantic page as he. But, he also knew how to play hard to get. “What do I get if I kiss you?” His head tilted to the side and the essence of a grin etched on his lips.
“If you kiss me,” Kimberly began, and then paused for effect, “I’ll let you drive my car to Vegas.”
“You have a car?” Lance didn’t even think that she drove, let alone own a car.
“Of course I have a car!” His hand was dropped. “How do you think I get back and forth to work?”
“Broom?”
“Oh, you will pay for that, Mr. Brentwood! You can just forget about my request for a kiss.”
“You’ve been holding out on me,” Lance mumbled as he slowly walked around her car.
“Well, I needed a little something to zip around town in. Daddy thought this would be cute.”
“Cute…,” Lance repeated, unable to believe the word she was using to describe her car, as he ran his fingers over the two-tone beige and green Connolly leather bucket seats. “Cute?”
“You’re repeating yourself.” A huge grin spread across her face as she tied a scarf over her hair and slipped into the driver’s seat. “You coming?”
As the twelve-cylinder engine roared to life, Lance hurried around to the passenger door. Resisting the urge to vault over the door frame, he sedately opened the door instead.
As he settled into the plush leather, Kimberly gave a knowing laugh. “You wanted to jump in, didn’t you?”
Lance was running his hands lovingly over the burlwood interior of the cockpit. “Did it show?”
“Oh, yeah! I actually did once when no one was looking,” she admitted with a grin. “Just about killed myself on the shifter.”
Her 2000 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Volante backed out of the four-car garage and slid to a stop as the garage door slowly lowered. Kimberly was about to slap it into drive when Daniel came running down the stairs that led to his suite over the garage. He positioned himself in front of the car so she couldn’t just drive off without first running him down. Daniel was wise enough to recognize that she would indeed like to run him over.…
“Hey, Kimberly, Lance.” He tried to sound pleasant, but came across as desperate and demanding. “Where are you going in such a hurry?”
“Out to lunch.” Lance’s answer was brusque.
“Wonderful! I was hoping you’d ask. Let’s just let bygones be bygones and forget that silly notice you hammered into my door. Why don’t we take the Caddy and I’ll drive?” He now sounded whiney.
Kimberly revved the engine, making him jump back. “Sorry, Daniel. I’m afraid it will be just Lance and me today. We have some things to discuss. And, you only have a few days left. You might want to spend them packing.”
Daniel could see there would be no arguing with the little hussy. He gave a smile that looked anything but sincere as he backed away from the car. “Well, it was worth a try. Ha ha. You two kids run along and have a good time. We’ll talk later.”
“Yes, we will.” Kimberly slipped the car into first and smoked the tires, showering Daniel with gravel from the driveway.
Daniel watched until her car made the first turn in the drive. He ran to the small carport off to the side of the garage where his Cadillac now sat. Jumping into the driver’s seat of the dusty car, Daniel jerked it into reverse. ”Two can play that little game, Missy,” he spat out. “Let’s just see where you and that slummer are going this time.”
He had no trouble spotting the metallic racing-green Aston Martin as Kimberly navigated the twists and turns as she headed down the hill. With a reasonable distance behind them, he relied on the fact that they wouldn’t expect to be followed. He was surprised when she headed for the 91 freeway, and even more surprised about a mile later when she merged onto the 57, heading north. Fifteen miles further, she merged onto Interstate 15 and sped over to the fast lane. “What the…?” He narrowly avoided a semi and wove in and out of the lanes to get into a better position to watch them. “Vegas? Is that where those idiots are going?” He glanced at the gas tank and was relieved to see it read three-quarters full. If that was where they were heading, he had plenty of gas to get there. “What could they possibly find in Vegas? I thought everything was at that stupid amusement park. This’d better be worth it,” he groused as he switched on the radio to keep him company during the long drive.
As Daniel Crain hung his elbow out the window of the Cadillac feeling the dry desert air mix with the cold refrigerated air blowing out the vents of the Caddy, he again wondered what in the world Las Vegas had to do with Walt Disney. He was following the Aston Martin from varying distances, coming closer when there were off ramps approaching, further back when the desert stretched for dozens of miles. In the event they pulled off in some isolated town or took Highway 395 north out of Barstow or stopped in Baker, Daniel just wanted to make sure he didn’t lose sight of them. He came close when they pulled over in Barstow and Lance took over the driving. Daniel knew if they got into Vegas without him on their tail, it would be impossible to find them.
Crain watched as the Aston Martin passed the little used—but famous—Zzyzx off-ramp, the last alphabetical listing of any North American landmark. The little sports car didn’t slow up and he knew that not much lay between Zzyzx and the next town of Jean, another fifty-five miles ahead. Daniel now allowed his Caddy to drift back about three miles, confident that they were indeed headed to the gambling capital of the world.
However, he had no idea what their ultimate destination might be.
“Hey, I like that song,” Kimberly protested as she reached for the radio dial.
“I thought you were asleep.” Lance glanced over at Kimberly as she hunted for the station that had been playing a song by Boston.
“I was, until you decided to ride the ‘wake-up’ ruts in the side of the road for a mile.”
“Sorry, I was just thinking about the clue again.” Lance sounded a
little sheepish. “And it wasn’t for a mile…it was only about three seconds.”
“That’s okay,” Kimberly waved him off once she found the song ‘More than a Feeling’ on the radio. “Sorry I haven’t been much of a driving companion.” She could see Lance’s hair was blowing softly in the wind that trailed over the windshield and into the convertible. It was mesmerizing.
“That’s alright. I know you needed some rest, considering what the past week has been like for you.”
Kimberly smiled at Lance, now enthralled by that cute dimple he had on his right cheek. She was content in his presence. It was an emotion she was surprised to find herself feeling. Only a month had passed since she had learned what little she knew about him from her father. Kimberly had immediately felt that she could never trust—let alone fall—for someone like Lance. She had labeled him ‘Hollywood’ in her mind; she saw herself as the complete opposite to that label. If he was the Film-Making Capital of the World, Hollywood, then she saw herself as some quiet, sleepy little town.
Yet, now she knew a different side to this good-looking man. And she found her heart racing every time he looked at her.
“I guess I haven’t been getting enough sleep lately.” Arms stretched over her head, Kimberly took a deep breath, feeling the wind blow through her fingers for the sheer enjoyment of it.
Lance watched her out of the corner of his eye. He found it difficult to keep his eyes on the road.
“How much further?” The asphalt stretched out and vanished in a shimmering mirage miles ahead. She could see the little casino-town of Jean poking out of the glistening haze that radiated from the hot desert floor.
Lance couldn’t resist. “Are we there yet? Man, can I picture you as a child!” He broke off the teasing at the look on her face. “I’m just kidding. You were probably precocious.… In answer to your question, we’re about fifty miles outside Vegas right now.” He gave a nod toward the distance. “That’s Jean up ahead. Need to stop for a bathroom break or something to eat?” Lance knew that there was a couple of fast food stops in Jean as well as an Outlet Mall.
“Nope, I’m good.” She suddenly chuckled and shook her head.
“What?” Lance was intrigued by the unknown reason for her levity.
She turned her smiling face to his. “Oh, I just had a sudden random memory pop up. This trip of ours reminded me of a date I once went on.”
“Should I be jealous?”
“Hmm, I’ll let you figure that out. Let’s see, I had to have been about seventeen or eighteen. He was so dreamy! He worked the canoes.…”
“What is it about those canoe guides?” Lance broke in, disbelieving. “They always have all the girls waiting for them when they get off work. I don’t get it.”
“Then transfer to the canoes and you’ll find out!”
Lance scoffed at her idea. “Naw, too much work. Go on with your story.”
“Todd was his name. That’s right, it was Todd. Gosh, I haven’t thought about him in years.”
“Glad I could help,” Lance good-naturedly groused.
“Now, don’t get frumpy. Let me finish.” She gave his arm a light, reproving tap. “We decided to go for a drive one day. We got on I-5 and just started driving south, talking the whole time, not really paying attention to where we were. I swear Dad must’ve been tracking me with GPS or LoJack or something. We got all the way to San Diego when suddenly two highway patrol cars pulled up behind us, lights flashing! Scared the bejeebers out of Todd. Well, out of me, too, I guess. We didn’t know what was going on. They made us pull off the freeway and checked our IDs and all. One of them went back to his car and made a call. Guess who? To my dad! I guess I was getting way too far away from my usual habits and he was worried that something had happened to me and I was being taken to Mexico. Guess whose date ended right then?” She laughed again. “Yeah, Todd turned us right around and drove straight back to the house. Never saw him again. Well, I never dated him again. I saw him in the Park now and then. He avoided me every time.”
“And I remind you of the studly Todd? The buff canoe guide?”
Kimberly made a show of looking him up and down as he drove. “Well, Todd did have brown hair….”
Lance slapped the steering wheel. “There you go. Spitting image.”
“Actually,” she drawled out, “this whole adventure reminds me of the studly Todd. Jumping in the car and driving somewhere new. Wind blowing through my hair. Handsome man driving my car.… The whole thing.”
“Ah, so know we know the studly Todd was also handsome. I think I should find him and beat him up.”
“Poor Todd. He was pretty shook up. Gosh, I was mad at my dad for weeks.… Say, do you need to stop?” Kimberly suddenly realized Lance had been driving since they left Barstow, at least two hours ago.
“No, I’m doing fine. Relax and we should be checking in…,” Lance looked at his watch and then at the speedometer which read eighty-three mph, “in about thirty-three minutes.”
“Checking in?” She hadn’t even ask Lance about where they would be staying. Or how they would be staying.… She felt her heart start to pound. “Uh, Lance, where are we staying? And how many rooms?”
Lance gave an understanding smile, knowing exactly what Kimberly was thinking. “Hey, I’m nothing if not a true gentleman. We’re staying in a two-bedroom suite on the Strip at the Luxor.”
Kimberly thought about how that sentence could be turned around. Then she smiled, thankful that Lance was not assuming anything. She didn’t know what the ‘Luxor’ was. But it didn’t matter to her at this point.
Reassured, she leaned in and kissed his dimple. “I trust you.”
Lance gave a little laugh. “And…I…trust…you,” he replied, accenting each word as he cupped her chin in his fingers.
Kimberly was almost giddy with excitement as the Aston Martin cruised down the Strip. Alternately looking out one side of the convertible and then the other, Kimberly saw landmark hotels. Each one was a colossal structure that she had only seen in postcards and on television. Like Disneyland, each resort hotel offered guests a world of fantasy; unlike the world Disney had created, however, each one of these worlds was often a jarring sense of contradicting themes. Nothing tied one hotel to the next. Fom Medieval themes to Egyptian, from the skyline of New York to the fabled Emerald City, Las Vegas was a city in perpetual competition; each resort vying for each tourist’s particular imagination—as well as each tourist’s last dollar.
Outside the glitz of the Strip, unseen to most guests was another form of conflicting chaos. Just as Disneyland had built a berm that separated the Park from the outside world, Vegas had its own berm of parking structures and freeway sound barriers that blocked the view of a small portion of the city with run-down homes with metal bars protecting each window, and residents who sat on beat-up couches. The popular saying was: ‘What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’. But to Lance, who had been to Las Vegas many times, he always thought the saying should have been: ‘What you lose in Vegas is lost forever’.
Yet, where money produced multiple havens of man-made fountains and high-rise steel, glass and concrete hotels, Kimberly only saw the world that the architects and the visionaries wanted the people with money to see.
“Wow.” That seemed all Kimberly was able to say over and over, seeing one mega hotel after another as Lance slowly drove through the congested Las Vegas Boulevard. “Is that a rollercoaster going around that hotel?”
Lance glanced to his left and saw the ‘Manhattan Express’ rocketing down a steep hill at the New York, New York hotel. “Yep.” A moment later, the a speeding coaster moved through a cork-screw that was elevated above the entrance to the hotel and the screams emanating from the riders could be heard over honking horns and other sounds on the busy street.
“Want to do some shopping before we check in?” Lance checked his watch. They had an hour to kill before they could officially check in at the Luxor.
“Sure.” Kimberly
was ready and eager for anything. “I can’t imagine what shopping must be like here. Is there a mall around?”
Lance laughed. “I’ll take you to the most decadent mall I know.”
Making a left turn into Caesar’s Palace, he pulled into the parking garage. After a series of left turns, he found a level with some empty parking spots near double glass doors that had a large gold sign above them that read ‘The Forum Shops.’
“Should we put the top up on my car?” As they pulled into the parking space, Kimberly wondered on the wisdom of leaving her convertible open. There were people everywhere and she was a little concerned about her car.
“Well, you’ll have to show me how to pull up the top.” Lance glanced at the back of the car where the retractable roof was stored. “Every convertible is different, you know.... Why are you looking at me funny?”
Kimberly did have an odd smile on her face. “Yeah, it is pretty tricky.” She nodded sagely as she pushed a button on the console, right next to the shifter. With a soft hum, the top started to lift and quickly settled in place.
Lance took it well. He laughed as he opened his door and went around to assist Kimberly out of the car. “Are you ready to follow me down the rabbit hole, Alice?” Lance locked the car with the remote and took her hand as he led her to the glass doors and the elevators that would take them down to the luxurious casino and equally opulent Forum Shops.
Behind them, Lance and Kimberly were unaware of headlights that reflected off those glass doors as they shut them off from the garage—the headlights of a car that moved very slowly through the parking structure. It pulled into a nearby empty stall and the lights were quickly extinguished.
Sensory overload was the term in Kimberly’s mind. The casino they entered was magnificent; an understatement, really, where it appeared that money was no object when it came to building and decoration. As they passed through the entrance to the Forum Shops, beautiful boutiques, designed to resemble a Roman city, were lined one after another; fountains, columns, gold-painted statues, and a dome-shaped ceiling that had lights emitted from hidden projectors to convey a perpetual purple dusk-like sky where pink clouds actually moved slowly across the fictional skyline. It felt like dusk even at one-thirty in the afternoon.
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