I plugged in my curling iron and waited impatiently for it to heat up. Once it was hot, I curled strands of my hair around it, just to give it a wavy look instead of curly-cues. When I was satisfied with how it looked, I unplugged the iron, blowing out a breath as I shed the plush white towel. Even after all these years, I never got used to seeing myself as a thin person.
I knew I was, of course. It was just hard to see myself other than the plump high school girl I’d always been. And I’d never felt as comfortable in my own skin as I did when I was with Baker. He made all self-consciousness disappear when he worshipped my body. His tender loving of me was no different than when we were kids, either. He had adored my curves then, when I was chunky. He gave me courage to appreciate my body. It was his blatant sexuality and confidence in himself that would have given me hope for a future.
If only…
But I refused to think about it. Baker and I agreed on the trip to Vegas that we wouldn’t discuss my leukemia or the future. We both wanted to just forget the world and enjoy the right now. So that’s what we did. Four times. How on earth the man could keep it up so often was beyond me. Not that I was complaining. He was like a sexual hero. My own personal sex ninja.
I smiled at the thought and unzipped the garment bag Baker had carried in and set on the hook on the back of the bathroom door. I pulled the sleek black dress out and gingerly stepped into it. There was a zipper on the side and as I pulled it up, I tried to not feel exposed. The dress was probably normal on my five-foot-five aunt, but I had at least four inches on her, most of which was torso. The hem barely came to mid-thigh. If I bent over, the world would see all my business. I would have to remember that, in case I dropped anything tonight.
As revealing as it was, it fit perfectly. A short line of cleavage was visible above the neckline – enough to be sexy but not so much as to be slutty. It was like the dress was made for me. I opened my duffel and found the black heels I had packed, setting them on the floor. They were open-toed, so my bright pink toenails would stand out against the dark color. With a little trepidation, I opened the bathroom door and stepped into the bedroom, ready for Baker’s taunts.
To my surprise, the room was empty. The bed had been roughly made, too, which I found absolutely endearing. Few men would have taken the time for such a menial task. I strutted across the floor, my heels clicking all the way as I made my way to the in-room bar. Baker was behind it, pouring drinks. My heart stopped for the barest of seconds at the sight of him.
Gone was the casual, redneck-ish guy from Casper, Maine. This new Chris Baker could give Brad Pitt a run for his money. His blonde hair was gelled and spiky, his eyes vibrant, but it was his attire that caused me pulmonary stress. He wore a charcoal gray, pinstriped three-piece suit that matched his eyes perfectly. The button-up shirt underneath was crisp and brilliantly white. A gray-and-white striped tie hung off the collar, loosened but sexy as hell. He glanced up at me and I think my stupid stare was mirrored in his eyes.
We stood there, less than ten feet apart, staring at one another for probably an entire minute. “You look amazing,” he finally spoke.
“Ditto,” I replied, still unsure if I could formulate a full sentence.
His eyes dilated as he eyed my bare legs. He gulped. “I’m making myself a drink. Do you want something?”
Nausea spread through me. “I’ll just have some water.”
“You okay?”
“Oh, yeah. Just no alcohol.” I gave him a smile. I walked over and accepted the bottled water he held out to me, giving him a quick peck on the cheek, and then pulled away. “So what’s on the agenda tonight?”
“It would seem we were both thinking that tonight would be a bit fancy,” he gestured to our attire, “so I think we’ll head out to a nice, romantic dinner and then walk the strip a bit to see which casinos we want to bet in.”
“Sounds good,” I said. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah, but first, I want to show you something.” He turned off the lights and for the first time, I realized that the windows were covered. The room was immersed in darkness.
I wasn’t afraid of the dark or anything, but when Baker’s hand brushed mine, I jumped a little.
“Easy,” he whispered, his mouth close to my ear. “Come with me.”
I gripped his hand like a vice. “Don’t let me fall,” I begged.
“Never.”
A shiver went down my spine as I considered his words. I knew, without a single doubt, that Baker would always be there to catch me if I ever did fall. I blinked away the tears that formed as I thought about how little time we had together. When we reached the window, Baker let go of my hand to pull on the string and spread the curtains covering the window.
It was only just after seven in the evening, but the sight I was presented with was breathtaking. The sun was low in the horizon, mixing with the vibrant blue and purple of the darkening sky to form a hazy pink sunset that was absolutely stunning. I stepped closer to the window, putting my hand on the thick glass, wistful for as many sunsets as I could take in. Baker stepped up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist,
I held on to his arms, clutching him to me. He was, in every sense of the word, my rock. In the short time we’d been dating, Baker had become so important to me. I leaned into him, both literally and figuratively. He held me tight and I was comforted by his presence. At that moment, I realized there was no place on earth I’d rather be than with him, no one else I’d rather spend my last few months of life with. I could spend my last days doing something as crazy as going to Vegas, but it was only going to make me happy spending that time with him.
I turned to face him, searching his silver eyes with mine. “I love you,” I blurted.
His eyes went wide, his skin pale. For a second, I wondered if it was too much for him. But true to his nature, Baker plastered on his signature grin and winked at me.
“I love you, too,” he pledged. He tipped his head toward me and pressed his lips to mine. His touch ignited a fire within me and I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Easy,” he said again with a laugh. “We have plenty of time for that later. But if we don’t leave right now, we’re going to miss our reservation, and that would be a shame.”
He disentangled himself from my grasp, tightened his tie, and grabbed my hand to lead me back to the elevator outside our suite. The elevator ride was spent with me standing there, looking flushed and on fire while his thumb rubbed soothing circles across the top of my hand. Even when we weren’t speaking, he was comforting me.
By the time we reached the lobby, I was a mess, sighing almost continuously. This was the perfect getaway for us, no matter what came later. We would face our future, or lack thereof, with dignity and trust in each other. Love was going to change us both completely.
Sixteen
Baker
Hearing the words I longed to be spoken from her lips surprised me, but even further, filled me with a sense of completion. It felt like I’d waited so long to hear her tell me she loved me, and then when she did, it was every bit as amazing as I imagined it would be. From the look of surprise on her face after she said it, I guessed she hadn’t intended to say the words aloud.
That was fine with me, though. She did say them, and I wasn’t about to let her forget. I knew I never would. As much as I loved her, it was a little more difficult to figure out why she loved me. I was just an average guy who fell in love with the perfect girl next door. And logic screamed at me that she wasn’t perfect. No one was. But Rainey was about as perfect for me as a woman could get. She tolerated, maybe even understood, my deranged sense of humor, had a laid-back attitude toward life, and was one hell of a girlfriend.
She’s dying. I shook the negativity away, knowing that dwelling on the fact that she was going to die would only drown my happiness. I wanted to just enjoy our time together. However long we had left.
We walked out of the hotel and out onto the strip. Her eyes lit up like a little kid when she
realized all the lights were starting to glow. The brightness was nearly blinding, but we managed. I clasped her hand in mine with no intention of letting go. No matter where this night led, she was going to stay by my side all night. I planned to soak up every moment with her.
“So what’s for dinner?” she asked as we walked along the sidewalk.
“The Bellagio,” I answered.
“Oh! Do I get to order the most expensive thing on the menu? You know, since this is like a real date?”
I looked at her sternly. “I expect you to eat your weight in food.”
She burst into laughter. “I might just do that. I’m famished from all the activity this afternoon.”
I just grinned at her, knowing we would be repeating the events of this afternoon again when we got back to the hotel. But food was definitely on the list things that had to happen first. And I’d heard nothing but good things about the Bellagio. Plus, the casino was right there, so we could gamble a little.
My phone buzzed in the pocket of my designer trousers and I groaned. I wanted nothing more than to ignore it, but if it was Mallory, I knew I had to answer.
“Sorry,” I told Rainey as I slid my thumb across the screen of my cell. “Hello?”
“Dude! Where the hell are you?” Luke’s voice yelled in my ear. I glanced at the screen again. He was calling from Mallory’s cell. I would have to kill her.
“What do you want?” I barked.
“Where are you?” he asked again.
“Vegas.”
“What are you doing in Vegas?”
“What are you, my mother? I’m here with Rainey and we’re on a date, so unless you have something important to say, I am going to hang up in five seconds. Five…”
“Umm, Mallory said you were going to bring Rainey home – are you?” he tried.
“…Four…”
“Did you really sell the bar?”
“…Three…”
“Are you going to move to LA permanently?”
“…Two…”
“Are you in love with her? Mal said you were but I don’t believe it-”
“…One… Bye, Luke.”
“Wait! Will you answer my damn question?” he screamed in my ear. I had to pull the phone away from my head.
“Not unless she wants to. Yes. If I have to. And abso-fucking-lutely I love her. Goodbye, Luke.” I pressed the end button, effectively cutting off whatever he might have said in reply.
I had unknowingly stopped on the sidewalk and Rainey stared up at me with amusement in her eyes. “What’s so funny?”
Her smile widened. “Well, the phrase ‘abso-fucking-lutely I love her’ is a pretty awesome thing to hear. I can assume you’re talking about me…” She wanted to hear the words again, so I decided to torment her.
“Actually, I was referring to my other girlfriend,” I teased.
She slapped my shoulder with her free hand. I was still clinging tightly to her left hand. I looked down at our entwined fingers and raised them to my lips, gently kissing each of her fingers.
“You, Rainey. Only you,” I said in between kisses. She blushed at my words and tried to escape my grasp, but I wouldn’t let her. Instead, I laughed, tucked my cell back into my pocket after switching it to silent, and then tugged her along the sidewalk toward our dinner date. Rainey giggled while her face turned red, but she followed along.
Dinner was more than filling, and we both ordered more food than we could possibly consume. She still had room for dessert, a feat that I admired her for. I hated when women suppressed their appetites to appeal to a man. Rainey made good on her promise to eat her weight in food. Then she devoured most of a fudge brownie sundae, hardly leaving me any at all.
“You ready to do some betting?” I asked once the last plate was cleared and the waiter left our bill on the table. I didn’t want to look at it, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was under two hundred bucks. I thought for sure we would have spent more than that easily. I pulled three hundreds out of my wallet and left them on the table.
I helped Rainey out of her chair as she stared at the bills. “When did you become Daddy Warbucks?” she asked incredulously.
“I have to keep my money situation under wraps. Otherwise, the ladies would be all over me.” I winked at her.
“I can imagine. Having a sugar-daddy at my disposal is pretty interesting.”
We laughed and made our way to the lines of tables. “So what’s your game?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never really gambled before,” she admitted.
“Okay, how about we start with some slots, then?”
She nodded and we wandered around for several minutes before a slot machine caught her eye. She started to open the small clutch purse she carried with her but I stopped her. I shoved a hundred dollar bill into the machine before she could protest and sat next to her, throwing a twenty into the machine. I wasn’t too interested in gambling, but watching her was just as satisfying.
Her eyes lit up as I explained how to choose the number of lines and bet per line. We went through a couple bucks as she figured it out, and once she did, she was off, bouncing up and down on the seat every time she won the slightest amount. I set my machine to the minimum bet and then hit the rebet button every once in a while, just so I could occupy the machine. When a waitress came by and asked us if we wanted a drink, I requested a whiskey and cola.
I didn’t want to get drunk, knowing as I did that Rainey couldn’t drink, but a little buzz would loosen me up. Especially if we hit any of the clubs on the strip and she wanted me to dance. I knew better than to think that my dance moves rivaled Channing Tatum, but I could throw down, if I needed to. The problem was, I lacked the courage, and no one had seen me dance. Ever.
But if Rainey asked, I would agree, no matter what my reservations were. For the time being, though, she was content to spend money in the slots. After an hour of play, she lost quite a bit but then managed to get herself ahead of the game. When she had two hundred bucks sitting in the machine, I leaned over and kissed her cheek.
“Let’s try one of the table games,” I suggested.
“Okay,” she replied, breathless in her excitement. “Which game?”
“Blackjack is the easiest to learn,” I informed her. I showed her which button to press to cash out and she took her printed ticket to the cash machine. I followed closely behind her, enjoying the view.
“Stop staring at my ass,” she reprimanded me once she had a wad of twenties in her hand and we were walking toward the game tables.
“I can’t help it,” I admitted. “It’s amazing.”
She laughed and we found two seats open at a blackjack table near the edge of the room. We sat and she traded her money in for chips. She bet like someone who had no idea what she was doing, and within minutes, she was broke.
“Damn!” she groaned, getting up from the table. “How do people count cards? I could barely keep track of the ones he dealt to me, let alone everyone else’s.”
I followed her, carrying my drink in my left hand and dropping my free hand to the small of her back. I guided her through the now much more crowded space and she turned to talk to me, her voice an octave louder than normal so I could hear her.
“Where to next?”
“Anywhere you want,” I promised her.
She seemed to think about it for a moment and then an evil smile crossed her lips and I knew I was in trouble. When she leaned close to my ear to tell me her suggestion, I swallowed hard.
“Let’s go to a nightclub!”
Seventeen
Rainey
The first club was filled with about a million sweaty people and we quickly ducked out, moving on to another. The second one had more of a laid-back feel, definitely more my style. The music was loud, though, and I pulled a hesitant Baker onto the floor. He moved gracefully, but without much enthusiasm. He complained over and over that he was hot.
“Go give your jacket to the coat check!” I sugge
sted over and over.
After about the fourth time, he finally sighed in defeat and left me on the dance floor, pulling off his jacket as he went. I danced by myself for all of ninety seconds, and thankfully, no one tried to join me. When Baker returned, he’d rolled up his sleeves, loosened his tie, and looked extra sexy. Some pop culture hit blared through the speakers and pounded out a rhythm and I pulled Baker to me by his tie as he approached. I figured I would just dance around him a little, maybe get him fired up, and then we would leave and return the hotel.
What I wasn’t prepared for was Baker. His dance moves looked like they were taken straight out of a recent male stripper movie. His body matched the beat perfectly and he rubbed himself against me in perfect unison with the thumping bass. I turned and ground my ass into him a bit and he replied in kind. I could feel his hardness pressed against me, and it was more than exciting. His hands gripped my hips to keep our bodies together and I threw my hands up in an attempt to be sexy.
I should never try to be sexy.
I smacked him in the face with my left hand then when I turned around to apologize, the heel of my traitorous shoes dug into his foot and he howled in pain.
“Shit! Sorry!” I yelped, truly mortified.
When he lifted his foot to his hands and jumped around for a full minute, hopping on one foot while he held the other, I lost it. Laughter bubbled up out of my throat and I could do nothing to contain it. He glared at me, but I was helpless. He made his way to an empty barstool and I followed him, both hands covering my mouth to hide my giggles.
Even after he sat, he held on to his foot with both hands and I stood nearby, helpless to do anything but laugh at him.
“It’s not funny,” he growled.
“Oh, are you super grumpy now? Will you be able to make it back to the hotel?”
“Not sure,” he mumbled as he pulled off his shoe and sock to examine his foot.
Broken Series Page 25