“You hungry?”
Sarah tried to remember when she had eaten last. It had been ice cream and cake back in the room hours ago.
“I certainly am.”
“They have the best chicken fingers ever here.”
“Chicken fingers? Are you serious?”
“Trust me. They use strips of fresh chicken, not processed, so it isn’t dry and rubbery. Then they roll them in Cap’n Crunch, fry ’em up, and cover them in hot buffalo sauce. They taste amazing.”
Sarah was still frowning.
“Okay, I’ll try it.”
“You will not be disappointed.”
Sarah ordered another martini while Josh ordered the fingers. She knew she had already had too many. She was afraid of what would happen if she stood. She didn’t think her legs would hold her. Luckily, Josh could easily carry her if it came to that. It wouldn’t have been the first time.
The band was breaking down and a new band began setting up. They made the transition in minutes and the next band was playing by the time the chicken fingers arrived. They were a Prince cover band and when they started off their set with a really good version of Prince’s classic “Sexy Motherfucker,” Sarah attempted to drag Josh out onto the dance floor. She had been in middle school the last time she’d heard the song. Back then she’d considered Prince the sexiest man on earth.
The lead singer of the cover band could have been Prince’s twin. Except for the fact that it was a woman, which Sarah would have never guessed if Josh hadn’t told her. The Princess drew her mustache on with eyeliner. She had all of Prince’s moves and sounded exactly like him, easily imitating His Royal Badness’s earsplitting falsetto on the high notes.
Josh was not a dancer, however, and he did all he could to resist her efforts to make him shake his groove thang. His strategy was brilliant. He shoved a chicken finger into Sarah’s mouth. She was just about to protest when she tasted it. It was tender and juicy. Josh was right. This wasn’t the usual processed meat. This tasted as if it was fresh off the bone and the sauce was amazing, hot and sweet. The sweet was obviously from the Cap’n Crunch. It was a combination that worked amazingly well.
“Oh, my God. That is incredible!”
“I told you so.”
Content now to simply listen to the band while she licked buffalo sauce off her fingers, Sarah picked up another chicken finger and slowly tore it apart, savoring each moist, delicious bite. The band switched to “Baby I’m A Star!” and were only halfway through the next song, “Erotic City,” when she cleaned her plate, shoveling the last piece into her mouth as if it were her last meal on earth. Then she turned to look at Josh’s plate. There was just one more piece on his as well.
“If you loved me you’d share.”
Sarah batted her eyelashes at him and stuck out her bottom lip in the most adorable pout she could manage.
“Uh, uh. No way. You already ate all of yours.”
“Pleeeeeease?”
She looked too adorable to resist. Josh ripped the last chicken finger in half, gobbling up his half and feeding the other half to her.
“See, I knew you loved me.”
“I’m just a sucker for a pretty face.”
“Awww. He thinks I’m pretty. He wants to kiss me.” She teased in a mocking singsong voice. She puckered up and gave him a big, wet, sloppy, drunken, clumsy, sexy kiss that almost knocked both of them off the couch and onto the floor. They began to laugh uncontrollably.
“You ready to dance now, sexy man?”
Josh turned up the last of his macho martini, emptying the glass in a few quick gulps. He stood up from the couch, bowing slightly and holding out his hand for her.
“Fuck it. Let’s dance.”
Luckily for Josh, the band had just slowed things down. Lucky for Sarah too since the martinis had taken away a great deal of her motor coordination and just walking to the dance floor was a challenge. She had to lean on Josh for support, enduring his frown of disapproval. He hated to see her this drunk but he was giving her a pass because of all the stress he knew she was under.
The band began playing “The Beautiful Ones” as Josh wrapped his big, meaty arms around her and began to sway. They danced through a long drawn-out version of “Purple Rain” that began with the entire instrumental version before beginning the song. By that time enough of the alcohol had worn off that Sarah felt a bit more confident with trying to dance. When the band began playing “Diamonds and Pearls,” Sarah twirled on the dance floor like a ballerina and then, taking Josh’s hand, she guided him through an awkward drunken waltz that left them both giggling hysterically and took away enough of Josh’s inhibitions that he stayed on the dance floor, working up a sweat as they danced their way through “Kiss” and “Get Off.” They were both exhausted when they finally left the dance floor and returned to their couch. They even received a smattering of applause from some of the other bar patrons.
“You know, I’ve been thinking about it…” Sarah began as they both got comfortable back on the velvet couch.
“Thinking about what?”
“What if, instead of an alarm system, we bought a dog?”
“A dog? I don’t think a little puppy is going to do much.”
“I don’t mean a puppy. I mean a full-grown big-ass dog. Like a Rottweiler or a Doberman? We could get one that was already trained. I heard that you can adopt retired police dogs.”
“Do they use Rottweilers as police dogs?”
“Well, it doesn’t have to be a Rottweiler. A German shepherd would do.”
“I’m good with that. Let’s look into it.”
Sarah smiled.
“Thanks for tonight. I needed this. Even with everything that’s going on. I’m having a great time. I think we both needed this.”
Josh smiled back at her, then leaned in and kissed her on her forehead and then on the tip of her nose.
“I think I needed this too. I know I haven’t really been handling this whole thing well. I-I haven’t really said anything…you know…because I don’t really like to talk about it but part of the reason I’ve been freaking out is because this thing just brings back my own memories.”
“I know. I figured. And you’ve been great. I know it’s been hard on you too. Do you want to talk about it at all?”
Josh shook his head
“I’m having too good a time to fuck it up now. Let’s just listen to the band some more.”
Sarah wondered if even listening to this old music might have been reminding him of his youth. She laughed when the band made a major goof. Josh looked at her. He had caught it too.
“That’s not Prince. Is it?”
“That’s Michael Jackson.”
The band had launched into an energetic version of M.J.’s classic “P.Y.T.”
“I’m getting tired anyway.”
“Okay. Let’s go up to the room.”
They staggered toward the elevator, with the Prince band wailing out “Pretty Young Thing” in the background. For some reason, the absurdity of it brought them to another fit of laughter as they waited for the elevator.
An hour later they were back in the hotel room snoring soundly. For the first time all week, Sarah had no dreams.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Sarah woke feeling rested and warm and cozy, wrapped in a goose-down comforter that smelled like lavender and jasmine. She reached beneath her pillow and took out her digital recorder. It had recorded nothing but hours and hours of snoring and the sound of rustling pillows and sheets. Sarah sighed, relieved. She stretched, reaching up toward the padded headboard and flexing her toes, smiling, feeling wonderful. She leaned over and kissed Josh on the lips. His breath reeked of alcohol but Sarah didn’t mind. She slid her tongue between his lips and kissed him deeply, teasing and tickling his lips and tongue with the tip of hers, then sucking on his tongue and twirling her tongue around it like she were giving him head. She knew she was a fabulous kisser and sure enough he responded.
&nbs
p; She could see the outline of his erection through the sheets. She reached down and stroked it a little as his eyes fluttered open.
“Good morning, lover.”
“Well, you’re in a good mood.”
“Let’s order room service.”
Josh nodded toward the tent that was rising in the sheets.
“Do you want to play first?”
Sarah couldn’t remember the last time Josh had initiated sex. It figures that he would choose this time to do it. She was still feeling weird about sex, still feeling somehow violated. She didn’t think she was ready to open herself up to anyone right now, not even her husband. She wasn’t ready to feel anyone inside of her.
“I’m sorry. I’m just not ready yet.”
Josh visibly deflated, even down to the root of him where he had been swollen and throbbing just moments before. He looked disappointed. I guess it took her denying him sex before he showed any interest in it. Though, truth be told, she had never before given him an opportunity to miss it. He never had to ask for it because she was usually all over him before he had the chance to.
Maybe a little break would be good for both of us, she thought.
“That’s okay. When you’re ready.”
“How about we spend the day riding roller coasters and shopping and acting like tourists? We haven’t done that since we moved here. We could even hit the buffet or go to one of those new four-star restaurants with the superstar chefs?”
“Now, that sounds excellent.”
“Have you ever had caviar?”
Josh wrinkled up his nose and shook his head.
“Well, we’re going to have to educate that palate of yours.”
“I thought you did that on our first date?” Josh joked.
“Second date. And I don’t recall you needing much instruction. You were already quite the cunnilingus connoisseur if I remember correctly.”
Josh turned and looked deeply into Sarah’s eyes. Sarah could feel her body melt under the heat of his gaze. She could feel all of his love and desire boiling from his eyes. It had been far too long since he’d looked at her that way.
“Actually, you were the first and only woman I’d ever done that to.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Wow. I’m flattered. What made me so special?”
Josh shrugged. “You did me first.”
“Don’t tell me that I was the first woman who ever gave you a blow job?”
Sarah saw Josh’s eyes gloss over and she knew she had gone too far.
“Yeah, you were the first woman.”
The air between them suddenly went flat and stale. Silence fell like a curtain. Once again Sarah felt like she needed to do something to comfort him even in the middle of her own crisis.
“Ever ride the Big Shot?”
Josh’s eyes refocused and he looked at her as if she were speaking a foreign language.
“The what?”
“The Big Shot. At the top of the Stratosphere?”
A smile spread across his face. A love of thrill rides was one of their mutual vices.
“Are you serious?”
“Oh yeah. Are you game?”
“Hell yeah! But first, let’s order that breakfast.”
Sarah grabbed the room service menu as Josh reached for the phone.
“Oooooh! They have bagels with lox and cream cheese. And they have French toast!”
“I just want steak and eggs.”
“Okay, go ahead and order it. I’m going to take a shower.”
Sarah climbed out of the bed. She saw Josh look at her as she scrambled up from beneath the sheets and then saw the look of disappointment when he noticed that she was wearing pajamas, long flannel pajamas. She had never worn pajamas in their entire marriage. She had complained and protested vehemently when Josh had worn them, calling them his armor, an attempt to put a barrier between them. She’d even gone so far as to cut holes in all of his pajamas forcing him to go to bed nude, the way she preferred him. Now, she was the one wearing armor.
Just feeling Josh’s disappointment again, twice in the space of two minutes, was overwhelming. Still, she walked into the bathroom and closed the door before she disrobed.
The shower had twin heads that shot two forceful sprays of water. Sarah had the temperature turned up as hot as she could stand it and the two powerful multijet sprayers felt like a deep tissue massage, blasting away the last vestiges of tension and stress from her muscles. This was all she had needed, a good night’s sleep and a hot shower to scrub the filth and sweat from her dreams off her skin. Her complexion was turning red as the scalding water scoured her pale flesh. It felt as if her soul were being cleansed and purged. Unexpectedly, she began to cry.
Her body hitched and jerked as the tears burst up from deep within her as if she had tapped some deep underground reservoir of sorrow. Everything had been so perfect. Her life had been flawless. Her biggest complaint until less than a week ago had been boredom. Now she was either being raped, probably drugged, and possibly murdered every night and somehow resurrected each morning or she was crazy or some combination of the two. Somehow, in the span of a few days, her perfect, flawless life had turned into a nightmare, literally.
The tears continued to come with increasing force and for once she made no attempt to rein them in. She allowed them to come unrestrained, emptying her soul, and letting the water from the shower wash them away. She had cried more this week than she could ever remember crying in her adult life. But this time, it felt good.
When she finally stepped from the shower, all the tears were gone. She had expected to feel exhausted after crying so hard and long but instead, she felt refreshed. She looked in the mirror at her eyes. They looked puffy and swollen. She opened up her cosmetic case and withdrew some eye shadow and cover-up. By the time she stepped out of the bathroom her face held no evidence of her crying jag even though she was certain Josh had heard her.
This time she didn’t bother to cover herself when she stepped naked into the bedroom. The quick intake of Josh’s breath made her smile and almost brought the tears back. She still took his breath away. He still found her beautiful and desirable. But the last thing she wanted, the last thing she would have been able to stand, would have been for him to touch her. She turned away from him and began getting dressed.
Someone knocked on the door and Sarah reached for her purse even as she heard the man on the other side call out, “Room service.”
Sarah looked at Josh who stood up and walked to the door. Not a single part of him was worried that it might be Dale on the other side with a knife, ready to plunge it into his chest and then rape and murder her, and that let her know loudly and clearly that he didn’t believe her at all. He had already made up his mind that it was all in her head. Sarah kept her hand on the gun in her purse and tried her best not to feel resentful.
It was the same waiter from the night before. He smiled politely and then looked down at her hand, which had slipped inside her purse and was clutching the Sig Sauer. Her finger was a fraction of an inch from the trigger. The butt of the gun had been sticking out of the purse and she slid it back in when she saw him looking. He looked up at her eyes and then managed a weak smile. Josh followed the waiter’s eyes down to her purse and then he let out a sigh, scribbling a tip and a signature on the receipt and ushering the waiter out the door. Sarah could tell that Josh wanted to say something about the gun but with it still clutched in her hand he obviously thought better of it. Sarah let go of the Sig Sauer and joined Josh by the bed. The silence was back and it coated them like a blanket all through breakfast. Sarah didn’t mind it though. The food was too good for her to even think about having a conversation unless it was about what she was putting into her mouth at that moment.
The French toast was fluffy and covered in powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, syrup, and whipped cream. Truly decadent. Sarah began shoveling the toast into her mouth like she were a fat kid at a
pie-eating contest. Like it or not, she was going to have to hit the treadmill tonight after Josh left to start his shift. It was either that or get curves in places she didn’t want them.
The bagels were covered in cream cheese that had been whipped until it was as light as Cool Whip. They were piled with smoked salmon, slices of beefsteak tomatoes, red onions, and capers. Sarah showed them no more mercy than she had shown the French toast.
She looked over at Josh who was patiently cutting his steak into little cubes and dipping each individual piece in A1 sauce before putting it in his mouth. He’d eaten his eggs and hash browns first, everything in order, and had just begun on his steak. Sometimes she even had a bigger appetite than he did and she had to remind herself of the number of calories she burned doing cardio to keep from feeling like an absolute cow. Making love to her was about all the cardio Josh ever got. Still, she was going to have to start cutting back. Her metabolism was bound to slow down and when it did she’d be 300 pounds if she continued to eat like this. But that was something she would hopefully not have to worry about for a long time and in the meantime there was so much good food to eat in Vegas. She was happiest of all that Las Vegas had given up on trying to be a family destination and had begun going after the highend crowd with fancy restaurants and designer boutiques. Today, she intended to sample her fair share of both. She had already decided on Spago for lunch at Caesars and then dinner at Fleur de Lis at the Mandalay Bay where she was going to force Josh to try caviar for the first time. After that, they’d go to Joël Robuchon at the MGM Grand for dessert. It was a good thing she’d won all that money playing the slot machines. If she had it her way, she was going to need it.
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