I must have let out a dramatic sigh because she shot me an apologetic look as she hung up.
“I don’t know if you heard that,” she said, “but I’m going to have to go back to the hotel. Do you think you can give me a ride back?”
I nodded. “Of course. Do you have time for breakfast first? I know a great diner around here.”
“I can’t go like this,” she objected. “I’ll look ridiculous going for breakfast in last night’s dress.”
I laughed. “Trust me. Once you see this place, you’ll look the least ridiculous out of this crowd. You’ll look like you’re coming home from church in comparison.”
“Okay.” She laughed, tying her hair back and wiping the smudged makeup from her face. “I could use a good meal.”
This was my last chance, my final appeal before she disappeared from my life forever. Selfishly, I wanted her to myself for another day or so, but I also had to take care of the responsibility thrust onto me. I had to get the money one way or another.
Once we got dressed, we got back into my car and drove the short distance to the diner. As expected, the place was filled with people who clearly hadn’t gone to bed yet. We fit right in.
The waitress poured us two cups of hot, watery coffee and I took a big sip. I needed to get my mind right for persuading Amanda to stay.
“Are you sure you have to go?” I asked after the waitress took our orders.
“I don’t know.” She sighed. “I want to stay, but I’m worried about what my friends and parents would say if I didn’t come home. How can I tell them that I’ve changed my plans for a guy I met at the casino?”
“When are you going to get the chance to do something like this again?” I asked. “You can’t tell me that you do adventurous stuff like this on the regular.”
“Yeah, you’re right. But what will we do while we’re here? How long do I stay?”
“Well, you’ll be staying with me, of course.”
“Won’t your friends mind?”
“Not at all. They’re rarely home as it is. We probably won’t even see them.”
“What about my flight home?”
“How far in advance do you have to book your flight?”
She thought for a moment. “Honestly, I could probably book one the day before.”
“Good. You can stay for another day, or maybe the rest of the week. It’s up to you. I suppose it depends on when you’ve seen enough of me.”
“I don’t think I can ever see enough of you,” she said, batting her eyelashes.
“And there’s so much we can do here,” I continued. “If you only have been here a few days, you haven’t seen a fraction of what the city has to offer. We could go back to the casinos, see a show, or even take a day trip to the Grand Canyon. The possibilities are endless.”
She laughed. “Why do you want me to stay this badly?”
“I can’t go back home wondering what would have happened between us if we had more time to spend together. I think I might regret it for the rest of my life.”
I saw her melt in her chair right then and there. I felt like a quarterback throwing a Hail Mary pass into the air and watching it fall right into my receiver’s hands.
“Okay,” she said, grinning ear to ear. “I’ll stay. After breakfast, I’ll get my things, and then we’ll go back to your place. I don’t know about you, but I could use a shower and a nap.”
I grinned. “That sounds brilliant.”
With that out of the way, we could enjoy our breakfast. Now that the first step was completed, I would just have to wait until the right moment to sell her a sob story. I kept trying to work on the plans in the quiet moments between us, but my mind kept wandering to other places. Maybe a little roll in the hay would help set my mind straight.
After I paid for breakfast, we got back into the car and drove back to her hotel. As we drove, I placed my hand in hers, just to seal the deal in case her friends tried to talk her out of staying.
“I think it’s best if I go up there alone,” she said as I unbuckled my seatbelt in the parking lot. “It’ll take a few minutes to explain, but I shouldn’t be too long.”
“Do you know what you’re going to say to them?”
“I think I’ll tell them that I booked another room for myself. I think I’ll leave out the details about you, no offense.”
“Yeah, that’s a good plan,” I responded. “You don’t want them to be suspicious. Good luck,” I said, giving her a kiss. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
Once I saw her enter the building, I couldn’t help but pump my fist in the air. I had done it. If I could convince Amanda to ditch her friends and stay in Las Vegas with me, I could probably convince her to do just about anything.
Chapter 6―Amanda
As I walked through the lobby and rode up the elevator, I felt nervous. Tanya was my oldest friend, but I still didn’t feel like I could make my own decisions when she was the one calling the shots.
Even though Tanya and I were the same age, she was like my bossy older sister. We had basically known each other since birth, so she felt like family. As with any group dynamic, there were leaders and there were followers. I think you know who fit which roles.
Sometimes, it was nice to have someone in charge. Whenever I was feeling indecisive, it was comforting to have someone help me sort things out. Tanya had more life experiences, so I often turned to her for her expert advice. There wasn’t a problem that Tanya couldn’t solve.
One time during high school, I had a party at my house while my parents were gone. It was supposed to be a small gathering, but things quickly got out of hand. When I found out that my parents were coming home, Tanya was the one who kicked everyone out and helped me clean up. When my parents got home late that night, it looked like nothing had happened. I had gotten drunk, so Tanya tried everything to help me sober up so my parents didn’t know I was drinking. When that failed, she tucked me into bed and locked the house behind her.
Of course, it was Tanya’s idea to throw the party in the first place, but she knew how to fix things. Besides, on Monday, everyone was talking about how cool it was that I’d had a party in our mansion.
I also looked up to Tanya a lot. She seemed to always have her life figured out, where I never really knew what I was doing. After college, she landed a job as a journalist for a major TV network and has even reported her fair share of work on the show. She was gorgeous and in incredible shape. She was about to marry a successful entertainment lawyer, and he was an incredible guy. She had everything she could ever want in life.
Meanwhile, I was clueless about what I wanted to do for work, constantly single, and probably ten to twenty pounds overweight. I ordered takeout more days than not, and exercise was not part of my vocabulary.
I was nervous because I had a feeling that Tanya wouldn’t tell me what I wanted to hear. I wanted her to validate my choices, but she rarely did. The constant need for approval that I never got from her put a strain on our friendship from time to time, but I wasn’t going to drop her from my life. I wasn’t sure if I could make a new best friend at this point in my life.
“Fucking hell, Amanda! Where have you been?” Tanya shouted when I opened the door. She was wearing dark sunglasses and sipping some sort of green juice.
“Sorry, I forgot to update you guys on what I was doing. I stayed over at a guy’s place.”
“Was it that guy who took you to dinner?”
I thought about lying, but I knew I didn’t have any other excuses lined up.
“Yeah,” I said, looking at the ground.
The girls started squawking. “I can’t believe it,” Tanya roared. “Our sweet, innocent Amanda had a one-night stand! Tell us everything.”
“Well,” I said, stuffing my clothes back into my suitcase. “We went to dinner and had a really nice time. He’s really sweet and super cool.”
“And totally hot,” Tanya added.
“Yeah, that too. Anyway, we tried to come bac
k up here, but that wasn’t really an option,” I said, throwing a look over in Tanya’s direction. “He’s staying with some friends, so I went to the house and hung out with him there.”
“Did you have sex?” Lindsay asked, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
“Yes,” I said shyly.
The girls erupted into shrieks and giggles once more. I didn’t see why this was so funny to them.
“How was it?” Tanya asked.
“It was really incredible,” I admitted. “I was pretty nervous, but he was very gentle.”
“Was he any good?” Tanya asked skeptically.
“I don’t have anything to compare it to, but I think so.”
“Did you have an orgasm?” Lindsay asked.
I didn’t quite understand the question. I thought that was the whole point of having sex in the first place.
“Yeah,” I answered. “A couple.”
They all raised their eyebrows.
“Damn,” Lindsay said. “He must be good.”
“I’m happy for you,” Tanya said, a hint of condescension to her voice. “I’m glad you got your first time out of the way. Maybe you’ll try for a boyfriend next.”
“Yeah, maybe,” I said absentmindedly.
“Are we almost ready to go?” Tanya asked. “I’d hate to miss our flight back home.”
“Actually,” I said quietly, “I think I’m going to stay for a few more days.”
“What?” Tanya asked flatly.
“I was just thinking about it last night, and I don’t think I’m ready to leave yet. I don’t have a real job, so there’s no reason for me to go home, and I’d like to see more of the city. You guys can go on without me.”
Tanya lowered her sunglasses, revealing her red, puffy eyes. They must have gotten back very late.
“Does this have anything to do with Mr. Multiple Orgasms?” she asked.
“What? No. I think he’s leaving today anyway. This is about me wanting to go out and explore. I want to live a little.”
“Since when?” Tanya snorted. “How do I know that you won’t just find some other guy to shack up with?”
“Does it even matter? Besides, I just booked a single room for a few more nights. I checked with the front desk when I got here, and it will be ready for me in about an hour.”
“And what do you suppose you’ll do here without us?” she asked, looking for holes in my story.
“Anything I want to. Maybe I’ll go hike the Grand Canyon.”
“Really?” she scoffed. “I don’t believe that for a second. I also don’t like the idea of leaving you alone in this kind of place.”
“Why not? It was good enough for you when we booked it last month.”
“That’s different. You can go to Vegas in a group and it’s fun. If you go alone, it’s kind of sad. Besides, even in a group, it’s still pretty sketchy at times. You get all sorts of strange people here. I don’t think it’s safe for you. What happens if you get too drunk and someone takes advantage of you? What happens if some guy approaches you and wants to take you back to his place?”
“I’ve already done that, and it was one of the greatest nights of my life,” I retorted.
“You’re too trusting of people,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t feel good about letting you stay on your own. Cancel your room. You’re coming home with us.”
“Fuck off,” I shouted. “I’m twenty-six years old. You’re treating me like a child.”
I heard the other girls gasp. They weren’t used to seeing me tell anyone off, let alone Tanya.
Tanya had a horrified expression on her face. I knew that she was shocked by my behavior. I felt a little bad for coming on so strong. However, I felt like that was many years in the making. I could only hold it inside for so long before I snapped.
“I know that you’re just trying to protect me,” I said, a little more softly, “but I can take care of myself. You don’t need to worry about me.”
She paused for a moment, trying to find the right words to say.
“Fine,” she said coolly. “If you want to stay, I can’t stop you. I just think this isn’t like you to go off on your own in a strange city.”
“Maybe it’s more like me than you could ever know,” I mumbled.
“Suit yourself. Shall we leave?” Tanya asked, looking around to the others. They were still stunned into silence.
“If you’re checking into a new room in an hour,” she added, “will you check us out of this room? We should have left twenty minutes ago.”
“Yeah, I can do that.”
She studied my face before she left the room for good. She looked like she was searching for some sort of hidden message in my facial expression.
“We’ll talk when you get back, whenever that will be,” she said. “We’ll have dinner or something.”
“Yeah, definitely.” I nodded.
I sat down at the table, waiting a few minutes for them to leave before I gathered my stuff and went back to Joshua’s car. I hated lying to my friends, but if Tanya reacted that badly to my wanting to explore on my own, then I didn’t want to know what she thought of me hanging out with a near-stranger. Maybe one day, when this was all over, I would tell her the truth and apologize for snapping at her.
Guilty as I was for my behavior at the end of her celebratory weekend, part of me felt a little proud of myself for finally sticking up for myself. I don’t remember a time when I had put my wishes ahead of anyone else’s. I felt like out of everyone in our friend group, I deserved to let loose and hang out with sexy British men if I had the opportunity to.
I walked back to Josh’s car, my head held a little higher. Even if the feeling lasted only a week, I loved being able to control my own life. I was young, desirable, and had every resource I could ever need at my fingertips. I was ready to live life on my terms.
“You don’t know how relieved I am to see you again,” Josh breathed when I loaded my bag into his car.
“Did you really think that I could let you go so easily?” I said. “What’s next on the agenda?”
“Whatever you want, Amanda. This city is ours.”
Chapter 7―Joshua
“Did the girls believe your story?” I asked Amanda, reaching for her hand again.
“I’m not sure.” She grimaced. “Tanya seemed pretty skeptical, but I told her not to worry about me.”
“How long did you say you’d be staying here?”
“I don’t think I gave a set date. Maybe like a week or so. I told her I’d meet her for dinner when I got back. She seemed pretty annoyed with me, but she’ll get over it.”
“Really? What did she say?”
“I think it was the fact that I kind of told her off for being controlling. She wasn’t used to hearing that kind of stuff from me.”
“Try not to think too much about it,” I said, giving her hand a squeeze. “You don’t want it to spoil your time here.”
“You’re right. No more talking about Tanya or anyone else from home.”
When we got back to the house, I carried Amanda’s suitcase up the stairs and into my room. It was heavy, and I was tempted to look inside to see if there was anything worth selling. I didn’t want the other guys to get to it first, though. I knew that they could get greedy, and I didn’t want them to steal too much from her. She might have some personal items that just couldn’t be replaced.
The light was on in Ben’s room, but I wasn’t ready to introduce Amanda to him. Ben sometimes gave off a creepy vibe, and I didn’t want him scaring her away. There would be plenty of time for introductions later. For now, I just wanted to get Amanda out of that dress again.
“I’m going to take a shower,” I said, shutting the bedroom door behind us. I nonchalantly stripped down and walked into the bathroom. I turned on the water, surprised that she didn’t immediately jump me the moment I undressed.
“Come join me,” I said, peeking my head out the door.
She seeme
d a little hesitant, but she eventually unzipped her dress and followed me into the bathroom.
“These lights are certainly bright,” she said, crossing her arms over her body.
“Good,” I replied. “It makes it easier to check you out.”
I washed my hair, and once I was finished, I rotated around her to give her a turn. As she shampooed her shoulder-length auburn hair, I poured body wash into my hand and worked her whole body into a lather.
“That tickles.” She squirmed as I rubbed her down from head to toe.
“You want me to stop?”
“No.” She smiled. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back to rinse her hair. Her expression reminded me of the first time I made her come, and it made me rock hard.
I rubbed my body against hers, letting the soap lubricate our skin. I loved the way my body glided over hers. She pulled me into a tight embrace, sticking her tongue past my lips. We kissed as the steamy water poured over us. My pelvis pressed against her leg, so close to where I wanted to stick it.
I hopped out of the shower and quickly dried off, tossing Amanda a spare towel. Still wet, we jumped into bed and made love like we hadn’t seen each other in years. When we finished, I could see Amanda’s eyelids start to droop. I was sleepy too, but I had work to do. I tucked her into bed, kissed her forehead, and quietly crept out of the room.
I tapped a finger on Ben’s door before cracking it open. He was sitting on his bed, typing frantically into his phone. I gestured to have him follow me to the kitchen. I wanted to be completely out of earshot so Amanda wouldn’t accidentally overhear anything.
“So you’ve been banging her?” he asked dryly. The walls are paper thin.”
“Sorry,” I said insincerely. “You know it’s one of my fool-proof methods.”
“Whatever. How’s the job going?”
“Great,” I said. “I managed to convince her to ditch her friends and stay a little longer. I’m pretty sure she’s way into me, so I think I’m going to tell her that my wallet got stolen and I can’t afford to go back to London. I could probably manage to sneak out one of many credit cards and buy everything we could ever need for a whole year. Maybe we’d have food around here for once. The best part is, the cards will be paid without anyone looking at the statements. I think we could use it for a while without getting caught.”
High Stakes: A Dark Romance Page 4
