by Mae Martini
“It’s not funny, man,” Jake said as he began to laugh. “Her cute little ass pressed into it. I couldn’t help it.”
Chapter 2
“Everything good back home, darlin’?” Cord asked into the phone. He was talking to his wife, Annie. There was a pause as she was talking to him. “Good. I’ll tell Jake. He was asking.” Another pause. “Nothing. We’re getting ready to grab some dinner. What are you doing?”
Annie told him that Melanie, Logan’s girlfriend and her friend Kara, who was Richie’s girlfriend were going over to the Shady Elm, the Bed and Breakfast she owned with Jake, for dinner with her and Calista.
“Oh, good. We met her a few times at the fundraisers at my parent’s house. She seems nice. Have a good time.” There was a pause and Cord looked up to see Rory by the doorway of the room they were sharing.
It was a two bedroom suite and Cord wanted one of the rooms for himself, but after Jake said, ‘What for, I’m the only one who’s allowed to get laid on this trip. I’ll take it’, Cord couldn’t argue.
“Okay, darlin’, Rory’s giving me the evil eye and I can hear his stomach from here. I love you, baby. I can’t wait to see you.” Pause. “Goodnight.”
Cord hung up the phone and Rory, still at the doorway, made a kissing sound and said, “I love you too, darlin’,” in a high pitched voice.
“Grow up.” Cord gave him the finger and chuckled as he rose up off the bed and made his way to the door.
Cord and Rory were by the front door waiting for Jake. He got up from the couch and turned to the coffee table to pick up his wallet and key card.
“Come on, Boner. You coming or what?” Cord asked teasingly.
Jake reached for a throw pillow that was on the couch, and turned around and flung it at cord as he said, “Asshole.”
Cord caught the pillow as he and Rory cracked up.
After dinner, at a steakhouse in another casino, the boys walked back into the lobby of their hotel. Jake wanted to check out the strip club for which they had V.I.P. passes but Cord didn’t feel right. He didn’t run it by Annie yet, so they put it off for another night. They were going to do a little gambling instead.
The hotel lobby was packed with lots of people, young and old. Some were dressed to the nines and some were dressed like bums.
They walked past a lounge that had live music playing. Yikes! The woman sounded bad. She was mutilating a Journey song.
Rory glimpsed in the bar. “Hey, isn’t that the girl that was at the pool this afternoon?” he asked Jake.
Jake whipped his head around. “Yeah, that’s her,” he said with a smile. He noted she was wearing her hair down and it looked as silky as he thought it would.
“Boys, I do believe we owe her a drink,” Cord said as he turned to walk into the lounge.
Jake noticed she looked bored. Her two girlfriends were at the bar also, talking to some well-dressed old men, but she had her elbow on the counter with her head in her hand. He noticed one of the old men constantly looking at her like a wolf in heat.
The bar was in the middle of the lounge and it was a large rectangle with the work station in the middle and seats on all four sides. She did a double take when she saw Jake as he walked up to the bar, across from her, and smiled.
He lifted the corners of his mouth and slightly nodded.
The wolf in heat tapped her on her shoulder and she looked his way. It looked to Jake like he was flirting with her. Wolf brought a hand up to her bare shoulder and lightly ran his fingers down her arm. She pulled back quickly and he grabbed her arm and brought his face close to her. She cowered and looked uncomfortable.
Jake left his place at the section of the bar he was at with Cord and Rory and made his way over to her.
“Hey, darlin’,” he said in a slow southern drawl.
She turned around to see him, and for some reason, relief flooded her face. She pulled back her arm and scowled at the man who held it.
The man looked up to see a tall guy with a cowboy hat on, standing next to her. He made eye contact with Jake and Jake emitted a menacing air about him in what became a staring contest. The man was about to tell him to fuck off, that he saw her first but then he got a look at the other two tall cowboys behind him and frowned. He shook his head and turned back to one of her girlfriends.
The woman looked up to Jake. “Thank you,” she said.
“My pleasure.”
She bit her lip.
“Can I buy you a drink… uh?”
“Gia.”
“I’m Jake Warner. Can I buy you a drink, Gia?” he asked, as he stuck his hand out. She reached for it and shook it. He enjoyed the feel of it as he stared into her eyes.
“Yes.” She didn’t hesitate, but smiled shyly.
Jake got the bartender’s attention. “A Bulliet Bourbon, straight and,” he paused and looked at Gia.
“Long Island Iced Tea,” the bartender said before she could answer, remembering what she ordered, as he nodded his head, and he proceeded to make the drinks.
Cord tapped Jake on his shoulder and he turned around and introduced Gia to him and Rory. They politely greeted her then Cord told Jake that he and Rory were going to do some gambling and to take his time.
After Jake bumped into Gia a second time, due to him being squeezed in in-between her bar stool and the man sitting on the stool next to her, he looked around and saw a small unoccupied table.
“Do you want to go catch that table over there in the corner?” he asked her, pointing to it.
She nodded her head, then turned to her friends and said something. Her friends looked up to see Jake and the both of them gave him a flirtatious smile, which he ignored.
He moved aside for her to get up, and because it was crowded by the bar, he reached for and she took his hand, and dang, if he didn’t feel something in the form of heat run a straight line from their connection to someplace deep inside him. He led her over to the table and held her chair out for her.
The woman singer belted out another song, this one was a Bon Jovi song and both Jake and Gia cringed at her high note. They shared a smile and Gia looked to her drink and picked it up to take a sip.
Jake stared into her eyes. He realized he was gawking and knew he was making her uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to stare, but you have the most alluring eyes.”
She picked her eyes back up to his. “Thank you.” Then she lowered them again.
“You get that a lot, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
Jake nodded his head. “One more thing and then I’ll try not to stare.” He chuckled.
She gave him a crooked grin and nodded her head.
“They look violet. I thought they were... weren’t they gray this afternoon? Oh, contacts?” he asked before she could answer.
“No. They are a grayish-blue, but they seem to change with color. Gray eyes are known to do that. I happen to like the color violet so I always try to wear the colors that bring them out. Usually it’s certain shades of blue or even white can reflect light, bringing out the color.”
“Oh, I’ve never met anyone with gray eyes before. They really are beautiful.”
“Thank you,” she said again. “I think your eyes are beautiful, too.”
He smiled. “Thank you.”
The music grew louder, or maybe it was the grating sound of the singer. Jake caught the bartender’s attention again and held up a finger and pointed to the two of them. A barmaid was there a few moments later with another round.
He saw Gia cringe again on another high note. “You want to take these drinks to go?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, nodding her head.
She excused herself to go tell her friends she was leaving the lounge. He watched her walk away and boy if he didn’t feel something inside again. She had on a satin, silver colored tank top with a short white skirt and silver sandals with spiked heels. She had some serious long, lean legs he could picture wrapped around his hips. The front vie
w, when she walked back to him, was even better than the back view. Damn, he knew he had a wide grin on his face that she caught. He saw the corners of her lips rise as she dipped her head.
He hoped she’d be around for the rest of his stay.
As they slowly walked through the lobby with a mall of stores and restaurants, Jake learned that Gia had been staying at that hotel. She had been there one night already and she was staying three more.
“You’re from Texas?” She asked him.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said to her proudly in a southern drawl, more prominent than usual.
She beamed up at him.
“Where are you from?”
“California. I grew up in Newport Beach, but I live in Irvine now, which is not too far away.
They stopped at a table in front of a bridal store because Gia was checking out a bouquet of white orchids.
A girl who was part of a young couple was also looking at them. “Can I ask you something?” The girl asked.
“Sure.”
“What would make a better bridal bouquet, white roses, or white orchids?”
“Well, it is a matter of preference. I myself love white orchids. They are so delicate and you can have them cascading down.”
“Yeah, I like that look, too. Thank you.”
“No problem. Good luck.”
“Thank you. You, too,” she said, as she eyed Jake and smiled.
Gia gave her a small smile as she nodded and walked away.
As she was telling Jake how much she loved to surf, a girl, walking toward her and not paying attention, walked into her. Gia swung her head in the girl’s direction as she faltered back. Jake was quick and swiftly snaked his arm around her waist and righted her, then brought her in close to him.
“You okay, darlin’?” he asked her as the girl who walked into her just continued to walk on by without so much as a ‘sorry’.
“Yes, thank you,” she said and noticed that he kept his hand at her waist and her close to him. She breathed in his masculine scent and felt butterflies in her belly at the feel of him so close.
The constant sounds of coins hitting metal and the ringing of the thousands of slot machines was quite deafening. The throngs of people moving about in all different directions should have been distracting, but nothing could distract Gia from the tall, handsome cowboy walking beside her as they walked around the casino.
He spotted his friends at a blackjack table and guided her there. They stood behind them, watching the action on the table.
Rory had a big pile of chips in front of him, while Cord had a little pile. The table was full, but a few hands later, a seat opened up.
Jake took out two hundred dollar bills and placed them on the table. He looked at her and smiled. “Maybe you’ll bring me some luck.”
She smiled and shrugged her shoulders as he sat down.
While Gia watched Jake play, she thought about how she’d never been with a cowboy before. Something about it appealed to her. Something about him appealed to her. She couldn’t be sure if it was his charming smile, his sparkling blue eyes so full of life, or maybe it was his sweet, southern politeness. One thing she did know, she loved hearing his drawl. It dawned on her that with all the times she had been to Texas, on business, she could have been with a cowboy. They were always hitting on her, but she never acted on any of them. Maybe because she equated it to not shitting where you eat, or maybe no one had captivated her before now.
She was coming off a break up with a guy she’d been dating for the past year, Donovan Reynolds III. He was the son of the lawyer that her father retained. Donovan, however, and much to the disappointment of his father, was not a lawyer. He tried. His father spent thousands on his schooling at UCLA, but the kid did not have the head for it. It was always in the ocean, on his surfboard or too fried from all the weed, to Gia’s dismay, he smoked. He failed the bar exam three times and gave up. He was a free spirit with a mean streak that was abusive at times and on more than one occasion Gia was on the receiving end of the abuse. She called it off and he didn’t take it well.
Gia wanted to see what it would be like to be with this cowboy, but picking up guys in bars, or in this case, a hotel was not her thing. She panicked. Her eyes darted around the casino, not really seeing anything as her mind wandered, and when she brought her eyes back to him, she noticed his head was turned her way and he was staring at her.
“You, okay? Can I get you another drink?” he asked.
“Oh, um, no thank you. I’m fine.”
Cord tapped him on the arm. “Ante up, buddy.”
Jake nodded his head in Gia’s direction, then turned his attention back to the table.
About five minutes later, Jake said, “Yeah! Blackjack!” as he turned to Gia. “Thank you, lady lu-”
She wasn’t there. He looked around. He looked to his friends, then scanned the vicinity. No Gia.
“She’s gone,” he said to his buddies.
Rory shrugged and Cord just looked at him.
“Why would she leave without saying anything?”
“I don’t know,” Cord said as he placed another bet in front of him.
The croupier waited for Jake to place a bet as he continued to scan around.
“Hey, buddy, she’s waiting on you,” Rory said.
Jake looked to the dealer then to his friends. He got up, pocketed his chips and said, “See you later.”
He walked around the casino. He walked around the lobby. He came back into the casino and in so doing, he saw her two girlfriends who looked wasted and were being held up by two guys that had a triumphant look on their faces as if they knew they were going to get lucky. He wondered how far the two older men at the bar had gotten before these girls moved on.
Jake frowned. He didn’t get that vibe from Gia. He wondered if he read her wrong. Was she like her friends? Had she moved on to find someone else who’d buy her drinks and pay attention to her instead of the gaming table? Nah, having been with many women, he knew she wasn’t the easy type. In fact, that was one of the things that attracted him to her.
It grew late and he had passed Rory and Cord earlier who said they were going up to the suite. Disappointed, Jake, too, went on up to the suite. He went to bed with her on his mind, mentally kicking himself in the ass for paying more attention to the blackjack game instead of her.
Gia lay in bed thinking about Jake. She knew if she’d stayed a little longer at the casino with him, he’d be in her bed that moment. She was afraid she’d have regrets. She’d never in all her years done anything so reckless as to sleep with someone she’d just met. So why couldn’t she stop thinking about wanting to be in his arms. It was about time she threw caution to the wind and had some fun. She was in Vegas, damn it. Whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
Running off was probably not a good way of getting him to share her bed. She doubted she’d be able to face him anymore. He, almost certainly, would not even want to talk to her anymore, anyway.
Between her mind on Jake, and the grunts and moans she heard from her friends, in the adjoining room, having sex, geez, these hotel room walls are paper thin, she had one restless night’s sleep.
Chapter 3
“Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about,” Rory shouted, all excited, as he put the pedal to the metal in the green Lamborghini Aventador he was driving on the track at The Motor Speedway.
Cord and Jake laughed as they heard him when he came around the bend. Cord had already gone, and Jake was waiting his turn.
Cord caught Jake zoning out again. “Would you stop it, man. It’s not you.”
Jake looked into Cord’s eyes. “Why do you think she took off without saying anything to me? I mean, I thought we were connecting.”
“Could it be you’re not as charming as you think?” Cord said with a snicker.
Jake looked at him and frowned. “Of course not,” he said wryly. “What else you got?”
“I don’t know... Women. Who can figure th
em out?”
“Yeah.” Jake snorted. “If I run into her I’m gonna give her a piece of my mind.”
“Let it go. Move on. There are tons of other women here.”
Jake hesitated, then nodded his head just as Rory pulled to a stop.
“Wooooo, that’s fucken’ awesome! What a rush,” Rory said.
The three of them discussed Rory’s and Cord’s ride as Jake put on a helmet. He got into the driver’s side and ass-teared out of there.
Cord and Rory laughed when they heard the instructor yell at him to slow down.
On the way back to their suite, Jake wanted to take a quick run to the pool area to see if Gia was there. Why couldn’t he stop thinking about her? On the advice of his friends he didn’t go.
Jake sat on the couch, strumming his guitar. He and Cord never went anywhere without them. He waited while Cord and Rory sought permission, from Annie and Calista, to go to a strip club. One by one they came out of the bedroom with smiles on their faces.
“You guys are sorry excuses for men,” Jake said, laughing as he shook his head. “I’m almost embarrassed to have you in the same gender as me.
“Fuck you.” Rory chuckled.
“Man called, he wants his balls back,” Jake said laughing.
Cord snickered and gave him the finger.
After dinner, the boys went to the strip club. They sat around the bar drinking beer and feeding dollars, as was required, to the dancing girls.
Cord was actually bored. The girls were pretty and had nice bodies, but all he wanted to do was go home and climb into bed with Annie and stay there for days.
For kicks, he and Rory paid for Jake to have a lap dance in the back room. Jake wasn’t really into it, but he didn’t want to seem like a wuss in front of his friends.
While the topless girl with big fake breasts, and wearing a hot pink thong was gyrating on his lap and flailing her long auburn hair around, Jake kept thinking about Gia. What would she look like on his lap? How would she feel on his lap? How would she look without clothes on?
