by Laney Terra
He grinned as he observed at me. “So we meet again,” he said. Making himself more comfortable, he set one arm on the bar while the other topped the back of the bar stool. It forced his torso to swivel and face me.
“Hi,” I said and smiled nervously, trying to relax.
“I have to apologize. I couldn’t let you sit here alone after I’ve been following you all day. From the terminal to the baggage claim to your hotel. It just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t stalk you some more.”
I giggled.
“Thank you Jeremy,” he said to the bar tender and took a sip of his drink. “You don’t mind do you?”
“It’s alright I guess,” I said and slowly chunked the rest of my drink down.
“I guess?” Sunshine said. “Jeremy, can you get her another one? Put it on my tab.”
“No problem,” Jeremy said.
“So I shouldn’t ask you your name?” Sunshine continued. “Don’t answer that. We can go by aliases. I don’t mind.”
“Would your wife?” I said.
His face radiated joy as he laughed. “That’s hilarious and no, I’m not married. I know that may be alarming to you, seeing how fine I am but…” He showed me his ring finger. “No wife here.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“I’m a little shocked you didn’t case me earlier and see that I wasn’t wearing a ring then either. I know you watched me walk away. I saw your eyes on me in the lobby over there.”
I chuckled. “I think you’re getting dreams mixed up with reality.”
“It’s probable.”
“So you have a girlfriend.”
“Nope.”
“Boyfriend?”
“No. And no casual buddies either. Just a dream that I occasionally get mixed up with reality.”
I smiled and shook my head, returning to take a few more sips of my drink.
“So if you had to choose a name for a moment, until you could trust me, what would you go by?” he asked.
“You really want this fake name don’t you?”
“I’ve heard from friends about this problem,” he said. “I just wanted to experience it for myself. I’ll trade you. A fake name for a fake boyfriend for the night.”
“A boyfriend for the night?” I said. “You’re volunteering?”
“Yes, an amazing boyfriend who will help you loosen up.”
I snorted. Agh! “I need to loosen up?”
“Yes,” he said.
“How do you figure that?” I asked.
“You were sitting here at this bar staring straight forward. You glanced around without a smile. You still haven’t turned towards me. How are you going to get that one night stand with all the blocking you’re doing? I have to admit. I almost was scared.”
My mouth dropped open. “I do not…!”
He reached up and began to massage one of my shoulders.
I laughed. “What are you doing?”
“You can’t feel all that tension you have in your shoulders? I saw it before and I knew. You need to get out of this hotel, out of your comfort zone, stop dwelling in whatever you’re dwelling in, and have some fun.
“Now, I was just joking about the one night thing. Even though I said exactly what was on your mind. So I hope you’ll forgive me and allow me to take you out.” He stopped the massage and my shoulder dropped down. “See, already a little bit more relaxed. What do you think? I promise to be a gentleman.”
“Um…” I said.
“What were you going to do if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Well, play the slot machines probably.”
“How would you like to play on someone else’s dime? I wouldn’t take the money if you won. Think about it, you could spend twice as long playing. Twice the fun.”
“OK,” I said.
“Is that a happy OK or a fine OK? I don’t want to pressure you into doing something you don’t want to do. Tell me to leave and I’m gone. Forever.”
“No, I-I want you to come.”
“I’m glad were on the same page.” His lip curled and he sipped some more of his drink.
“Alright…” I need to watch how I say things.
“Shall we?”
“After I finish my drink,” I said.
“Yes, get that liquid confidence on board. So you still haven’t told me what I shall call this beautiful woman sitting next to me.”
“She.”
He chuckled. “And my name will be He.”
No, Sunshine!
“So it’s not totally weird, I’ll be Shelia,” I said.
“K, Shelia. What about me? He…”
“Ro, Henry, Hendrix, H—”
“Sorry to interrupt but you said ‘Hero.’ Stroking my ego already? I like that.”
I wasn’t very good at fighting smiles with this man.
“I know. I know. I’ll silence those thoughts, Shelia,” he said.
“Well, I’m done so…”
“To the limo.”
“Wait,” I said and instinctually grabbed his arm. Bad idea. His bicep was as firm as I thought. I know he saw me inhale. If that wasn’t bad enough I shook my head and closed my eyes too long before my brain failed me for a few seconds. “I-I don’t know. I don’t know you, so I’ll follow you.”
He was good at being that gentleman. He answered as though I wasn’t babbling. “I can call another limo company if you want. I’ll have them bring you your own car. The guy out there isn’t my personal driver. I want you to be comfortable, but I don’t want you to drive after having drinks. If something happened to you…”
“Um…”
“I’ll call another one.” He slid his phone out of his pocket and began to dial.
“It’s fine,” I said. “There’s no need to waste the extra gas.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“K.”
He slid off of the stool, and helped me get down. When we reached the front door, a stretch limo was already waiting. He opened the door and I climbed inside.
Wow! This is really happening. I’ve never been in a limo.
“How did you know you’d be out here?” I asked. “Limos don’t just wait outside.”
“They do for me,” he said and grinned.
“Whatever,” I muttered. That confidence is starting to shine on through.
“Hungry?”
“Yes.”
“Where do you want to go?”
“Your choice.”
“I know the perfect place.”
Chapter 3
Londyn
We arrived at a popular hotel roof top bar that sat on the end of the Strip, overlooking the palm trees, people, cars, and fluorescent lights of the hotels below. Being that Sunshine was whoever he was, we were able to get a seat along the window. The venue was dark but lit by candles and other dim, geometrical lights. All of the delicacies that passed by smelled delicious. I flipped through the menu to find a wide variety of food to choose from, everything from sushi to steak to lobster.
“What do you think?” he said. The candle light made slivers of his brown eyes gold.
“This place is pretty nice,” I said. “I like the atmosphere. Everything waters my appetite on this menu. What do you suggest?”
“Depends on what you want. I come here every time I visit Vegas. I’ve tried almost the entire menu. Nothing has disappointed me yet. You can always get a combo of things or ask them to give you one as an appetizer. Order anything you want. We can always take it home.”
“Home? Already?” I chuckled.
“We were pretending to be lovers weren’t we Shelia? I thought that was part of our deal.”
“You are something else,” I said.
“There are many things people say about me,” he said. “And that is true. By the way, I don’t think I have a name yet. You’re Shelia who am I?”
“How about Mr. Anderson?”
“That’s no fun, using my real name. I want to play to
o.”
“Fine,” I said. “I’m not calling you Hero, so what about Hendrix?”
“Alright. Hendrix. I like that.”
“Is it similar to your real name?”
“We share a couple of letters.”
When the waiter came by, I figured I’d try some of the yellowtail and tuna sushi with prime rib and a small side salad for dinner. He ordered some deluxe quesadillas, a round of drinks, and some crispy tuna rolls.
“Anything else Mr. Anderson?” the waitress said.
“That will be all,” he said. “Thank you Hailey.”
When she was far on the other side of the restaurant, I bent my eyebrows and said, “Ex-girlfriend?”
“No,” Hendrix said. “They remember me because I come here a lot for business.”
“What type?”
“None of yours.”
“Wow,” I said laughing.
“I’m kidding. It was my little way of procrastinating. I wait as long as I can to let anyone know that I’m a nerd.”
“What kind?”
“Tech. I made some companies, sold them, profited a little bit.”
“Nice.”
“And you,” he said.
“Help desk,” I said.
“Really? You see we were destined for each other. A match in technological heaven. I’m going to get all the help I can get.”
“Ah, Hendrix. I have no words.”
“Now, I know, from the fact that you stared at my baggage claim, you know I’m from L.A. Where could I find you?”
“You saw my info.”
“No, I was busy saving your bag.”
“Houston.”
“Houston,” he said. “I actually own a business down there. I have friends there. My parents are there too.”
“How strange,” I said.
“All this means is you are going to have to hide when I’m there. I have a knack for finding you.”
“That could be good or bad. If you find the purse I’m bound to lose, well, you’ll be a saint.”
“You think you have bad luck?”
“I know I have bad luck,” I said. “Recently it followed me home from here. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that I knew I’d be here within a few weeks. So the luck came and paid me a visit to remind me.”
“No wonder you attracted me.”
I chuckled.
“So this is why you were so mad at the bar?” Hendrix said.
“I wasn’t mad.”
“It’s still bothering you. What happened?”
“Um,” I said. “I didn’t mean to spill so much. Now we’re already into my deepest thoughts and troubles. No more what do you do for fun? What’s your dream vacation? I’d like to return to that.”
“K, I understand. I just don’t want you to let it get in the way. I feel horrible now. My mission was for you to enjoy yourself, and we’re going downhill.”
“No, don’t be. I want you to have fun too.”
“I am. Especially now.”
On cue, the waitress showed up with our food. I was more than ready to dig in.
“I got this so we can share,” Hendrix said, setting the crispy tuna rolls in the center. “Now, even if you’ve had them before, you must try the ones they make here.”
“If they’re that good…”
Hendrix broke out the chopsticks and with expert precision, picked a roll up to put in my mouth. Holding that roll so high, I would have dropped the thing. He raised his eyebrows. I grinned then went ahead and ate it.
“Mmm,” I said, pointing at my mouth and nodding. “Those…they are going to make me leave Houston and live out here.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
We had a good time, laughing and talking about ourselves and things we had done in Vegas. Over a mud pie that ended up having me drooling, I told him more about my Vegas mishaps, leaving Xavier out of it of course.
“Here,” Hendrix said, dabbing the corner of my mouth with a napkin.
“I’m so embarrassed,” I said.
“Why? No need to be proper around me. I won’t dock you points for mouthwatering. In fact I think that’s how they advertised this pie. And they have a wall over there for people who agreed. I’ll get the waitress to take your picture... You do have bad luck.”
“Shush.”
“If you’re ready, we can get out of here,” Hendrix said.
“There’s more?” I said.
“Yes, I recall you saying you wanted to hit the slots. So, shall we?”
“Sure.”
Instead of leaving the hotel, we strolled through the gamming area.
“Have you seen a lucky one yet?” Hendrix asked.
“You’re asking me about luck?”
“So I can avoid the machine.”
“No,” I said, laughing. “I haven’t seen one.”
“Considering your past, maybe I should convince you to go to the tables.”
“I’m not good at the tables. I know you have a better chance at winning, but me and the machines, we’re cool.”
“How about this one?”
We sat on the edge of the gambling floor at a game that showed several ways to win—match five objects or the lucky wheels that mimicked the wheel on top of the game. If you happened to match the wheels, you got free extra spins.
“It’s funny that you choose this game,” I said. “It’s one of my favorites, and the casino’s favorite too. They take all of my money.”
I flipped through my purse to look for a few dollars, and Hendrix pulled out a hundred and put it in the machine.
“Whoa! What?” I said. “I don’t need that much unless you want to donate to the hotel.”
“You have to feed the machine,” he said. “Trust me.”
“OK…”
I was definitely bad luck as I won five dollars but lost half of the hundred doing so. I reached for the button that prints the ticket, ending the game, so we’d have some money left.
“Shelia,” Hendrix said, distracting me from my task.
“What?”
“It’s warming up. You have to keep playing.”
“Would you say you’re a gambling man?”
Another hundred came out of his wallet and went into the machine.
“Go ahead,” he said.
“You don’t want to play?” I said. He had watched me the entire time instead of playing the machine in front of him.
“My mission tonight is to make you happy. And I enjoy watching the game.”
“But I’d be happy if you’re having fun.”
“Alright,” Hendrix said and retrieved his wallet. A five dollar bill came out and went into his machine. I cracked up.
“You are entertaining,” I said.
“You haven’t seen much yet.”
Fighting my instinct to stop playing, I pulled the lever. After a few more combinations of lines, winning twenty to lose twenty, and scoring a few spins on the wheel, I found myself back down, ten dollars away from the fifty I tried to leave with before.
I put my hand on Hendrix’s shoulder to get his attention. I needed to stop doing that. I’d need another napkin soon.
“What’s up,” he said.
“Look.” I pointed to the amount left on the dashboard.
He peeked over at the dash. “So.”
“I’m quitting.”
“One more pull.”
“Fine.” I pulled the lever and…two more dollars down.
I raised my eyebrows and smiled at him.
“One more,” he said.
“Go ahead.”
Hendrix reached across me to set a multiple way 75 cent bet then pulled the lever himself. The first panel showed some free spins. The second panel gave us more spinning wheels. The third…ahh!
We won three spins on the big wheel! Lights started flashing, music played, and the big wheel on top rotated around. Fifty dollars was the first amount we won. The second free spin gave us one hundred and the third, almost a thousand
, but the ball popped over to make us win three hundred.
I laughed and had ninja like reflexes popping that button to end the game.
“See,” Hendrix said.
“With all of that music I would have thought we won the game.”
“I know. That’s how they get you.”
After securing our funds, we made our way to the limo to go check out Club Lounge. It was one of the most popular night clubs and had entrances outside and inside of the hotel’s lobby. I heard about that club from Leslie. It was number one her list for places to visit. Arriving as late as we did, we were destined to wait at least an hour outside, and we wouldn’t be promised entry once we were able to reach the door.
The limo driver dropped us off along the street’s entrance to the hotel.
“Where are we going?” I said. “I thought—”
“We are,” Hendrix said.
“Aren’t we going to stand outside over there?” I asked. “I think inside is for hotel guests.”
“Follow my lead.” Hendrix slid his arm around my back, and we passed the line inside and rounded the corner. We came to what appeared to be an empty wall. Less than a minute later, one of the bouncers showed up from some corner doorway, and led us inside.
“Who are you really Mr. Anderson?” I said.
He responded by attaching me to his side, reeling me in tighter. We exited the VIP area that the outside door had opened to and found and unoccupied area to stand. I felt his breath on my ear when he said, “Want a drink?”
I wasn’t interested at the time. My mind was engaged with observing the massive club that was packed full of people. The scene was similar to the restaurant, dark with minimal light, but the people of the club were dancing, shouting, talking, drinking, laughing, and letting loose.
“If this won’t unwind most of that tension…” Hendrix said. “Care to dance?”
Shrugging my shoulders, I said, “Sure.”
Once we squeezed our way, a few feet, onto the dance floor, he brought me in, to his chest, and we kept up with the drums during the live music and then with the DJ. Taking turns dancing and getting something to drink, I shook off my troubles with Xavier, the overwhelming feeling of being alone in a party town for a couple of days, and my Vegas bad luck.
A few hours past midnight, I fanned myself, working to keep my eyes open as Hendrix guided me to our limo outside. He opened the door and made sure to keep his arm around my hip so I wouldn’t fall. I wasn’t drunk, just a combination of being sleepy, tired, and a little too relaxed. Hendrix slid in behind me. I rolled my head back on the seat to see him.
