Where I Need to Be Page 2

  *~*~*

  The next morning, I woke up early so I could cook us breakfast and make Ryan’s favorite: chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. Just as the bacon was almost done, Ryan walked into the kitchen looking extremely depressed with puffy eyes from crying all night.

  "Sit, I am making your favorites," I said to her as soon as she entered the kitchen.

  "I'm not hungry."

  "Too bad, I got up early just to make you a special breakfast."

  "Fine, you know I can't pass up bacon."

  "That's my girl." Setting her plate on the breakfast bar I said, “You know what? No more of us moping around thinking of the men in our life. Let’s go to Vegas on Friday and enjoy a girl’s trip!”

  “Oh my God, Spence, let’s do it!”

  Ryan was always up for Vegas. I knew I didn’t need to ask her twice. It was just the thing—we both needed a mini-vacation to process everything that had happened the last month with both of us. If Ryan still wanted Max back when we got home from Vegas, operation “Get Max Back” would be in full force.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The next week flew by. At the gym, I saw my hottie a few times, but he just smiled at me like he did every time he saw me. Maybe he was just being polite. I had already given up any hope that he would ask me out and I was way too chicken to say anything to him. Call me old fashioned, but the guy should make the first move. Besides, I’d given him plenty of flirtatious smiles to let him know I was interested and Ryan already forgot her threat because of the whole Max ordeal.

  On Friday after work, Ryan and I headed to the airport. “I can’t wait—long drunken nights followed by tanning by the pool during the day. This is going to be a blast,” I said to Ryan.

  “I know. What do you want to do first?”

  “I don’t know… let’s see what clubs we can get into tonight with those free passes they give out on the Strip.”

  Ryan and I were no Vegas virgins. With it being only an hour and a half flight from SFO, we usually went to Vegas at least once or twice a year or maybe more.

  Just as Ryan and I approached our gate, I noticed him. My left arm and hand had a mind of their own as they launched out and grabbed Ryan’s right arm. “Ow! What the hell, Spence?”

  “Holy shit! The guy from the gym is sitting over there.”

  “Shut up! Oh my God, are you serious? Where? Which one?” Her head swung around to look for him.

  “Dude, don’t make it so obvious.” I pinched her arm to make her stop looking. “Look casually…by the window between the guy and girl,” I said while nudging my head in their direction. Of course, at that moment he decided to look up and caught me staring at him again. Without skipping a beat, he flashed me that heart-stopping smile. I felt like my legs were going to give out on me at any moment.

  “Damn!” she said, dragging out the word. “He is hot, Spence. And I think he’s going to Vegas, too.”

  “Seriously?” My pulse jumped as I thought of the possibility of us being seated next to each other on the plane.

  “Well, it does look like he is waiting at our gate.”

  I was starting to feel a little giddy, but then I saw him smile and dip his head to listen to something the girl next to him was saying. Please tell me that is not his girlfriend. My heart began to sink.

  I didn’t know if being on the same flight was fate or pure coincidence, but it didn’t matter if he was already taken. Regardless, I couldn’t sit at the gate with him and kill myself wondering for the next hour. Sighing, I tugged on Ryan’s arm. “Let’s go grab a drink at the bar.”

  *~*~*

  When we boarded the plane I saw him, but I wasn’t sure if he noticed me since Ryan and I sat at the back of the plane and he was toward the front. I’m not sure what I would have done if we’d been seated close together.

  If I wasn’t so shy, I might have approached him and struck up a conversation. The last thing I’d expected upon arriving at the airport was finding him there, and I was certainly not expecting him to be on the same flight as me. I wondered where he was staying and why he was going to Vegas. And then scolded myself for wondering—none of that mattered if he had a girlfriend.

  We landed in Vegas around eight. After about an hour, Ryan and I finally made it to our hotel. We spent the next hour getting ready to go out by freshening up our make-up and downing a bottle of champagne to get a head start on our night of partying. We decided to change into short skirts with sparkly tops and strappy high-heeled sandals that were sure to make our feet hurt from all the dancing. Looking in the mirror at ourselves and striking high fashion model poses, we giggled as we took one Facebook photo after another. Over the years we’d sometimes been mistaken as twins, but more often as sisters.

  "Hey, what color eye shadow should I put on?" Ryan asked as she squeezed into the small bathroom where I was getting ready.

  "I like the purple. It will bring out your brown eyes," I said, running the flat iron through my hair.

  "Cool, what color are you going to wear?"

  "I'm digging the silver."

  "Oh, I like it. I think it will look good with your brown eyes and blue top."

  "Yep, that is what I was thinking."

  When we were ready, we set out to find a club. We knew that if we showed some skin, we would get a lot of attention from guys and hopefully score some free drinks. It’s not like we were looking to hook up with random men or anything, but buying drinks in Vegas clubs was the fastest way to empty a girl’s bank account. We just wanted to have a good time, dance and hopefully not have too bad of a hangover the next morning.

  We walked down the Strip soaking in what some people called “Disneyland for Adults". It had been a while since Ryan and I had last been to Vegas, and we were like little kids in a candy shop.

  We finally found a guy who was passing out club passes. He handed us two for Lavo at The Palazzo. Thankfully, we were able to skip the long line and get in for free. When we made it into the club, I gave Ryan a little booty bump with my hip and grinned at her—it was gorgeous inside.

  The bar was packed, but I was finally able to nudge my way between people and ordered two redheaded sluts. “I’m going to need at least one more of these before I am able to get on the dance floor,” I yelled so Ryan could hear me over the loud music, and she nodded in agreement.

  We quickly drank our shots and I turned around to order another round, but the bartender handed me two more before I said a word. “This is from the gentleman over there.” He nodded towards the other end of the bar, “The one in the black shirt.” I quickly turned my head to see what nice guy had bought us a drink. Of course it was him.

  I turned back to Ryan, slapping her arm to get her attention. “Holy shit, Mr. Hottie just bought us a drink!”

  “Who?” she said as she scanned the room.

  “The guy from the gym. What do I do? Oh my God, what do I say? Maybe he doesn't have a girlfriend after all.” I was starting to freak out a little. He bought me a drink—I had to make the first move to talk to him. Alright Spencer, time to put your big girl panties on.

  I turned to go over to thank him but he was gone. What the fuck? He was there one second and gone the next. Was he some sort of ninja? I swear he was just standing there. I scanned the room that was packed to the brim, but I didn’t see him.

  My face fell. “Ahh Ryan… I think he left.”

  She shrugged. “Weird. Oh well. Drink up so we can dance.”

  We clicked our glasses with a quick cheer, threw our shots back and made our way onto the dance floor. The dance floor was lightly lit with colorful strobe lights surrounded by cushioned booths on the outside edges.

  We had been dancing for at least a half hour with different people; sometimes a group of girls, sometimes some guys. I was just about to leave the dance floor for a quick break to rest my tired feet when I felt someone start dancing with me from behind. Whoever it was placed their hands on my hips. As buzzed as I was, I didn’t really think anything of it an
d continued to dance. About a minute later, Ryan turned to say something to me. Her eyes grew big and in that moment I realized who I must be dancing with.

  Desire overtook my emotions. I had waited almost three weeks for his touch. Fantasized about it a few nights when all I could do was think of him and his smile when I tried to fall asleep at night.

  The music pounded in my head. His arms wrapped around my waist from behind, pulling me against him. I could feel the hard muscles of his chest against my back. His hips moved against mine. With his hard length pressing into my ass, I could feel how much he wanted me. I wanted him just as badly.

  Jeremih’s hit Down on Me featuring 50 Cent played as our bodies moved with the music. I reached up with my right hand and held onto the back of his neck and slid my fingers through his hair. He pulled me harder against his erection. It felt like the whole club had disappeared. All I could do now was close my eyes and enjoy the ride that I had longed for.

  Our hips rocked and popped to the song. Just like the song was saying, I was grinding my ass into him. I felt his face bury in my hair as he kissed my neck lightly sending tingles down my entire body. Moisture starting to build between my legs. My heart started beating faster and my breath caught.

  The strobe lights flashed over the dance floor, reflecting off a rotating disco ball as the beat of the music thumped in my ears. It felt like we were dancing for hours. Everything seemed to be in slow motion; however, Jeremih and 50 were still singing.

  Just as the song ended the DJ started playing the next song. It was one of my new favorites, a remix of Alex Clare’s song, Too Close.

  He spun me around so his right leg fit snugly between my legs. He looked down at me, his mocha colored eyes locked with mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and ran my fingers through his hair again, loving the silky texture. He slid his hands down my back and cupped my ass as we rocked, swayed and gyrated to the pounding music.

  My skirt was very short, so it was slowly sliding up my thighs which gave the front of my panties contact with his jean-clad thigh. My heart raced more as my panties dampened and my clit throbbed with an almost painful need for more. His fingers tightened against my ass as he pulled me harder against his leg. Sweat rolled down my back—it was almost too much.

  He was grinding his thigh against my clit as I thought of how badly I’d wanted him for weeks. I was finally dancing with him—though I still didn’t even know his name. But in the midst of my thoughts and the overwhelming feeling of touching him and dancing with him, I couldn’t have stopped my climax even if I’d wanted to. I couldn’t believe the intensity of the feelings I was experiencing there in public with him, surrounded by people.

  I tugged tighter onto his hair while trying not to collapse from the surge of pleasure running all the way through me. I leaned my head into his chest to muffle the moan that escaped my mouth as I climaxed. I tried to stop dancing to enjoy the orgasm, but his hands grasped my ass tighter as he kept me pressed hard against his leg so our bodies continued to sway to the music.

  If he had asked me to go up to his room at that moment, I would have said yes. I had never hooked up with a stranger, let alone in Vegas…at a club. I had never had sex in public, never had an orgasm in public for that matter. I didn’t care.

  At last, we slowly stopped dancing, but he was still pulling me hard onto his leg and his eyes were locked with mine. He gave me his smile that I remembered so well. I was trying to relax and let my heart return to normal, but looking into his eyes only made it race more. I still couldn’t speak—could barely breathe. A few seconds later, the song ended. He bent down, nuzzled my neck and I could feel his warm breath against my cheek as he whispered, “Thank you,” and then walked away.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Thank you? What the fuck just happened? I stood there stunned for what seemed like an eternity. Ryan stepped in front of me. “Oh my God, Spence, that was the fucking hottest dancing I have ever seen!”

  “I need a drink…maybe even a cigarette.” I had never smoked before but it seemed appropriate at the moment. Ryan and I made our way back to the bar. I really needed to sit down for a minute. I squeezed between people to get the bartender’s attention again and ordered four shots of Patron. Ryan and I sat long enough to toss our shots back like champs. We were feeling really, really good. I was definitely on Cloud Nine if not Cloud One Hundred!

  After a quick restroom break to do a mirror check, we resumed our dancing out on the dance floor. I only danced with Ryan the rest of the night, a little bummed that he didn’t dance with me again. I wasn’t even sure if he was still there as I didn’t see him again. I kept replaying our two dances over and over in my head.

  It was getting close to the wee hours of the morning. I tapped Ryan’s shoulder, “Ry, it’s time for bed.” I was beat. I’d worked a full day before we left for Vegas, and considering that my brain was a cluster fuck at that moment, I was in dire need of my bed. Ryan agreed and we decided to call it a night as we headed back to our room.

  *~*~*

  The next day, Ryan and I ate brunch at Café Vettro at the Aria hotel where we were staying. Realizing we had drunk our dinner last night, we were both starving. After brunch, we decided to go to the Liquid Day Club & Lounge at our hotel. It had two pools for adults only, which was perfect for us. No way did I want to spend the day with screaming kids running around. There were private cabanas and chaise lounge chairs to enjoy while listening to the DJ play the latest hits. The lounge also provided a full bar that had a light food menu. Ryan and I were set for the day.

  Enjoying the desert sun in the middle of September was perfect. Just as I was drifting off to sleep on the chaise lounge, two guys made their way to us. “Hello ladies. I’m Trevor and this is my friend Matt--we were wondering if we could buy you pretty ladies a drink?” Of course Ryan and I were not going to pass up a free drink.

  Ryan spoke up first, “Yes, you may! I’m Megan and this is my friend Courtney.” We greeted each other with a handshake. I wasn’t expecting Ryan to remember our “Vegas” names. We used the names when we had no interest in the men that we encountered. It wasn’t that Matt and Trevor were sleazebags, but Ryan and I were not in the habit of picking up random guys out of town.

  Matt and Trevor were both tall with athletic builds and looked gorgeous in their swim trunks. They had mouth-watering chiseled abs, bare chests and huge biceps. However, neither one of them were my type. They both had surfer blond hair and blue eyes, but I preferred brown hair and brown eyes, like him.

  Of course there was nothing wrong with the way Matt and Trevor looked. Ryan and I would definitely pretend to be into them. Actually Ryan wouldn’t even have to pretend as they were both her type. I just had someone else on my mind.

  Matt and Trevor bought us a drink and we spoke about what our plans for the night were. At that moment we had no idea. Matt and Trevor told us that we should check out the club at Aria called Haze. We thought it was a good idea since it was in our hotel. After an hour of chatting, Ryan and I said our goodbyes to Matt and Trevor and told them that we might see them later at the club.

  *~*~*

  It was starting to get late in the afternoon and Ryan wanted to go shopping. After getting ready, we shopped all along the Strip. We went to the Miracle Mile at Planet Hollywood, window shopped at the Venetian and strolled through the shops at the Bellagio.

  Ryan spent a pretty penny, but I didn’t see anything I wanted until we passed by Louis Vuitton at the Bellagio. “I have always wanted a Louis,” I said longingly. Ryan grew up with a privileged life, while I was raised in the average middle-income family. So while she was always able to shop at all the high end designer boutiques, I had always bought my clothes and purses at Target. And I still loved Target, but it wasn’t Louis Vuitton.

  “Why don’t you buy one? You haven’t bought anything all day but food.” Ryan didn’t understand the concept of living paycheck to paycheck. Not only did her family have money, but she made more money than m
e. Heck, if I wasn't living with Ryan at one of her parent's houses, I would probably be living in a one bedroom apartment that was six hundred square feet for twenty-five hundred dollars a month.

  “I can’t afford a two-thousand dollar purse!” I said, laughing at Ryan’s frivolous suggestion. “Come on, let’s go eat and then get ready to go to that club, Haze.”

  *~*~*

  Later that night, we made our way downstairs to Haze. While it was packed and had dimmed lighting, Matt and Trevor seemed to spot us quickly. They bought us drinks again and asked us to dance. I danced with Trevor while Ryan danced with Matt. Ryan seemed to be enjoying herself as Matt was very attentive and never left her side throughout the night.

  However, Trevor danced a little too close for my comfort and all I could think about was my previous night dancing with my hottie. But they kept buying us drinks, and Ryan was having such a good time and finally seemed to have gotten her mind off of Max for a while, so I figured the least we could do was dance with them.

  It was starting to get pretty late…or should I say early in the morning. Ryan and I decided to call it a night. Before leaving, Matt and Trevor asked for our phone numbers. They said they lived in Tacoma, Washington and could easily come see us in Seattle. Ryan and I had mentioned earlier at the pool that we were from Seattle. We both knew how to play the part of Megan and Courtney because we had done it several times over the years. We gave them our fake phone numbers and told them we hoped we would hear from them soon.

  While on our way back to our room, I told Ryan that I wanted to put my last six dollars that I had in my pocket in a slot machine. We stopped at one of the Lucky 7 machines. I put my six dollars in, pressed the max bet of three dollars…nothing. I pressed the max bet button again and the first row hit a Wild 7 followed by the second row hitting another Wild 7. The third row continued to spin for what seemed like forever. I held my breath and… it hit another Wild 7! My heart stopped and Ryan and I both started jumping up and down, waving our hands and “woo hooing” while the bell on the machine rang. I had hit the jackpot!