Chapter 9

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It was better to roll into Vegas at full dark for the first time, and by the time we both got off work and on the road, it was definitely dark when we got to town. The look on Sookie’s face was priceless. The strip was all lit up for the night. There was neon and people everywhere. There was a lot to see and there was no way we could cram it into thirty-six hours.

“I take it you like it?” I slowed down some so her eyes could take in more of the sights.

“I definitely need to come back when I have more time,” she said without looking away from the street.

“Bring Benji.” I wasn’t sure what it was about the guy but something about him just seemed all wrong for Sookie. When I was younger I’d see my sisters and their friends talking about boys and they either got all animated or were hesitant to talk about the guy at all. Sookie seemed more like she was trying to convince herself that he was a catch. It wasn’t going to last, in my opinion.

“I don’t know if he’s the Vegas type,” she told me. “We’re going hiking early Wednesday morning before work, though.”

“Awww who’s bringing the granola?” I joked.

“Hush, you,” she giggled, reaching over to smack my arm.

“I should call him and warn him you’re a hitter,” I said. “So much violence, Sookie.”

“It’s a natural reaction to you being an asshole,” she shrugged.

“What about when you’re an asshole?”

“All I have to do is flash you Betty and Wilma and you forget,” she shrugged.

“Then I’m going to need you to be an asshole more often,” I said seriously.

“You wish,” she snorted. Clearly she thought I was joking.

“One of these days you’re going to understand just how much I value good boobs, Sookie,” I said. Unfortunately I turned my car to the left, off of the strip, but closer to my sister’s house. I already knew she was out for the night. Last minute dinner plans with one of her lovers or whatever.

“If we share a room I’ll allow you to snuggle them,” she offered.

“I thought I was couching it?” Benji probably wouldn’t like me being face down in her tatas. And I would be.

“I don’t know. If there’s room, why not. It’s not like you’re going to try to make a move and I don’t consider time with Betty and Wilma a move,” she shrugged. “Resting your head on them and fucking them are two entirely different things.”

“Fucking them, huh?” Even in the darkened car, I knew she was blushing. “They’re a good size for it.”

“Oh, I’m well aware,” she muttered, looking out the window again. Her shirt was low cut, giving me an awesome view of her cleavage.

The energy between us shifted. It got kind of… awkward? Tense, maybe?

Thankfully we got to Pam’s a short time later and I pulled into the long driveway that led to a six car garage. The house was enormous, but gorgeous. The guesthouse was right behind the garage. It had a small eat-in kitchen/living room combination and then a bedroom with an ensuite that was usually occupied by whatever live-in help Pam had in her employ.

I left the car in the driveway and turned off the ignition. I went to the trunk to get our bags, fishing the keys from the side pocket of my suitcase. Sookie just stared at the looming stone mansion we were standing beside.

“You coming?” I asked when I was at the gate and she was still standing there in awe, staring at the palm trees.

“Yeah.” She finally tore her eyes away to follow me through the gate.

“I don’t know what you wanted to do tonight, but I’m kind of tired. I thought we’d go out tomorrow night. Get a good night’s sleep tonight and then spend the day downtown tomorrow. If you want to hit the strip tonight you can take my car, though,” I told her.

“I’m in no rush. I wait until tomorrow,” she answered. “Maybe we can have a drink and maybe get a swim in? The pool looks amazing.”

“It is. The hot tub is sweet, too.” I held the gate for her and then led Sookie to the guesthouse. The kitchen inside wasn’t as grand as the one in the main house but it had a nice cook top and a fancy wall oven I only used for frozen pizza. Pam had turned the air on for us and like me, she liked the house to be Arctic cold. I blamed it on my subzero childhood.

“Hmm, then maybe some hot tubbing, or just hanging out here. Hell, this place is so nice I’m not sure I even need to see the strip,” she giggled.

“It’s all up to you.” I set my bag on the couch and handed Sookie hers. “The bedroom is that way.” I pointed ahead to the left. The bedroom had an enormous sleigh bed and dark, heavy wooden furniture in it. The walls were painted a rusty color that looked good with the white and gray marble Pam had personally selected, just for the shimmery silver veins in it.

“Thanks. You do know it’s not an issue if you share the room with me, right? Something tells me the bed is going to be the size of my whole condo.”

“I don’t want to tempt you into doing filthy, unspeakable things to me in the middle of the night,” I teased. “Drooly wouldn’t like it.”

Sookie laughed at that. Hard.

“Oookay,” she snorted before walking down the hall to the bedroom.

“Does that mean he would? Is he one of those weirdos who gets off on his girl fucking other dudes?”

“I don’t know. He hasn’t even tried to make a move, so I don’t actually consider myself his girl.” Sookie came out of the room with her sweater and shoes off, leaving her in jeans and a thin camisole.

“Is he gay?”

“I think he’s just old fashioned,” she shrugged. Sookie reached up to tie her hair into a bun on top of her head.

“Boring,” I coughed, and plopped down on the big L couch. Fuck, it was comfortable.

Sookie sat on the other end, kicking her feet up on the coffee table.

“He doesn’t move as fast as most guys do these days, that doesn’t make him boring.”

“You don’t look excited about him though,” I told her. “You talk about him like you talk about a good trip to the dentist.”

“I’m just getting to know him… I had to make the first move to hold his hand on our date. He’s moving really slow,” she sighed, wiggling her toes.

“Sounds like a blue plate special.”

“He’s sweet,” she shrugged. “It’s not like I have guys beating down my door.”

I didn’t comment on it, but it seemed to me that there was a basic sense of excitement that was missing. I was no expert on relationships or anything but it seemed like a waste of time to me. From the perspective of a guy, I definitely didn’t want to be a placeholder if I was really interested in a girl. To me it would be better to be rejected outright than to be led to think I had a chance.

“So what do you want to do tonight?” I figured it should be Sookie’s choice since she was the Vegas virgin.

“I thought we were staying in?”

“We can. I just thought I’d let you decide in case you don’t want to lay around like a slug,” I said.

“Are you kidding me? I excel in being a slug,” she giggled. “You said you were tired, so I don’t want to put you out. I’m fine here, really.”

“Are you sure? I’m sure I can locate a Red Bull…”

“The only thing I really want to do is see the strip,” she told me. “I can wait. Oooh, we can order some male strippers to come over… I like that idea.” She had to be joking.

“You go right ahead. I’ll be chillin’ in the other room,” I replied.

“I don’t want to see any greasy male strippers, Eric. If you’re tired, we can relax. I actually brought a suit and if it’s okay I can go sit in the hot tub.”

“Of course you can go sit in the hot tub.”

“Where is it?” Sookie scooted to the end of the couch preparing to stand.

“Outside by the pool,” I answered. “It’s the smaller, round in-ground pool.”

Sookie nodded as she stood up to walk back to the room.

“Need some help?” I politely offered.

“Do you want to help?” she asked over her shoulder, arching an eyebrow.

I laughed, knowing she was just calling my bluff.

“I’m just goofing around, Sookie.”

“Uh huh,” she smirked. When she walked away she added a little extra sway in her hips.

I was contemplating following Sookie when my phone rang. I pulled it from my pocket and found that Dawn was calling me. I sighed but answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Hey, handsome. Did you make it to town?” she purred.

“I did. We got in about a half hour ago,” I told her. “How about you?”

“I’ve been here for a few hours. I’m a little bummed you didn’t call me.”

“We just got here,” I reasoned. I hadn’t unpacked or even told my sister we had arrived.

“Who’s we? I can come to you,” she offered.

“My friend Sookie came with me. She’s never been to Vegas before. We’re staying at my sister’s house so I don’t know if inviting you here is a good idea,” I told her. Pam might not care but I did. I didn’t want Dawn trying to go through my sister if I didn’t answer her calls or texts.

“That’s too bad. I told my friends about you and they were looking forward to meeting a big, sexy basketball player.” I could hear the pout in her voice. It wasn’t sexy.

“Too bad you gave them an outdated description of me. I’m not a basketball player anymore, Dawn. I work for an insurance company,” I said. “And I’m not into the group thing. I prefer one on one interaction.”

“Apparently I misread you,” she said, her voice changing from the flirty to something a little more harsh. “You have my number if you decide you want to have a good time.”

“I don’t think you read me at all. Don’t hold your breath,” I said and then hung up on her. “Twat,” I muttered and promptly dropped my phone on the floor when Sookie came out of the bedroom in a black, old school bikini with cherries on it.

“Is everything alright?” she asked when she saw the look on my face.

“Uh huh.” I literally shook my head. “Sorry, that was Dawn.”

“Ooooh, the hooker?” Sookie wasn’t teasing, she meant it.

“She’s not a hooker, at least as far as I know. And I told her I wasn’t interested in a crazy bitch gangbang.” I still had horrific loose pussy images lingering in my brain.

“Good,” she replied with a shiver.  “Why don’t you join me in the hot tub? Is there beer?”

“Not in the hot tub.”

“I didn’t think it was in the hot tub, silly. I shouldn’t drink it anyway. I’ll save all my drinkin’ calories for tomorrow. I’m going to go out there; you’re welcome to join me.”

“I’m thinking about it. This couch is just so damn comfortable.” I felt like a slug. I didn’t want to move, but boobs. Wet boobs… Hmmm…

“Alright.” Sookie patted my head as she walked past me to the back door.

Eventually it was the boobs that won out. I got up and started pulling clothes off to put my trunks on. I was pulling them from my bag when Sookie came back in.

“I need a towel,” she said.

“There should be a cabinet outside full of them.” She didn’t seem to care that I was butt naked.

“You should really start changing in the bathroom or something,” she told me without looking at me.

“Pam’s not here,” I shrugged.

“So you like flashing me all your goodies?” She made it to the linen closet. “Are you going to need a towel too?”

“You just walked in at the wrong moment. I notice you’re not hiding your eyes, so it can’t bother you. And yes, please,” I replied. I went to the kitchen and grabbed a pair of beers. There was a bar outside in the outdoor kitchen.

“I’ve seen it now, so what’s the point?” She walked toward the back door and waited for me to join her.

“It’s nothing special, I know.” I followed her out.

Sookie walked over to the hot tub and set the towels on the side. She didn’t hesitate to walk in and as soon as she sat in the water Betty and Wilma floated right up to the surface.

“This feels amazing,” she groaned, dropping her head back.

I tried not to trip over my own feet as I walked into the water. I twisted the caps off the beers and handed Sookie one before I sat down across from her. I took a long pull from the bottle and then closed my eyes.

“Do you think your sister wants to be my sugar mama?” Sookie asked quietly.

“I have no clue,” I answered. With Pam, just about anything was possible.

“I think I’ll ask her when I meet her.”

“Go for it.” I took another drink of the beer and leaned back in the jacuzzi. The gently rolling water felt good.

I heard Sookie shift, probably drinking her own beer. After a few moments I felt her toes skim my shin.

“Oops,” she murmured.

“No worries.” I set my beer on the deck beside the tub.

“Do you have a plan for us tomorrow?” Sookie asked.

“Nope.”

“Do you want to get up with me in the morning and go for a brisk walk?” She was serious.

“Depends on how many beers we drink tonight,” I answered honestly.

“Someone your size could probably drink a twelve pack and be fine,” she snorted.

“Oh yeah? I don’t drink heavily very often so I think your theory may not be right,” I told her.

“I don’t want to test it.”

“The last time you ended up in bed with me.”

“Is that such a bad thing?” Sookie took another drink of her beer.

“I don’t remember complaining,” I replied.

“It’s ’cause you like my pillows,” she smirked.

“Betty and Wilma get chatty. I’m a good listener,” I shrugged.

Sookie laughed and said, “I’ve never heard them talk. You must be the boob whisperer.”

“Nope, I’m just a listener.”

“Clearly,” she chuckled. “It wasn’t so bad anyway, you’re a good cuddler. I haven’t had a good snuggle in a long time.”

“You better test drive the new guy,” I said.

“Maybe. He doesn’t seem like the type to stay the night for a while,” she shrugged.

“Hit it and quit it, huh?” I joked.

“More like I’m going to have to have a ring on my finger and new last name.”

“And you want to get a better sense of what you’re maybe signing up for?” I suggested. I couldn’t blame her there.

“I like what I know about him. He’s open and honest, but so far the details I’m getting are things you could find on the internet, ya know?”

“That’s how it always starts with a stranger,” I reminded her.

“I know that, but we’ve talked enough to get into some more personal details. I guess it’s good,” she sighed.

“You’re bored with him,” I smiled smugly.

“I don’t want to admit that to you,” she muttered.

“Why not?” I already knew it. She knew I knew it.

“I don’t want you to rub it in my face that he’s boring,” she chuckled.

“We could prank call him,” I offered.

“No we can’t. He’s a sweet guy and doesn’t deserve that.”

“So it would be wrong to call and ask if his fridge is running or if there’s a Seymour Butts there?”

“Yes, it would be wrong,” Sookie laughed.

“But entertaining,” I said.

“No. I’m still going on a date with him on Wednesday. Unlike you, I’m not an asshole.” She kicked her foot up, splashing water into my face.

“Going on a pity date doesn’t mean you’re not an asshole,” I replied, splashing her back.

“It’s not a pity date.” It was. “I’m still trying to figure out how much I like him.” She splashed me again.

“I’m going to call him.” I jumped up and quickly climbed out of the hot tub. Sookie tried to catch me before I got in the house and snatched up her phone but my longer legs gave me an advantage that had her cussing me out as the guesthouse door slammed shut.

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