He didn’t feel like a stranger, though. A big part of her regretted that she hadn’t agreed to see him again. Her feelings had gotten out of her control. She liked him far more than was good for her.
She’d even started hoping that he would ask again. She didn’t know what her answer would be. The more she thought about it, the more muddled she felt, so instead she just relaxed against his side and engulfed herself in his warmth and his smell. Big decisions could wait until the next day.
He wrapped his arm tighter around her, squeezing her slightly. He said, “Oh, hey. I got some playing cards down at the gift shop on my way back from the rodeo yesterday. Forgot to mention it. We have enough time when we get back for me to destroy you at poker before you need to leave.”
He really would destroy her at poker, but she found the idea amusing rather than intimidating. It was weird to think that he was the only man she had ever dated whom she didn’t mind losing to. No. Not dating. Just a Vegas fling, she reminded herself sternly with a small shake of her head. Thinking of this thing as a date was dangerous. Screw you, Cody-the-dealer, and your love talk.
She pushed the thought away. “Sounds fun. Do you have poker chips?”
His mouth turned up into the crooked smile she liked so much. “Nope. We’ll have to play strip poker or something.”
The idea sent a thrill through her.
When they arrived back at his hotel room, they were both quiet and relaxed. She still had a couple of hours before she had to leave to get ready for dinner with Cindy—plenty of time for anything. Aaron looked at her with an eyebrow raised. “Robes?”
“I thought we were going to play strip poker?”
His grin told her everything she wanted to know.
“Robes,” she agreed.
Soon they were both clad only in the soft fluffiness of the Hard Rock’s luxury robes. He went to the bathroom while she relaxed on the couch, waiting for him to come back, the expectation of their afternoon charging the air around her.
A phone on the table beside her vibrated and lit up. She glanced at it automatically before realizing her phone was still in her purse. Before the screen went dark, she saw the name of the person who had texted Aaron, and felt pulled to turn on the screen and read the text that had shown up below the name Olivia.
Before she could stop herself, her finger pressed the home button and the phone lit up. The entire text showed on the lock screen, and before it turned dark again, she’d read the entire message. Olivia had written Seven works for me. I’ll talk to you tonight!
He was meeting another girl as soon as she left for dinner. Jessica’s stomach twisted and she found it hard to breathe. She leaned back, away from the phone, and inhaled slowly and deeply. Why had she expected anything different? She’d seen him outside the strip club. She knew that was the kind of guy he was.
In fact, she decided, she wasn’t sad about the situation, just mad that she had let herself think anything other than what her rational mind had been telling her all along. She knew he’d been with plenty of women. That was the main reason she’d decided never to see him again. Still, she had been hoping that maybe he’d be able to change, to settle down and stick to just one woman. Despite her head’s intention to leave everything in Vegas, her heart had been hoping they could somehow find a way to be together.
That was stupid. She saw that clearly. Nothing had changed between her and Aaron, because this was the expectation all along. It was a fun weekend thing, and she should’ve known that he would find something to do while she was gone. And that something’s name was Olivia.
Despite everything she told herself, though, all the logical reasons why she shouldn’t feel upset, she wanted nothing more than to run out the door. The walls of the giant room felt far too close and she longed to be anywhere else, but she worked to get herself tightly under control. Aaron was going to return any moment, and she had to get back to normal before he did.
Since it was very clear from the outset that they weren’t going to be some long-term exclusive couple, she couldn’t fault him for her emotions getting away from her. She just needed to keep things light and relaxed, which was exactly what she should’ve been doing all along.
When she heard the bathroom door open, she grabbed the TV remote. She didn’t want to look guilty. With one last long, calming breath, Jessica turned on whatever movie the icon was on when the screen lit up. She didn’t know what it was she turned on, but anything would be better than silence or something as intimate as the type of poker game he had suggested.
He came back into the room and sat down next to her, dropping his hand onto her thigh. “You’d rather watch a movie than play poker? What are we watching?”
Her throat felt tight and she didn’t know if she wanted to slap his hand away or curl herself up against him. She chose to stay still and forced her voice to come out even. “I’m not sure. I just turned on whatever.”
He glanced at her, then looked again more closely, and she knew she was doing a terrible job of letting go of what she’d seen. She wanted to leave things on good terms, but she had to get out of there. His look of concern grew more pronounced as she stood up. “Hey, is everything okay?”
She tried to make her voice as light as possible. “Yes, I just realized that I really should get back and get ready for that dinner thing. I can’t sit around here the whole day.”
She grabbed her clothes as quickly as possible and walked into the bedroom, forcing herself not to lock the door. She reminded herself again that he hadn’t done anything wrong and didn’t deserve to be given a cold shoulder from her.
She was dressed in a flash and back out into the living room. He was still sitting on the couch, but his whole body was turned toward her, and his face showed absolute perplexity. “What’s wrong? What’s going on? Did something happen?”
She brushed his questions aside with a wave of her hand. “Nothing’s wrong. It’s just me. I have to deal with some things, but it has nothing to do with you.”
She walked over quickly to give him a peck on the cheek to show him and herself that everything was fine, but he turned his head as she kissed him, pressing his lips hard against hers, his hand moving to the back of her head. She almost let herself fall into the kiss, and the wall she’d been rebuilding around her heart crumbled a little before she realized what was happening and pulled away. As she stood back up, he whispered, “Please don’t go.”
It tore at her, but she pretended she hadn’t heard and turned toward the door. In the same light voice as before, she said, “Today was fun. I’m sorry I have to go, but enjoy your evening. I’ll talk to you later.”
Before he could say anything else or ask if she’d be coming back that night, she was out the door. She didn’t want to have to answer questions. The elevator opened the moment she touched the button. As the doors slid shut behind her, she wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed that he hadn’t come after her.
Her hand brushed away a few stray tears that had appeared on her cheeks. There was no reason to cry. She’d had an amazing weekend fling with an attractive cowboy, and now it was over. Time to get back to her real life and stop the fantasy nonsense. Fantasies don’t work well in real life.
By the time the elevator stopped at the casino level, she was under control. She strode through the banks of slot machines and out the door into the bright sunlight. Taxis were lined up waiting for customers, and one whisked her away to her own hotel.
Sitting in the back, she told herself once again that, really, she was making the right choice, not seeing him again. She didn’t want a guy in her life, even if he did have eyes that made her blood run hot and hands that made her tremble with pleasure. Even if his smile melted her inside and he was funny and smart.
She brought her legs up onto the seat and wrapped her arms around them, holding her body together with all her strength. At the hotel, she paid the fare and walked upstairs quietly and with all the serenity she could muster. Once she was alone in the hotel room, though, the tears came hot and fast, and she let them.
After a while, she pulled herself back together and began dressing for dinner. She wasn’t sure what level of attire was appropriate, but neither did she care much. Once her hair was tied in a bun and she was in whatever outfit was nearest, she headed to Cindy’s room.
The moment Cindy opened the door, her expression immediately transformed into one of shock. “Oh my God, what did the bastard do? Are you okay?”
Jessica was taken aback. “What do you mean? I’m fine.”
Cindy scoffed. “No, you’re not. I know what you normally look like. This red-eyed girl with the hangdog expression is not you. You look worse than when you came over after the Russ incident.”
Apparently her efforts to pull things together were not completely successful. “I’m fine. I’ve decided not to see Aaron again. I let myself get too close, and started to forget that it was just a weekend fling, but it’s fine. Don’t worry, really. We’re going back to New York tomorrow and I’ll only remember it as a fun Vegas thing. It’ll be fine.”
“You said fine way too many times. Did you try to set up something so you’d see each other again? Did he say he only wanted a weekend fling? Was that it?”