Vegas Virgin (Nevada Bad Boys 1)

“I promise.” She nodded quickly.

“Okay.” I pulled my lips away and started to stand.

I helped her up to her feet and continued kissing the exposed flesh I could find as she got dressed. Once all of her clothes were on, I slid on my t-shirt and put on my shoes. We made small talk as I drove back to her hotel, feeling the ache of knowing she would be leaving me soon. It was hard to understand why I felt that way for someone I didn’t even know the day before. There was nothing that would have drawn me to her other than her curves, but spending the day with her had made me feel a connection that I hadn’t felt with anyone in years. We sat in my truck for several minutes once I got her to the front door of the hotel and then we kissed one final time. I traded cell phone numbers with her so we could keep in touch and then she was gone. Even after I lit a cigarette on the drive back to my side of town, I could still smell her perfume in the cab of the truck. I had several messages from Floyd asking about the stuff and whether or not I had managed to sell it. He wasn’t going to be happy with me.

“Y OU DID WHAT!?” FLOYD jumped off his couch when I told him the news.

“I want to get the tablet back too and anything else you have left. We shouldn’t have stolen her shit.” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“I suppose you want the duffel bag too?” He stood up and walked into his bedroom.

“No, that didn’t belong to her.” I walked to the door and he returned with a handful of small items and the tablet.

“You’re lucky we are friends, otherwise I’d shank you for this shit.” He pushed the items into my hands. “How the fuck do you know she won’t call the cops?”

“She already had the chance to do that and she didn’t. If she was going to call them, we’d be in jail already.” I left out the fact we had sex as I placed the items on the table.

“I guess we got lucky this time.” Floyd exhaled angrily and grabbed two beers from the fridge. “If she was able to track you down, then she could have just shown up with the police.”

“I know.” I nodded and took a seat at the table.

“Listen, I’m done with this petty shit. We need to do a big job—one that we can retire on.” He unfolded a piece of paper and pushed it over to me.

“What is this?”

I picked it up and stared at an advertisement for a jewelry exhibit.

“Remember that shitty jewelry store we used to sell gold at back in the day? The one over on Boone Street?” He sipped his beer.

“Yeah.” I nodded and dropped the paper. “They don’t have shit worth stealing man—we certainly won’t retire off it.”

“They got bought out by some gentrification company that wants to take over the neighborhood. Tomorrow, they’re doing some sort of artist collection and bringing in real stuff—high end. They’re trying to become more upscale.” He chuckled. “Have you seen the old neighborhood? They even put in a Starbucks.”

“No shit? Well either way, I’m not robbing a jewelry store. You’re crazy.” I pointed at the paper. “That’s just a ticket to hard time.”

“It’ll be in-and-out. We know that neighborhood better than anyone. We can disappear before the cops even know what happened, just like we used to when we were kids.” He smiled and picked up his beer again. “Free money.”

“Nothing like this is free.” I shook my head angrily. “I’m not doing this. We got caught stealing fucking luggage, man.”

“I’m doing it whether you’re with me or not. This could be our ticket to retirement.” He grinned. “Where would you go if you could go anywhere in the world?”

Georgia? If there is actually something happening between us, I could leave Las Vegas once and for all.

“I don’t know, man. This seems like too big of a risk.” I shook my head again.

“You owe me. You already lost everything we got from the luggage.” He picked up the paper again.

“I don’t owe you shit.” I sipped my beer and glared at him.

Later that night I lay awake on my couch with another empty bottle of liquor beside me. There was no way that Peoria would want to stay in Vegas with me. If I told her I was moving to Georgia, she would probably think I had lost my mind. Things that happened in Vegas were supposed to stay there, not follow you home. The whole thing was foolish, from the thought of actually robbing the jewelry store to dreaming of a life with someone I just met. I would be the crazy bastard that stole her luggage and took her virginity—that was hardly enough to build a life on. I didn’t know a lot about her, although she practically told me her life story during the course of the day while we were together. Still, that was probably a fresh coat of paint on the truth, just like the things I told her. I certainly didn’t tell her I spent time in prison or that I was the barely functional version of an alcoholic. Having the dream wasn’t dangerous, but actually going through with it—that was a risk I wasn’t willing to take.

Chapter 9: Peoria

“Y ou have to be the stupidest person in the world!” Fiona’s nostrils flared after I got done telling her how I got my stuff back.

“It worked out.” I shrugged. “I got everything back—well, most of it.”

“You could have been killed! Getting it back wasn’t good enough, either? You spent the whole day with some common criminal?” Fiona’s nostrils continued to flare and her eyes bulged out of her head.