Chapter Five
Aurora
Leaving the Bellagio with Ryker and Cole turned out to be the best decision I had made since I arrived in Vegas—not that I had been there long enough to make very many decisions. My sister wasn’t there to share my Caesar’s Palace rooftop experience, but I wasn’t going to have to miss out on it after all. I would have never been brave enough to go up there on my own. I felt better about Ryker and Cole after spending the day with them. Ryker seemed to be extremely sweet and the more time I spent with him, the dirtier my thoughts got. I wondered what his lips tasted like and how they felt when he kissed. I wasn’t brave enough to find out on my own, but I wouldn’t have resisted if he tried.
Cole had a bit of edge to him, but he didn’t set off any alarm bells. He was certainly hot—smoldering, even. If I met him first, I might have been having those same dirty thoughts about him instead. Ryker had just locked me in a trance before I had a chance. I hated that I was so timid and shy. I had no idea how to flirt or show Ryker that I was interested without just coming out and saying it. Then what? I couldn’t exactly fall in love with him. When my week in Vegas was over, I would never see him again. I probably wouldn’t even see him again after the day was over. If I wasn’t brave enough to kiss him, I certainly wasn’t brave enough to lose my virginity and have a vacation fling. My imagination would have to do, because the tingle between my legs wasn’t going to go away until I gave it some attention, even if that attention was just my finger when I got back to the Bellagio.
“All right, so we’re going to have to get through the secured area, it looks like.” Ryker walked up and motioned with his hand.
“This will be just like the Marines.” Cole chuckled and nodded.
“Are we going to get in trouble?” I raised my eyebrows in concern.
“No, cause we aren’t going to get caught.” Ryker nudged me with his elbow. “Okay, come on—follow me.”
Ryker carefully plotted his path across the secured area, which had several security guards between us and the do
or that would take us to the roof of Caesar’s Palace. I quickly realized that there was no way in the world Becca and I would have been able to make it up there on our own. Ryker and Cole were like something out of an action movie, though. They pulled me around corners, tugged me into doorways that required us to press our bodies together to avoid detection, and before I knew it, we were closing in on the door. My head was spinning and I hadn’t even had a drink yet.
“Shit.” Cole stopped when we got to the door. “There’s an alarm.”
“Can you disable it?” Ryker looked over his shoulder to make sure nobody was coming.
“Yeah, I can. Give me a second.” Cole reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife that he quickly flicked open.
“Uh, wait. It’s not that important. I don’t want us to end up in jail.” I looked at them with a worried expression on my face.
“We’ll be fine. Cole used to dismantle IEDs in Afghanistan. He can make quick work of a hotel door alarm.” Ryker chuckled and looked over his shoulder again. “But hurry up.”
“I’m hurrying.” Cole pushed his knife into the side of the door and grunted when he yanked it back towards him. “Okay, the wire is cut. Let’s do this.”
My heart was practically beating out of my chest when Cole pushed the door open, but we were greeted with silence. The alarm didn’t go off. The three of us rushed up the stairs and then I felt the cool breeze on my face. The view from the top of Caesar’s Palace was breathtaking. It was everything I imagined and more, even if Becca wasn’t standing by my side. I walked close to the edge and looked down at the Strip. There couldn’t have been a better view in all of Las Vegas. I could see everything. I turned back towards them with a huge smile on my face, feeling adrenaline still coursing through my veins. Ryker twisted the top off the Jägermeister and poured three shots. Cole took one and he extended his hand towards me with the second one. I walked over and took it, wrinkling my nose when the harsh licorice scent filled my nostrils.
“That smells awful.” I looked at the shot and blinked. “Do people actually like this stuff?”
“Uh, you picked it.” Cole chuckled and then his eyes opened wide. “Oh, you picked it because of the movie—I got it. Yeah, I would say it’s an acquired taste.”
“It does mix well with Red Bull, though.” Ryker held up his shot. “Okay, here’s to Aurora’s first shot.”
“And possibly the last.” I grimace and lifted the plastic shot glass to my lips.
It burned. Oh, how it burned. It was like swallowing fire that tried to suffocate me before it let me die in the flames. It hit my stomach like lava churning in a volcano and my eyes opened wide with surprise. I thought it was going to come right back up, but by some miracle, it stayed below my esophagus. The aftertaste was nothing short of miserable. It tasted like someone had fed me rotten Twizzlers that wanted desperately to linger on my taste buds for eternity. Ryker and Cole stared at me for a moment as I tried to process all of the sensations, then Ryker cracked a smile. A couple of seconds later, I felt something else—it reminded me of a runner’s high without being sore.
“So, ready for another one?” Ryker held up the bottle.
“I don’t know—I don’t think I can handle that taste again.” I grimaced and felt my stomach flip when I looked at the bottle.
“We can always go down to the bar and get a mixed drink that would sit a little better on your stomach.” Cole nodded and shrugged.
“No.” I turned back and looked at the breathtaking view. “Let’s do another shot.”
“Now we’re talking.” Ryker walked over and refilled my plastic shot glass.
The second shot was a little better than the first, but it still wasn’t enjoyable going down. I could definitely feel something. There was a warm feeling in my stomach and the world just looked more vivid. I stared at the lights on the Strip and I felt like a kid, seeing something marvelous with eyes that could understand grandeur in a whole different way. The feeling seemed to get more intense after a couple of minutes. The aftertaste wasn’t gone completely, but the the agony was. I liked what I felt. I had no idea why people criticized it so much. It was euphoria on a level that I didn’t know could exist.
“Okay, I want another one.” I turned back towards Ryker and Cole.
“Easy now.” Ryker’s eyes narrowed. “You need to take it slow.”