Chapter 67

Author’s Note: You knew it would happen – we’re going back to Vegas. But this is a trip unlike any other we’ve had before. What kind of trouble can John get into? Probably a lot! Please enjoy.

After that magical moment with my girls, another interminable wait began again. The difference this time was our optimism. Everything felt different. We were confident Kat would be pregnant. Rita, always the believer in positive thinking, encouraged us all to simply act as if Kat was carrying our baby. So we did. It was easier than the alternative, which I pushed out of my mind because the anxiety at the thought of going through months and months of trying again was a heavy load to bear.

My birthday was coming up, and, while I had always treated it as just another day, the girls decided they wanted to do something special for it. In the past, I preferred an intimate evening at home with them. This year, they said I could have that but that they were going to give me something special on top of it.

And so I found myself sitting on a sofa one Thursday afternoon. Kat and Rita were still in their work clothes. They stood with Jess in front of me, revealing the surprise they had teased me with for two weeks.

“So, John,” Kat began, “this year, as you know, we’ve decided you need a major birthday present.”

“But we didn’t know what it should be,” Rita chimed in. “Because what do you get the man who has everything?”

“And you do have everything,” Jess said with emphasis.

“So we talked about it, and we agreed,” Kat said.

“You love experiences,” Rita said.

“And we know the experience you love the most,” Jess said.

They spoke as if singing a round.

“You have been such an unwavering champion of all three of us,” Kat said. “You support everything we do, and you make our lives better than any of us could have ever dreamed.”

“Which led us to the conclusion that you deserve one special treat for your birthday,” Rita said. “Something that we think you’ll really love. And something that comes from all three of us.”

“Wow,” I finally interjected.

“Your bag is packed,” Jess said, cutting me off. “And we are going to take you to the airport right now.”

“Because you’re going to Vegas, daddy,” Kat said.

“And there are going to be zero questions asked,” Rita said. “This is your weekend. For you. Anything. You. Want. You can tell us or not.”

“But I can tell you we probably are going to want to hear about it!” Kat interrupted with a laugh.

“We can’t leave you entirely to your own devices, though,” Jess said. “That’s why Katie is going with you.”

“As a chaperone,” Kat said with a twinkle in her eye.

“We love you, John,” Rita said. “We love you more than you will ever know. And we think this is the perfect present for you.”

“Now get your ass in the car,” Jess said with a laugh.

Forty-five minutes later, our usual G-550 was climbing to its cruising altitude, and my head was still spinning. About how lucky I was. About Kat’s looming pregnancy test. About how much trouble I could get in. I was in a fog, and I had barely taken in my surroundings since boarding.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Katie said.

She was sitting across from me in a foursome of captain’s chairs that spun around almost fully. Usually, I would have sat on the benches with the table, but I wasn’t myself. Hearing Katie’s voice snapped me back to the moment.

“Katie,” I said, “I’m so sorry.”

She flashed her toothy, white smile, her lips more pink than red, and I finally saw her. She wore a pale blue t-shirt dress, which plunged at her breasts and hugged her body from her chest. Her legs were crossed, pulling the light fabric up her thighs as she bounced an athletic calf over her knee. She wore smart white sneakers and had a familiar sparkle in her eyes.

“Don’t give it a second thought,” she said. “I’m just here to make sure you don’t get into trouble.”

When she said that, she took her aviator sunglasses off her head and hooked them over the dress between her breasts, tugging down harder than she needed to but just enough to reveal she wasn’t wearing her bra.

With my wits back about me, I smiled at her.

“Do you really think that’s possible?” I said.

She sensed my change in demeanor.

“I really hope not,” she said, licking her lips subtly.

“I thought you were keeping me out of trouble,” I said as we verbally jousted.

“That’s why I’m not going to let you out of my sight,” she said.

I got my bearings and realized I didn’t even know what was packed in my suitcase. Vegas in early November was quite pleasant, with temperatures in the mid-70s, but it could get quite cold at night. Kat, Jess, and Rita had accounted for all of that in my luggage, which I examined once we leveled off at cruising altitude. Aside from the appropriate wardrobe, I noticed three manila envelopes. Each was labeled with one of my girlfriend’s names with “Do not open until Vegas” printed and underlined beneath it. There was a large chunk of cocaine in one the interior pockets, along with a vial full of fine powder.

“For the flight,” I said to myself with a smile. “They thought of everything.”

When I saw how thoughtful the girls had been about planning this, I decided I would be doing them a disservice if I didn’t embrace it. That was a self-serving conclusion, which only made it better for me. I palmed the vial of coke and returned to my seat across from Katie. Before I could speak to her and get things back on track, Christy, our flight attendant came over with a bottle of Champagne.

“Right as rain, Mr. Cameron?” Christy asked.

“Perfect, Christy, thank you,” I said. “I didn’t realize I was traveling today, so I was a little bit off my game.”

“You are always on your game, sir,” she said.

Her usual white, button-down shirt seemed tighter than usual, a noticeable gap between the buttons at her breasts. Her skirt was as tight as ever.

“And you look especially lovely today, Christy,” I said.

“I traded in my boobs for new ones,” she said with a laugh. “Do you like them? They’re two sizes larger.”

“They seem superb,” I said, “although I can’t help but notice your shirts are the same size.”

“I don’t see a need to upgrade my shirts,” she said with a smile.

“Neither do I,” I said.

“Anything else at the moment, sir?” Christy asked.

“I think we’re good, thank you, though,” I said, and she retreated to the galley.

Katie’s eyes bored into me, but one of her bare feet began to rub against my leg.

“She couldn’t be more obvious about throwing herself at you,” she said.

“We have a little bit of history,” I said with a laugh. “It’s a long story.”

“Is she fun?” Katie asked.

“Definitely pretty fun,” I said, nodding my head.

“That might be fun to hear about,” Katie said, “but let’s save it for another time.”

She stood up and sat on my lap, causing my chair to spin halfway around. Her dress had bunched between her deep ass crack, which now nestled against my crotch.

“How did I end up with such a sweet chaperone?” I asked, our faces close together.

“Oh, I volunteered, John,” Katie said. “I think Jess knew to ask me first. There’s no way I would say no.”

“Well, then, what do you want to do in Vegas?” I inquired. “The world is our oyster.”

“Our itinerary is packed,” Katie said. “Your sweet girlfriends put it together. That’s why I can’t let you out of my sight. We can’t get off-schedule.”

“Really?” I said, expressing surprise.

“It’s going to be a very, very full weekend, John,” Katie said. She finally relented and kissed me, a soft, exploratory kiss with power behind it. “I hope you can keep up.”

It was a foreign feeling to me not to be in control. But my darling girlfriends had taken that control out of my hands – at least as it related to the big-picture plans for this trip. So everything came as a surprise to me as it unfolded, and it was kind of delightful. I felt like a kid on Christmas, a new present at every turn.

Katie had steadfastly refused to do anything but flirt and tease on the plane. When we landed, a matte green Rolls Royce Phantom II greeted us on the tarmac. Christy left us with a grin and confident promise to see us soon. It was three o’clock on Thursday afternoon in Vegas. We climbed through the suicide doors into the backseat. We found a bottle of Dom Perignon, opened and with a glass for each of us ready and waiting.

“To opening presents,” Katie said when she raised a glass in toast.

“Cheers, Katie,” I said. We clinked glasses, and I added, “I’m glad it was you. Who’s my chaperone, I mean.”

Katie looked at me with her mysteriously piercing eyes. She had such beautifully high cheeks, and her nose was slightly sharp. There was a slight flush below her neck.

“I wouldn’t have let anyone else do it,” she said.

We left the airport, and I looked out the windows like a college kid on his first visit to Sin City. I’d never been to Vegas before when I hadn’t been in control. Now, I wondered where we were going.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“You’ll figure it out,” Katie said. “That’s what Kat said.”

She bit her bottom lip and looked at me with demure eyes.

“Kat knows me well,” I said.

I was surprised that the car’s path didn’t take us toward the Aria. I had presumed, given the Hooker House at Veer Towers, that it would have been our home base. Instead, as we pulled out of Harry Reid Airport, the Rolls turned left on Tropicana Avenue.

“Oh, they’re just taking us up the Strip,” I said.

Katie looked over at me and smiled as she drained her glass of Dom and poured another.

“Drink fast,” she said, that slight drawl of Louisiana finally coming out on the “a.”

I took her advice and drank up. She refilled my glass with a sly grin. The Rolls turned right onto the Strip, and I was confused when we took another right on Park Avenue.

“Wait,” I said.

“What?” Katie said. Her smile went from coy to knowing.

“Shit,” I said, and a grin flew across my face.

We were going to the Mansion. I nearly guzzled my Champagne and filled it up again. Five minutes after we had left the airport, the ornate, black wrought gates of the Mansion opened inward.

“Holy shit,” Katie said, her composure rattled for the first time since we had left Houston. “What is this place?”

“This, my darling Katie, is the Mansion,” I said.

We pulled up next to the stucco-façade of the villas. Two doormen and a stunning, tall, and slender blonde greeted us when the Phantom pulled up. I stepped out, but not before I caught a glimpse of Katie’s beautiful ass as she climbed out of the car.

“Mr. Cameron,” the blonde said, “welcome back to the Mansion.”

It took me a moment, and then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

“Caitlyn?” I said. “Oh my god! It has been so long!”

She had been one of my favorite bottle service girls at the XS, the nightclub at the Wynn, and we had enjoyed more fun than we deserved over the years. She was slightly older now, but just a radiant, and she obviously had graduated to a very nice career. I moved to hug her, and she subtly pulled back.

“I can’t,” she whispered. “Cameras. When we reach your villa.”

I smiled. This wasn’t twenty-three-year-old Caitlyn. She had matured and gained poise. Her years of hustling at bottle service hadn’t ground her down. She was the one-in-ten-thousand who beat Vegas, rather than it beating her.

Katie and I, escorted by our luggage, followed Caitlyn through the entrance of the Mansion. Katie slipped her fingers between mine.

“This is incredible,” Katie said. “It’s like someone took a little Italian village and plunked it down into the middle of the desert.”

“There is nothing like this in Vegas,” I said. “Absolutely nothing.”

Caitlyn escorted us to the villa at the far back left of the Mansion, the KA Theater creating the far wall of it.

“I hope you find this to your liking, Mr. Cameron,” Caitlyn said after she led us inside.

I waited for the bellman to leave our bag, tipped him a hundred dollars, and heard the door click. Then I walked up too close to Caitlyn, feeling the heat of her body. Her barely blue eyes finally met mine.

“If there is anything you need, Mr. Cameron,” she said with a familiar sultriness, “I will bend over backwards.”

I smiled at her and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Well, now that would be bending a different way than I’m used to, Caitlyn,” I said. She smiled at my use of her name.

And then Caitlyn one-upped me.

“Kat said I would need to keep an eye on you,” she said and licked her lips. “She said to make sure you bent me over the right way.”

I laughed with Katie, who was mesmerized by the vast villa, and slid my hand around Caitlyn’s waist.

“It’s really good to see you,” I said. “You’ve really grown up.”

Caitlyn smiled at me and said, “You have no idea. Mr. Cameron.”

And a minute later, Katie and I were left alone in the massive villa. I noticed a few modifications from the usual. The main living area, with a large bar, was fully stocked and also packed with magnums of Champagne I wouldn’t have ordered for myself. Cristal rosé. Dom Perignon rosé. This was top-flight and carefully calculated. As I surveyed the bar, Katie returned to my side. She held my hand again.

“What is this place?” she asked. “I feel like I’ve stepped into another time.”

“This is the Mansion,” I said.

“Who was she?” Katie asked. I heard the faintest trace of jealousy in her voice.

“That’s Caitlyn,” I said. “And old Vegas friend.”

“This is going to get crazy, isn’t it?” Katie said.

I didn’t answer. I simply kissed her. As my hand brushed the pocket of my jeans, I felt the coke vial I had taken out of my bag on the plane, and I smiled. I kept my hand intertwined with hers but pulled back.

“What?” she said.

I pulled the coke out, tossing it in the air and catching it.

“Can you believe we didn’t do any of this on the flight out?” I said.

“You took a while to process everything that was going on,” Katie said. I finally saw how beautiful she was in her simple dress. I saw the way she looked at me, and it gave me chills.

“Oh, look,” I said, making my way to the bar. “They were kind enough to leave a silver tray here. And it’s got a straw with it.”

Katie licked her lips. I dumped the vial out and used the unusually heavy hotel room card to quickly cut ten lines.

“Are those for me?” she asked, her voice taking on a noticeably significant Louisiana bent.

She didn’t even wait. Katie had picked up the straw without me noticing, and before I realized it, made four lines disappear.

“Fuck me,” she said, pulling air into her nostrils as fast as possible. “I needed that so bad. That was the tamest plane ride I’ve ever had since I’ve known you.”

Katie was right. I’d been good so far, but I couldn’t resist the coke after seeing her do those lines. She passed me the straw, and I did two of my own. The rush hit me hard. We had been in Vegas for an hour. I had no rules. It was time to get the party started. At the same time, it was clear I wasn’t in control.

“What’s on the schedule, boss?” I said to Katie.

She smiled at me. I was playing by the rules.

“Oh!” she said, fumbling a bit. “I totally lost myself. I need my suitcase.”

Katie twirled, the skirt of her t-shirt dress crawling up seductively. Her flip flops echoed against the high ceilings of the villa. She disappeared for a couple minutes, and I explored the bar. Jess’s fingerprints were all over the contents. A dozen bottles of my favorite Champagne were there, along with a handful of very fine red wines. I was pulling the cork on a bottle of bubbly when Katie returned.

“Okay,” she said. “Sorry, I really am not good at this. You need to go open Jess’s envelope. Then we have a happy hour and then dinner. There’s a surprise in there, but it’s for ... later. Can I get a drink?”

Katie’s nerves were cute. But I was ready to party. I wasn’t accustomed to a Vegas trip starting slowly like this. I poured her a healthy glass of Champagne, then one for myself. We raised them in toast.