Similar to this afternoon, he pulled her hand off his face. “I don’t think so.”
“Just one drink?” she asked hopefully.
“I don’t drink.”
Jasmin found his response strange because she’d pegged him for the partying type, the type who loved lots of booze and lots of women. Maybe she’d misjudged him.
Candy pouted her lips. “You’re no fun.”
“It’s supposed to be a girls’ night anyway,” Sandy pointed out, “so stop flirting and let’s go.”
“Have fun,” he said with half a smile. “And, Jazz, don’t go walking around by yourself…and…call me if…if you—”
“God!” Mandy shouted. “Would you stop being so overprotective? You’d swear she’s never been out on her own before.”
Kevin didn’t embarrass her by telling them the truth; instead, he simply nodded. Everything he was doing tonight was throwing her completely off. What was his deal? Flirting with Candy one minute, then being protective of her the next? She didn’t get too wrapped up in it. It was probably the kind of protectiveness one feels for a little sister.
“She’ll be safe with us,” Candy assured him. “She just won’t be sober.” She gave him a playful wink and one more flirty smile. “See you later.” She slung her arm around Jasmin and started heading towards the elevators.
As soon as the doors closed Mandy turned to her. “Now, try not to look so nervous. If you want to get in, you need to look the part and if they sense anything suspicious, they’re gonna card you. The table is booked under my name, so hopefully they’ll let us in without any questions. Just act legal.”
Jasmin gave a small shrug. “I am legal…in South Africa, so I shouldn’t even feel bad about this.”
She said that for her own benefit, trying to justify it in her head. She was just going to have a few drinks and watch a strip show. No harm in that, right? Plus, this was Sin City.
She couldn’t believe it. A few days ago, she was living in a bubble and now she was breaking laws. She felt like such a rebel.
“Miss Fairfax,” Mandy announced when they reached the entrance of the lounge. “It’s my bachelorette party tonight, so you best have your sexiest dancers up there tonight.”
She smiled an all too sexy smile and Jasmin realized that she was distracting the host from paying too much attention to her.
“We only hire the best, Miss Fairfax,” he replied, his smile equally wide. “And you ladies have the best seat tonight.”
He didn’t ask any questions and led them into the lounge. That was easier than she’d anticipated. A semi-circular red, velvet seat was reserved for them. The bar was on the far right and the stage was virtually ten feet in front of them. Mandy didn’t waste any time and ordered four Cosmos to start off the evening.
Their drinks were delivered and Jasmin sniffed hers before she took a sip. Her first taste of alcohol wasn’t what she’d thought it would be, sweet with a weird aftertaste. The first one took a while to put down, the second was a bit better, but by the third she started losing some feeling in her tongue and it became much easier.
“So the wedding is in less than a week,” Sandy said from her left. “Are you nervous about tying the knot?”
“Not at all,” Mandy replied. “Trevor is the greatest man alive, my soulmate. He’s the one.”
Jasmin tried not to roll her eyes at that. She didn’t believe in soulmates orThe One. It was all airy-fairy hogwash that lacked any kind of factual plausibility. When people couldn’t explain something, they were inclined to believe that it is the workings of a higher power. Fate. Destiny. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in religion or divine intervention, but surely those supreme beings were busy and had better things to do with their time than play matchmaker to every person on the planet. She kept her cynical opinion to herself, though. Mandy was happy believing such nonsense, and Jasmin didn’t want to burst her bubble.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to settle down,” Candy said. “There are too many options and too little time. I like sex too much and I can’t put a limitation on that.”
“What’s it like?” Jasmin asked, a little nervous to reveal her ignorance to them. “To have sex, I mean?”
“OMG!” Candy grabbed her face and plucked a kiss on her right cheek. “You are just too adorable. Sex is amazing, Brandy! It’s hot and dirty and fucking mind-blowing. Well…if you have the right guy with the right sized equipment.”
Jasmin had always believed Rachel when she said that sex was overrated and size didn’t matter, but now she was starting to doubt that. “What’s the right size equipment?”
“Let’s wait until the strippers come on and then we’ll give you a proper lesson.”
It was barely a half-hour wait before the show started. In that time Jasmin consumed another drink and was a bit flustered when she saw the first dancer on stage. He was dressed like a sailor and one look at him proved why women loved a man in uniform. He was absolutely delectable.
The music started and he gyrated his hips before ripping off his shirt. A scream burst out of her. She didn’t mean for that to happen, it was just the intense shock. His body glistened, muscles bulging everywhere.Everywhere.
“Oh, my God!” Jasmin shouted. “Is that photoshopped?”
