I could just walk along the Vegas Strip and not get bored all night. I was beginning to realize that even for someone who didn’t gamble, this town had something to offer.
I watched Landon drive into a parking lot in front of a motel and frowned. Where were we? He parked and shut off the motor.
“This is where I’m staying. Parking is usually a bitch in Vegas. We got lucky with the spot before. I thought we’d just walk to Fremont Street, which is where we’re going next. It’s only a few minutes from here.”
“Sounds good,” I said, getting out of the truck.
“I don’t want you to think I’m trying to trick you into coming back to my room again,” he called out, humor lacing his voice.
My cheeks heated in embarrassment, and I bit my lip. “Yeah, I’m really sorry about that. I know you’re not like that.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” he said, meeting me at my side of the truck. “You don’t know me. At least not yet.”
He led the way, and we walked the short distance to Fremont Street.
“This is amazing,” I said as soon as we made it. I had to shout to be heard over the music that was playing. There was a canopy set up on top, spanning the street. Lights were playing on it, the show taking my breath away.
There was so much to see that I didn’t know where to look first. At the guy dressed up as a giant baby? The zipline going over the top of everyone? The girls dancing on top of a bar? Landon, who was looking at me with a captivating smile?
“What do you want to do?” he asked, leaning close to be heard over the noise.
“I don’t know. Everything?”
“If you could do one thing here tonight, what would it be?”
“The zipline,” I answered without hesitation, because that was without a doubt the one thing I really wanted to do.
“Zipline it is.”
And just like that, he took my hand and guided us through the crowds to the giant slot machine that was the starting point of the zipline called SlotZilla.
We were lucky they still had tickets left since we didn’t book online. Something I always did. Until now. Because Landon was taking charge, and I let him.
“You’re on in an hour. Want to get a drink beforehand?” Landon said when he came back with my ticket.
“Sounds good.”
We went to a small bar not far from the zipline and squeezed ourselves in between a guy dressed as Marilyn Monroe and a cowboy. I wasn’t sure if he was an actual cowboy or just dressed as one.
We got our drinks and turned so we were facing each other. Our bodies were almost touching, and the feeling of being so close to Landon was intoxicating.
“What do you usually do when you’re in Vegas and don’t have to babysit anyone?” I asked, still having to shout since the inside of the bar wasn’t any quieter than outside.
Landon put a hand on my waist and leaned down.
“Well, you already know we’re here for work. We usually just take it easy the first night and then hit the casinos the other two nights. I’m the perfect tour guide if you want to know which casino will let you in drunk as a skunk. For other stuff, not so much,” he said, his mouth close to my ear.
“Well, you’ve done pretty great so far,” I said, meaning every word. I was having the best time.
“I’m glad you think so, but I totally winged it,” he responded with a deep chuckle.
We spent the next hour talking about everything and nothing. I learned that he lived in a small town in Colorado and loved it. He was a mechanic and he enjoyed his life, living it exactly the way he wanted.
The more we talked, the more I realized how different we were. I was as tightly strung as one could get. I had a plan for my life that I refused to deviate from, and I needed structure and rules in my life. He hated both. I also lived in California. Not exactly close to him.
But it didn’t seem to matter that we had such a different outlook on life. I had never connected with anyone like this. He was fun and so easy to talk to that I almost forgot we’d just met.
When we went back to SlotZilla and I got to soar over Fremont Street, I didn’t think my night could get any more perfect.
