“Hockey. I forgot there was a game this weekend. Fans fly in to watch their team play against Vegas because it’s one big party and vacation all rolled into one.” He smirks as they get louder.
“Wow.” I laugh as the entire plane joins them. “Sounds like a good time.”
“There’s a beer garden right outside of the arena, and they have a good beer selection and their fries with beer cheese are probably some of the best I’ve had. It’s one of the few places I’ve ventured out of the hotel for.”
“Sold. How fast can we get there and grab some?” I’m practically drooling at the prospect of any delicious food at this point.
“Well, I’ll look up when the game is, and we will avoid that area like the plague. Like the whole day.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. The entire area is packed for most of the day, no matter what time the game is.”
“Damn. Here you are getting my hopes up, and I’ll probably have to wait to get my beer cheese fix.” I slump down in my chair as Ledger’s husky laughter meets my ears.
“I will get you beer cheese, I promise.”
Somehow, I believe him. If I was absolutely craving it in the middle of the game when the place was packed, I feel like he would go get it for me, just to make me happy.
This Ledger, the one I suspect has been the real one all along, would do a lot to make the people around him happy. And while I’m still irked he lied, I think I understand it more now.
We finally pull up to the gate, and it’s the usual shitshow of everyone standing up and deciding to make deboarding difficult. I swear, if everyone just chilled in their seats until it hit their row, things would be a lot smoother.
Lucky for us, we’re in first class, so we are off the plane in five minutes flat, and I feel fancy as hell.
Walking through the airport, I take in everything that is uniquely Las Vegas. Slot machines line the center of the gates, and it feels more like a casino than an airport. We make our way down to the transportation floor and join the mile-long taxi line.
“This is like an entirely different world,” I mutter.
“Yeah, it’s definitely something to get used to. Usually, I would just ride-share to the hotel, but taxis are actually cheaper and faster here. This line,” he gestures in front of us, “will move fast, and we’ll be at the front in, like, ten minutes or less.”
“You willing to make that a bet?” I ask with a smirk, feeling the atmosphere seep into me.
“What’s the wager?”
“If we make it to the front in under ten minutes, you get to pick the prize. If it’s over, I do.”
“What sort of prize are we talking about here, Ains?” he asks as his eyes heat at the inflection of his words.
I think on it for a second, wondering how far I’m willing to let the innuendo go.
“Let’s keep the prizes PG-13.” There, nothing too crazy that can happen at a PG-13 level, right?
Famous last words…
Ledger won the bet, and on the drive over to our hotel, he kept coming up with outrageous ideas, like going to one of the Cirque du Soleil shows and seeing if I can be one of the stage acts. Or going to one of my favorite chef’s restaurant and seeing if the chef is there to get a picture.
I should have put a time limit on when he got to cash in on this prize, because I get the feeling he’s going to hold on to it until he deems it the perfect time.
All it’s doing now is creating a shit-ton of tension between us.
We make it to the Vdara, and it looks fancy as hell. I’m wondering how a bunch of landscapers can put on a conference of such a caliber, but then I feel like a bitch for assuming things about their income. Who knows, maybe the group rate is fucking amazing.
“Good afternoon. Check-in for Ledger Hutton.”
I spin around, taking in the giant glass façade and the luxurious lobby. It’s by far the swankiest hotel I’ve ever been to.
“I see here you booked a suite, but it looks like we overbooked. I apologize for the inconvenience. I can get you set up at our sister hotel, Aria, with our Strip-view king room.”
