Everyone takes their turn displaying grossed out expressions, snorting with laughter.

“Oh, good grief,” Vivian chuckles with a sigh after catching her breath. “I was just hoping for a quiet dinner.”

“I say we meet for breakfast tomorrow and fill each other in on our wild night. Deal?” Campbell suggests.

“Deal,” we say in unison, clinking the glass of our drinks together.

Carly

Well, that’s just great. First, I was ditched by Vivian and Jen, and now I’ve been stood up by Campbell. I had spent an hour picking out a cute dress and heels, then doing my hair and makeup for this evening. If I was going to have a night on the town, I figured I should look the part.

But now, the longer I sit here, the more worried I am that my effort screams working girl. I shift in my dress to cover more of my legs and adjust the straps that crisscross at my shoulders. The bartender notices my discomfort and makes his way to my end of the bar once again.

“You need anything else, doll?” he asks with a light smile.

I’ve been waiting at the hotel bar alone for thirty minutes and every time the bartender asks if I’m doing all right, I feel his judgement and sympathy.

My phone dings, and I momentarily ignore the bartender to read the message. I can feel my brows pull together when I read the message.

Campbell: I’m so sorry. Something important came up. Raincheck?

If it’s important, I don’t want her to feel bad about leaving me behind, so instead of the single response of “K” that I want to send her, I take the high road.

Me: No worries. I’ll catch up with you in the morning.

I exhale loudly and slam my phone back down on the bar top. I don’t notice the bartender still standing there until his voice cuts through my mist of disappointment.

“That bad, huh?” he says.

“Any day that my pants haven’t caught on fire from my legs rubbing together, is a good flipping day,” I spout out.

The middle-aged bartender looks at me like he’s been painted into a corner and may have to chew off an arm or something to save himself. His discomfort is clearly evident, and in his head he’s quietly wishing he hadn’t asked, screw the tip.

“I’m sorry,” I resign. “I’ll take a shot of whatever you have that will not make me feel like such a loser,” I tell him, stuffing my phone into my small purse.

Without another word, he pulls some liquor out from behind the bar and lines up a shot glass on the wood along with a few wedges of lime.

“Tequila is always good for short-term memory loss,” he says, pouring the golden liquid into the glass.

“I’ll take it.”

“Me too,” a smooth voice announces behind me. I look back to see Royce pulling out the chair beside me. “If the night has gone to such shit that the tequila shots have been brought out, I might as well join the party.”

Initially, I’m speechless at his intrusion. I’m not sure whether I want him to leave because, well, his presence will only find me in trouble, but on the other hand, do I really want to sit here and wallow with a bottle of liquor alone?

I look him up and down, taking in his gorgeous physique and intoxicating cologne. How could I say no?

Jen would have a fit…but she’s not here. None of my friends are here. They have all run off and left me to my own devices, and if I want to hang out with this attractive man who throws caution to the wind and enjoys life, so be it.

That’s what I need tonight…fun. And Royce offers just that.

“You know what?” I say, scooting over to make room for him. “You and I are going to have a blast tonight.”

The bartender pours another drink for Royce and he slams it back without using the lime as a chaser.

“It’s going to be a fantastic night.” He grins, smashing the glass back to the bar.

Lakin

“I can’t even tag along?” I shout from across the suite. “You bring me to Vegas, make me get my own room, and now I have to roam the strip alone?”

Am I whining? Probably just a tad, but I can’t help but want to spend the extra time with Campbell. As much as I understand her need to spend it all with the girls, I still want to be selfish with her.

I stretch out across the massive bed and wait for Campbell’s response. She steps through the entryway from the living room portion of the hotel room and pretends to pout, mocking me.

“I think you’ll manage. Besides, tomorrow night you’ll be doing plenty of guy things without me,” she says, curling up next to me on the mattress. I’m tempted to pin her down and smother her with attention until she forgets about Carly and refuses to leave the room.

I pull her close to me, melding her body to mine. “What can I do to make you stay?” I whisper in her ear before planting a soft kiss on her neck. A giggle erupts from her sweet mouth when my scruff from the day tickles her skin.

She finally lets out a long exhale. “I have to get in the shower so I can meet Carly. How about you meet us for drinks after the show? That piano bar in the New York New York casino is a good time; how about there?

I roll onto my back and growl at her. Drinks are not what I had in mind, but I’m a desperate man willing to take what I can get. If serving as the third wheel in a girls’ night is all I can get, well, I’ll go with the flow.

She plops her phone on my chest and offers her mouth for a kiss. Her lips meet mine and I have to restrain myself from deepening it and allowing the passion to overtake us.

“I’m going to jump in the shower,” she says between pecks. “Carly is supposed to be texting me where to meet her. When you hear from her, please text her back to let her know I’ll be there.”

She lands one final kiss and hops off the bed. Painfully, I watch her strut away from me and into the bathroom. I’m a little perturbed I wasn’t invited into the shower, and for a second, I consider surprising her by jumping in without an invitation. When her phone buzzes to life, I let the idea fade.

Evan: I hope you have a good time. See you when you get back. Love you.

As I read the words, an entire gamut of emotions flood my system…anger, sadness, even betrayal. I love this woman with every fiber of my being, and yet while I want to make her my wife, she’s exploring other options. We never said this was an exclusive relationship, but I figured it went without saying.

Pacing the floor in front of the bed, I feel as though I could wear a hole in the carpet with each step. I don’t know what to do, what to say. I’ve never been in a position of losing the one thing I needed the most. Fuck, maybe I never really had her in the first place.

I swipe the phone off the bed, my grip dangerously close to crushing the screen as I continue to walk. I want more than anything to be relieved of my frustration by throwing it against the wall. Instead, a somber pain takes hold and I collapse back onto the bed, my head down and shoulders hunched…defeated.

The sound of the water turning off doesn’t rouse my body. I’m motionless, waiting for the execution of what’s left of my heart. A few excruciating minutes pass before Campbell returns. She stops suddenly when she notices me on the bed.

“What’s wrong?” she asks as she wiggles her body between my knees. I don’t wrap my hands around her like I want to. I can’t even look up at her for fear of what I might see–unrequited love.

I place the phone in her hand, still opened to the text she just received from Evan. “Please tell me I’m the only one,” I murmur, my voice stumbling over the words, barely able to push them out.

I finally look at her, her hair a wet mess of ebony flowing down her back, face fresh and beautiful, and wearing a dress that any other day, any other moment, I would have hiked around her waist.