alone talked to someone like him. Let alone had sex with someone like him. I color at the memory.
As if reading my mind, he abruptly shifts the topic. “You should have told me that you are… ah… were…a virgin.” He sits down on the bed next to me so we are at eye-level and looks intently at me.
“You told me not to make a sound,” I can’t help but respond with a little smirk. My headache is fading quickly thanks to the caffeine and the pill.
“True,” he responds to my smile, a rare sparkle entering his normally stormy eyes. “Well, I do hope that it was…okay for you.”
“It was unreal,” I respond honestly. “In a good way,” I add hurriedly. I look down at my hands cupping the mug, embarrassed. I know friends in my hometown who’d lost their virginity and told me all about it—the fumbling awkward moment in the back of a boyfriend’s pickup truck or the backroom of a post-prom party. I had dreamed about what my first time might be like hundreds of times of course—when I was touching myself at night, exploring my own body and its desires. “I couldn’t have ever imagined something like last night,” I tell him earnestly, which is the truth. In all my dreams, I never envisioned this.
“Well, I hope that’s a good thing,” he says with a wry smile. But I see a flicker of what looks like relief cross his face. “How old are you again? Yesterday was your birthday, right?”
“Yeah, I just turned twenty-five.” I try to remember when I let the detail about my birthday slip but can’t recall having told him. “We just turned twenty-five,” I add. “That’s why Deanna flew me out here.”
“Hm. A 25-year-old virgin.” It doesn’t seem like a question or a critique, just a statement of the facts. “Don’t get much of that in Vegas,” he explains with a shrug. And with that, his gruff demeanor returns. “Now get dressed. I have work to do, but we need to get you some more clothes first. I’ll wait for you downstairs. Don’t dawdle. I’m already behind on today’s agenda.”
He stands and walks out of the room, heading down the stairs without a second’s pause. The shift in his demeanor is jarring. Suddenly, it’s all business. I clamber out of bed, dusting croissant crumbs off of the sheet and onto the floor, feeling sheepish.
My floral dress has been taken from the floor where it was crumpled the previous night and carefully laid out on a chair. Did he do that or was there a maid in here while I was sleeping? I wonder briefly.
The sound of David clearing his throat downstairs spurs me on. There’s no time to wonder now. My hair is still in a ponytail from last night. I was so exhausted after David took me that I didn’t bother to remove the elastic. I check myself in the bathroom mirror quickly, tucking some stray strands behind my ear, and then trot downstairs.
My sandals are at the penthouse entrance where I left them. I slip them on quickly, fumbling with the buckle and feeling self-conscious as David watches me. By the time I’ve got the shoes on, the elevator doors are already opening and he’s nudging me inside, one hand on the small of my back guiding me carefully forwards.
After the quiet and seclusion of the penthouse, the main floor of the casino is a shock to the system. I’m astounded to see that throngs of people are already making their way around the casino floor, many of them with drinks in hand.
“Is it always like this?” I ask David, who is taking large strides ahead of me, pausing only to occasionally greet a staff member.
“What do you mean?” He asks over his shoulder, not slowing his pace.
“I mean all these people…with drinks and gambling. It’s so early!”
“Vegas is truly the city that never sleeps. I assume it’s your first time here.”
I stay silent. It’s technically not even a question.
“Terry!” David stops abruptly as a tall, dark-skinned man appears. He’s dressed just as impeccably as David, wearing a simple black suit with shiny black shoes. A dark red pocket square can be seen in one pocket. With a start, I notice he has a tiny earpiece in his ear. Is he security?
“All good, boss? Missed you at the morning briefing.”
“I was detained. Terry,” David turns to me, “I’d like you to meet Lilly Madison.”