No Reservations - Megan Hart [29]
Brandon sighed. 'It's right before New Year's Eve in Las Vegas, Dix. It's the best we could get on short notice. Hopefully we can upgrade tomorrow. It's just one night. This place probably is cleaner than the fancy places on the strip.'
Dix took another look around and doubted that very much. But whatever, it was just one night and it was already late. They'd sleep and wait for Brandon's special hotel connections to try to find where the women were. Kate had cleverly dodged his questions about what hotel they were staying in. At the time he'd just been happy to hear from her and he hadn't even realised she had talked him around her exact location. Then he'd hung up and it hit him. Sneaky woman hadn't answered her phone since and she'd left him a voicemail when he'd been on the plane flying out. He was so going to get her for this when he found her gorgeous ass.
One night please. A double.'
The clerk, who was a hundred if a day, looked at him and then at Brandon. 'Hourly? You need condoms and lube?' He hauled a bunch of sex toys onto the cracked, sticky-looking counter and winked at Dix.
Brandon made a choked sound but managed a pretty dignifledsounding, 'No thanks. Just the room for the whole night.' We don't got no doubles. Just a single with a queen bed. You want extra towels, that's ten bucks more.'
Dix sighed. Unfuckingbelievable. He shoved fifty dollars through the small slot and got a key in return. 'Come on then, the sooner we go to sleep, the sooner we can wake up and get the fuck outta here.'
The lobby smelt like a porta potty at a three-day music festival, on day three. The ambiance was not spoilt by the presence of the hooker sitting on the plastic-covered couch with his skirt hitched to his thighs, his balls hanging free from the hole in his fishnets or the smeared lipstick bleeding into a face needing a shave quite badly.
'Hi there, sweet thing,' he crooned at Brandon. 'You two looking for some company for your party? I'd do you both for free.'
'I do appreciate the offer and all, but we're good. You might hurt someone with that beard though.' Dix winked as they headed to the stairs, where the scent of vomit joined the medley of urine and spunk.
Some people like that, sunny Jim,' he called back good-naturedly. 'You two change your minds, I'll be here a while. These shoes are killing my feet.
'They're very nice shoes,' Brandon said as they moved towards the second floor.
Once they got into the room, Dix, who instantly decided there was no way he was taking his shoes off on this carpet, turned to Band Boy. Nice shoes?'
'No harm in being nice. Gross, this room is, um . . . wow.'
'If, by wow, you mean disgusting and ridden with filth, I wholeheartedly agree. I'm not sleeping on that floor so you're stuck sharing with me unless you want to chance a fungal infection from that carpet.'
Brandon looked down, his lip curling. 'I've seen a lot of hotels. Old ones, small ones. But this one is ... I can't imagine how it stays in business. I'm going to sleep in my clothes.'
'I hate to break it to you, but I don't think all of you is going to fit on this bed.' Dix sighed. 'I need a drink before I can sleep here. Come on, we can go grab a bite and a drink or five. The locks are the only thing in this room that look well taken care of.'
'As long as you don't plan on eating or drinking anything in here. We'd have to take some antibiotics for that I'm pretty sure.'
Dix laughed. He liked Brandon and agreed with Kate that he was a good match for Leah. There was far worse in the world than to be stuck in this shithole with a guy with a sense of humour and a glass-ha If-full sensibility.
Is that your phone again?' Leah asked after taking a sip of champagne. Yes. It's Dix. Oh I like that colour.' Kate admired the polish Leah had on her toes as the woman doing her pedicure applied it. 'Hmm. He's not a man to be put off. I'm surprised he hasn't come to beat down the door.'