Elise slid the dessert to me and I shook my head. “You first. I can’t even think about ingesting something else right now.”
My best friend rolled her eyes, then took a sip. Her blue eyes widened. “That is so good. Not overly sweet, and super creamy.”
She took another sip before sliding the frosted mug back over to me, and I came face to face with the Cookie Monster donut. “I’m stuffed, Elise,” I whined.
“C’mon, we’re in Vegas. You’re going to walk it off tonight anyway.”
I smacked my tongue at her. She was a brat sometimes. I took a sip of the shake, even though my stomach protested. I raised my brows. “That is really good.”
“I told you. Now drink up,” Elise urged.
I took a couple more sips before pushing the mug back to Elise. “I’m done.”
Elise took a few more sips, managing to get the shake down to half. She eyed the drink up and down. “I wonder if they can put alcohol in this, and I can take it to go.”
I laughed. “You’re ridiculous. We’re going to have plenty of alcohol later.”
“I know, but this is so good, and I don’t want to waste it,” Elise responded.
We got boxes for what was left of our pasta, donut, and cupcake. We walked back to our hotel, marveling at the packed sidewalk and lights now that it was dark.
“This is insane,” Elise commented, her voice almost getting lost in the chaos of the sounds of music, laughter, and traffic.
“But in the best way,” I added, gazing up and around me while trying to take everything in. “The day versus night difference is crazy.”
“For real,” Elise agreed.
We dropped our leftovers off at our hotel, then got an Uber to Fremont. And when we got out and started walking, I could definitely see why Sapphire had said that Fremont was an experience in itself.
Fremont had the same feel as the Strip, just smaller. People were everywhere, including street performers with just pastieson, and people soliciting strip clubs and escorts. The buildings weren’t as tall, but they seemed to have just as many lights as the casinos on the strip.
Elise linked our arms together. “Let’s find that carousel bar and get that drink.”
I smiled, excited for the night ahead. “Let’s.”
The day after we arrived in Vegas, my phone woke me up. I opened one eye to see it was Nodin calling. Again. “You like being my wake-up call, huh?”
He chuckled. “It’s two in the afternoon. You should be preparing for tonight.”
I winced, keeping my eyes closed. My head was pounding, and his bitching wasn’t helping. “Fuck.” I rolled onto my back and brushed against a small, warm body.
A small moan sounded as I opened my eyes to a blonde girl with a fake tan naked in the bed next to me. “Double fuck.”
“What? What happened?” Nodin asked.
I sighed. “Nothing. I guess I brought a girl back to my room with me last night.”
“Well, get rid of her. You need to get your head in the game so I didn’t chase this bitch halfway across the country for nothing,” Nodin chastised.
Anger started to fill me, and coupled with my hangover, I was about to lose it. “Look, nomad, I know what’s at stake. My dad made it pretty clear he’d have my ass if I fucked this up.” I took a few deep breaths to calm down. “I will do my job.”
“Good to hear. The girls are waiting for a transport to take them on a helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon so they’ll be gone for a few hours. Gives you time to get your shit together.”
My jaw clenched as he continued, “Then they’re planning to go to dinner at the Sugar Factory and to Fremont Street after that.”
“Fremont is a perfect place to grab them. Plenty of alleys and drunks, so no one should bat an eye.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Nodin replied, then paused. After a few seconds, he said, “I’ll let you know when they head down there, and then I’m done.”