Romance in Vegas - Showgirl! (8 page)

Charlene sighed. "Sweetie, what can I do to
help you?" she asked, "What can I do?"

But Dani's tears began again. "It's okay,"
she sobbed, "I'm sorry to bother you." And she rang off.

Al's personal phone rang insistently, as he
struggled to wake up. "'Lo?"

"You need to go down to her suite."

"What is it?"

"A nightmare. And, trust me you don't want to
know what it's about."

Dani bent forward and held her head and
sobbed as she sat on the sofa. The tears just kept coming and it
was as if a dam had burst.

He let himself in with his passkey, and sat
next to her. "Dani?" Bringing his arm around her shoulders, he said
soothingly, "Lean on me, Dani."

She clutched at the front of his unbuttoned
shirt, and he drew her in closer against his hard chest.

Now stroking her hair, his lips came against
her neck softly then roved to her cheek. His breath was warm and
minty and the scent of his aftershave was in the air. "Don't be
sad, Miss Troubix," he breathed, as he smiled.

She pulled back and looked up at him with
tears glistening in her eyes.

His thumbs came up and brushed them away. He
smoothed her hair back from her face. "Would it help if I stayed
until you are asleep?" he asked gently.

Watching her face, with her lips just inches
from his, he saw her eyes close sleepily, while her mouth slightly
parted now, full lips so inviting.
So much for the game
, he
thought, as his lips crushed hers.
She doesn't play
fair
.

Breaking the kiss slightly, as his mouth
hovered above hers, he whispered, "Don't cry. Please don't cry." He
just couldn't resist her. Softly this time, his lips met hers, and
he felt her relax, as her arm came around his waist. He sucked
gently on her tongue before he pulled back and realized this was a
situation. He was rock hard and ready for her. But, she wasn't
ready for him. She needed his help.

He picked her up easily, set her on the bed
and pulled up the covers. Looking up at him gratefully, she didn't
say a word, as her eyes closed.

Running a hand through his hair, he sat on
the chaise and just watched her. Flaming hair, alabaster skin, pink
cheeks, white cotton nightgown. Exotic dancer. She was an enigma,
and he wanted to solve the puzzle.

When the pull was almost over, Robert peered
at the surveillance camera. "Hey, get a load of this." The camera
showed Scaletti exiting the suite, combing his hair. "Isn't that
Red's suite?"

Jerry and Les laughed, as Jerry said, "He
doesn't follow his own rules very well, does he? Never saw him
without a suit on, either."

And they all went back to their monitors.

A few minutes after Al arrived at the
penthouse den, Lefty came in with several newspapers.

"You're up early today," Al said with a smile
as he sat behind his desk.

Slapping the papers on the desk, Lefty said,
"My contact called me on this. Thought you might want to
prepare."

"Okay. Share it with me then."

"A hundred says you can't guess."

Al sat back. "It must have to do with our
lovely Miss Troubix."

Lefty sighed. "Damn, I should know better
than to bet with you. I always lose."

"So what do they say?" He picked up a pen and
held it with both hands.

"Vegas Tribune: 'Our socks were collectively
knocked off last night with the introduction of Las Vegas newest
dancer named Dani. She's queen of the primal lust running under the
surface of this fair city. And to think it all started with a
simple wardrobe malfunction at Winner Takes All Casino.'"

Al smiled. "Primal lust. I like that."

"Hey boss, did you sleep in that shirt or
what? You look like shit warmed over."

"Actually I did sleep in it. And not to
worry, I clean up good. Continue."

"Las Vegas Tattler: 'Dani, a brand new dancer
at Winner Takes All Casino, let it all hang out during a chance
wardrobe malfunction last night. Women were screaming in the aisles
and men couldn't keep their eyes off her as she shimmied and
hair-danced her way through a song. Who cares which song, as long
as she remains on the dancing team at WTA Casino.'"

Lefty continued, "There's more, boss."

Grinning now, Al said, "That's okay. Just
leave them here. And get a copy for Angie over in PR. Guess we'd
better keep Miss Troubix happy then, eh Lefty?"

"You got that right boss."

After Lefty went downstairs, Al made a call
to a friend. "Doc, it's Scaletti. Yeah, I'm fine thanks. Hey what
would make a person have nightmares?"

"Well," the man said, "it could be any number
of things, Al. If they reoccur, I would think of PTSD, Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder, a reliving of an event."

"Yes. Always thought that was a military
thing for some reason."

"Oh, ordinary citizens have it too. Another
stressor would be stress itself. Did the person have any stressors
the day of or day before?"

Then Al felt guilty having looked at the rave
reviews in the newspapers. "You could say that."

"Well the only thing I can suggest is that
you have your friend write the dreams down. Also, no coffee or
large meals before bedtime. Maybe a relaxing bath would help. Also,
there is something called Imagery Reversal Therapy, where the
person rehearses a new ending to the situation in the nightmare.
But, if it gets to be a problem, you know I'm always here. Is she a
girlfriend?"

"How did you know I was talking about a
woman?"

He laughed. "Just never heard you talk in
that tone of voice before."

"Okay, doc. Thanks."

Tony Barrelli woke early, and slid next to
her curvy back. She sighed softly, as he massaged her large
breasts, first one then the other. He was hard, and rubbed himself
against her long legs.

His finger found her closely shaved mound,
delved in, stroked her expertly, and she gasped with pleasure.

This is what he loved, this early morning
thing, probably better than the nighttime thing, he thought.

He manipulated her to orgasm then entered
her, turning her on her stomach. Stretching his arms out, he rode
her to another orgasm. And, he thought, this woman was a noisy one.
And tight as hell. But, he loved that too.

After it was over, he lay against her,
nuzzling her neck, making her giggle. She loved it. He loved it.
So, they did it again. And again.

Dani heard the house phone ringing from a
distance. Shaking her head, trying to wake up, she was finally able
to answer.

"Sugar, I need to talk to you." It was Kim,
very excited.

"Okay," she answered, yawning, "what is your
suite number again?"

"410. Coffee is on."

Trying to wake up, Dani stood under the
steaming shower. She thought about the events of last night, and
realized there was confusion in her brain. Did she have a
nightmare? Was Al really in her room, kissing her?

Toweling herself, she wondered about it, but
pushed it to the back of her mind. Today was her day off and
tomorrow too. Maybe Kim would have some ideas of what to do in
Vegas besides gambling.

Her friend opened the door immediately, and
drew her inside. Dani was struck by the homey feel of the suite.
Her friend had put her own pictures and posters on the walls, had
some throw pillows and furry blankets around. There were plenty of
house plants and even an African violet.

"This is so nice," she said softly.

But Kim looked like she was about to burst,
so Dani finally asked her, "What gives?"

Kim poured them both coffee in brightly
colored coffee mugs. "I slept with someone last night."

"You?" Dani stared at her in disbelief.

Laughing now, Kim said, "Yes, contrary to
popular belief, I DO have a sex life."

"Um, can I ask who it was?"

Kim got comfortable and crossed her legs on
the chair. "Remember Tony? You met him yesterday."

"Sure. He's very nice looking. Nice
build."

"Girl, you're right about that. Well, I was
talking to Teeny in the bar last night around one o'clock. He came
up and we had this great conversation. One thing led to
another..."

"So, how is he?"

She fanned her face. "Hot, baby, hot. What a
stud-muffin. He knew how to push ALL my buttons, if you know what I
mean."

Dani laughed at that, although she really
didn't know. "But, isn't he going back to Atlantic City?"

"Yeah. That's the bummer. He promises he'll
keep in touch. But, we're getting together tonight. Why don't you
and Al join us?"

"Wouldn't he need to ask me first? I can't
just call him and say 'go out with me.'"

"Why not?"

"It just doesn't seem right."

"How many guys have you dated, Dani?"

She didn't want to look like a fool. She
didn't know what to say. "Not many."

"Okay," Kim laughed, "let me handle it."

"Hey, what are those books for?" She pointed
to some textbooks on the end table.

"Oh, I take online classes for college. I'm
trying to get a BA in Criminology."

"Wow. Was it hard getting started in that?"
Dani also didn't want to tell Kim she hadn't finished high school.
Not enough credits.

"I'll give you the website. Do you have a
computer yet?"

"No. I haven't gotten a paycheck. And I'm not
very good with computers."

"Hell with that," she said, lighting a
cigarette, "Al pays for our computers. We'll get you one today and
have the IT guys hook it up in your room. Oh, that reminds me of
something rather unpleasant, but true."

Dani thought of the night before, and grew
nervous. Did he really come to her room? And, was she in trouble
now because of it? "What's that?" she asked anxiously.

"We need to get mammograms. Al's insisting on
it. His wife, Clarice, was only twenty-five when she died of breast
cancer. He's paying for it all, don't worry about that."

"I've never had one."

"Oh, Sugar, you'll hate it. Trust me."

Chapter 8

When she checked her wallet in the morning,
Dani realized she had some money left from the thousand Al gave her
the first night. So she and Kim spent the day shopping for clothes,
and little items for Dani's suite, to make it more like a home.

But now, she was flat broke after their
shopping spree.

She let herself into the suite, dropped her
bags, and groaned as she realized she hadn't taken her phone.
Checking her messages there were four messages, blank, with no
voice. But they were all from the same phone number.

Hesitantly, she phoned him back.

"What?" he snapped as an answer.

"I'm just checking in," she said
cheerfully.

He was silent for seconds then said, "I'd
appreciate it if you'd carry your phone. I was worried about
you."

"Why?"

"This is Las Vegas," he said dryly. She heard
rustling of papers in the background. "What did you do all
day?"

"Why?" she repeated.

He sighed. "Because I'm interested."

"We shopped."

"We, who?"

"Kim and I."

"I see. And what did you buy?"

"A few things for the suite, and some
clothes."

She didn't hear him fidgeting with the papers
anymore. "Tell me about the clothes."

"Well, a few t-shirts and some dresses."

"What color are the t-shirts?"

"One is pink and the other light green. One
says welcome to Vegas."

He chuckled. "And the dresses?"

"Yes, you know, in case someone asks me out
dancing, I'll need something to wear."

"What a thing to do on your day off. Would
you really want to dance? After all, you do that for a living now."
She could hear the smile in his voice.

"Yes, I would. Actually, I was going to call
you when I got home anyway. Kim and I are going out, and we wanted
to ask if you and Tony would like to go."

"Is that right?" She heard his chair squeak.
"And, are you two paying for this night on the town?"

She hesitated. "I don't really know. When is
payday?"

He burst out laughing then. "You are so
funny. Of course we can go out somewhere. All you have to do is
ask. And you don't have to pay."

She thought her first attempt at asking a man
out had not gone well at all. He was still laughing as they rang
off.

Kim had given Dani her phone number, and Dani
programmed it into her cell. "We're going to someplace called Chez
Vous," she told her friend.

"Oh, that's a happening place," Kim replied,
"you'll love it."

A few hours later, the two met up with the
men at the penthouse. Kim wore a white sequined mini dress and Dani
had on a pink sequined mini dress; they both wore matching sandal
heels.

"Mama mia," Tony said under his breath as the
two women entered the penthouse suite, "a double header."

Then louder, he said, "Come to papa," and he
walked to Kim, picked her up and swung her around as she
squealed.

Dani stood awkwardly, then moved to the floor
to ceiling window which overlooked Vegas twinkling lights. Al came
and stood in back of her, and she saw his reflection. It was the
most relaxed she'd seen him dress, with a casual navy jacket, chino
pants and his white shirt having a few buttons open.

"The view so beautiful," she said, "I can't
believe I didn't notice it the last time I was here."

"You're the one who's beautiful." After
trailing his hand down her hair, it rested on her back by her hip.
She closed her eyes at the sensation his touch created.

She turned and walked over to the shelves
housing the stereo and big screen TV. Spotting him in a picture,
she moved closer. It was Al with his wife. And Dani thought the
woman had been stunning. Turning back to him, her eyes met his. How
could he have said good-bye to her so soon in her life? she
wondered. His gaze was impartial and she didn't find any answers
there.