-Calling Nevada-
"Are we bunking together?"
Reba Hart rolled her eyes at her son-in-law's question as she rolled her suitcase out the airport's doors.
"Van, you're with a different agency," She told him, checking the card the rental car service had given her for the parking spot to the car she had rented. "You'll be in a completely different hotel."
The two had flown out to Las Vegas for a real estate seminar. It was held in a different place every year and Van was ecstatic when he heard that this year's would be held in Sin City. Reba had been to Nevada before, but just for sight-seeing and really had no interest in gambling or anything else the town had to offer. She was sure Van would go out and play cards or slots with a few friends from his agency, but she told herself she'd stay in her hotel room when she wasn't at the seminar.
"Oh," Van said, walking behind her with his own rolling suitcase. "Where am I staying?"
Reba shrugged, not bothering to look back. "Not really sure. Aren't you supposed to figure that out, being a grown man and all?" She located the rental car and unlocked it, placing her bag in the backseat. "I'm also not sure why you're following me."
Van made a face. "I'm not going to walk to my hotel."
"No, but you are going to drive your own car. Why didn't you rent one when we were still in the airport?" She closed the backdoor with a slam, watching Van's facial expression change to a confused look.
"What...?"
"Different agencies pay for different stuff? Your agency stays at one hotel, mine stays at another? Get where I'm going with this?" She made motions with her hands for exaggeration.
He just kind of stood there a moment. "Oh. Well, I guess I'm going back inside then..."
"Good call." She got in her car and started it, just about to put it in reverse to back out when she noticed that Van was still standing there. She rolled the window down. "Problem?"
He leaned down to her level, peering at her. "I don't have my company card."
"Where did you put it?"
"I don't know."
"Van, is this your first real estate seminar?" She was becoming irritated with him. She was cranky from the flight and having to deal with all the rude people in the airport, plus their flight had left at five AM, not leaving much time for her to get any sleep seeing how she had been up until after midnight working on some papers. Running a hand over her face, she said, "Where was the last place you remember having it?"
"At home."
"In Houston."
Van nodded. "Yeah. Wait!" His eyes lit up. "Check your purse!"
"My purse?"
Van nodded again, holding out his hand. "I think I put it in there. Lemme see!"
She grabbed her purse that was in her lap and held it away from him. "I will look, thank you." She began to dig through the contents of her bag, searching until she found what she was looking for in the front pocket. As she handed it to him, she looked at him with harsh eyes. "And by the way, stay out of my purse, you donkey."
He took it from her and winked. "Can do. I'll see you later on at the convention center."
"Five o'clock," She reminded him.
"I'll be there."
"If you don't forget your pants or your car." She smiled sarcastically as she rolled up the window, rolling out of the parking spot in search of a place for lunch.
Eight o'clock came around and the first meeting ended. Reba dragged herself into her hotel room and let her purse and briefcase fall to the floor. She stepped out of her high heels and landed face-first on the bed. That bed was all she had been thinking about since five AM that morning.
She managed to rest for a few moments with her face buried in the bedspread, but couldn't relax enough to fall asleep. Her mind was still buzzing after listening to boring real estate stuff for three hours. She didn't even get a chance to talk to Van afterwards because he left before the thing was even over. She'd have to talk to him about that next time they spoke.
Sitting up and sighing loudly, she decided she'd go downstairs to the hotel restaurant's bar and have a drink, thinking that maybe that would shut her mind off the for the evening. Slowly, she slipped her shoes back on and grabbed her wallet before heading out into the hallway.
Once down in the lobby, she made her way to the bar and sat down on one of the stools, ordering a margarita.
"Hey cutie. Is this seat taken?"
Reba didn't even turn around. She wasn't in the mood to have any kind of conversation, much less a flirtatious one. "Yes, it is. My I'm-Single-And-Happy attitude is sitting there."
"Reba."
At the mention of her name, she twirled around to see none other than her ex-husband standing behind her. "What in the name of dirt and worms are you doing here?"
"Dental convention." He smiled. "Can I sit down?"
She rolled her eyes and turned back to the bar. "I don't care."
He took a seat and ordered a beer, which the bartender promptly brought to him.
"What are you doing in Sin City, huh, Red?" Brock took a sip of his drink and watched Reba sip hers.
"Real estate seminar with Van." She sighed, taking her shoe on and off with her foot. Brock noticed and couldn't help but grin. She had always done that when she was bored. "Three days of nothing but real estate. Fun, fun, fun." She looked over at him for the first time since he sat down. "I didn't know you had a dental convention going on."
He shrugged. "When you don't talk to a person for three months, you miss things in their life."
"Hmm."
"What?"
She shook her head.
"No, what?" He asked.
"You just sounded a bit ticked off."
"We haven't talked in three months is all. It doesn't seem to bother you."
"Does it bother you?"
"I thought we were pretty good in the friend department."
"We are. Are you blaming me for us not talking for three months? I've had a bunch of stuff going on at work and with helping Kyra plan for college-"
"I'm not mad!" He held up his hands. "I was just saying."
"Well, I'm just saying. And I'm not in a good mood, so I don't recommend starting with me."
"I'm not starting anything. Do we have to fight? I saw you over here and thought I'd come over and say hi."
"We don't have to fight."
"Okay, then." He cleared his throat. "How have you been?"
"So, so. You?" She finished her margarita and ordered another one.
"I've been good."
"How's single life treating you?"
Brock let out a long sigh. "Let me paint you a picture."
Reba chuckled. "Alright."
"Barbra Jean and I are divorced, we still live in the same house because my condo isn't ready to move into, and she still refuses to do my laundry. I'm in a bad situation."
"You poor thing. Having to do your own laundry." She patted him on the back. "I hope you make it."
He shrugged her arm off him. "My condo will be ready in a week or so, so I won't have to endure the torture for long."
"Why can't you move in now?"
"They're repainting and putting new cabinetry in. I was going to put it back on the market, but just as I was about to, Barbra Jean and I broke up and I figured I'd just keep it in case she kept the house."
"Good call." She sipped on her drink and watched as Brock laughed. "What?"
"You must have had a hard day," He said, drinking the last of his beer.
"Yeah. I've been up since five o'clock this morning."
"Why aren't you in bed?"
She could feel the affects of the alcohol starting to make her brain fuzzy and tried her best to focus on her conversation. "Couldn't sleep. My mind was all...whooooo!" She thrust her arm forwards in a zipping motion. "Couldn't calm it down."
He laughed. "Hey..."
She looked at him. "Yeah?"
"Wanna go gamble?"
She sat back in her chair, biting her lip. "I don't know..."
"Come on. It's only eight thirty. We can be back here by ten and your mind will be all relaxed and refreshed for tomorrow. Whaddya say? Let's take on Vegas."
"Bad things happen in Vegas when you've been drinking, Brock." She held up her margarita. "This is my second drink."
"Order another one, then."
"I'm going to be hungover tomorrow. I have my seminar."
"Forget about it. You can take some aspirin and have a cup of coffee first thing tomorrow."
"But hangovers suck."
He grinned. She usually didn't talk like that so he knew she was beginning to get drunk. And she was fun when she was drunk.
"Do it for me? Let's go have fun. We both have had some really crappy things going on these past few months. One night to let loose isn't going to hurt." He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her slightly. "Come on, Red! Let loose for once!"
She rolled her eyes and stood up. "Fine. But if we get plastered and end up married, I'm blaming you! Right after I sue." She grabbed her wallet and started walking away, holding a hand up for him to follow. "Let's go before I change my mind."
He grinned and paid for their drinks before following her, wondering what all they would get into.
I promised myself I would never have two stories going at once. It's too much to keep up with. But I got the idea for this the other day and I thought I'd just write on it while I was working on The One That Got Away and I got a bit carried away and wrote an entire chapter. So...here it is. I have writer's block on my other story anyway. You can imagine how confusing that story is to write. Anyway, I hope you like it. Thanks for reading! (:
