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12:17 p.m.

"Kate finally answered her phone," Bella told me once I returned from the bathroom. "Apparently Jasper's with her and they're about to head over here."

"That's good. We're only supposed to fly out in, oh, eight minutes," I muttered, nervously running both hands through my hair, because seeing the other passengers board the plane was making me fucking anxious.

I began gathering our shit, shoving my laptop into my bag before pulling it over my shoulder. I felt Bella's eyes on me and she laughed when I looked up, holding her gaze.

"Are you trying not to freak out right now?" With a light pinch to my side, she tried reassuring me by saying, "We'll make the flight."

She was right. I needed to stop worrying and, even though I hated these fucking phrases, I was going to go with the flow. I was going to roll with the punches. I was going to... fucking kill Jasper because he was walking towards us, and Kate was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Kate?" I snapped in frustration.

"Back at the Chili's bar," he said, not seeming the least bit concerned.

Bella intervened. "I just talked to her and she said the two of you were heading over."

Jasper released a low laugh, nodding in agreement. "That was the plan. Until she decided she didn't want to leave."

My laugh was humorless as I scrubbed a hand over my face. "Come on, man. Seriously? You didn't even try to get her to come with you?"

"She's not my friend," he informed us, holding up his hands in defeat. I couldn't really blame him, actually. If it weren't for Bella, I wouldn't put up with Kate's shit, either.

Bella bit her thumbnail. "Okay. Fuck. Okay. I'll go get her."

"I'll go with you," I offered.

"Are you sure? I feel bad. I know you're frustrated—"

I squeezed her shoulder. "I have a feeling you're going to need help."

Jasper stayed with our shit while we walked through the airport until we spotted Chili's, and then we made our way through the restaurant until we heard Kate's donkey laugh.

"My friends!" she squealed once she saw us approaching her. She spun on the barstool, leaning over to tell some dude, "That's my bestest bestie, Bella, the one I was telling you about. And that guy with the messy hair? He's her lover."

I wasn't sure whether or not to laugh.

"Kate? It's time to go. Everyone's boarding the plane," Bella explained in a much nicer tone than I would've been able to muster.

"Give me a sec," she whined. "I need to finish my drink."

"You can drink on the plane," Bella suggested, sliding the drink away, only to have Kate slide it back.

"I can't waste it. There are starving children in... places." She leaned back over to the guy sitting next to her, who hadn't uttered a word or even looked her way since we arrived. "How ungrateful would I look? I care about things, you know."

Bella looked up at me, silently asking for help. So, I stepped in. Because even if I were frustrated with the current situation, what I hated more was seeing Bella upset.

"Hey, Kate? I'll let you use my Facebook to stalk Ben," I offered.

It seemed to do the trick to get her out of the restaurant. But actually walking with her to the gate was another story, and by the time we finally made it back to Jasper, we'd missed the flight. Again.

After I spoke to one of the attendants, explaining our situation, I was informed that the next flight to Vegas wasn't leaving until seven in the evening. With the time change and one layover, we'd be arriving around ten o'clock. And as pissed as I was, there was nothing I could do about it.

"Well, at least now we have time to eat lunch," Kate slurred.

10:56 p.m.

After an extremely uneventful plane ride—uneventful due to the fact that there was no sex in the bathroom—the four of us piled into the shuttle and headed to the hotel.

I sent Ben a text to let him know we finally made it and that we'd head over to Roxy's Lounge as soon as we could. Though the show was starting at eleven, Ben's band was the last act, which worked out in our favor, allowing us just enough time to drop off our luggage.

I was hesitant about checking in to the hotel, mostly because Jasper kept withholding information about how he got the room for so cheap. But once we finally walked into the penthouse, I visibly relaxed and let out a low whistle.

"Better than the place we stayed at last time, huh?" Jasper asked, laughing.

"We don't talk about that trip," I warned, causing Bella to playfully narrow her eyes in curiosity.

Before she could interrogate me about the last time I was in Vegas, Kate began imitating Elvis Presley, loudly singing Viva Las Vegas. Or, since she didn't know all of the lyrics, she just kept repeating the line viva Las Vegas over and over again.

Even if it was a little annoying to hear someone butcher an Elvis Presley song, I wasn't going to tell her to shut up, because we'd finally made it, and I could allow myself to relax and enjoy being here with Bella.

"I thought you sobered up on the plane," Jasper accused, stalking past Kate and into the living area of the suite.

"This is her sober," Bella answered, and I barked out a laugh.

Kate stopped singing. "I'm sober? Let's fix that."

The penthouse had a three bedrooms, a Jacuzzi, a pool table, flat screens in every room—including the bathrooms—and a fully stocked bar, which Kate and Bella were now standing behind, raiding.

I perched myself on one of the stools, blatantly staring at Bella's ass as she stood on her toes, reaching up to grab something from a shelf.

"Do you want this?" She turned around, grinning when she caught my eyes on her.

I smiled warmly. "I do."

She carefully poured whiskey into two glasses and nodded towards one of the rooms. I silently followed after her, and didn't even try containing my grin as I shut the door behind me.

She handed me a glass, clinking hers against mine before taking a sip. The whiskey burned my throat in a good way, and my smile was lazy as I watched Bella move across the room to sit on the bed.

I stepped forward, licking my lips while staring down at her. "You know..." I began, taking the glass from her hand and setting it on the nightstand along with mine. "You're kind of killing me right now."

"Am I?" She looked up at me with a sly smile, yanking on my belt loop and pulling me down to lie on top of her, between her legs.

My lips hovered over hers and I breathed into her mouth, "I want you. Fuck, I want you."

"I can tell," she chuckled, releasing a small moan as I nipped at her neck, slid my hand under her shirt, and thrusted my hips against hers.

And then Kate walked into the room without knocking, and I rolled off of Bella, groaning in frustration as I adjusted myself.

"Why don't we have a single-lane bowling alley in this place?" she asked, staring accusingly.

"Why would we?" I muttered as Bella sat up, fixing her shirt.

"I've seen it in movies!" Kate explained with a shriek. "We're supposed to have what they have in the movies."

And the moment she began lining up Jasper's shampoo and conditioner bottles to use as pins, and attempted to turn herself into a human bowling ball to knock them down, was the exact moment I decided it was time to head out.