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I was irritated. It wasn’t the kind of emotion that took one to a club, but I couldn’t say I was entirely there because I wanted to be there. Even worse, my older brother, Trent was me the designated driver to teach me a lesson. I got into an argument with him as a result of it, and he was looking at me with that look. It was this irritating, exasperating look that made me wonder if my Trent was seeing an adult or a teenager? I’d be the first to admit that I wasn’t quite the smartest person in that period of my life. I did all the things good boys weren’t supposed to go, I joined the wrong crowds, had my first drink when I was sixteen and never looked back, I’d skip school and sneak out of the house often.
My brother was nothing like me. He was the straight kid that always did his homework, always did what our parents wanted, he made everyone proud.
I hated the way he’d treated me when he found out, looking at me like I was a kid that didn’t deserve to decide because no matter what, it was the wrong decision.
Still, I never did drugs; I didn’t drive around drunk. I lost my virginity early, but I was careful, and I didn’t just sleep around, either. Still, I cleaned up my act to some extent; it just wasn’t enough for my parents and my brother. Even though I was twenty-four and living on my own, he still treated me like that reckless teenager that just needed to buckle down and listen to Dad, and it was so fucking annoying.
“Jake,” he said, after a long moment of the two of us standing there staring stonily at each other. “Why don’t you grow up, huh? I think it’s time now, isn’t it?”
I curled my lip.
“You can think whatever you want, brother,” I snarled. “You guys can look after yourselves, can't you?”
I snorted as I turned away, darkly amused that I was the only one even remotely sober in the whole group. The other guys called out to me as I turned to walk away. They seemed to have paused in their fun to clue into our little argument. I was annoyed with my brother, not them, but I only spared them a wave as I walked away without seeing where I was going. Besides, while they were all good guys from the little I’d seen of them in the short time since I met them, I still barely knew them.
Shit. I should have known better than to come here.
I didn’t hate my brother. A lot of the time, he got on my nerves, but I figured siblings were just like that. But I didn’t want to come to Vegas to begin with, even though I supported him. I wanted to even less when Dad insisted I tag along, but I went anyway, and I was regretting it now.
I should have known there would be more to this.
As far as I knew, my brother and his friends were out here to have fun, but then he’d started talking about things I didn’t want to hear, and when I wouldn’t listen, gave me that damn look.
There is no reason it has to be me!
I wasn’t paying attention, so I didn’t see the woman that was about to fall until she fell right into me. Then somehow, I ended up taking her with me back to my room to take care of her. I could have just left her alone, but even in a bad mood, I wasn’t that much of a dick. She looked way too innocent to be in a club, drunk, dressed the way she was. She didn’t have anyone with her, and there were several predators around that no doubt had an eye on her already.
She looked really cute, after all. Also sexy, which was a combination I’d never seen before.
I wasn’t taking her back with me for that, though. It was purely because I wanted to help.
“I have a room in the hotel,” I explained. “If you’d like, you can take a photo of me and text the room number and the name of the hotel to someone you trust, in case you’re worried.”
Her hand was still held in mine, and I felt her fingers twitch like she wanted to. I wouldn’t mind, it wasn’t like I had something to hide. I glanced at her, but her expression just looked dazed. With my free hand, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my keycard that held the room number on it, and handed it over to her.
She took it with her other hand then stared at it for the longest time. She didn’t even seem to realize we’d stopped walking until she stood up.
“Are you done looking at it?
” I asked, amused.
She pouted again, her already pink cheeks darkening as she handed the card back to me.
“No, thanks,” she said primly, inching her chin up. “I’m not worried, this is a secure hotel, I wouldn’t have picked it otherwise.”
I smiled at her. She looked so proud of herself for it that I couldn’t bring myself to tell her that it didn’t mean anything that the hotel was secure. They had ample security, and I was sure there were cameras all over the place, though perhaps not in the rooms. Still, if someone wanted to commit a crime and get away with it, there were ways to make it happen. Not to mention, with enough money, some people would be bribed.
“Are we still going?” she asked.
That had me moving again, pulling her behind me as I headed for the elevator. Once inside, I still didn’t let her go. I noticed her shifting on her feet, and looked down at the tall heels she wore. The way she was acting, she’d either been on her feet too long or wasn’t used to wearing heels that high.
The elevator was fast, though, and we got off on my floor in a matter of seconds.
“Is there anything you’d like to eat?” I offered. “I could order room service for you?”
She’d need to drink a lot of water, at least. She might be tipsy more than drunk, but she’d still be waking up with a headache tomorrow.
“I’m not hungry,” she muttered.
