Viva Las Vegas (Outro)

"I'm gonna keep on the run

I'm gonna have me some fun

If it costs me my very last dime

If I wind up broke up well

I'll always remember that I had a swingin' time

I'm gonna give it ev'rything I've got

Lady luck please let the dice stay hot

Let me shout a seven with ev'ry shot

Viva Las Vegas, viva Las Vegas,

Viva, viva Las Vegas"

Viva Las Vegas by Elvis Presley

The best sleep I had all week was interrupted by my name being shouted and the bed beneath me shaking.

"We said no sleeping!!!"

I could barely make out what Rocky was saying in between her slurred speech and jumping on the bed.

"Whatever." I grumbled, attempting to open my eyes, but the light radiating from the lamp was too bright. "What happen to Marvin Gaye?"

"He's dead. Dad shot him." Rocky said, with one big bounce before I felt her lay down beside me.

"No, the guy you were talking to. You were supposed to get it on with him."  I yawned.

"Fuck him." Rocky declared, moving around in the bed.

"Did you?"

"No. I leaked, he ran. Fuck him." She repeated.

"You leaked?" I said, completely confused thinking maybe I heard her incorrectly. Why would he run at her getting wet? Her only response was deep breathing. I opened my eyes to see Rocky, fully dressed under the covers, make-up still on, hair all over her head and knocked out. I looked over at Jenna's bed and saw that she was sleeping soundly. I turned off the lamp and went back to sleep.

The room phone ringing woke me up a second time. I didn't fully wake up until I heard Jenna answer the phone, telling whoever it was on the line she would wake us up. I got up slowly, rubbing my eyes as I turned to Jenna.

"Hey. What time is it?" I asked her.

"9. That was Beatrice, seeing if we are up and ready for brunch." Jenna told me.

"I will be in 30 minutes." I said, getting out of bed. I tried to wake up Rocky, but she grunted and said something incoherent so I let her sleep. I tried to call Bianca and when she didn't answer, I sent a text message to call me back. I needed to talk to her to see if she was coming to brunch and if she knew Christian would be at the party last night.

Jenna came out the bathroom, fully dressed in a black sundress and instructed me that everyone was wearing black and our fanny packs. I chose black denim shorts, a black halter and flip flops before I joined the ladies in the main suite. They all chorused at me to put on my forgotten sunglasses and fanny pack so I turned back to my room to retrieve them. I tried to wake up Rocky one more time, with the promise of food and drinks and she replied, "fuck food, drinks and you."

Obviously she was in angry drunk phase, so I just sent her a text where we were going and left. After posing with all the bridesmaids in our matching black, fanny packs and glasses and Beatrice in a white maxi dress, we headed to the lobby to eat.

There was a long wait for Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill, but we got on the waiting list and stood outside comparing pictures and stories from the night before. I held back a laugh as Marianne ranted about there not being any real celebrities- just a bunch of realities stars and "internet people".

"What time did you get home? You were sound asleep when I got back to the room." Jenna asked me.

"I stayed maybe a couple of hours. I was sleeping so good until Rocky came back." I shook my head, playfully.

"Is she an alcoholic? She was so sloppy last night." Marianne commented.

"No. She had a baby 3 months ago- her tolerance is lower than she realized." I defended her.

"3 months ago? I wouldn't be in Vegas if I had a kid 3 months ago!" Marianne gasped.

"You don't have a kid. Kind of unreasonable to say what you would or wouldn't do." Jenna replied. I'm glad she spoke up, I was 2 seconds away from pulling a drunk Rocky and telling her to fuck off.

"Why don't we check out the menu why we wait? Make sure they have something that won't wreck havoc on your cleanse."

Beatrice said, in a sweet tone I wish I had the temperament to master. When she led
her away from the group, Gabriela sighed.

"As long as they don't serve humility and common decency, we're good." Gabriela commented.

I held back my laugh but Destiny and Jenna snickered. "It's gotten to the point I will only check my emails on Wednesdays and Fridays- my off days so I can deal with her numerous updates" Destiny complained.

"You're better than me. I have them sent to a folder for my assistant to check." Gabriela chimed in. At first, I was offended I wasn't included in the emails sent regarding the wedding, now I was thankful.

"It's almost over ladies." Jenna said, encouragingly before our table was ready.

As we walked to the table, I asked Jenna about Rocky's behavior last night and if she was out of control.

"No, not out of control at all." Jenna said right away. "She seemed upset when she came back to the VIP table. At that point, Beatrice was ready to go. Rocky was drinking while we rounded everyone up, she drank more in the limo, and came back to the room and ordered french fries and a milkshake. I went to sleep before her food came, so I don't know if anything happened after that." Jenna explained.

"Ok. I'm going to talk to her later- after she sleeps it off." I said as we sat down at the table next to each other.

My breakfast of scrambled eggs chilaquiles, home fries and Bloody Mary put me in a fabulous mood. I didn't even make a face when Marianne order her food with no oil or cheese or peppers. I joked with the waiter that he could add hers to mine. The waiter bought us an order of churros on the house because we were celebrating Beatrice's wedding.

I had a great time but I felt bad that Bianca wasn't with us. This was a joint celebration, but originally I came out her to spend time with her for her birthday. I tried to call her again, but still no answer. After brunch, we went to The Forum Shops. We went to store after store shopping for cute clothes, bags and shoes. Marianne tried to get us to buy matching accessories for Beatrice's wedding, but Beatrice shut that down, stating she didn't want us to be matching and that it was our choice what we wanted to wear with our dresses. I was thankful for that as I already had Christian Louboutin nude pumps broken in.

Beatrice pulled me aside when she saw me about to purchase make-up at Sephora.

"Your father wanted me to buy what you wanted." Beatrice informed me.

"Urgh, no. He doesn't have to do that." I declined.

"He wants to and you know how your father is about what he wants." She said, pulling out an envelope.

"Here. Do what you want with it. Go bet it all in the casino. Carlos will know no better." She smiled at him, conspiringly.

I took the envelope and counted the bills. $1000. I took out a couple of hundreds and bought myself new makeup. At Cartier, I fell in love with a pink gold necklace with a circular pendant studded with diamonds and the word love engraved on it. It cost more than what my dad gave me, but I put my dad's money away. My jewelry collection was either costume jewelry or something my dad or someone else bought for me. The love necklace was the perfect thing to treat myself with: a beautiful reminder of self love.

While the group ducked into Victoria Secret, I headed to H&M. I needed to find something to wear to Bianca's birthday dinner and club event more than I needed to upgrade my lingerie. I figured I could use my dad's money to buy an outfit. While I was looking over a few dresses, Bianca called me back.

"Hey cuz. You're alive! You had me worried for a second." I greeted her.

"I had you worried? You ducked out last night without saying anything!" She exclaimed.

"I ducked out because Christian was there. Did you know he was going to be there?" I asked.

"What? Did you see him?" She gasped.

"Yeah, we talked briefly."

"What did he say?" She questioned me. It wasn't lost on me that she hadn't answered my question.

"He apologized. It was a good talk. I still wish I would have known he was going to be there. I want a heads up if he's going to be at your party tonight." I warned her.

"No, absolutely not. Why would Noelle invite him?" She balked.

I wanted to say the same reason why she went to an event with cameras where she knew Christian would be, but I decided to let it go. That was Christian's assumption and I wasn't going to judge Noelle based on what he thought.

"Ok. Well, we're out shopping. I'm at H&M trying to find an outfit since I wore my romper last night. You want to join us?" I asked.

"I'm at Jorge's shop right now. I'll pick something out for you."

"I don't need you to do that. I wanted you to come shopping with us so we can spend time together. I can meet you at the shop." I offered.

"We're filming Lily." She said. "I figured you didn't want to be on camera but if you sign a release form-"

"Absolutely not." I cut her off and she laughed.

"That's what I thought. I'll pick you out something and see you later tonight."

"Ok B. Talk to you later." I said, before hanging up.

I left H&M and wandered around the lavish Rome inspired shopping mall. I took out my phone and recorded a video showing the grand archways, marble columns, elegant fountains, and sculptures of Roman heroes. The most striking feature was the ceilings: it was painted to look like the sky. It made you feel like you were really outdoors, with its brighten blue sky, wispy clouds and lighting that gave off a glow. I couldn't help thinking about Ethan and how much he would have appreciated the details in the design.

I know I promised myself I would deal with my relationship with Ethan when I got home, but I couldn't get him out of my mind. Now that I understood why Trevor not being in my life was so hard for me, I wanted to call him. I needed to explain everything and let him know that I was ready. I also realized it took me forever to sort out my feelings for Trevor and I needed to take the time to be sure of my feelings for Ethan. I wanted them to be real and not a knee jerk response to losing him.

"There you are!" Jenna said, pulling me out of my thoughts as she joined me. "I was about to call you. We're going to take our bags up to the room before we go to the High Roller."

"Yeah, ok. Let me go see if Rocky is up." I replied.

We headed up to the room and Rocky was up and in the shower. I knocked on the door and told her we were leaving in 20 minutes for the Ferris Wheel. She yelled back that she was getting ready. I pulled out my phone again, checking out the comments from the pictures I posted from the weekend thus far.  My friends, my brother, even Deborah commented and liked my photos- nothing from Ethan. I was seriously debating posting the videos of the Forums and tagging Ethan in them, when Rocky emerged from the bathroom.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her as I looked her over. She brushed her hair up into a neat bun and was wearing a terry cloth robe.

"Better. I drank way too much last night."

"So I've heard... You woke me up last night, jumping on the bed. Remember?"

"Vaguely. Things are fuzzy after the milkshake." She said, going through her bag.
 

"You told me you leaked on the guy you were talking to last night-" I began and she let out a disgusted groan.

"I can't believe I told you that." She said, looking up the the ceiling, embarrassed, before meeting my eyes. "This stays between us and I never want to talk about it again. Shane and I were making out and when I got turned on... my breasts started to leak. I wasn't wearing a nursing bra and it leaked through my blouse. After he pointed it out, I told him what it was and he freaked out and left."

I tried my hardest to maintain my composure. "So he got freaked out... By breast milk?" A giggle escaped on the last syllable.

"It's not funny!" Rocky snapped at me.

"It is a little funny. A grown man being freaked out by breast milk? It's natural. I mean, what did he eat when he was a baby?" I explained.

"I'm sure his mom wasn't out trying to get laid when he was an infant Lily." She sighed, sitting down on the bed, shoulders slumped. "What was I thinking? I can't be out here partying and drinking and thotting around. I'm a mother now. I should be spending time with Ace before I go back to work."

"Stop." I sat beside her. "You have a son that has the pleasure of having you as a mother. Being a mom is a part of who you are now, not everything. You spent time with him the last 3 months and you'll spend time with him when you go back to work."

"Not as much. You know how my job is. I'll have to work twice as hard when I come back to prove myself again."

"You don't have to prove anything. You just have to be your same fierce, smart, beautiful, strong self."

"I don't feel very beautiful when I'm leaking all over the place." She complained.

"I've seen enough porn sites to know some people find that very attractive..." I commented with a smile.

"You're nasty Lily." She scolded me, a smirk teasing the corners of her mouth.

"I didn't say I watched it." I laughed and she finally cracked a smile. "But for real, this trip is about you- not being a mother or employee or anything but you having a good time. Let's celebrate ourselves before we go back to the real world." I suggested.

"Ok." She nodded.

"And we're in Vegas. What happens here stays here. If you want to leak on dudes, I'm sure we can find someone who is into it"

"Shut up Lily!" She said, hitting me with a pillow and getting up.

"We are wearing all black, fyi." I called out to her.

"I'm not a part of the bridal party."

"True, but black hides leaking..." I kidded.

She flicked me off before disappearing back in the bathroom. I took my own advice, posted my videos on Snapchat without tagging Ethan and put my phone away to enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Once Rocky was dressed in black jeans and an off the shoulders black top, we joined everyone and left for the High Roller. When we arrived, Bianca and Noelle were already there, camera crew filming. I was super annoyed with the whole thing, but I swallowed it down and did not say anything about it. Rocky, Beatrice, Marianne and I refused to be filmed, but the other girls agreed. We had a great time in the capsule that slowly ascended over Vegas, providing a beautiful view as we drank from the bar and toasted Bianca's birthday and Beatrice's wedding.

Noelle and Bianca had to do a few reshoots, so they rode the ride again as we got off and went to lunch. We actually split up as Marianne wanted to go to Giada's restaurant for lunch and Rocky, Jenna and I were going to Guy Fieri's Vegas Kitchen and Bar as planned. We got a seat on the patio, ordered a party bowl of a cocktail named Vegas Vices and overlooked the menu. We decided against the heavy main entrees of oversized burgers or huge ribs and steaks and decided to order appetizers to share. We still ended up with a  plethora of food including a mountain of trash can nachos, lobster lollipops, wings and tuna won-tacos. We drank, ate and people watched until we were stuffed and still had food to take back to the room. We wobbled back to the hotel, regretting eating and drinking so much and hoping to sleep it off.

I woke up, a couple hours later, feeling groggy and like I could sleep for another couple of hours, but a hotel attendant was at our door with a garment bag for me. I took it inside and unzipped it to reveal nude color separates- a tube top and a high-waisted mini skirt with gold sequin details all over. It was a gorgeous set although I was a little apprehensive wearing a tube top after all the eating I had been doing. Once I tried it on, I loved the fit. The top showed off my cleavage, shoulders and arms beautifully while the high waisted skirt hid my well earned food belly.

While I picked out a strapless pushup bra and panties, I remembered a pair of sparkly gold sneakers at the Giuseppe Zanotti store. At the time, I thought they were loud and tacky, but they would go perfectly with my outfit; and, I could use the money from my dad to buy them. I put on jeans and a t-shirt and headed back down to the shops and purchased them.

When I got back to the room, Rocky was doing her hair as Jenna showered. I hopped in the shower after Jenna before getting ready. I kept my hair simple, straightened and pushed back behind my ears. I wore small gold hoops and gold crawler earrings and my new necklace. I did a full face of make-up: fake lashes, gold smokey eye and a new dusty rose lip color I picked up at Sephora.

After Rocky finished curling waves into her hair, she slipped on a rust colored satin wrap dress. It clinched her in, making her waistline tiny, the color made her skin glow, and it showcased her fuller cleavage and toned legs.

"Damn, you look hot!" I complimented her.

"Thanks." She grinned, opening the front of her dress, flashing her black bra. "And I can wear my nursing bra."

"Yes! Get it hot momma!" I cheered.

Once we were dressed, we joined everyone in the suite, pregaming for the night with music and drinks. When the limo arrived, we took the party down to it, singing and drinking on our way to Bianca's birthday dinner. The dinner ended up being a burlesque show. With her cameras in tow, Noelle hosted a private party for Bianca. I recognized Bianca's former roommate Gayle, but all her other 'friends' at the party were models, designers, and other business associates. For it to be her party, it didn't seem like Bianca's style.

After the show and while the camera's were rolling, Noelle gave a warm birthday speech to Bianca before she did a dance with the performers. Everyone owwed and awwed over the display of affection when Bianca got on stage to hug and kiss Noelle. I thought it would have been more sincere if it was private or maybe if she wasn't filming for the show, but I kept my opinion to myself.

The night club didn't get any better. It was crowded and electronic music blasted from the speaker. Bianca hated spots like this: she preferred lounges or hookah bars. I didn't even get to talk to her as she was on the mic in the DJ booth.

We were in VIP with the rest of the party, so we ordered drinks and tried to talk over the loud music. While I made small talk with a few people, I realized a lot of the guests were Noelle's friends and associates. Beatrice, Destiny, Marianne, Gabriela and Jenna eventually stated they were going to head back to the room. I looked down at my phone and saw it was only midnight. I hugged them all goodbye before asking Rocky if she was ready to go.

"Devante mentioned grabbing something to eat." She suggested.

"Devante huh?" I asked, looking over at the dirty blonde dread head scruffy guy she had been hanging with all night. He had a nice body, abs on full display in a vest with no undershirt. He was cute I was sure, underneath the beard and messy hair; I just thought Rocky was more into clean cut men.

 "Am I playing wingwoman?" I wiggled my eyebrows.

"God no." She rolled her eyes. "We saw how well that ended last time. You coming or nah?"

"I'm coming. Let me say bye to Bianca." I went over to the DJ booth and waved Bianca over.  "We're heading out." I told Bianca with a hug. "We still doing the buffet tomorrow?"

"Absolutely." She hugged me back. I waved goodbye to Noelle before joining up with Rocky.

We followed Devante and his group out the club. One of the girls was navigating to a dive bar. On the way, we stopped by a daiquiri shop to get drinks for the walk. Walking the strip was more fun then the parties combined. There were characters, street performers and just eccentrically dressed people walking down the strip. The catcalls were annoying, the promoters were worse, but we had fun getting to the bar. The bar itself was pretty laid back for it being on the strip. It featured a long bar, a big stage were a band was performing, a dance floor in front of the stage and lounge couches and seating in the back. 

"They're at the booth in the back." A giggly brunette in our group led us over to the back where a long booth set against the wall with tables and chairs. We sat in one of the open spots in the booth while they greeted the group already at the adjoining table. I had a menu in my hand, trying to figure out what I wanted to eat when I felt Rocky nudge me.

"Let's get outta here." She hissed while glaring at someone at the other table. I looked up to see Christian. He looked at me confused and Rocky warily. I gave him a little smile and a wave before I turned Rocky away.

"It's cool. We're cool." I told her.

"You're cool with Christian? Since when?" She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Since last night. I saw him at the party. I'll explained later, but be nice." I commanded her.

"Fine." She muttered, turning her attention back to Devante. I ordered food and drinks and listen to the live music. It was an open mic night and a variety of different artist performed. Devante asked Rocky to dance and she asked me if I wanted to dance with them. Not wanting to be a third wheel and also waiting for the food to arrive, I declined. My food finally came and I was about to dig into my brisket sandwich when Christian sat next to me in the booth.

"I didn't know if I should say hi or send you a drink. Rocky looked like she may have thrown it on me." He stated.

"I didn't tell Rocky about our talk. Sorry about the hostility. I feel like I owe you a drink for that." I explained.

"I'll take it." He smiled.

"You still like fruity drinks?" I joked.

He chuckled. "Yeah, only fruit drink they have here is Bud Light lime."

I smiled and couldn't wait anymore to eat. I took a big bite of my sandwich.

"Is it good?" He asked.

"I had better." I said, after I finished chewing the bite. My mind automatically went to my 3rd date with Ethan; eating barbecue in a hole in the wall restaurant after he took me to a shooting range. The food was great, company was better...

"Can't tell."  He teased as I took another bite.

I shook my head as I ate. After I swallowed, I explained. "I'm starving. Tonight was Bianca's birthday celebration. Her birthday dinner was a burlesque show."

He shook his head and smiled. "Lesbians, dinner at a burlesque show... Sounds about right."

I burst out laughing. "Ewww shut up!"

"You set me up for that." He laughed too.

"No! I wasn't even thinking like that." I said, between laughter.

"What's so funny?" Reginald asked us.

"Nothing." I smiled, turning back to Christian. "Don't say anything." I warned him.

He put up his hands in mock surrender as Rocky and Devante rejoined us. She narrowed her eyes at Christian in her spot, but didn't say anything as Christian stood up, shaking hands with Devante as he moved.

"Good to see you again Christian." Devante spoke to him.

"You too man. How you doing?"

"Hanging in there. Working on Cymbal's project. Did he hit you up yet?" Devante asked.

"Not yet. You have my new number?" When he shook his head no, Christian texted him so he would have his number.

"How do you know each other?" Rocky asked Devante.

"Noelle introduced us. I've been trying to get on one of his tracks for a minute." Devante explained.

"Oh... You're a singer?" Rocky asked.

"A little bit. I mostly rap."

"Nice. Lily, are you ready?" Rocky said, standing abruptly.

I looked at my half eaten food, then at her face that said 'lets go'. "Ready."

I reached to pull out my wallet from my purse, but Christian stopped me. "I got it. Enjoy the rest of your night." He said with an amused smile. I mouthed a thank you before Rocky led me out.

"You owe me half a sandwich and fries." I told her.

"You owe me the truth. Since when are you and Christian cool? How are you cool with someone who posted your explicit pictures?" She said, speed walking down the sidewalk. I could barely keep up in my sneakers.

"They weren't explicit... A little sexy, but nothing was showing!" I defended myself.

She gave me a dumbfounded look. "Really?"

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that he apologized and we're ok." I started, before going into detail on how I saw Christian at the party and he waited for me to take responsibility for his actions.

Rocky still narrowed her eyes at me. "So now y'all are buddy buddy again? How's Ethan feel about the reconciliation?"

I blanched and sighed, knowing I needed to tell her the truth. "Ethan broke up with me."

Rocky stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to gawk at me. "What? Over Christian?"

"No. Keep walking and I'll tell you." I told her grabbing her arm. As we walked, I explained everything to her: Ethan overhearing Trevor telling me he had feeling for me, my unraveling at Trevor cutting me off, Ethan ending things with me because of my feeling for Trevor, and the last conversation I had with Ethan when I told him he was right.

"Wait... You're still in love with Trevor?" She asked.

I stopped and looked her straight in the eye. "No. I will always have love for Trevor, but I'm not in love with him. He was my... clutch... For almost 10 years and I didn't even realize it. I have now and I let him go. I called him the other night to let him know I was letting go."

"You called Trevor? How?"

"Hotel phone."

"What did he say?"

"I left a voicemail, but it doesn't matter. I'm finally done with Trevor."

"Ok." We started walking to the hotel again. "Did you talk to Ethan yet?"

"No." I answered.

"Are you waiting to talk to him in person?" She pressed me.

"Sort of."

"What do you mean sort of? You need to tell him exactly what you told me. He will understand and you two can get back together." She encouraged me.

"It's not that simple."

"Yes it is." She argued passionately.

"No, it's not. He told me that he loved me." I admitted.

"You don't love him?"

"I might. I could. I don't know. What I do know is I don't want to just react off the fear of losing him. I want to be sure. I want to take my time before I commit to anyone. Talking to Christian made me see myself clearly. We have a lot in common and it made me realize there's no need for me to rush to be in love or in a relationship. I'm good by myself." I explained as we walked through the entrance of our hotel.

"Oh God, please don't tell me you're falling for Christian." Rocky groaned.

"Stop. I don't even have his number." I protested. "Can we please go eat now?"

"I don't know... Anymore secrets?"

"You tell me. What happened with Devante?"

"A rebound with a wanna be rapper? That's almost as bad as hooking up with an amateur DJ." Rocky shaded Forrest's new friend.

I shook my head at her as we made our way in the hotel. We had a late night dinner at Gordon Ramsay's Pub. Rocky got a lobster roll and I got the Beef Wellington and all was good in life at the moment while we ate.

The next morning, I woke up early to see the ladies off as they headed to the airport. I told Beatrice thanks for allowing us to have this weekend together. She hugged me and said excitedly, "Until next time at my wedding." I smiled and hugged her back.

After they left, I called Bianca to make sure she was still up for breakfast at the casino hotel. When she confirmed, I woke Rocky up so we could get ready. We dressed comfortably and made our way down to the buffet to wait in line. Bianca made it while we were still waiting and I was surprised to see it was just her.

"Noelle is getting ready for a pool party. You guys are welcomed to come." Bianca invited us.

"Nope, nowhere close to being swimsuit ready. Maybe next summer." Rocky declined.

"I don't plan to leave the buffet until our flight is ready so that's a no for me fam." I smiled.

We got seated, ordered mimosas and made our way through the smorgasbord of food. There was so much and everything was delicious: One of the best buffets I ever been too. Rocky joked about taking the butter dispenser for the crab legs home as a souvenir.

"Speaking of, we need to do that before we leave. Souvenir shopping." I told her.

"For what? Everyone we know has been to Vegas. They don't need souvenirs.

"The kids. Ace especially." I said. And Ethan. I needed to find a figurine for him. When I first began giving Ethan figurines for souvenirs, I originally picked them because they were completely useless and loved seeing his reaction to them. The fact he kept them on display in his den made it a tradition that I wanted to continue.

"Give him the money. It can go in his college fund." Rocky quipped.

"Or a really nice bank to put the college money in!" I countered.

After breakfast, I wished Bianca a happy birthday and gave her a birthday card. In previous years, I just gave her money to spend it on whatever she wanted. This time, I gave her a Dallas calendar.

"Really? The year is halfway through. Was this on sale?" She grinned.

"No, I already had it but I personalized it. I don't care how successful or famous you get, we always need to make time for each other. And if a season pass without us seeing each other, I'll start leaving bed reviews on your clothes and be that close source in the tabloids spreading rumors about you and Noelle." I threaten her.

"Wow...this is the sweetest most stalkerish gift I ever received." Bianca hugged me.

"Anytime."

After we parted with Bianca, we went to the Wax Museum Rocky so desperately wanted to go to. She told me back when she came to Vegas for Jake's birthday, no one wanted to go. She held on to that grudge and now she was getting her chance to go. We went and I had a better time then I expected, posing and taking pictures with the wax figures.

Afterward, we were able to hit a tourist shop. I got gifts for the kids first. I really did get a coin bank that looked like a slot machine for Ace, a plush dice for Robbie, little tote bags for Krista and April, and Vegas playing cards, poker chips and a bag of candy with the thought of teaching EJ how to gamble. While Rocky was looking over the onesies, a figurine caught my eye.  The flamingos with their beaks touching to form a heart figurine was perfect. I grabbed it before I checked out.

The flight back to Dallas was uneventful. I was too wired to sleep, so I planned what I wanted to say to Ethan when I saw him. Brandon was picking Rocky up and Rocky asked me if I needed a ride home too. I knew Rocky was ready to get home to spend time with Ace, so I turned her down. I got an Uber home and greeted Justine with a stomach rub before I brought my things in. I text Sammy that I was home and thanks for watching Justine before I called Ethan.

"Hello?"

"Hey. I just got back in town. Are you busy? Can Justine and I come over with you and EJ souvenirs?"

"Sure." He said, simply.

"Ok. See you soon."

I washed up and changed quickly before I headed to his house. On the drive over, I received a text from an unknown number. I looked at my notifications briefly and saw the beginning of the text.

Unknown: Hey, it's Christian. I-

I pulled in front of Ethan's house and ignored the rest of the text. I would read it later; right now I wanted to focus on Ethan. I went up to Ethan's door and rang the doorbell. Ethan was there quickly to let me and Justine in.

"Hi." I smiled at him, as I looked him over. He was wearing jeans and a polo, effortlessly handsome as always. His face was neutral as he slowly appraised me too. He studied my hair in a low ponytail, my face, down my chest in a fitted t-shirt, my legs in jean shorts, my toes in my sandals and slowly back up again. His face revealed nothing but he's eyes were a shade darker.

"Hi." He responded, looking away from me to focus on Justine as she hopped up on his legs, excitedly. He kneel to pet her. "How was your trip?"

"Really fun. I thought a bachelorette trip with my "stepmom" would be awkward but it was fun. A good start like you said." I said.

"Good. It looked like you had a good time." He said, standing up straight again and looking me in the eye.

I nodded. "Yes. Ate way too much, I posted a ton of food pictures online."

"I saw that. I believe you had more pictures of food than of yourself." He commented.

"Oh... You were looking for pictures of me?"

"No." He cleared his throat. "Just an observation."

"Right." I smiled at him.

"EJ will be right down. He's taking a shower." Ethan stated as he led us into the living room.

"Ok." I reached into my bag. "Here's your gift then."

"You didn't have to." He said as I pulled out the pink figurine and studied it with a smirk. "You really didn't have to."

"You know I had to. Besides, this one has a background story." I started. "They're love birds, but one bird was so broken and insecure, she latched on to what she thought was unconditonal love. She was terrified to let it go because she felt she wouldn't be anything without it."

Ethan looked away from the figurine to watch me, expectantly.

"She realized what she was holding onto wasn't love, but codependency. When she finally knew she was good enough on her own, she was able to let him go. She made a promise to herself that her next relationship would be based on trust, mutual respect, passion and compatibility. She also told herself the next time she fell in love not only would she take the time to make sure she was ready, but that he was the right one."

He nodded. "I understand."

"You do?" I asked, my heart beating wildly.

"Lily-" he started before EJ came barreling down the stairs.

"Lily!" EJ called my name with a grin.

"Hey EJ!" I said, opening my arms for a hug. "How ya been?"

"Good. What'd you bring me? Money you won from gambling?"

"You know what? I didn't even gamble." I told him.

"Really.?"

"Yeah. The first rule of gambling is the house always wins. Even if you win, the casino always win. So instead of gambling and giving them my money, I figured I can teach you how to bet and we can play for candy." I said, pulling out a deck of cards, poker chips, and the big bag of candy.

EJ's eyes widen at the candy and he looked at his dad. "Can we play Dad? Can I learn how to bet?"

"Yes, if Lily has time." Ethan responded.

"I have nothing but time." I smiled at them both.

"Let set up the card table up then." Ethan said.

We did just that and spent the rest of the evening playing cards. It was a brand new start, but nothing changed between us.