“All you will need is a bed and TV. You would have had to fully furnish the other three condos we just looked at,” Vera said.
She’s a good saleswoman and she really wants this commission, I thought to myself.
“I like this place Melanie, but more importantly, what do you think?” James said, leaving the decision up to me.
“Vera, we’ll take it,” I said excitedly, hugging her.
James signed the papers and we were back out to the Mustang a few minutes later. I squeezed James’ hand as he rested it on my thigh. I had a new car, new clothes, new apartment, and money… a new life. The only thing I didn’t have, was the man I was falling for in my bed, starting tomorrow morning. I quickly pushed that thought out of my mind. I didn’t have much time left with James, and I wasn’t going to ruin it by being depressed about things I couldn’t change.
“Melanie,” James said, breaking me out of my thoughts. “I’ve dragged you around this city all weekend. You tell me where you’d like to go.”
I thought for a moment, “Ever seen a lake in the middle of a desert?”
I had James drive out to Henderson, past the Auto Mall, and directed him to take the exit on Lake Mead Parkway. We drove about fifteen miles to Lake Las Vegas. I had only been there once before, and it was at night when I was partying with my friends and I was pretty drunk, so I didn’t remember a lot of it. This would be much better experience.
We turned off the highway and found ourselves driving through a golf course with fairways on both sides. The grass was perfectly manicured and I saw a huge clubhouse in the distance. We drove further and came to several different housing tracks. The houses were big and beautiful. It reminded me of the neighborhoods we saw in Summerlin the night before. The Las Vegas Valley has a few exclusive areas, and Lake Las Vegas was definitely one of them.
We drove a bit further and saw a parking garage next to a medium sized casino. We pulled into the parking garage and found a space. As we were about to exit the Mustang, James’ hand, which had been resting on my thigh, suddenly moved up a few inches and he leaned over and gave me a soft kiss. I felt his fingertips brush over the lace material on the front of my thong.
He looked into my eyes and said softly, “I haven’t been this happy in a long time kid. For the last few years it’s felt like my life has been nothing but work and struggle, but you’re changing that, and I want you to know I appreciate it Melanie.”
He gave me a soft kiss and I watched him exit the car. He opened the door for me, and once I stepped out, he pulled me to his side. Those simple words meant more to me than everything he’d done for me financially since we’d met.
We walked down a small path beside the casino to an area that had small number of little shops and restaurants. It was so small and quaint; a little village nestled between the rolling hills of the desert. We walked around and window shopped a bit until we got out of the retail area and a large man-made lake came into view. There were families walking around and little children throwing rocks which made small splashes and ripples, disturbing the calm water. It was so serene and beautiful, I could hardly believe that the hustle and bustle of the Las Vegas Strip was only a half hour from this majestic place.
The lake was set against beautiful rolling hills, and nestled up in the little mountains were beautiful houses that had a perfect vantage for viewing the lake. I’m going to live up there one day, I said to myself, making a silent promise.
We were walking hand in hand and I felt James gently tug on me, “Feel like a boat ride?”
Next to a pier was a small ferry that offered rides around the lake. While James was buying tickets, I marveled at the serene water. It reminded me of Shasta Lake in northern California where my family had vacationed several times during my childhood.
We got onto the ferry and went up the stairs and out onto the weather deck. Moments later, I felt the ferry move away from the pier. I watched the water ripple as the ferry moved. In the distance I could see small boats and people who were windsurfing.
For the past year and a half my life had been incredibly chaotic. I remembered how difficult it had been adjusting to college life: being away from my family, going to classes, keeping my grades up, engaging in a very active social life of parties and clubbing. In contrast, this was so peaceful and tranquil. I looked out over the water; the sun was going down over the mountains in the west, causing the water to shimmer and sparkle. It felt magical.
I looked at James and noticed he was watching me take everything in. He had his arm around me and he gave me a soft squeeze, pulling my body into his, then he turned and faced me.
“I was going to give you this later at dinner, but seeing this great view I can’t think of a more perfect time and place than right now.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a rectangular black case that I knew had to contain jewelry. My jaw dropped open as he handed to me. My hands began to shake as I reached for it. I slowly opened the case and saw a tennis bracelet. It had about forty diamonds encased in gold. I watched as James took it out of the box and fastened it to my wrist.
I looked wide-eyed at the heavy, shimmering, gold bracelet and noticed my hand was shaking. I stammered, trying to find the words, but they weren’t coming out of my mouth.
Finally, I calmed down enough to say, “J-J-James, this is too much, I can’t accept this. You’ve done so much already and…”
He cut me off.
“Melanie,” he said firmly, “I want to give you nice things and do nice things for you. This is part of being with me and you are going to have to learn to accept it.”
I looked into his eyes, trying to make sense of this gift.
He looked me and said sternly, “I’m not going to fight you every time I want to do something nice for you.”
Tears filled my eyes and I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly as I felt his arms wrap around me.
I whispered in his ear, “Thank you so much James,” I said sincerely.
We drove silently back to our suite at the Paris. James’ hand was on my thigh as we sped down the freeway. I was still trying to mentally process how this man sitting next to me had come into my life so unexpectedly, like a tornado, and changed everything. It was so much to try to take in and process.
I watched as James used the keycard to open the door to our suite. I looked around the empty great room which had been my home for the last two days. I didn’t even feel like the same person who had let a handsome older man buy her a drink at a bar in a beautifully decorated ballroom. I wasn’t sure that girl existed anymore.
James put his arm around me, “Melanie, we have about an hour before our dinner reservations, you had better start getting ready.”
I watched him walk into the second bathroom of the suite and heard him turn on the shower. I should start getting ready I thought. I walked into the walk-in closet of the master bedroom and began looking through the remaining dresses that James had bought. After a bit of deliberation, I chose a short, dusty pink, sequined cocktail dress, with a light pink, silk bra, and a pair of high heeled, white lace, pumps. I also decided to surprise James by not wearing a thong.
I walked into the bathroom and applied my makeup and put my hair up in an elegant style that I thought would go perfectly with the dress. I looked into the mirror several times until I had my makeup and hair perfect. After I had dressed, I took a deep breath and stepped out into the great room and when James saw me his jaw dropped open and I watched him drink me in from head to toe.
“Melanie, you look stunning.”
“Thank you James,” I said, smiling brightly at him.
I had worked so hard to look good for him, I was ecstatic that he approved and appreciated it.
James was wearing a dark, navy blue, pin striped suit, with a navy blue tie, broken up by large silver dots. The blue in the suit made his blue eyes sparkle. He looked so handsome.
“You don’t look half bad yourself,” I said, “so where are we going to dinner?”
“The top of the world,” he said, as he smiled at me.
It wasn’t quite the top of the world, but it was close. We walked through the casino until I saw signs to the elevator for the Eiffel Tower Restaurant. It was one-hundred feet above the Las Vegas strip and offered majestic views of the sparkling lights, bustling traffic, and the fountain at the Bellagio.
As we took the elevator up, I felt James’ arm wrapped tightly around my waist, resting on the side of my body at the beltline. I felt him start to feel lower and then back up several times. I smiled as I realized what he was doing. His fingers were searching for the elastic band of the thong that I had, up until this evening, always worn.
I smiled to myself, and then mischievously asked, “Whatcha doing?”
His eyes got wide, and he said in a shocked voice, “Melanie, are you wearing a thong?”
I looked down, making sure he was watching me, and then very slowly pulled the side of my cocktail dress up revealing nothing but skin.
“What do you know, I thought I forgot something,” I said, smiling sexily at him.
I watched his mouth form a devious smile just as the elevator doors opened into the restaurant.
He had arranged for us to get a coveted window seat in the restaurant. We sat in front of a large panoramic window that offered a 180 degree view that was truly spectacular. James ordered Dom Perignon Champagne and an appetizer of golden, Russian and Siberian caviar. For dinner, James ordered a ribeye steak and I ordered roasted chicken and vegetables.
I watched James dig into the caviar and I could tell he was used to eating it. He smiled at me and watched me pick at it as I took a few bites, but to be honest, it was something that I could barely get down. I did love the Champagne though, it tasted amazing.
As I watched him eat, I hesitantly spoke, “James, this is a perfect evening, and I don’t want to ruin it, but may I ask you something?”
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