Las Vegas Savior
Chapter 9

John led the way out to his vehicle which turned out to be a rental SUV, thankfully in white. He walked her to the passenger side and opened her door, then helped her inside. He closed the door and walked around the front and got behind the steering wheel.

She hoped he couldn’t tell how scared she was right now as she sat, shivering on her seat with her purse clutched tightly against her stomach.

“Hey, calm down. I’m a good driver, I promise.” John said as he put the key in the ignition but waited to start the car.

“It’s not that. I just get worried when I don’t really know where we are going for sure and what if we get separated? Everything I own is in my car. For the past 3 years, if I even thought he was anywhere nearby, I would run like the devil was trying to catch me because to me, that’s just what he is. Only a devil would kill someone over money, much less someone else’s money.” Emily said.

“Would you feel better if we took your car?” John asked.

“Oh, yes! Please?” Emily was quick to reply and from the sound of her voice, she was truly relieved.

“Okay. Which way is your car?” John asked as he turned the key and started the engine.

“Back of the building. It was the only car back there earlier.” Her unit was on the corner but she had parked in the middle of the row of spaces. You couldn’t see it from the road from either side of the building, John noticed.

He had watched her go back to her unit earlier so he knew what room she was staying in and since no one else was checked into any of the other rooms on this end of the building, she had absolute privacy and a good vantage point to see anyone coming into the parking lot from the street, at least on that side of the building.

The other side was an exit only and the way it was shaped, you’d have to do some serious maneuvering on the street to get into the parking area on that side. He realized that she was smart. She must be used to staying on alert all the time.

John pulled in next to her car and parked but before they got in her vehicle. “Don’t suppose you would let me drive? After all, I know where I’m going and you don’t.” John had said as they got out of his SUV.

“Sure, I don’t mind if you drive for now. In fact, it might be better since from what I saw when I came in, a lot of people walk the streets here, even at 1 am. At least with you driving, I can duck quickly if I need to.” Emily said. She really didn’t like for anyone to drive her car but what she had said was true. At least this way she could duck to avoid being seen.

John drove them through town and he pointed out several attractions along the way. “Night time is when Vegas really wakes up because it’s usually really hot during the day. There is just so much to do here.”

“You sound like a travel agent on one of those commercials on TV selling timeshares.” Emily teased him.

“Yeah, I guess I do. My parents had their children late in life and are probably a good deal older than yours. They talked about retiring here for years and we came on several family vacations here when we were growing up.

The first time was because my sister, Janice got food poisoning from eating a convenience store sandwich on our way to the Grand Canyon and we had to stay in Vegas for three whole days while she was in the hospital. Never eat convenience store tuna fish. You could live to regret it.” John told her.

He was hoping that she would relax and open up about herself a little more but she just smiled and turned to look out the window.

Emily smiled but didn’t want to depress him with the tales of her lousy childhood so she just pretended to be interested in the area they were passing through. They found a place to park and John handed back her car keys after they got out and began to walk towards the strip.

For the next four hours, they walked along the strip. John was thoroughly enjoying her company and it made him realize that since Sharon had left, he had not dated much and he couldn’t remember when he had ever enjoyed the company of a woman as much, even Sharon.

Sharon had just been such a big part of his life for such a long time that he had gotten comfortable with her, which he didn’t with just anyone. But now, here was this very beautiful woman with hair the color of his favorite candy bar, a wicked sense of humor and a laugh that made him feel good inside for the first time in a very long time.

Emily had a natural grace that she seemed totally unaware of and he wondered what it would be like to dance with her. So far, she had shied away from any close physical contact and had kept a respectful distance. He was dying to know what it would be like to just hold her hand and once he thought about that, he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to hold her, to kiss her.

He forced himself to stop thinking about it before he not only embarrassed himself but he was more afraid that he would scare her away. So he found contentment as they people watched and window shopped until Emily found some t-shirts that she liked and could afford.

She had refused to let him pay for them and he felt it would injure her pride to push it so she spent $20 from what she had left of her tip money and that made her think about finding a Western Union. John seemed to know the area pretty well so she asked him. “Hey, do you know where there’s a Western Union around here?”

“I think there’s one at Walmart. Some of the stores charge a bit more but Walmart is cheap for money transfers. So long as you have a current ID, you can get most anything at Walmart.” John said with a smile. He said as they walked past a shop where he spotted a bohemian tie dyed, tank top style of dress in a gauzy material of blues and purples that he thought would look great on her and held it out for her inspection. It was made of a flowy, wrinkly material with beads sewn in a pattern down the front.

Emily smiled and nodded her approval of his choice and then said “Very nice. You would look cute in that!” She teased.

John just rolled his eyes and said “Not for me but it would look great on you. Heck, you would look good in a burlap sack.”

“Why, thank you, John. I think that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” Emily said sincerely with a genuine smile as she went up on her toes and kissed him on his cheek.

“Will you wear it to dinner with me?” John asked. His heart had jumped into overdrive when she had kissed him on the cheek and it had been all he could do not to pull her into his arms and really kiss her, the way he wanted to since he had first seen her in the laundry room at the hotel.

“How much is it?” Emily asked, knowing that she was on very limited funds right now and she still had a ways to go. If Shelly could send her paycheck in the next day or two, it would help but since she had only been back to work for about a full week, before she had left, it wouldn’t be much and it never lasted long enough.

Emily had paid for her room in advance when she checked in last night but she wondered if the manager would allow her to do maid services in exchange for another couple of nights at the hotel. She really could use the time to rest up as well as being able to spend time with John.

“I’ll pay for it. I’m the one wanting to take you to some place that will require you to wear more than jeans for dinner, so it’s only fair. I’ll even buy you a pair of sandals to go with it.” John said.

“What do I have to do to repay you?” Emily asked suspiciously. She had been on dates before where the guy thought that because he had paid for a burger and fries and a movie ticket, it gave him the right to a roll in the hay.

She usually only had to show the guy the can of pepper spray that she carried in her purse to make him realize that she was not an easy lay or a cheap slut who would jump into the sack with just anyone.

All through high school and during college, once the word got around campus, the offers to dinner got rather slim which had suited her just fine. She was there to get an education, not to be a bed bunny. John was an FBI Agent! Surely she could trust him not to try to take advantage of her. Besides, why would a man with John’s good looks want to be with her?

“Just have dinner with me. Nothing more.” John said, trying not to be hurt that she thought that he might try to take advantage of her. “Man, she has a really bad opinion of men. I wonder if it was just the one or every man she’s ever known.” John thought to himself. He couldn’t explain what it was about her that tugged at his heart strings or made him want to pull her close and protect her but after having spent the afternoon with her, that’s what he was feeling. He would also like to punch Derrick Gibson in the nose!

“Promise?” She asked timidly.

John crossed his heart with his finger and then held up three fingers in the boy scouts salute and said “You have my word on it. Nothing is going to happen that you don’t want to do when you are with me.” John said seriously.

“Okay. I am getting kind of hungry. That salad at lunch was delicious but now I could eat!” Emily said with a genuine smile and John’s heart skipped a few beats.

John paid for the dress and they found the cutest pair of sandals to go with it and John paid for them too. “Let’s go back to the hotel and get showers and then we’ll go get some steaks.” He told her.

The place he was planning to take her tonight had really good food and they also had a band which means dancing. He was hoping that he would finally be able to put his arms around her, which he had been dying to do all afternoon but he was afraid it would scare her away.

She had been okay when he had offered her his hand after he bought the clothes and began wandering their way back to her car. It was just beginning to get dark when they got back to the hotel and he parked her car back in the same spot and walked with her back to her room. “Meet you back here in about forty five minutes?” John asked as he waited for her to unlock her door.

“I’ll be ready.” Emily said as she stepped inside her room.

John waved and walked away and Emily let the door close behind her. She’d had the best time this afternoon and John was so nice. He hadn’t pressured her at all and they had fun walking down the strip, window shopping and people watching.

They had made money at the place that let you spin the wheel once for free. It had landed on the $50 mark for John and then Emily had been shocked when it hit the $100 mark for her. She had played the games inside twice and lost $20 of it right off the bat and would have lost more but John had whispered in her ear. “The games are rigged. Let’s cash out and I’ll explain outside.”

The Korean lady behind the cash out register had not been happy about it but there was nothing she could do about it and finally cashed them out after having tried to convince them to play a few more games. “Maybe you win a big one if you just play a little while more.” She kept telling them.

Once they were outside John explained that those shops rigged their games to let you win a little in the hopes that you will put it all back plus some of your own money. “You can make money off of them so long as you don’t let them sucker you into putting it all back.”

“I bet they only let you win once and then won’t let you play anymore once they get to know your face.” Emily said, catching on quickly.

Emily had to go get her pack out of the car so that she could change her underwear and she needed her toiletries to bathe so she hung her dress in the closet and grabbed her car key and hotel key and let herself out. She ran over to her car and opened her trunk and retrieved her pack then hurried back to the room. It had been pleasantly cool today while they had been walking the strip but it was getting cold now that the sun had gone down.

She entered the room again and realized that she would have to use part of her winnings to pay for another night, if she was going to stay here. Check out time was actually at noon but since she had not checked in until after midnight, she technically hadn’t been there for 24 hours yet.

Or maybe she would just go eat with John and then get back on the road. The towel she had used last night was still hanging over the shower rod but was dry now so she was going to reuse it tonight.

She found her clean underwear in the bottom of her pack and took off her clothes, rolled them up together, put them in a Walmart plastic sack and put them back in her pack. When her clothes were wrapped in the sacks, she knew she had worn them already and they would need to be washed. Today had been the second time she had worn those jeans so they needed to be washed.

She gathered up her toiletries and headed for the shower. She had just washed her hair last night and it would take too long to blow it dry again so she twisted it up in a bun on the top of her head and stuck her fancy chopsticks in to hold it up. She turned on the water and got the temperature she wanted before she stepped under the spray. She quickly bathed and brushed her teeth again. She wanted to be sure her breath smelled fresh.

She pulled on her panties, wishing she had new ones as well as a new bra. This one was over a year old and the elastic had lost its snap long ago. It didn’t really do anything for her figure but at least it wouldn’t look like she had a sack with two wiggling puppies hanging around her neck when she walked.

She looked at the price tag on the dress that was hanging on the closet rod just outside of the bathroom and was shocked to see that the simple little dress had cost $45! “Wow, this one dress cost more than just about everything in my pack except my sneakers.” While most of her clothes had been thrift store finds, she had bought her sneakers so that she could jog in the park to keep in shape.

In her job as a computer programmer, she spent the majority of her day sitting down and when she had noticed that she was beginning to put on some weight, she had spent a good deal of money on some good sneakers and had started jogging at least 3 times a week in the park not far from where she worked.

Being on the run for the past 3 years had done wonders for her figure. She couldn’t always afford to eat as healthy as she usually preferred but she had always tried to keep in shape by walking or running as much as she could just to keep her legs strong.

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