All's Fair in Love and Las Vegas

Chapter One

My entire body ached. From my head to my toes, it was a sea of pain. Even the slightest movement caused an onslaught of violence in my joints. It didn't matter that I was lying on the softest of silk sheets, which were cool against my skin in the morning air. Dizziness slammed into me as my head began swimming. I didn't dare move or open my eyes, knowing it would only be worse. Instead, I stilled, leaning into the comforting warmth enveloping me.

Vaguely, I scolded myself. I don't think I've ever been so hungover in my life. Granted, I am only twenty-three. But still, I feel like someone's set a jackhammer to my temple. With limited success, I tried to recall ways to cure a hangover. Drinking a raw egg, although I doubted there was a ready supply of eggs nearby. Unfortunately, that was all I could come up with. This only deepened my annoyance; I was a nurse, for crying out loud. Surely I could come up with one reasonable way to get rid of a hangover.

Groaning miserably, I turned to check the alarm clock on the nightstand. Nine. Not too late. Pretty good for waking up this wrecked. My eyes blurred at the exercise, complaining that letting in this much light was bad for my headache. The thick, dark curtains were shut, but it was still much too blinding in the room. Wearily, I looked over at Kylie and Nina. Then I frowned; where was their bed? I had won the game of rock-paper-scissors for having my own bed, but now theirs was gone entirely. In its place was a stainless steel kitchen, complete with a double oven and a dishwasher. I frowned, then quickly stopped since the gesture hurt my head. We would've never splurged for a luxury like a kitchen. Yet for some reason, it was there. I couldn't remember if it had been there when we'd checked in yesterday. Then I mentally kicked myself; of course it had been there. Kitchens couldn't just get up and walk around. Maybe I didn't remember it, but it was ridiculous to assume it hadn't been.

Wanting to see just how much the rest of our hotel room had changed, I rolled over. A scream of terror escaped my lips when I found a man lying next to me, dead asleep. A man wearing no clothes, to be more specific. As he jolted awake, I realized that I, too, did not have a lick of clothing on. Nauseous, I snatched a loose sheet and quickly yanked it up to my shoulders.

"W-what's-" The man abruptly stopped as he realized that he wasn't alone. He blushed and immediately covered himself with the blankets, asking, "Who are you?"

"Me? Who are you?" I asked shrilly, a sickening dread filling my stomach.

He shrugged. "I mean, this is my hotel room, I think it's more fitting I ask who you are."

His hotel room. So I hadn't been going crazy; this wasn't the room I'd booked with Kylie and Nina. Kylie and Nina! Where were they? Had I left them on their own to fend for themselves? Maybe they were fine, but I was definitely a crappy friend for ditching them to go spend the night with a stranger.

"I...look, do you remember anything about how I got here?" I asked in desperation.

"It's all very fuzzy," he said, making my heart drop. "Last thing I remember is being angry at Mother and wanting to get a drink, then...nothing."

Nothing felt so ominous. My own brain was filled with nothing as well. My memories were patchy at best. Last night, the three of us had been getting dressed up. I remembered Kylie, running around trying to do makeup and wearing frighteningly tall heels. We'd gone to a bar. Or at least, that had been the plan. Now that I thought about it, I couldn't remember actually being at the bar. I think we'd parked the car, at least. Yes, now I remembered Nina shoveling spare change into the meter. After that, it was a blank void.

The last thirteen hours had been wiped from my brain.

"Oh dear," I said queasily.

The man spoke up. "Um, I hate to rush you, especially since we're both confused, but uh, would you mind if we both got dressed before carrying on with this conversation?" he said, wincing in embarrassment.