All's Fair in Love and Las Vegas

Chapter Ninety-One

        Clay asked that I pick him up from the airport on the thirteenth. I think he wanted Kylie to do it, but she was working when he landed and I was obviously the next best choice. I saw him a mile away when I walked in, because who else would be holding metallic gold suitcases?

        "Jackie!" he cried, tossing aside the aforementioned suitcases and swallowing me in a hug. "Oh, how I've missed you!"

        "I missed you too!" I said, squeezing him a little harder than necessary. I'd missed hanging out with Clay, even when he was being annoyingly inappropriate.

        "Thank you so much for picking me up," he said, collecting his luggage again. "I guess I could've called a taxi, but I wanted to run my plan by you."

        "Of course," I said, taking a suitcase from him. Then I frowned and I asked, "Are these real gold?"

        He snorted. "Heck, no. I just spray paint them. The fakeness is my little dig at the rich folk, since they hate such tacky things."

        "Ah, obviously," I said, stifling a laugh.

        "How's Kylie been?" Clay asked, a hint of nervousness in his tone. Aw.

        "She's been good," I said. "She really misses you."

        "Yeah, I miss her too," he mumbled, fidgeting with his watch. The longing look in his eyes made me wonder if he was about to sprint through the streets of Arlington, legs pumping until he reached her.

        I reached over and squeezed his shoulder. "She's going to be so excited to see you, Clay," I promised him.

        "I hope so," he said, mustering up a quick smile.

        We got in my car, tossing the golden suitcases in the trunk. "What hotel are you at?" I asked.

        "Kylie's," he said with a smirk.

        "Should've guessed that," I sighed, backing out of the parking space.

        Kylie lived in one of the nicer neighborhoods in town, the places that had pools and glass balconies. Actually, the place reminded me a lot of the building Grayson lived in in Toronto, just the cheaper, non-penthouse option, and also in house form. I missed that place.

        "What's your plan? Just stand outside until she gets out of work?" I asked once we'd parked in the garage.

        "She told me where the key is," Clay said proudly.

        At her door, he got down on his knees and began picking at the carpet. A second later, he revealed a hidden section of carpet where a thin gold key was lying. Jumping up, Clay unlocked the door and let us in.

        Kylie had clearly cleaned the place up. Normally, it was mildly messy, with the occasional article of clothing or half-read book lying around. Sometimes there were half-eaten muffins on the counter as well. But today the place was spotless, even freshened up with the vase of daisies on the table.

        "I gotta pee so bad," Clay announced, making a break for the bathroom.

        "I take it you've been here before?" I asked, setting his stuff near the hallway.

        "Oh, yeah. While you and Grayson were being all cutesy in Toronto, I stayed here for a couple weekends," he said through the door.

        Hmm. Kylie's plants weren't looking the happiest. I took the miniature watering can and gave them some water, hoping their brown tips would disappear soon. As much as she adored her green friends, she sometimes forgot that they needed to be hydrated for survival.