After Hours

Chapter 14

The boys walk down the Las Vegas strip with us girls on their shoulders since Jasmine begged them to. Jasmine is on Zach's shoulder's while I am on Dominic. She records us the entire time, capturing the life on the streets. "We have some people interested in Zach," Jasmine says, turning the camera down to him. "When is your newest movie being released?"

"Next month," he answers before pushing the camera away.

She stares down at the screen. "Emery, this guy wants to know if you'll go out with him," she says, laughing.

I look at the camera, pretending to pout. "Sorry, I'm taken."

"Benjamin, this girl Kendra said to tell you you're sexy."

"Why thank you," he grins.

"Can you let me down, please?" I ask Dominic.

"Sure," he nods.

He carefully lets me down and Jasmine gets down as well. "Who wants a drink?"

"Me," everyone else says in unison.

Laughing, Zach leads us into the nearest bar which happens to be called Peppermill Lounge. When we get to the bar, Jasmine orders a Coronarita, Alexis orders a Strawberry Daiquiri, and I order a Blue Hawaiian. The boys order a round of Absolut Vanilla shots before ordering beers. "Hey, Jackson's friends are watching," Jasmine says excitedly.

Shocked, I lose balance and slip off the barstool, landing on the floor. Thankful that I set my glass down first, I begin laughing. Shaking his head, Zach helps me up. I blush as I return to my spot on the barstool. "Jasmine," Zach says from beside me. She turns the camera towards him and I lean back to avoid being on caught on camera again. He holds up his middle finger to the camera. "That's for you, Jackson."

I raise my eyebrows before taking a sip of my drink. "We only have a minute left so say bye everybody," Jasmine says.

We all wave to the camera before she finally shuts it off. Maybe I should have told Jackson about coming to Vegas. I did say I was hanging out with Jasmine and he knows know she can be but I don't know if he'll see it that way. My eyes widen when I realize that there's a chance he saw the video of me jumping off the building. Now I wonder what other pictures they've posted. My phone begins ringing in my pocket and I try my best to ignore it but I can't. Slipping it out of my pocket, I see Jackson's name. Jasmine grabs it and answers it. "Sorry but I have confiscated Emery's phone for the night. Call back tomorrow."

She hangs up and I gawk at her, trying to grab the phone but she slips it into her pocket. "He's going to be mad at me too," I say.

She shrugs. "He'll get over it."

Shaking my head, I continue sipping on my drink. Zach leans towards me, bumping his shoulder into mine. "So are you glad you jumped?"

I nod. "Yeah. It was fun. Thank you for inviting me."

He smiles a little. "You're welcome. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Maybe all of us can do it again soon."

"Maybe," I shrug.

"So tell me about yourself," he says. "What do you do for a living?"

"I'm an architect," I answer.

"Really?" he asks, interested. "Who have you worked with?"

"Noah Carter mostly but I have done some other local projects."

"What is your most recent project?" he asks.

"Jackson Lancaster's newest building. Construction has barely begun but it's in the process," I explain. "I have also designed a few houses including my parent's house. Soon I'll be designing my own."

He nods slowly. "What makes you different from other architects?"

"I use recycled materials as much as I can and all of my buildings are eco-friendly. Every building I design has solar panels and has the most efficient amenities," I continue. "I also have an eye for good deals and I present my customers with every receipt and detail at the end so they know I'm not screwing them over."

He glances at me. "It sounds like you love what you do."

"I do. I wouldn't change a thing about my education or career. I actually enjoy what I do."

Jasmine leans forward and begins talking to Zach, effectively ending our conversation. After we've had a little too much to drink, we begin walking down the strip again, heading back to the limo. Having fun and experiencing these new things makes me feel so much younger and I love it. Feeling completely comfortable and relaxed, I place my hands on Zach's shoulders and jump up, wrapping my legs around him. He holds onto my legs while looking over his shoulder at me. Glancing over my shoulder, I smirk at Jasmine, knowing we're almost to the limo. "We'll race you back to the limo," I say, sticking my tongue out.

Her eyes widen and she jumps onto Dominic's back, throwing her fist up into the air. "Onward!"

"Go!" I yell.

Zach begins running and I laugh as I watch Dominic try to catch up, Benjamin now completely out of sight. When we reach the limo, Zach begins laughing. "If I get sick it's your fault."

I laugh and he turns around so we can watch Jasmine and Dominic coming towards us. Once again, she is recording so I stick my tongue out. "We won."

Jasmine shakes her head. "You cheated."

Benjamin appears beside us and I hop down. "If you guys want to hang out for a while longer I can get us a room. We can go to another bar or casino," I offer.

They all look at each other before agreeing. When we get into the limo, I instruct the driver to take us to the MGM Grand. Jasmine gives me my phone back after I promise not to contact Jackson. I booked two rooms, each with two full beds and a door in between. Benjamin paid for his own room since Alexis whined about wanting her own room. When we get to the room, I give the boys their keys then give Jasmine the second key to our room. Once we get into the casino, everyone splits up after exchanging numbers. Not particularly interested in wasting money, I head up to the room where I crawl into bed.

**************************

Vote ★ Comment ★ Follow