What Happened in Vegas Follows Me Everywhere

Written by: Leni Sosa; Permanence of Wings

Alright. I’ll tell you everything, from start to finish. Can I get something to drink, though? A coffee … or even just water?

Okay. We were both invited but I was there to make Charlie look good. I had no intention of going. I hate getting involved in stuff like that. Being a wing man at a bar is one thing, but going to some polite barbeque to waste away watching your buddy’s crush until he arrives is asking for a lot. I like Ginny and all but I could have been watching a game. I wouldn’t have been there but he promised season’s tickets and that’s hard to pass down. Okay, sorry. I know I’m rambling. I’m just nervous. I do that sometimes … ramble.

So that was why I was there in the first place. He texted to let me know he’d been held up at work and that called for another beer. Lots of things call for another beer. I never would have met her if it hadn’t been for Ginny and my thirst for another brewsky. I would have sat right where I was outside for the rest of that Friday night beer-less but Ginny is all about making yourself at home. “Go on in! There’s more in the fridge!” That’s Ginny. I would have done my thing for Charlie and left through the back which was closer to where I parked. I came in the same way.

But the point is that I didn’t leave and went inside the house to grab a beer instead. There she was just sitting on the couch in one of those sleeveless, strapless dresses … yellow … and it showed off that natural tan. Her hair was loosely pulled up and some of her golden locks were falling around her stunning face. Every line: her lips, nose, the shape of her green eyes are exquisite. I mean, you’ve seen her. Right? I know I sound like an asshole right now but I have never described a woman in that way before because I had never seen a woman like her before. Her skin is sun-kissed to perfection. I mean she’s beautiful but also killer hot. A woman isn’t necessarily both, you know. [pause] She’s well-endowed, which is bonus points in my book. Even through a loose sundress you can tell she’s got all the right curves. Even something as simple as her shoulders … right? She looks like a goddess … definitely the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen in real life. Who the hell would ignore her? … Okay, okay, I’ll get to the point. I just need you to understand how hard it would be for any guy to resist her, especially while she’s sitting there vulnerable like that and in need of someone to make her happy. Who wouldn’t want to save the day for her? So, when she looked up from her phone, I could see she had been crying.

I asked her, “Are you alright?” She started to cry all over again. I sat beside her and asked if I could do anything to help her. She leaned in and cried on my shoulder. She pulled away and said, “I think I know you.”

“I doubt that. I wouldn’t forget you.”, I said.

“Yes, I’ve seen you before. You work at Porter Corp. I’m Cassandra.” Even her name is sexy. Am I right or am I right.

I wondered how I wouldn’t have seen a stunner like that walking the corridors of that building, even if it is massive. I thought, even if I hadn’t seen her, one of the guys would have mentioned her. I introduced myself. “Jim. I can’t believe I’ve never noticed you.” She flashed this amazing smile and that’s what she said. I asked her again, “Are you okay? Is there anything I can do to help?”

She said, “Yes. I’ll be alright. I’ve just really got to get out of here. Want to get out of here? You can take me away. Do you have a car?” That’s literally what she said. I won’t forget it because I couldn’t believe I’d be leaving with her.

I felt a little guilty for taking off but who knew when Charlie would arrive and his girl had already been flirting with the dweeb from Asset Management. Besides, if Charlie had met her his crush would have been instantly forgotten, and he would have done the same thing. I figured he would have understood.

So we left, into the night, without as much as a goodbye to anyone. She held my hand and I felt like I was in some film-worthy romantic moment. I guess that’s what guys mean when they fall hard instantly … when they’re in some trance because they’re mesmerized by a girl. It had never happened to me and I always thought cheese like that existed only in the minds of those soft types. I wondered what some of my buddies were on when they talked like that. Thing is, when it happened to me I understood, and it felt pretty good. I felt high. Right… the facts. … I opened the door for her and got in the driver’s seat. I thought that perhaps we’d go somewhere quiet after I got her something to eat, you know.

I said, “Where can I take you? Are you hungry or do you want to just sit somewhere quiet?”

“Right now I need you to drive me to …” Well, she said some address on Westerley Road.

I took her … even though I wondered if she was meeting some guy and just needed a ride. Maybe she wanted to talk things out with some loser she was texting which would have been a major blow. “Are you meeting your boyfriend there?”, I asked.

She called me sweetheart and told me it was nothing like that … it would only take a second. I hoped she wasn’t using me for a ride so she could talk to some jerk that made her cry. NOW I wish that had been the reason. I had no idea what she was about to do. I mean, it could have been anything. She could have needed something from the house for all I knew.

When we arrive she gets out of the car. She walks up the walkway to the house and then to the side where there is a shed. She shows up with a baseball bat and says, “Wait here.” She crosses the street and smashes the windows of a Lexus. Lights in neighbouring houses … yah, I panicked. I hear the car alarm and the murmurs of half-dressed neighbours trying to see what’s going on. A guy from the house where she retrieved the baseball bat starts running towards her. He yelled, “You stupid bitch! You stupid crazy bitch!!” and I was in shock. Next thing I knew she was in my front passenger seat saying, “Drive! Drive!” It was instinct. Fight or flight. I took off like Mario Andretti. I should have stayed but between the Hulk running out like a raging animal and the neighbours and the alarm, well, I just took off.

“What was THAT?!!!”, I asked. “What the hell was that?!!!”

“That’s Rob’s car.”, as if that was a reasonable explanation.

“Who the hell is Rob?”, I asked.

“He’s very abusive. He ruined my life. THAT was payback.” That was what she said.

I told her, “Do you realize that if anyone read my license plate, they’ll assume I was in on this. I’ll be nailed as your accomplice? Are you crazy?” I didn’t want any part of this. I mean, I knew I should have stayed to explain that I had nothing to do with it, but I was pretty shaken up. I would have also had to deal with the Hulk and it was unlikely he would have believed me. I know that, technically, I did help her get away, but I wasn’t myself. It was panic … nothing more. Can you blame me?

She starts getting really upset and intense and says, “What did you call me? I am not crazy. Don’t ever call me crazy again.” Thou doth protest too much and such … I had to be a fool to spend the rest of the night with her instead of leaving her on the side of the road. My driving slowed down, but I felt my head rushing with thoughts of what was going on. What have I gotten myself into, you know what I mean?

So she starts tearing up and telling me that she loved the guy, he cheated on her and treated her badly. Abused her, even. She said, “They were all half asleep. No one noticed your license plate. You don’t know what I’ve been through. You have no idea what he did to me. I loved him and did everything for him and he treated me like garbage. I just had to feel some sense of closure. I mean, I know I shouldn’t have done that but when you feel this broken you do crazy things and that act severed my ties with him forever and it empowered me. Can you understand?” I may be paraphrasing a bit, but that was more or less how she convinced me to feel sorry for getting upset.

I thought she was being a little dramatic but if the guy was that sleazy and abusive I didn’t exactly feel sorry for him. Maybe it wasn’t so over the top, I thought. What did I know. I had no idea what she was going to do, though. None. I just convinced myself that he was some really bad thug who would just have a few broken windows to fix. No big deal. … Okay, yes, I realize that was a big deal but she was intoxicating.

I felt bad. I can’t stand seeing girls cry and so I told her I could understand that people get driven to do crazy things. That’s when she told me that she needed to get out of town. I asked her, “Why do you need to go out of town? Is there anything else you’ve done I should know about?” I swear… I had no idea what she had done or that everyone was looking for her!

She says, “No. I just need to get out of town. Please! You’ve got to get me out of here.” She sounded a little distressed but then she followed it with “Let’s do Vegas! We’re only an hour away and we’ve got the whole night ahead of us.”, in that cutesy voice a girl has when she’s trying to get a guy to do something. A part of me knew she could be a handful, but at the time I didn’t care. I never saw what was coming, though. She looked happy and playful and Vegas with a goddess sounded like a beautiful idea. Besides, how bad could she be. She was at a co-worker’s house and I like Ginny. I figured that if Ginny had her there, she was probably more upset and less crazy than she was actually coming off.

We stopped at a Target and I purchased some casual clothes for us and toothpaste and stuff, you know. We arrived and I suggested we get a room right away. I told her that I wasn’t trying to manipulate her … but we’d need a place to crash and dump our stuff, and that I’d give her the bed. Okay, yah, a guy can’t help but hope but it wasn’t like I was counting on it. But she got real close and said, “Or we could have incredibly raunchy sex and I could blow your mind.” That smile was so damn sexy. I just nodded. Who would turn that down? We got a room at the SOS Resort – which would be funny if I weren’t so damn worried right now. I didn’t want a girl like that sleeping in a dump. Those may have been the best three hours of my life. I can’t deny that. She did things to me … well, it was insane the things she knew how to do.

When we woke up she was snuggling beside me and I felt incredible. She wanted room service and I wanted to keep her in that room for as long as I could. So I ordered up everything she wanted on the menu and let me tell you something, that little thing can eat! We were just sitting on the bed eating, you know. She says, “Sweetheart, you make me so happy. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. How did I ever find you?” I thought to myself, okay, a little over the top but flattering. She says, “Really? How did I find the man of my dreams?”

I was confused and it was a little clingy, the way she was talking. I just wanted to be sure we were on the same page so I said, “Well, we didn’t really FIND each other. We just met and were at the same party.”

She looked upset. She said, “What do you mean we didn’t find each other? We found each other!”

I didn’t want to upset her, you know what I mean. I just agreed like guys are supposed to if they don’t want to be dealing with a real bitch all night. “Yes, of course. I suppose we did find each other.” I just wanted her to stop whining.

She started going on about love. “Love seems to find you when you least expect it.” Blah, blah. “You are the most incredible man I’ve ever met in my life.” Something, something, blah blah blah. “You are everything I’ve ever wanted in a man.” That was when it went from over the top to weird and unsettling. I will never forget it! “We were so taken by each other that I didn’t want you to have to wait to consummate our marriage… but we really should head downstairs and just do it! Are you excited? I’m excited! I’m soooo excited!” She was talking a mile a minute. I froze. That’s when she asked me, “You do want to marry me, right?”

I tried to explain. I tried to be very delicate. I was hit over the head with the reality that a girl this good looking would only be single if she was a nutcase. I realized then that something was off with her. I said, “You are so beautiful and sweet and any guy would be so lucky to marry you. That guy may very well be me, but I think we need to get to know each other first before we jump into marriage.” I hoped like hell that would be enough to get us out of there without any trouble. Of course, that’s not what happened as you already know.

She lost her mind. She started throwing things around, screaming bloody murder and hitting herself. I mean that little thing punched me and bit me and scratched the skin off my back, but then she actually inflicted those bruises and cuts on herself. She ran her head into a wall. I swear to you! I kept begging her to stop and be quiet, but she just wouldn’t. I pleaded and pleaded. She kept screaming all the way down the hall that she needed help and that I abused her, and I just tried to get the hell out of there but these guys saw the injured, seemingly helpless creature of perfection and tackled me down. She just kept putting on this show about how I manipulated her into the room, hit her. You were called and that’s all there is. You saw her record, noticed my license plate, which obviously would have been called in, and here we are.

I swear I’ve never laid a hand on any woman in my entire life. You say she has a long record and has done this sort of thing before. You can see I’ve never as much as gotten a parking ticket. I don’t understand why I’m also getting charged if you believe me and know that she pulls this shit. I know I drove the car … am I going to do time for that? I don’t really know much about stuff like that because I never planned on breaking the law! I will cooperate fully… answer questions and go to court, but if you know she’s lying and she’s being arrested, isn’t there some way out of this? How can she charge me with assault? Doesn’t her track record speak for itself? Those guys saw absolutely nothing. They just tackled me down and although all they saw was an hysterical woman running through the corridor, they claim I hit her. You say the second charge will likely be dropped but … I feel sick.

And to find out she’s my boss’ daughter. I’m basically out of a job. Her father owns the company. No wonder I never saw her at work … she was there visiting her father! Wonder if Ginny knows her or if she got wind of the party and just wandered into the house. Fuck. That’s my luck. That poor schmuck whose car she destroyed was probably another one of her victims. What a whack job. I’ve been at Porter for eight years! One stupid chick on one stupid night and I end up screwed and jobless. You know, guys tell you all the time but you don’t listen when it happens to you. No one is that perfect. So, what do I do now? Do I get a phone call? Can I get someone to bail me out? When do I get to go home?