I was planning on going down to the breakfast buffet before it closed. JC was still asleep and I didn’t want to wake him up, so I did what I could with my hair, threw on some clothes, and left my room.
"Hey Lance, found your car?"
I turned to see Jake, who had just come out of his room. I wondered if he had been watching for me, then I shook that thought out of my head. I was just being paranoid.
"Yeah, we did, finally," I said with a laugh as I started walking down the hall. He followed me. "Going down to the buffet? I hear the food’s really good. You have anyone to sit with?"
Damn. "No, it’s just me today. My boyfriend is still asleep in our room," I said, making sure he got the message that I wasn’t available. Just in case.
"You have a boyfriend?" he asked, and I knew I wasn’t imagining the disappointed look on his face.
I nodded and suddenly I felt sorry for him. He laughed lightly and said, "It figures that someone like you would be taken."
"Someone like me? You don’t even know me."
"I was hoping to get the chance."
After that, I felt really bad, so I decided letting him eat breakfast with me wouldn’t be all that bad.
We got down to the dining room, got our food, and sat down at one of the tables. There weren’t too many people eating, so I didn’t think there was a big chance someone would recognize me. We sat and ate in awkward silence for a moment, before Jake spoke up. "What’s his name?"
"Who?"
"Your boyfriend."
I paused for a moment, wondering what I should tell him. "Scott. His name is Scott."
He nodded and took a bite of his bacon. I studied him curiously, wondering why he seemed so... suspicious at that moment. We made small talk, he asked me what I thought about Las Vegas, if I’d ever traveled around the world, what my interests were, things like that. I told him that I liked music a lot, and I liked to sing.
"What do you sing?" he asked.
"Bass," I replied.
"No. Well, I meant that too, but what kind of music do you like to sing?"
I paused, again unsure how to answer him. "I like... a lot of things. I just sing bass. Whatever song has bass, it’s a good song, you know?" I wanted to kick myself. Well, what was I supposed to say? I like to sing pop? Then he’d ask why, and then he’d probably realize that I was famous, and then he’d want me even more, and I noticed that he was looking at me in that way he had in the parking lot of the MGM Grand, and I suddenly wanted to leave.
"Um, look, I need to-" I was standing up while I was talking, and I stopped when he put his hand on my arm and pushed gently, letting me know he wanted me to sit back down.
"I like you Lance," he said, and I opened my mouth to reply that I was flattered, but I was with someone else, but I didn’t have the chance. "That’s why I’m going to pretend that we never met."
I wasn’t really expecting that, but hey, if it helped him forget about me, that’s great. Then again, that really didn’t make much sense, because it’s not like he was pining for someone he didn’t know.
"I’d like to be friends, Lance. Here," he said, handing me a slip of paper. "If you ever want to have lunch or something, call me. We’ll get in touch."
Then he got up and left. I watched him walk off, then I looked down at the piece of paper, which was actually a business card.
"Are you all finished here?" a waiter asked me as he approached me. I nodded and he started loading the plates on a tray.
"I noticed you were here with that guy. He usually goes after famous people, so what’s your claim to fame?"
I didn’t understand what he meant, so I looked down at the card Jake had given me and read the header.
Jake O’Neil, Entertainment Reporter.
*
"Hey, are you okay? You’ve been kind of quiet."
I nodded to JC and continued to unpack my suitcase. "Is it something I did? Are you mad at me because I gambled so much? Hey, I won more than I spent, and I have the nickels, dimes, and quarters to prove it."
I laughed and said, "I’m not mad, I just..." I shrugged, "I don’t know."
"Well, okay then. I’m going to be downstairs. It’s good to be home!" he exclaimed as he left the room, and I chuckled to myself. I turned back to my suitcase and picked up a couple of my shirts. Jake’s card was under them. I set the shirts down and picked up the card, reading it over again.
I looked over by my desk, seeing the garbage can next to it. I walked over and paused for a moment before placing the card in the desk’s top drawer.
*
