Bet Me Something (Something Series Book 3) (5 page)

I hated having
this conversation in front of the two girls, and my face must’ve conveyed that.

“Ladies, can you
give us a few minutes?” he requested, without taking his eyes from mine.

As soon as the
door shut, I started pacing and rambling, not daring to read anything into the
motivation for his offer. “Look, I know you mean well, and I appreciate it, but
there’s no way I’d allow you to pay for my school. Truth be told, I never
wanted to get my MBA in the first place, but my mother insisted, and I figured
if she was paying, I’d go since I didn’t have another plan. It would be a
complete waste of your money for something I don’t really want.”

“Okay, then let
me pay for music school instead.”

Colby was one of
the few people who knew my ultimate dream had always been music. I had a decent
voice; however singing in front of others wasn’t something I could actually do.
“Even if I entertained the idea of having you pay, I wouldn’t be able to
audition.”

“Why not?”

What was this?
Admit-every-possible-insecurity-to-your-crush-day? “Because I get stage
fright.”

He scoffed.
“Yeah, right. Nothing intimidates you.”

I laughed dryly.
“How can you say that, knowing I was unable to stand up to my mother or Rebecca
earlier?”

He patted the
cushion beside him, and I took a seat on the couch. “Your mother even scares me
if I’m being honest. And you’re not intimidated by Rebecca. You simply don’t
possess the superpower for fighting evil.”

I giggled,
bumping his shoulder affectionately. “Sometimes I call my mom my kryptonite, so
I guess that’s fitting.”

“See there.
Every superhero has a weakness.”

“Soooo, now
we’re in a strip club without strippers or drinking, talking about the very
people I’d hoped to forget this weekend. I have to say my expectations of
you
taking me to Vegas are falling way short. I should at least have a buzz on by
now.”

His eyes
twinkled. “You’re right. Let’s call the ladies back in. Practice the pole, get
your shaving tips, and then we’ll save the betting and school discussions for
later.”

“You’re going to
watch me?”

He shrugged.
“I’m only here to supervise and ensure you don’t hurt yourself. I shouldn’t
have used the
babysitter
word, though especially after what Rebecca said
earlier—sorry.”

“It’s okay.
Supervise away, then.”

After calling
the girls in, I asked Jazz if we could get started.

“Honey, if you
can’t support your weight on the pole, it won’t matter what we show you
unfortunately.”

I slipped off my
heels and grinned. Having been in lacrosse for the last fourteen years had
given me great upper-body strength. Most of my confidence however, came from
the fact that I’d taken a dozen strip aerobics classes on campus with my
teammates and had already mastered climbing up. I demonstrated to the whistles
and grins of both girls.

Colby didn’t say
anything, choosing to sit back sipping his bourbon with a carefully masked
expression on his face.

Ten minutes
later, I was sweating in my designer dress, but had the hang of it for the most
part.

“I’m impressed,
honey,” Jazz said, giving me a hand up from the floor.

The only problem
was my dismount had left a lot to be desired. When I went upside down, my dress
flipped over so that everyone could pretty much see my entire ass sporting my
thong.

 I flopped down
on the seat beside Colby, exhausted. “Okay, girls, I’m gonna let you take it
from here with a new respect from me. Show me a proper striptease which will
make my next boyfriend grateful for the lesson.”

It might’ve been
my imagination, but I swear I could see a bulge in Colby’s slacks before he
turned his body away from me. Was it possible I’d finally managed to turn him
on?

***

I only made him
stay for another twenty minutes. The girls were beautiful and could dance, but
my curiosity was sated and, frankly, I was anxious to see more of what Vegas
had to offer.

Colby instructed
the driver to take us to the Bellagio before heading to a nightclub along the
Strip. After we waited a few minutes, the beautiful water show started and by
the end I could see why it was definitely worth seeing. Smiling, I bumped my
hip into his, feeling more and more like myself. I was back to the fun-loving, confident
Kenzie I’d been before my party. “Thanks for this.”

His arm went
around my shoulders as he kissed the top of my head. “Happy graduation,
sweetheart.”

After the water
show was done, he turned towards me while the crowd began dispersing around us.
“So what’s next?”

“Dance and drink
a lot.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

We walked along
the Strip, arm in arm, to Caesar’s Palace where we were greeted and put into a
VIP section once we entered the club. The music was pulsating, the people were
gorgeous and the drinks started flowing. Never one to shy away from the dance
floor—what else were ten years of dance lessons for—I downed a drink and attempted
to get him out there with me. “Dance?” I had to nearly shout.

He shook his
head. “No, you go ahead.”

After traveling
downstairs to the main dance floor, it wasn’t long before I had company in the
form of two guys. They weren’t unattractive, but I wasn’t a girl who was okay
with a stranger touching me. I smiled politely, trying to extricate myself,
only to find them more aggressive with one putting his hands on my hips from
behind and the other caging me in front. I stopped completely and pushed on the
chest of the one blocking me. “No thanks, guys.”

Moving to the
right, I felt a set of arms come around me from the back. I was about to stomp
on the instep of the asshole when I calmed to Colby’s voice in my ear.

“Relax, it’s
me.”

I turned around
in his arms. “You were two seconds away from a very bruised instep,” I spoke in
his ear.

“Mm, those two
were very close to getting more than a bruised foot.” His hands remained on my
waist as the beat changed with the new song.

I’d danced with
him previously at his brother’s wedding but never like this. This was
fast-beat, sexy, thumping music. His body was close enough I could smell his
soap and aftershave. With my heels, I was nearly his same height, which made it
easy for me to put my hands on his hips. We moved in sync with the sexual
tension crackling between us. When the song ended, there was a moment where I
was positive he was going to kiss me, but instead he suddenly pulled away as if
remembering who I was, shoving his hands in his pants pockets.

“Come on, I have
an idea of what we can do next,” he threw out there.

So did I, but
something told me we didn’t have the same thing in mind.

***

“What are we
doing here?” I asked, noting the karaoke happening the minute we walked into
the bar of the next hotel over.

“You’re singing
something.”

“Uh-uh, not
happening. What part of stage fright did you not understand?”

He waved me off.
“So take another shot and get over it.”

I shook my head,
realizing I should’ve known better than to tell Colby I was afraid of anything.
Even though I had my buzz on, I still didn’t think I was feeling brave enough
to get up on stage, at least not yet.

“All right,
let’s make a wager. I bet you can’t get up there and belt out a song with a
standing ovation.”

I laughed.
“You’re supposed to believe in me, not bet against me.”

“Ah, but I’m
aware of how competitive you are, which means you’ll want to prove me wrong.
Plus, if I were to bet you could do something, you’d be able to say, ‘nope, I
sure can’t.’ You have to put in some effort to win.”

“What’s my
prize? And it better not be any offer having to do with money or paying for
school.”

“Then you pick.
What do you want?”

Did I dare? Was
this my chance to put it out there? “I’ll have to think about it, but I need
another couple of shots if I’m to entertain the idea of getting up on stage.”
Or to ask him to kiss me if I won.

“Okay, choose a
song and then name your prize later.”

Two shots and a
martini later, I found myself on stage. We’d spent the last hour flirting and
chatting it up. I was right in thinking alcohol would quell the nerves and the
darkness which hid most of the audience helped too. But really, there was one
motivation larger than anything else propelling me up in front of everyone. A
chance to go for it with Colby. If ever there was an opportunity, this was it.

I wished like
hell I had my guitar. When I’d said as much to the man in charge of the karaoke
night, he, much to my delight, somehow managed to find me an acoustic one. He
handed it over.

“Do you prefer
the background music, or you want to sing without it?” the man asked.

“Uh, without,
please.”

Singing acapella
was more my style than trying to keep up with the bouncing ball on a screen. I
strummed the strings, refusing to look out into the crowd, but focused on how
appropriate this song was right now. Biting my lip, I closed my eyes, getting
lost in the opening chords of “California Dreamin’” by The Mamas and The Papas.
I mean, who could resist the title alone, given my situation?

My voice hit its
full range with the opening words, and I hoped it wasn’t too loud in the
microphone. Mine wasn’t a quiet one. Finally, at the end, I glanced out into
the crowd. You could’ve heard a pin drop. My anxiety started creeping up as I
thought maybe it hadn’t been good until everyone erupted into full applause,
complete with whistles and people standing up. I smiled broadly, handing the
guitar over to the man in charge.

Stepping off the
stage, I stumbled most likely because of the dark and the alcohol, before an
arm went around my waist from the back. I immediately recognized the feel of Colby
this time. When I turned around, my breath caught at the intense look he was
giving me.

He swallowed
hard and then seemed to snap out of whatever he’d been thinking. “Nice song
choice.”

“I couldn’t
resist. So I guess liquid courage did the trick, and I won the bet.”

“I’d say so. I
knew you’ve always loved music, but I didn’t realize you sounded like that. You
were incredible.”

I blushed.
“Thanks. Uh, I think the shots are starting to hit me. Do you think it’d be
okay to go back to the room and maybe sit in the hot tub?” I’d spotted the
Jacuzzi out on the terrace and it would fit in nicely for what I had in mind
for my prize.

“Sure, we can
head back. Come on.”

On the way out,
quite a few people stopped me to compliment my singing. I was on an
unimaginable high from finally being able to perform in front of others. Now,
if only getting drunk before an audition was acceptable, I could maybe start to
contemplate music school.

***

Thirty minutes
later we returned to the hotel, but when I tried to get out of the car, I
realized I was quickly passing the point of tipsy into full-on drunk.

Colby laughed,
putting an arm around me to steady my walk.

“You doing
okay?”

“Sure am,” I
slurred, causing him to laugh even harder.

“I think those
shots are catching up with you. Come on.”

He led me up to
the room via the elevator and, once inside, handed me a bottle of water. “Drink
this before you go to bed, sweetheart.”

“What happened
to the hot tub?” At least that’s what I meant to say, but it didn’t sound quite
right to my ears.

“I think you’ve
reached your limit. You need to chug some water, then sleep it off.”

“I need my prize
from winning the bet first.” I pouted.

He smiled
indulgently. “Have you decided what it is you want?”

I stepped into
him, putting both hands on his chest, meeting his eyes. I could feel his heart
racing with the contact, matching my own. “I want a kiss. And not one on the
cheek, not a peck, but a real one.”

He didn’t pull
back, which was encouraging. “Why?”

I shrugged,
hoping I was playing it cool despite teetering on inebriation. “Maybe I want to
see what the fuss is all about.”

His voice went
down an octave, into a smoldering tone that was pure sex and sin. “Kenz, I
don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“One, you’re
like my little sister.”

Ouch, that one
hurt. “Then forget it. I’m a gonna go to bed.” Jesus, I sounded like an Italian
pizza maker. Unfortunately, I turned too fast in my heels, nearly face planting
for a third time this evening. Thank God he caught me around my waist.

 “Two, you’re
drunk and might not know what you’re asking.”

“I’m not that
drunk.” The expression on his face was unfamiliar. Was he nervous?