The Marriage That Didn't Stay in Vegas (BWWM Romance) (2 page)

              “Are you ready?” he asked me with a hand for me to take. 

              I nodded but refused to take his hand.  He held the door open for me. I went out back to the strip.  I turned back towards the hotel, and Xavier cleared his throat.

              “If you wouldn’t mind, I would like to take you back through last night.  Maybe your memory will kick in.”

              “Where did we go after this?”

              “You said I had to ask you on a real date, so I did.”

              “Where did we go?”

              “I’ll take you there.” He reached his hand out for me.

              “No!” I growled. 

              “Phoebe, this may trigger the memories back.  I think we should do everything just like we did last night.”

              I glared at him before snatching his hand. “And no funny business.”

              “I wouldn’t dare try any funny business with my legally bonded wife.”

              “Don’t be a smart-ass.”

              He grinned at me.  When he saw my killer stare, he coughed out a laugh.  We held hands down the strip, and we looked stupid with so many people “awhhhing” and “oh how sweeting” us.  We finally made it to a theater, and he purchased two tickets for the special feature. We walked in and went right past the concession stand.  We got our seat right in the center of the theater.

              “What are we watching?”

              “Shhhh, it’s a surprise,” he said while he hushed me.

              I grinded my teeth together.  He was truly getting on my nerves, and I was seconds away from getting up and leaving his ass there.  The lights dimmed and the movie started.  When I saw the title and the names running across the scene, I froze.

              “A Patch of Blue? That’s my absolute favorite Sidney Poitier movie.”

              “Yes, so I’ve heard.”

              I sunk deeper into my seat and Xavier put his arms around me.  I elbowed him.

              He doubled over with his hands up in the air. “Sorry,” he whispered. 

              I crossed my arms tight and crossed my legs away from him. 

              A Patch of Blue was a movie made in the mid 60’s.  It was about a blind, white, uneducated girl who was befriended by a black man. The black man becomes determined to help her escape her impoverished and very abusive home life.  Of course, they fall in love at the end, and in the 60’s a black man and a white woman was still a forbidden.  By the end of the movie, I was a blubbering fool.  Xavier handed me a few napkins from the café.  I took them and used them at once. 

              “I didn’t have any last night, and I knew if you let me bring you again, you would probably need them.”

              I smiled at him and then I kissed him on his lips.  I don’t know what came over me; I was caught up in the moment.  I pulled away from him and he glared at me like he wanted to attack me.  His eyes were hungry.  He pulled me back to him, and he placed his lips on mine.  His kiss was urgent but still sweet.  He held me by the back of my neck, and I couldn’t move from him.  He kissed like a pro, and I couldn’t get any clear thoughts in my head.

              “Phoebe, if you would just give me tonight.  I swear that I’m yours, and I will show you that I’m the right one,” he whispered that deep whisper in my ear. 

              I was lost in his words, and I was mad at myself for letting myself get this caught up.  My heart had been trampled on so many times.  And, at least, those other times were by people I knew. Xavier was a complete stranger. I pushed him away and got up from my chair.  I stomped out the theater and then we were back on the strip.  Xavier looked pissed. He held his arm out for me to go left of the theater.  I stomped passed him and walked on down the strip.  I turned around a couple of times to make sure he was still there. 

              “I’m not going to leave you,” he told me, and once again, his meaning meant so much more to me than the words. 

              I slowed as he came up beside me. I placed my arm through his.  I didn’t want to hear anything else from the passers-by if they saw us holding hands again.  An arm through someone else was innocent and no one would be the wiser.  Friends or Lovers?  People didn’t care as much, but handholding was some serious shit.  There was a small carnival in a field ahead and I felt my heart skip a few beats.  I loved circuses and carnivals just like a kid did.

              “Xavier, was the carnival here last night?”

              “Yes," he said a little softer to me now.

              “Did we go?”

              “Yes, but not until later.”

              “Oh, can we go now?”

              “I think we should wait until later.”

              “Please, I really want to go now.”

              He watched my face and then he caved. “Okay,” he said with a small smile.                I grinned from ear to ear. “I hope they have the rainbow cotton candy.”

              “They do.”

              I looked over at him, giggled, and laid my head on his arm. He kissed the top of my head.  Xavier paid our admission and I was searching for the cotton candy. 
              “It’s over here.” He pointed. 

              I smiled and followed him.  He held his hand out for me, and I took it into mine.  We got to the window. The lady smiled at us.

              “A rainbow cotton candy and a lemonade, please,” Xavier told her. 

              I looked over at him because that’s exactly what I would have ordered. 

              The lady smiled and went to get our order. 

              “I want to ride the Ferris wheel,” I proclaimed.

              “Later,” he said reaching for his lemonade. He sat the straw right in front of me.

              “I’ll get some after my cotton candy.”

              “It won’t be as sweet after then.”

              I thought about it and took a swig; it was delish. I handed it back to him, and he drank some.  He handed me my cotton candy and I dove in.  After my third bite, I noticed he was watching me.

              “Oh, do you want some?” I asked with a mouth full of pillow-soft sugar.

              He laughed. “No, I never really liked cotton candy.”

              “What?”

              “I know. It's strange, right?”

              I set a piece of cotton candy on my lips and then summoned him with my pointing finger.  I made the come here movement very slowly.  He grinned wide and walked over to me.  He licked the cotton candy off my lips first, and then he pressed his lips on mine.  Our tongues played tug of war for minute or two.  We heard the howling calls, so I pushed him away from me.  I laughed at the guys howling behind us; I bent over and bowed down to them.  I turned around to face Xavier, and he had a serious look on his face.

              “What’s wrong?” I asked him.

              He pulled me back to him and kissed me softly and sweet this time.  I was all wrapped up in him that I didn’t see myself releasing him anytime soon.  Xavier pulled back a little but still kept me in his embrace.

              “Hey, let’s go,” I whispered. 

              His face dropped a little, and I didn’t understand why.

              “No, Phebs.”

              “Why not?” 

              Xavier frowned and untwisted our arms and bodies from each other.  He started walking deeper into the carnival. I followed behind him.  He slowed down at a set of bleachers.  He sat down and watched the horse show that was already in session.  I sat right next to him while he kept his eyes on the horses. 

              “Do you like horses?” I quizzed.

              “Yes, I told you all this last night.” Xavier was obviously annoyed with me.

              “Listen, I’m sorry, and I really gave it my all, but we’re both two different people.  And, this is obviously not working for either of us.”

              “What?” he snapped back at me a little too loudly.

              I turned back around and faced the field with the horses.  Xavier got up from his seat and walked back the way we came. 

              I sat there for a while and walked towards the restroom.  Once I was done, I looked for him a little bit, but I never saw him.  I walked past a series of tents.  I started getting a little nervous. I left my phone in my room, and I wasn’t hundred percent sure where I was.  I prepared myself to start hoofing it when I saw him at the front entrance.  I walked up to him, and he wouldn’t look at me. 

              “Are you ready to go?” I asked.

              “I thought you wanted to ride the Ferris wheel.”

              “Nah, I changed my mind,” I said with a breath. 

              We walked back to my hotel, neither one of us said a word to each other.  Every now and then, we would pass by an establishment, and he would look at me, but I didn’t remember anything from last night.  Watching him grasp for these invisible straws was starting to crush me.  When we got to my hotel, he was getting ready to walk in with me.

              “Xavier, I’m sorry I don’t remember you, but my lawyer will contact yours next week.  We need to take care of this immediately. I hope you understand.”

              He didn’t say anything as he just looked at me. 

              “Hey, you seem like a really good guy, and I’m not really sure why you’re single, but any girl up to your standards would be a complete fool to let you go.  I’m really not sure what you were expecting to get from me, but I’m not your Mrs. Right.  I’m not anybody’s Mrs. Anything. I’m sorry."  I walked up to him and gave him a kiss on his cheek.  I turned, but he grabbed my elbow, stopping me from walking away from him. 

              “I love you,” Xavier told me like his life depended on it. 

              I pulled away from his grip and stepped into the hotel lobby.  When I got to the room, everyone was still soundly sleeping.  I looked at the clock; it was 4:30 in the morning.  Our flight was leaving at two that afternoon, so I had time to catch up on some sleep.  I emailed James and told him I needed him to write up some divorce papers.  I told him Xavier’s full name and that I would explain later.  I laid down on the bed, and the last thing I saw before I went to sleep was the princess cut ring. 

Chapter 2

The Divorce

              “My favorite color is red. What’s yours?” I asked.

              “Light brown.”

              “Light brown? Who says that?"

              “I like the color of Hay. I have a field on the side of my house that’s full of haystacks and I like to look at it.”

              “Hay is a tan/beige/yellowish color.”

              “Yeah… but, I think you’re beautiful and I can look at you every day instead of the hay.”

              “Screw the hay,” I blurted out with a fist in the air. 

              Xavier laughed and pulled me close to him.  “Yeah, screw the hay.”

              He kissed me. It was the softest, sweetest kiss ever.  The lights from the Ferris wheel were almost like magic.  They twinkled and danced all around us.

              “I love you,” left my lips, and I heard my own heart stop.

              “I fell in love with you three hours ago. You’re late,” he told me with a grin.               My heart kick-started itself back to life.

              “Marry me, Phoebe.”

              “Anytime and any place. I’ve been waiting for you to ask me that for like three hours. You’re late.” He laughed and kissed me again. 

              The Ferris wheel stopped, and we got off.

              “Come on! Let’s go get you the biggest and baddest ring.”

              We ran out of the carnival laughing, excited, and in love. 

              I woke up with a jerk. I turned and he wasn’t there.

              “X!” I called out for him, but he didn’t answer. “Xavier!” I yelled from the bed, but still nothing. 

              I jumped up and went searching for him.  He wasn’t in the bathroom, and I started to panic. 

              “Honey, what’s wrong?” Addison asked me through a yawn.

              “Where’s Xavier?”

              “Honey, last time I saw him, he was sitting outside in the hallway.”

              I slid my flats on and went to the front door.  I swung it wide, but no one was there.

              “Oh God!” I panicked.

              “Calm down and breathe.  When was the last time you saw him?”

              “God!”

              “What is it, Phebs?”

              “He’s gone!”

              “Stop it. He would never leave you and you know that.”

              “No, Addi. I was horrible to him last night. I was a monster to him.  I didn’t remember, but I do remember.   I remember everything. Oh God, Addi. He’s gone!”

              “Call him.”

              I reached for my phone. "Shit, it's dead." I ran over to the charger and plugged the phone in. 

              “Call his hotel room,” Daphne said, wearing her Care Bears pajama pants and white t-shirt. 

              I ran over to the phone on the table. “Where was he staying?”

              Both of them gave me a blank stare.

              “Wait, um, got it! He was staying at the Venetian." I opened the phone book and found the number.

              “Thank you for choosing the Venetian, home of the --"

              “Sorry,” I cut off the woman at the front desk. “I need to locate my husband before he checks out of the hotel.”              

              “What’s the room number?”

              “I don’t know. His name is Xavier James Luther and I am Mrs. Luther.”

              “I’m sorry, Mrs. Luther, but we have to have a room number.”

              I thought about that. “Hand me my purse!” I pointed to my room. 

              Daphne ran over and set it down in front of me.  I fumbled through it and found the piece of paper.  It was a bill from X’s hotel.

              “R-13.”

              “Oh, that’s one of our Renaissance suites, and it’s an excellent choice.”

              “Come on, man,” I whined.

              “I’m sorry, Madam, but the party has already checked out of that room.”

              “When?”

              “Three hours ago. Did you need to reserve it for a special occasion?  We have excellent rates –”

              I hung the phone up and just sat there. 

              “Honey, we’ll find him,” Addison assured me.

              “He’s gone, Addi. He’s gone.”

**

              We showered, packed up, and dressed.  No one said a word.  We all piled up in the cab and headed for the airport.  I stared out the window and just let the tears fall where they may.  I didn’t care who heard me or who saw me. 

              “Stop the car, stop the car!” I shouted.

              The cab driver pulled over and stopped at the curb.  I jumped out of the car and ran for the front door. Smelling the greasy food gave me so many memories now.  The way he looked, laughed and smelt.  I had to push my emotions way down.  I had a mission for this diner visit. 

              “Have a seat, sweetheart. Someone will be with you in a moment,” the waitress passing by said to me.

              “Is Kit here?”

              “Who’s asking?”

              “I was one of her customers from last night and I really need to talk to her.”

              “No, she got off at five.”

              “Is Mr. Gaines here?”

              “No, he won’t be back until Tuesday.”

              “My husband gave Mr. Gaines a folder of his farm business, and Mr. Gaines was considering using his services.”

              “What kind of service?”

              “Produce and milk,” I replied.

              “Well, ain't that bout a bitch.”

              “I’m sorry?”

              “My nephew is his produce guy, sweetheart.”

              “Sir, all I need is a number. I think he gave him one in that folder.  He may have left it here, on his desk maybe?”

              “Sweetheart, you better get out of here before I get Little T to kick your pretty little teeth in.”

              I looked over at Little T, and she wasn’t nothing I wanted to wrestle with.  She was at least six feet tall and had shoulders like a linebacker and the body of a bear.  I turned around and walked out of the café. 

              When I got back to the car, I started wailing.  By the time we landed at SFO, I wasn’t talking to anyone.  We got into Daphne’s car, and I was dropped off first.  I unlocked my door, dragged my suitcase inside, and collapsed on the floor. 

              A couple of hours later, I decided to try to search for him myself.  Xavier James Luther did not have a website, he did not have a landline in his name, and he had no social media accounts.  It was like he was a ghost. Maybe he was putting on a scam.  No, he couldn’t have been. He gave Mr. Gaines that folder with all the farm information in it. 

             
Dammit, why couldn’t I remember the name of his farm?
               

              My cell phone rang and I bolted for it. The screen said James and I sighed.

              James had been my boss for six years and he had been my Godfather all my life.  He and my father went to law school together, and they were the best of buds. James didn't have any children of his own, but he’d always been a second father to me. 

              I wished this were Xavier James calling me.

              “Hello, James.”

              “Married, Phoebe? And in Vegas? You sound like a tourist.”

              “I know, I know.  It’s a long story.”

              “I will see you in the morning, young lady. We have a debriefing and then, it’s you and I.  Did I make myself clear?”

              “Yes, sir, and James, don’t tell Dad.”

              James grunted and disconnected the line.

              I swallowed hard as I sat there in a slump for a long while.  I ordered Chinese takeout, watched a couple of re-runs, and went to bed. 

              I knocked on James’ door the next morning. I breathed in and out until I heard him say, “Come in."

              James sat behind his desk with his glasses at the tip of his nose.  He was the same age as my father, but he didn’t look anywhere near it.  He said having children aged people and that’s why he never had children. But, my mom said differently. She said that James had a girlfriend he wanted to marry.  She said James liked things to be in a certain order, his girlfriend was a free spirit, and that things just didn’t work out between them. 

              “Have a seat, Phoebe,” he ordered.

              I sat down, dreading this conversation. I knew James was disappointed in me and that made this even worse. 

              He pulled his glasses off and leaned back in his chair.  “So what happened?”        

              “I went to the conference and --”

              “No!” he interrupted me.

              “I met him at a café.”

              “Which café?”

              “Vicky’s Café.”

              James made a few notes and that made me feel even worse.  He was treating me like a client and not like his goddaughter.  “And?”

              “We talked and talked, walked and walked, and then it just happened.”

              “I understand that tourists go to Vegas, fall miraculously in love, and get married.  But Phoebe, you go to Vegas all the time, and you decided to marry some cowboy from the sticks?”

              “Uncle James, you found him?”

              “Of course I found him. Who do you think I am?”

              “I need to see him.”

              “Oh, and you will. You will be driving down there tomorrow morning and I don’t give a damn how long it takes you.  He will sign these god-dammed papers. You do whatever the hell you have to do.  No, Godniece of mine is marrying a hillbilly.”

              “But Uncle James --”

              “Shut up. I don’t want to hear shit else from you.  This did not happen, and I can get it sponged clean.  This marriage cannot last longer than thirty days. Do you understand me?”

              I sat there for a minute. This did not go as I planned.  I didn’t want to divorce Xavier, but I knew my uncle was right. This was not a good look for me right now.  I was taking the bar in forty-five days, and I really didn’t need these distractions. 

              “Phoebe, this is a business trip, so use the company car and your company credit card.  Caress will give you your itinerary. I want this to look as professional as possible.”

              “Yes, sir.”

              “Leave at noon today so you can pack and get some rest.”

              “Yes, sir.” I stood.

              "Phoebe, don’t come back here until those papers are all signed. I don’t want to hear from you until then."

              “Yes, sir.” I walked out of his office with tears welling up in my eyes. I walked a little too fast towards the bathroom.

              “Phoebe, I have your itinerary!” Caress called after me. 

              Everyone watched, and I held it together until I got to the bathroom.  Once I was in there, I lost it. 

              A few minutes later, there was a knock on the stall.  I stopped crying at once.

              “Phoebe, are you alright, Honey?” It was Caress at the door.

              “I’m fine, Caress. I’m just not feeling well. I’m about to leave for the day.”

              “Honey, come out so I can take a look at you.”

              I blew my nose and flushed the toilet.  I opened the stall, and Caress stood there with open arms.  I walked right into them; I couldn’t help it.  Caress was about ten years older than I was and her name said it all.  She was the gentlest person I knew. She had been working as James' assistant for thirteen years. 

              “There now. You pull yourself together before you go out with the wolves.”

              “I will,” I hiccupped.

              “Now, you listen to me. Don’t you dare let a man make a woman’s decision?  You do whatever you want and feel you need to do.”

              Great! Just great. Caress thought I was pregnant.

              “I’m not pregnant, Caress.”

              “Well, Honey, there’s only one or two things that could have you this upset.  And you just came back from your trip to Vegas and --” She broke off. 

              I stared at her in silence.

              “Phoebe, you didn’t!”