Vegas Skies.
1/1
Adam sighed, brushing his long, unkempt fringe away from his eyes with his fingers. He was losing. Badly.
The man sitting opposite him, who was wearing a trilby and spoke with a thick Australian accent, smiled smugly at his companion. She smiled back, and edged all of the pair’s chips onto the second twelve area of the square.
The man and woman next to them conferred quickly, her flame red hair flipping everywhere as she spoke in fairly fluent Spanish to the tall man beside her. He nodded, mumbled something back before splitting their chips onto two squares; half on first twelve and half on third twelve.
Adam frowned, and tentatively shuffled his few remaining chips onto the ‘odd’ area. The dealer span the roulette wheel and Adam bit his lip.
The ball ticked to a halt and landed in the gap beside sixteen. Adam, the Spanish man and the red-headed woman all groaned. The woman who was with the Australian man laughed as the dealer pushed all of the chips on the board in her direction.
The Spanish man shook his head and got up, holding the red haired girl’s hand, and walked away. Adam shook his head and flounced his fringe out of his eyes. He stood up and followed the other two. The woman with the Australian laughed again. Adam shook his head in disdain and pulled his jacket tight across his chest.
He stepped out of the casino into the cold night air of Las Vegas. The huge expanse of black sky was peppered with feeble golden stars. The enormous buildings, with their neon names and outlandish light effects were a stark contrast to the bleak sky above.
He sat down on the sidewalk and pulled his jacket around him again, beginning to search his pockets.
He found a length of string, seventy-five dollars, a half-empty pack of gum, a used tissue and a broken safety pin.
He had no idea what use the tissue, string and safety pin would be, so he returned those to his oversized pockets. He counted his cash, and figured he could afford a night in a sleazy motel somewhere. It wasn’t likely to be stylish, but it was all he could afford. He placed a stick of gum in his mouth, trying to disguise the smell of alcohol which hung on his breath.
He got up and sighed, returning everything else to his pockets. He began to walk away from the casino-coated side of town to the more ‘residential’ side of town. If he’d thought about it, he could’ve stayed at his friend Spencer’s, since he lives in Summerlin, just outside the main town. But in reality, he wasn’t sober enough to think clearly.
He lost count of how many take-out places he passed; each one smelt worse than the last. He knew he was in the sleazier side of town when he started passing strip joints and inhaling passive smoke from joints. He looked up ahead of him and saw a cold stone building with a blinking sign atop it. ‘Hotel Paradise’. He sighed; watching the way the H in ‘hotel’ kept flickering on and off. It would have to do.
He marched up to the revolving door and slammed through it, waking the skinny bellhop who was sleeping at the reception desk. He yawned – which Adam thought was really quite cute – and flicked his brown hair away from his chocolate eyes.
“Hello and welcome to Hotel Paradise, my name’s Will and I...” He paused, yawning again “Will be your bellhop for tonight.”
“Can I just get a single room?” Adam asked. Will nodded.
“Um... I can put you in room 139 on the first floor.” Will suggested shyly. He was used to semi-paralytic gamblers showing up in the middle of the night, but never cute semi-paralytic gamblers.
He could get used to this.
“That’ll be fine.” Adam replied “How much?”
“Forty-five dollars.” Will explained “Oh, and I’ll need your name too.”
“Adam Siska.” Adam replied, handing him fifty dollars. Will pencilled his name in a huge log book and quickly found five dollars change.
“The elevator’s over there.” Will continued, nodding in the direction of the huge metal doors “And the stairs are just ‘round the corner.”
“Call 123 if you need anything; it’s the room service number.” Will explained as Adam wandered to the elevator. Adam nodded in understanding and stepped inside, jabbing the first floor button.
Said first floor was insanely empty for a hotel that claimed to be ‘paradise’. It still had decor from the seventies, and Adam wouldn’t be surprised if no one had actually stayed here out of choice since that decade.
When room 139 was finally located, Adam threw open the door and stumbled to the bed, collapsing on it and taking only a brief note of the time. 1:37am.
*Two hours and twenty-three minutes later*
Adam woke with a groan, patting around either side of him to look for something to hug. He grumbled and crawled over to the phone on the bedside table. He punched in the number 123 sleepily, and Will from the desk picked up almost instantly.
“Hello, room service. How can I help you?” He asked, sounding as though he’d just woken up again.
“I need a hug.” Adam explained sheepishly.
“Okay, I’ll send Travis up if you’d like.”
“Nope. I want your hug.” Adam felt himself blush.
“O-Okay then, give me a few minutes. TRAVIS! Cover for me would you.” He put the phone down and headed for the stairs.
Adam sighed and put the phone back on the stand. He waited, resting his head on the pillow.
There was a knock at the door, and a weak voice mumbled ‘Um... Hug for you, sir...” Adam got up sluggishly and went to the door, opening it to see Will stood there sheepishly in the red and gold jacket he’d been wearing earlier. The ensemble was completed by tight jeans, meaning the hotel didn’t have uniform trousers.
“So... Um... How do you wanna do this?” Will asked blushing, stepping inside and shutting the door. Adam grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the bed. He lay down and pulled Will with him, attaching his arms to the smaller man’s neck.
“Okay, um... Like this?” Will asked, placing his arms around Adam’s waist.
“Mmhm.” Adam mumbled into Will’s chest, slowly drifting into sleep. Will sighed.
All he was was a teddy bear.
*Next morning*
Travis, the bellhop Will had left on reception duty, sighed and got up.
Will had been gone hours now.
He stalked to the elevator and jabbed the first floor button angrily. It wasn’t like he’d had to deal with customers but, dang, that job was boring! He tapped his foot as the elevator took irritatingly long to reach the next floor up.
The doors slid open and the twenty-three year old flounced along the corridor, brushing his ginger hair away from his blue eyes. He marched up to room 139, brandishing his all-powerful key card, and opened the door.
He saw Will and Adam sound asleep, Adam’s head still firmly nestled against Will’s chest, and Will nuzzling the top of Adam’s head. He sighed and backed out of the room, shutting the door silently.
They were too cute to wake up.
He sighed as he walked back along the corridor, stopping at a window to stare at the sky.
It was cloudless, and a pale color of baby-blue.
He looked back in the direction of the room and smiled.
He guesses that’s just how they roll in Vegas.
The man sitting opposite him, who was wearing a trilby and spoke with a thick Australian accent, smiled smugly at his companion. She smiled back, and edged all of the pair’s chips onto the second twelve area of the square.
The man and woman next to them conferred quickly, her flame red hair flipping everywhere as she spoke in fairly fluent Spanish to the tall man beside her. He nodded, mumbled something back before splitting their chips onto two squares; half on first twelve and half on third twelve.
Adam frowned, and tentatively shuffled his few remaining chips onto the ‘odd’ area. The dealer span the roulette wheel and Adam bit his lip.
The ball ticked to a halt and landed in the gap beside sixteen. Adam, the Spanish man and the red-headed woman all groaned. The woman who was with the Australian man laughed as the dealer pushed all of the chips on the board in her direction.
The Spanish man shook his head and got up, holding the red haired girl’s hand, and walked away. Adam shook his head and flounced his fringe out of his eyes. He stood up and followed the other two. The woman with the Australian laughed again. Adam shook his head in disdain and pulled his jacket tight across his chest.
He stepped out of the casino into the cold night air of Las Vegas. The huge expanse of black sky was peppered with feeble golden stars. The enormous buildings, with their neon names and outlandish light effects were a stark contrast to the bleak sky above.
He sat down on the sidewalk and pulled his jacket around him again, beginning to search his pockets.
He found a length of string, seventy-five dollars, a half-empty pack of gum, a used tissue and a broken safety pin.
He had no idea what use the tissue, string and safety pin would be, so he returned those to his oversized pockets. He counted his cash, and figured he could afford a night in a sleazy motel somewhere. It wasn’t likely to be stylish, but it was all he could afford. He placed a stick of gum in his mouth, trying to disguise the smell of alcohol which hung on his breath.
He got up and sighed, returning everything else to his pockets. He began to walk away from the casino-coated side of town to the more ‘residential’ side of town. If he’d thought about it, he could’ve stayed at his friend Spencer’s, since he lives in Summerlin, just outside the main town. But in reality, he wasn’t sober enough to think clearly.
He lost count of how many take-out places he passed; each one smelt worse than the last. He knew he was in the sleazier side of town when he started passing strip joints and inhaling passive smoke from joints. He looked up ahead of him and saw a cold stone building with a blinking sign atop it. ‘Hotel Paradise’. He sighed; watching the way the H in ‘hotel’ kept flickering on and off. It would have to do.
He marched up to the revolving door and slammed through it, waking the skinny bellhop who was sleeping at the reception desk. He yawned – which Adam thought was really quite cute – and flicked his brown hair away from his chocolate eyes.
“Hello and welcome to Hotel Paradise, my name’s Will and I...” He paused, yawning again “Will be your bellhop for tonight.”
“Can I just get a single room?” Adam asked. Will nodded.
“Um... I can put you in room 139 on the first floor.” Will suggested shyly. He was used to semi-paralytic gamblers showing up in the middle of the night, but never cute semi-paralytic gamblers.
He could get used to this.
“That’ll be fine.” Adam replied “How much?”
“Forty-five dollars.” Will explained “Oh, and I’ll need your name too.”
“Adam Siska.” Adam replied, handing him fifty dollars. Will pencilled his name in a huge log book and quickly found five dollars change.
“The elevator’s over there.” Will continued, nodding in the direction of the huge metal doors “And the stairs are just ‘round the corner.”
“Call 123 if you need anything; it’s the room service number.” Will explained as Adam wandered to the elevator. Adam nodded in understanding and stepped inside, jabbing the first floor button.
Said first floor was insanely empty for a hotel that claimed to be ‘paradise’. It still had decor from the seventies, and Adam wouldn’t be surprised if no one had actually stayed here out of choice since that decade.
When room 139 was finally located, Adam threw open the door and stumbled to the bed, collapsing on it and taking only a brief note of the time. 1:37am.
*Two hours and twenty-three minutes later*
Adam woke with a groan, patting around either side of him to look for something to hug. He grumbled and crawled over to the phone on the bedside table. He punched in the number 123 sleepily, and Will from the desk picked up almost instantly.
“Hello, room service. How can I help you?” He asked, sounding as though he’d just woken up again.
“I need a hug.” Adam explained sheepishly.
“Okay, I’ll send Travis up if you’d like.”
“Nope. I want your hug.” Adam felt himself blush.
“O-Okay then, give me a few minutes. TRAVIS! Cover for me would you.” He put the phone down and headed for the stairs.
Adam sighed and put the phone back on the stand. He waited, resting his head on the pillow.
There was a knock at the door, and a weak voice mumbled ‘Um... Hug for you, sir...” Adam got up sluggishly and went to the door, opening it to see Will stood there sheepishly in the red and gold jacket he’d been wearing earlier. The ensemble was completed by tight jeans, meaning the hotel didn’t have uniform trousers.
“So... Um... How do you wanna do this?” Will asked blushing, stepping inside and shutting the door. Adam grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the bed. He lay down and pulled Will with him, attaching his arms to the smaller man’s neck.
“Okay, um... Like this?” Will asked, placing his arms around Adam’s waist.
“Mmhm.” Adam mumbled into Will’s chest, slowly drifting into sleep. Will sighed.
All he was was a teddy bear.
*Next morning*
Travis, the bellhop Will had left on reception duty, sighed and got up.
Will had been gone hours now.
He stalked to the elevator and jabbed the first floor button angrily. It wasn’t like he’d had to deal with customers but, dang, that job was boring! He tapped his foot as the elevator took irritatingly long to reach the next floor up.
The doors slid open and the twenty-three year old flounced along the corridor, brushing his ginger hair away from his blue eyes. He marched up to room 139, brandishing his all-powerful key card, and opened the door.
He saw Will and Adam sound asleep, Adam’s head still firmly nestled against Will’s chest, and Will nuzzling the top of Adam’s head. He sighed and backed out of the room, shutting the door silently.
They were too cute to wake up.
He sighed as he walked back along the corridor, stopping at a window to stare at the sky.
It was cloudless, and a pale color of baby-blue.
He looked back in the direction of the room and smiled.
He guesses that’s just how they roll in Vegas.