6: VEGAS BABY

MAXIMILIAN'S POV

“Do you smell that, buddy?” Paxton sniffed the air as soon as we stepped out of my chopper. The night was hot and the air dry, making me uncomfortable. "That's the smell of booze and pussy, my friend," he grinned, patting me on the back. I snickered. I didn't feel like partying tonight or any other night for the rest of my life. Not after what Kimberly did to me. I just didn't find pleasure or happiness in things I normally liked. I told myself that those things were temporary, but money and success could last a lifetime if you were smart enough. "C'mon man, don't be a party pooper," Paxton whined. “They'll be other women. You're Maximilian McTavish for Christ's sake. Women are literally lined up to suck the fart out your ass.” His last remark made me chuckle. “See, buddy. That's the spirit. There's no place to go fuck someone out your system better than Las Vegas.”

“What if I don't want to fuck her out of my system?” I grunted, bending my collar while the both of us walked to the limo that was waiting for us.

“It's been six months, Max. You need to move on.” He said, but I just couldn't. Not after what I received in the mail earlier. The chauffeur opened the door, and we settled in the back of the limo. “Fuck yeah!” Paxton recited, after grabbing one of the chilled bottles of champagne. With a pop, he opened the bottle spraying the froth all over my face. “Woooo, Vegas baby!” He whistled, turning the bottle to his head and chugging like a frat boy.

“This is a ten thousand dollar suit,” I grumbled, using a piece of paper towel to dry my face. I looked down on my shirt which was now damp and stained purple. “You ruined my shirt.”

“I'll buy you three more if you promise to take that suit off and have some fun tonight. Dale and Fenton are meeting us at the hotel.”

“Don't remind me,” I scoffed. The Delaware twins were a pain in the ass. I didn't consider them my friends, but they were good buddies with my best friend, so I guess they were sort of my friends by association.

“Don't worry, man, I told them not to bring up the whore's name.”

I smirked at Paxton's nickname for Kimberly, and I thought it suited her well. A hundred things swirled through my head the rest of our drive to the hotel, like the fact that I had my parents' wedding anniversary to attend. It was a few weeks away, but I was dreading it. I hadn't seen my brother since I caught him in bed with my girlfriend. The memory of it all caused my blood to boil.

“Gimme that,” I angrily snatched the bottle from Paxton and drained the rest of the liquor. The cool, ashy liquid corroded its way down my throat. “Ahh.” I came down for air.

“That's my boy.” Paxton hooted. “Now let's burn this fucker to the ground,” he snapped as we pulled up to the hotel.

The Palms Casino Resort.

The hotel was the perfect array of white and gold, definitely telling the tall tale that you had to be making the big bucks to book a room in this tavern. There were no Junior Suites with queen or double beds because every cabin was a Master Luxury Suite.

The grand spaces of the hotel invited my lungs to expand. I inhaled to absorb the floral aromas as soon as we entered the lobby. Two bellboys were there to greet us, before dragging our luggages to our rooms. “Don't worry, Fenton came early and checked us in,” Paxton informed me, looking around admiring the place. His eyes stopped at the big-breast receptionist, who was chewing on her pen top sultrily. “If you could excuse me, Max. Duty calls,” he patted my shoulder as he sashayed his way up to the front desk.

My phone alarmed, and I studied my watch. It was 5:02 PM, time for my meds. What I went through with Kimberly really took a toll on my mind. Now I was seeing a therapist every Sunday who apparently couldn't do her fucking job properly. How dare she tell me I have PTSD? (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and a touch of an anger issue. Now I was on these meds to keep my symptoms in check. I popped two of the pills in my mouth before anyone could see, then I sat on the couch in the waiting area and grabbed a magazine to kill the time. I smirked when I saw the receptionist typing her number into Paxton’s phone. That dog, he was such a man whore. But then again, I taught him everything he knows. That was me some years ago, before I met Kimberly. I grunted. I shouldn’t be thinking about her, I scolded myself.

I opened a random page in the magazine and my fingers clutched the pages tightly.

There she was, Kimberly Sweeten, wearing the dress I bought her for Valentine's Day last year with my brother clutching her waist from behind. The headline read; ~~ KIMBERLY SWEETEN, AMERICA'S SWEETHEART, TRADED IN MAXIMILIAN McTAVISH FOR HIS YOUNGER BROTHER ASHER McTAVISH. ~~

How could they embarrass me like this? The big rock on her finger told me what I got in the mail earlier was true. Now I couldn't show up at my parents' anniversary party without a date. This was too much to handle. I threw the magazine down and leant back and rested my head on the couch, so I could catch my breath.

“Breathe, Meredith, Breathe!” I heard a female's voice behind me, followed by another female's heavy breathing.

“Brenda I can't do this,” a sweet voice spoke.

“Yes you can. It's only for one night. The men love you, they say you are a breath of fresh air to talk to,” this Brenda answered. “Just be yourself, and it will be alright. And remember, you don’t have to have sex with anyone you don’t want to.”

Prostitutes? In a prestigious place like this? I moved my head and looked over my shoulder and that was when I saw her, the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. She had the face of an angel and the body of a Goddess, but too bad she was a prostitute by what I'd just overhead. I watched her and the blonde girl walk past me and into the elevator. I straightened up when my eyes connected with hers. She looked so sad and lost, and so young. They both did. The doors closed as the lift took them to their floor and then I relaxed in the couch once more. I closed my eyes for a beat while I waited for Paxton to return so I could go change and get this party out of the way. I still couldn’t believe I agreed to go to a private mixture. Knowing Paxton, this would be a night to remember.