Gavin had had quite a time in Vegas. As he grabbed his belongings from the conveyor belt at the baggage check and stepped outside, he realized how sorry he was that he'd never be able to tell anyone about it. While his adventures had nothing to do with winning millions or being chased by the Mafia, he was still confident his story was one of the more wild ones to hit The Strip since it was built.
Looking for his sister, Alana, who had been on the trip with him, he kept watch for the limo that was supposed to pick them up. Alana had won the trip for two to Vegas, and had been nice enough to bring her 18 year old baby brother along. She had planned to spend the vacation hooking up with strangers, and hadn't wanted a boyfriend or girlfriend around to get in the way or feel left out. So she had brought Gavin, with the idea being that he was someone she felt comfortable sharing a room with, yet knew he'd stay out of her way.
The limo was part of the vacation package. Gavin should have been excited at the idea of one more fun thing to do before the trip officially ended. But all he could think about was that it had, indeed, ended. What had happened back in Nevada was absolutely mind-blowing, but as the saying goes—what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. In Gavin's case, that meant his secrets, and any relationships he might have developed.
He was more than bummed out on that note, and when he finally saw his sister with her bags, smiling big without a care in the world, she only reminded him of how unhappy he was. She had been particularly talkative during the last leg of the flight, talking of all things nonsense. She was almost too cheery, which didn't help Gavin's mood one bit.
He didn't know if he could stand a ten minute limo ride with her.
"Gavin? Hey, Gav!" a voice called out from the mass of travelers and cars lining the pick-up route.
Gavin turned to the voice, recognizing his friend Jim before he even saw him. Jim was a friend from high school. Not a great friend, or even necessarily a very good friend—they had rarely hung out outside of school, and had never exchanged phone numbers. After graduation, Jim had moved away like most everyone else in the senior class had--except Gavin. That gave Gavin a summer without friends, which had actually turned out to be the greatest summer of his life.
But that's another story. Or several stories...
Feeling as he did now, however, Gavin was glad to hear the familiar voice. He saw Jim and raised his arms.
"Jim! Holy shit, man! What are you doing in town?"
Jim explained that college wasn't going so well. That didn't surprise Gavin—Jim hadn't been much of a student in any course. Jim also revealed that he still lived with his parents, since they had moved close to his college.
"So when I wanna get away," Jim explained, "I come back here. My folks are always asking questions about what I'm doing if I'm not back with them, you know? Always ridin' me and shit. But I come back here and they're cool with it."
"Why are they cool with you coming here?"
"My aunt and uncle live up here. And my parents think they're just like them. You know, all strict. They think my uncle Carl is a good influence, and it's good that we're friends."
"I take it he's not, though," Gavin grinned.
"No, my uncle's cool. He's no bad ass. He just knows he's gotta let me do my thing, you know? So he covers for me. Just warns me not to get in any big trouble."
"So no drugs?" Gavin laughed.
"No, no man. I'm off all that shit. Well, most of it. I'm off cigarettes, too."
Gavin couldn't believe it. Jim had always been high on one thing or another on the weekends through high school. But even as he confessed, Jim seemed to have a firmer grasp of his self. Good for him, Gavin thought.
"Funny thing is," Jim added. "On those rare times when I do get some shit, I'm at home in the fuckin' garage when I do it!" And he laughed and laughed.
"So what kind of trouble do you not get into at your uncle's?" Gavin asked.
"Drinkin', mostly. Got myself a killer fake I.D. You got one too, right?"
Gavin shrugged, "Actually, I've never needed one. As long as I don't get too bold or too drunk, the bartenders around here are usually cool with me."
Jim smiled big at that. "Well, shit, man. That's cool. I gotta be the only guy who drives five hours back to his high school town to drink because he can't get away with it in college. So yeah, I do a lot of drinking. But more than that is the girls, man."
"Yeah," Gavin said with a sly grin. He, too, had found no shortage of attractive women in town over the past few months. "I know what you mean."
"We were all so hung up on the girls in our class that we never even noticed all the pussy everywhere else here, man. Did you know this town has one single man to every four single women?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's something like that. That's four ladies for every dude. At least. And that's just this town. I'm not countin' all the small towns around us. Drive a little ways and you're in a whole new market—oh, hey. Is that your sister?"
Gavin turned toward the direction of Jim's suddenly very concentrated gaze. Alana was there, and she had found the limo. The driver was helping her with her bags.
"Yeah," Gavin said. "We just—"
"Vegas. Yeah, I heard. That's cool she brought you, man. She must be a real cool sister. That's why I'm not goin' on and on about how fuckin hot she is. Out of respect, you know?"
Jim intended that as a joke, which made it much less offensive than if his ignorance had been lost on himself. Still, Gavin was well aware that several of his friends had fantasies involving his sister. Fortunately, none had made them reality.
"Well, I better get going then," Gavin said, turning away slowly.
"Oh wait, wait, man," Jim said. "Why don't you come with me? Tell me about Vegas, man. Tell me about all that juicy pussy you fucked."
Gavin gave Jim a frustrated glance. "I didn't actually do much..."
Jim looked like he'd just been shot. "What the hell do you mean? You hit something out there, right?"
"Well," Gavin smiled, remembering Kay, the only interesting stranger he'd met on the trip. "Yeah, I met one girl."
"That's more like it. So come with me. I'm picking up my aunt here. She's flying in from her folks' place. We can drop her off, then go barhoppin' all night. I know some ladies that are definitely up for some wild shit when I'm in town. All we gotta do is find 'em."
Gavin weighed the options of going with his sister, who, especially after that long flight, he could use time away from, and the possibilities Jim was offering.
And Jim won, hands down.
Gavin didn't even bother telling his sister in person. He called her up on his cell phone, and let her know what was up. She wasn't at all put out, and even encouraged him. Then Gavin watched the limo pull away.