CHAPTER 2 From Bet to Bed

　　She kept on tapping her feet while biting her right thumb incessantly. She couldn’t believe her eyes. No matter how many times she rubbed and closed them, what beheld in front of her was unchangeable.

　　For the?nth?time, she closed her eyes and chanted wholeheartedly that all was just a nightmare, “It was all just a nightmare, all a nightmare! I can’t be married. It just can’t be!”

　　Yet to her dismay, the contract clearly stated her full name as the wife,?‘Chloe Myers.’

　　“No!” she screamed as she lost hope while the two gentlemen in the room just stared at her.

　　“Will you just sit down, woman? You’re making me nauseous,” complained the god-like man.

　　She glared at him, “Well, you make me sick, Mister! This makes me sick!” she roused.?

　　“Mrs. Schneider–I mean Miss Myers–” Hawkins quickly adapted to the situation while the two of them almost killed him with their visual prowess.

　　“You’re enjoying this aren’t you, Hawkins? You truly want to punish me, huh? Just call the goddamn Clark County and see if this one is real or not!” he impatiently told him.?

　　But she felt insulted by what she heard so she burst out in anger, “Huh! As if I wanted to get married to the likes of you, douchebag!”?

　　“You don’t know what you’re saying, woman. If I found out you planned this all along, I will definitely–”

　　“–Definitely what? Don’t worry, if it were real, I would gladly–extremely gladly divorce you right away, right here, right now!” and she turned her back at him.

　　To be honest, she wasn’t the type of woman to lose her cool, but knowing you are married even before you started in the career path you’ve always dreamt of is a different matter.

　　She sat down on the bed staring blankly at the marriage contract, “This can’t be seriously happening to me.”

　　The god-like man looked at her and scrutinized her every move. The way she defended herself, the way she talked back, he finally see-through him.

　　It was all part of the facade of a strong woman, but deep inside, she was nervous and thrilled with the news. Who wouldn’t have, if after a wild night with a stranger you ended up getting married to him??

　　Her endless swallowing and the nonstop checking of her heartbeat were a good manifestation of what she truly felt.

　　So he decided to change his approach. While waiting for confirmation from his secretary, he decided to get to know his supposed wife a little bit more.?

　　“So, Chloe Myers, huh?” he started the conversation while his arms and legs were crossed.

　　She lifted her gaze and nonchalantly answered, “Yes, and you, Tyler Schneider, where’s your origin?”

　　“Half-german. And you, where did you get the red hair genes?” he curiously asked since he was fascinated by it.

　　“My mom’s,” she sulked.

　　“And how did you end up here in Vegas?” the questioning continued from both sides.?

　　“Well, to celebrate after getting into my long-life dream company,” she said as she smiled unintentionally, but immediately put it away as their eyes met once again, “And you?”

　　“Proposed. Got dumped. One night stand. Got married,” he simply summarized a wild night in less than ten words.

　　She couldn’t help but let out a chuckle after his weird way of describing things, “Well, you have a way with words.”

　　“I know, that’s why I am filthy rich,” he gave another joke away.

　　And just like that, a normal conversation made its way between the two of them. But it seemed his great way with words stirred up their memory lane.

　　As their eyes met, shivers were sent to both of them as they got electrocuted.

　　She stood up on the side of the bed, covered her mouth with one hand, and pointed at him with another one as fragments of yesterday’s lustful night began to flash right before her, “Oh my god, it was you!”

　　“I was what?” he cluelessly questioned her.

　　“Y–you were crying. A–and I–I pat your back and c…consoled you,” she exclaimed at him with her innocent look.

　　“You gotta be kidding me! Schneider crying? I bet you mistook me for someone–” but as pictures of him rushed in, he halted and paused.

　　He cleared his throat and both his hands got a grip of the armrests where he was sitting. He couldn’t admit nor deny the truth in front of this lady. So he kept quiet.

　　And together, the two of them finally got a glimpse of what led them to this marriage contract entangling them.?

　　(FEW HOURS BEFORE THE MARRIAGE - PALMS CASINO RESORT)

　　“To Chloe!” Bridgette, a blonde girl in her pink satin dress led the toasting.

　　“To Chloe!” Chloe and her friend followed her lead and enjoyed the drinks a lot.

　　Three female college friends, a gay friend, and his boyfriend celebrated Chloe’s first successful job landing. After tons of failed job interviews and endless tryouts, she finally got the job in one of the most prestigious companies in Seattle.

　　To make it extra, Bridgette suggested they make their way to?‘Sin City–Las Vegas. It was a ridiculous thought that came to life.

　　So there they are starting their night with the supplementary cocktail drink–Sapphire Martini?at the rooftop bar deck of?Palms Casino Resort. Its unique twin tower design connected by a glass bridge made it even more attractive to tourists, gamblers, and partygoers.

　　The illuminated bridge allows the partygoers to explore both rooftops as their dancefloor: one side has the bar, while the other has the stage beside the pool, like the one in Marina Bay Sands.

　　As the music started and the spotlight started moving, the group decided to dance along.?

　　“So Chloe, when are you going to start working there?” asked Bridgette.

　　“Well, they told me to come on Monday, I guess that’s it,” she answered while shaking her hips to the music. The two of them started talking about the interview so their gay friend, Danny, interrupted their boring conversation.

　　He went between them and glided from side to side as he wrapped his full-length arms around their waist and talked louder than the music, “Bitches, we are here to enjoy!”

　　And another friend Trixie jumped in and grooved with them, “Hell, yeah, Danny! These two really need a serious break!”

　　Bridgette and Chloe laughed at them and finally joined their circle of crazy dance steps. The DJ even livened up the crowd by playing the Top 10 Hip-hop songs on Billboard.

　　As they progressed the wild night, one of them initiated a bet to make it even more exciting, “Hey, guys, what do you say? Let’s make a bet!”

　　As tipsy as they were, they giggled, danced, and whispered amongst themselves, “So, whoever gets laid first here in Sin City will win $600, who’s in?”

　　The sound of the words?‘get laid’?and the?‘prize of the bet’?gave them a tingling sensation.

　　“W–wait. So that means $100 each, right?” Chloe clarified.

　　“Yep, that’s right!” Trixie answered in excitement.

　　“Well, I won’t be joining, 100 bucks is too much for me, and I don’t have a chance of winning either,” Chloe backed out on the spot since she didn’t even have any sexual experience or the desire to find one, and being stingy is one of her known personalities.

　　But she gained booing and bashing from her friends, “Oh, come on! Don’t be a party pooper, will ya?” complained her friends.

　　So she ended up participating in their little bet. Her friends went seriously mad finding someone to have sex with, while she completely gave up on the prize and decided to soak in the jacuzzi installed beside the bar counter.

　　As she ordered from the counter, she heard little sobs from the corner of the jacuzzi.?

　　Under the influence of alcohol–drunk, tipsy, and a little bit out of herself–she mustered her courage to ask the half-naked man who was sobbing and burying himself in the gutter of the jacuzzi,

　　“Hey, Mister! Who made you cry?”