The flight landed in Vegas, first thing in the morning. Senga was excited. As soon as she got off the plane, she could feel the change. It happened in every city she went to. There was a pulse, a thumping that couldn’t be denied. And she loved it.
“Ready for some action?” Hades asked, grinning over at her.
Senga laughed, “Maybe, I’m exhausted though. Kinda wanna just go and unpack and sleep for a very long time.”
“You’re no fun! We should go to a casino. Or a bar. Or both!” he bounced a little, tugging on her arm.
“Maybe tomorrow, let’s just get to your place for now. I really need to sleep.” She said, yawning to illustrate her point. Maybe she was exaggerating, but she wanted to get used to the city slowly. She had a feeling Andy wouldn’t find her here.
Hades nodded. “Ooooookay.” He even pouted a little. “Baggage check is this way.” He said, tugging on her hand to lead her in the right direction.
She just smiled and was lead. Glancing around and getting her bearings. The terminals had slot machines. And it was awesome.
They waited at the baggage claim, Hades bouncing on his heels, Senga trying to lean against him and rest.
The baggage was in their hot little hands, and the rental car rented. Time to move in.
The apartment was in a ritzy hotel, and Senga was awestruck. The hotel had a casino. And a bar. She could get used to this. After they moved in, she’d definitely have to hit up both. As they headed through the casino, past the card tables, to the elevators, Senga thought she saw a familiar face. But, it was a busy casino, in a big city. It could have been anyone.
The apartment was at the top floor. “Here we are, home sweet home.” He threw his bags down, and spread his arms out wide.
It was a nice place, big and airy. So much different from the Chicago apartment. “Now, who can show you how to live?” Hades said with a grin and a wink. “My brother may have a crush on you, but I love you enough to show you a good time!” Senga blushed and put her bags down, and fell on the couch with a dramatic sigh. “I don’t care which one of you loves me more, I’m not sharing a bed with you.” She said, curling into a ball to sleep.
Morpheus came to her again. She had images of a man, that familiar face she saw at the card tables. The same one from the diner. The man who showed her a small kindness. “The Fates have a plan…” a voice moaned softly. Then Senga was thrown from her sleep, her body flying off the couch. Hades was at her side in an instant.
“Are you okay?” he whispered softly, maybe he had been watching her sleep.
“I’m… I’m fine. I need to get to the casino.” She said, picking herself up. She ran around the room, going through boxes and bags, looking for something to wear. There was a feeling in her gut that she had to dress in something classy, not her traveling clothes.
She settled for a flowered sundress. It had a little bit of class to it. She gave Hades a kiss on his cheek, and without an explanation, she was out the door and down the elevator.
And it was back to the casino floor. Senga glanced around, looking for that face. The card tables were still hopping, even after several hours. She was amazed. Even New York slept once in a while.
She spotted the man she’d been looking for. It looked like he’d had a good night at the tables. He was being approached by a man, and they were talking in hushed tones. Senga had good hearing, but not that good. The two headed off to one of the private poker rooms. No, she was not going to pout. Ah, well. Instead she went about the casino to explore.
It was huge. She’d never seen anything like it. The bar was fully stocked, with several bartenders still serving away. A stage in the corner of the room held a piano and a microphone. And the gears in Senga’s head started turning. She could get a job here. So she could keep busy and not go insane up in the apartment.
Senga searched around, and finally went to one of the bartenders; maybe he would have an answer for her. But, he didn’t. She made a face, and ordered a drink. Ahhh, lovely Jack Daniels and Coke. She perched herself on a bar stool, and began people watching. Eventually, a man came out of the back, and went to the stage. This was her chance. She went up to the man, and flashed him a charming smile. “Excuse me, but I was wondering if you needed a singer? I’m trained in all genres, and I can play guitar and piano.” The man raised an eyebrow. “Well, we don’t need anyone right now. The girl has been doing fairly well.” Senga sighed, and went back to the bar. Hades soon joined her.
“Thought you needed to get used to everything before you hit the casinos?” he said, smirking as her joined her on the bar stools. “Beer, please.” He motioned to the bar tender.
“No better way to get acquainted with a city than to drink in it!” She muttered, sipping her drink.
“What’s up?” Hades said, popping the top off his beer with his bare hands.
“I had a dream. Morpheus gave me a vision of a man. One I met in Chicago.”
“Oh, come on Senga. Morpheus likes to play tricks, you know that.” Hades rolled his eyes. “What makes you think that you and this man are connected?”
“I don’t know. We had a connection?” She offered, with a half smile.
“Don’t be so wishy washy, Princess Aurora.” Hades rolled his eyes again, and took a long, hard swig of his beer.
“It’s not wishy washy. Don’t tell me you have never felt that sort of connection with someone.”
“Sarah Jordan, sixth grade. She was HOT.”
Now, it was Senga’s turn to roll her eyes. “Oh, come on. You know she’s like married, weighs three hundred pounds, and has 4 kids, right?”
“Well, NOW. But then, she was amazing.” Hades said, with a devilish grin. He polished off the rest of his beer. “So, any plans for the rest of the night?”
“Well, I asked if they needed a singer at the lounge, but they already have a regular girl.” She said, sighing.
“I might be able to fix that.” He said, with another devilish grin.
Senga groaned. “Oh, be good. Please.”
“Oh, I will. She’ll be fine. I hear she’s allergic to shellfish though…” he said, drifting into thought.
“NO! Don’t. It could kill her.”
“I’m the Lord of the Underworld, she’ll be fine.” Hades said, getting up from his bar stool, and heading back into the kitchen.
She had another Jack and Coke. Then another. Then another. And she was buzzed and had almost achieved giggly. Hades came strolling out of the kitchen, whistling innocently.
“Problem solved. Go ask the man if you can sing.”
Senga raised an eyebrow. “Ooooooookay.” She got off her bar stool, and strolled over to the stage manager. “Hey, I was wondering if you might need someone for another night?”
The manager looked at Senga curiously. Then a smaller man came out of the back and whispered in his ear. The manager instantly turned purple, and groaned. “Okay, okay, fine.” He then turned to Senga. “Would you like to work tonight? Our regular girl is sick, might be for a while.”
Her face burst into a huge grin. “Sure! Where do I get ready?”
The manager waved his hand in the direction of the dressing rooms, and headed off to the bar. “You have 10 minutes.”
She flashed a grin at Hades, and he winked back at her as she ducked back into the dressing rooms.
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