Walking Disaster

downstairs.”
    The elevator door opened, and the hotel came alive. It was like the hallways were the veins, and the people were its lifeblood. Groups of women dressed like porn stars, families, foreigners, the
occasional bachelor party, and hotel employees followed each other in organized chaos.
    It took a while to get past the stores that lined the exits and reach the boulevard, but we broke out onto the street and walked until we saw a crowd gathered in front of one of the casinos. The
fountains were on, performing to some patriotic song. Shepley was mesmerized, seemingly unable to move while he watched the water dance and spray.
    We must have caught the last the two minutes, because the lights soon dimmed, the water fizzled, and the crowd immediately dispersed.
    “What was that about?” I asked.
    Shepley still stared at the now calm pond. “I don’t know, but it was cool.”
    The streets were lined with Elvis, Michael Jackson, showgirls, and cartoon characters, all readily available to take a picture for a price. At one point, I kept hearing a flapping noise, and
then I pinpointed where it was coming from. Men were standing on the sidewalk, snapping a stack of cards in their hands. They handed one to Shepley. It was a picture of a ridiculously big-breasted
woman in a seductive pose. They were selling hookers and strip clubs. Shepley tossed the card to the ground. The sidewalk was covered in them.
    A girl walked past, eyeing me with a drunken smile. She carried her heels in her hand. As she ambled by, I noticed her blackened feet. The ground was filthy, the foundation for the glitz and
glamour above.
    “We’re saved,” Shepley said, walking over to a street vendor selling Red Bull and whatever liquor you could imagine. Shepley ordered two with vodka, and smiled when he took his
first sip. “I may never wanna leave.”
    I checked the time on my cell phone. “It’s been an hour. Let’s head back.”
    “Do you remember where we were? Because I don’t.”
    “Yeah. This way.”
    We retraced our steps. I was glad when we finally ended up at our hotel, because in truth I wasn’t exactly sure how to get back, either. The Strip wasn’t hard to navigate, but there
were a lot of distractions along the way, and Shepley was definitely in vacation mode.
    I searched the poker tables for Abby, knowing that’s where she would be. I caught a glimpse of her caramel hair; she sat upright and confident at a table full of old men, and America; the
girls were a stark contrast from the rest of those camped out in the poker area.
    Shepley waved me over to a blackjack table, and we played a while to pass the time.
    Half an hour later, Shepley nudged my arm. Abby was standing, talking to a guy with olive skin and dark hair, in a suit and tie. He had her by the arm, and I immediately stood.
    Shepley grabbed my shirt. “Hold up, Travis. He works here. Just give it a minute. You might get us all kicked out if you don’t keep your head.”
    I watched them. He was smiling, but Abby was all business. He acknowledged America, then.
    “They know him,” I said, trying to read their lips to figure out the distant conversation. The only thing I could make out was
have dinner with me
from the douche in the
suit, and Abby saying
I’m here with someone
.
    Shepley couldn’t hold me back this time, but I stopped a few feet away when I saw the suit kiss Abby’s cheek.
    “It was good to see you again. See you tomorrow . . . five o’clock all right? I’m on the floor at eight,” he said.
    My stomach sank, and my face felt like it was on fire. America tugged on Abby’s arm, noting my presence.
    “Who was that?” I asked.
    Abby nodded in the suit’s direction. “That is Jesse Viveros. I’ve known him a long time.”
    “How long?”
    She glanced back at her empty chair at the poker table. “Travis, I don’t have time for this.”
    “I guess he chucked the youth minister idea,” America said, sending a flirtatious grin in Jesse’s direction.
    “That’s your ex-boyfriend?” I asked, instantly angry. “I thought you said he was from Kansas?”
    Abby shot America an impatient glare, and then took my chin in her hand. “He knows I’m not old enough to be in here, Trav. He gave me until midnight. I will explain everything later,
but for now I have to get back to the game, all right?”
    My teeth clenched, and I closed my eyes. My girlfriend had just agreed to go out with her ex-boyfriend. Everything inside me