INTERLUDE: Luck Be A Lady

Las Vegas, Nevada || June 23, 2017

The second he felt that short-long-short pulse of his phone in the inside pocket of his jean jacket, Lex Collins let his feet slide to the floor. He couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips as he checked his hair in the ghostly reflection of the tinted window - presentable enough, he thought. Fishing out the phone, he checked the message, already turning towards the concourse where the baggage carousels were.

Just got off the plane…

Dragging in a deep breath, he nodded and locked the screen, dropping the phone back into his pocket. This time he didn't have that afterburn adrenaline from a match to carry him through the interaction. Despite the pull of hitting up the bar for some liquid courage, he'd resisted, spending the hour trying to itemize a list of the places he wanted to show her. He stood in the middle of the way, oblivious to the sea of people flowing around him, eyes scanning over the crowd to find that familiar blonde hair.

Jana Rikar edged her head from side to side, searching for him, wishing she was taller, unable to see around people despite the 3-inch heel on her boots. Walking with the crowd, they split around someone standing in the middle of the concourse. She glanced down at her phone, then looked up, nearly running into the person wearing the jean jacket she was told to look for. A smile creased her face as she looked up.

"Hi…"

His hands landed on her shoulders gently, the startle of that near-impact ending in a rough chuckle as he looked down at her, a bemused smile on his face. "Must be my magnetic personality… drew you right in."

"Drew me right to you, " her smile broadened then cut in partially as she nibbled on her bottom lip, nervous yet excited to see him. Her hand let go of the single bag rolling behind her and slowly, with the other, slid around his waist. She leaned in and sighed as she felt his arms slowly edge around her.

"Definitely good to see you again."

He was cautious, gentle as he held her close, not even caring about the rest of the passengers from her flight milling around them. "Yeah," his voice was so low only she could hear, his breath ruffling her hair, "definitely good. Great, even."

She pulled back slightly to be able to see his eyes… the deep thought-inducing gaze that she first saw across the table of a late-night diner, over a burger and a Pepsi. And now that gaze, sped her heart just a touch as the crowd thinned around them.

"You weren't waiting long I hope? It took them forever to finally get us off the tarmac and to the gate."

Lex's shoulders twitched in a sort of sheepish shrug, a crooked smile on his lips before he replied, "nah. Not really. Mean, I came early 'cause traffic was lighter than I thought it was gonna be but," he glanced around, clearing his throat before leaning in closer to whisper beside her ear. "I got it on good authority that the best things in life're worth waiting for."

She blushed slightly as a brief giggle left her lips as he whispered. "Well, I hope I left you waiting…. just … long… enough." She leaned up on her tip-toes to reach his ear. "it's been a long wait for me too. But it'll be worth it." Her bare cheek brushed the coarse hairs on his.

Lex's answer was a soft chuckle as he took a step back, his hand sliding down her arm to catch her hand, his fingers twining with hers. "Hold you to that, y'know?" He gave her hand a squeeze, looking down at her luggage pointedly, "guess we better get this show on the road, huh?"

"Mmhmm. Lead on, MacDuff." She giggled again as they walked down the concourse, hand in hand, her one bag dragging being them. Her other hand crossed her body, her fingers sliding between his arm and torso. She looked around, noticing all the slots and gaming machines. "I think I lost 5 dollars in that machine last time I was here… and that's been the biggest gamble I've made when playing games." She sighed and glanced up at him.

"I remember those infomercials they used to play late at night… winnin' strategies for slot machines like there was any sorta method to random chance." Lex looked down at her, "but I still put a five in a machine every time I walk into The Luxor 'cause you don't wanna screw with the cosmos." The closer they got towards the doors, the less ambient noise there was, thankfully, making it so he didn't have to raise his voice. "You believe in luck? Or fate? Or any of that mystical stuff?"

"I believe in all of it. Things happen for a reason, we may not know why, but it happens." Her hand cups his arm a little tighter. "Sometimes you just go with it, trust it, and don't fight it. It's not perfect but it's gotten me this far." The two walked out the concourse and into the Vegas air. She followed his gaze and gripped his hand. "Right now, I feel very lucky."

"Yeah?" Lex looked around, starting to lead her towards the short-term parking lot. "Well, that's good news, y'know, given where we are." He fished a key fob from his pocket, tapping the unlock button before glancing over at her, "rental cars all look the same to me. So," when the lights flashed on one of the dark sedans, he nodded, "well, that's us. No bike this time. Sorry."

"I'll manage. Someone told me that absence makes the heart grow fonder… so I have to wait for a bike ride, it'll just make it sweeter." She looked up at him and smiled, continuing towards the car with him, hand in hand. "The last couple of days have made today… even sweeter as well. I…. have been thinking about you… a lot."

"All good things, I hope." He stopped before they reached the car, turning towards her with a slightly earnest expression. "Mean, I hope they're good things. 'Cause there's a lot of bad shit out there I can explain. I swear." He kept that straight face for a few seconds before chuckling again, his dark eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Bad things?" She blinked her eyes, in mock-disbelief. "What are bad things? I'm just…" she tried to keep a straight face but cracked and giggled. "I can't sell that…" She turned towards him, taking both of his hands in hers. "I know there's a lot out there. I've been around the world a half-dozen times, so I know there's bad things out there. But there's been nothing but good things that I've been thinking since we started talking last weekend. You …. …. You are definitely a good thing to me." She looked down, blushing slightly then back up at him.

Lex stared at her in silence for a good ten seconds, blinking but saying nothing before giving her hands a squeeze. "I…" he shook his head ruefully, "well shit. You made all the words fly away like scared birds." Licking his lips, he glanced back towards the terminal they'd just left, "if someone'd told me last week I'd be standing here right now, in Vegas, holdin' hands with one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen, I'da told them to fuck right off. So, there's that, I guess."

Jana chewed on her bottom lip for a second as he looked at her then started to speak, but simply leaned up and kissed his cheek. "I couldn't think of anything to say… so that'll have to do for now. And I'll tell everyone to fuck off as well, cause I'm with a pretty handsome man…"