Chapter Zero - Downfall

Las Vegas in mid-winter. What a miserable place to be, not cold enough to be called anything but chilly and a near constant wind offering nothing but misery. I didn’t like the city, I didn’t like the weather and I really didn’t like the desert. Don’t get me wrong, I used to like Vegas. But that was before the corporations took over and now everything was over-priced, over-extravagant and overly cheap under the veneer. They should rename the fucking city to “Overly”.

But there I was attending the industry conference, why couldn’t they hold this stupid conference someplace fun like New Orleans? Now that was a city I enjoyed, amazing music, food and atmosphere. I attend conferences all over the world; I work for a global firm and have to do business most of the major financial centers worldwide. I tried to keep it to four conferences per year, one each quarter and try to balance them between Europe, Oceania and the Far East; well then there was always this one here in Las Vegas. I was scheduled to participate in two discussion panels here and attend several after parties.

Back home in Southern California the weather was magnificent; I missed it the minute I stepped out of the airport looking for a taxi. Back home I had a comfy little house where a good woman named Trish and her three young sons awaited me. I was in Las Vegas for four days and I fervently hoped they those days would pass by quickly.

The taxi was fully up to Las Vegas standards, which is to say it was cramped, dirty and had a strange odor coming out of the seat. Why did only London have good cabs? To be honest the cabs in Japan and Germany were always fastidious and clean but the famous London Black Cabs were an entirely different standard.

The hotel room was listed as Five-Star of course, which translates to Three-Star in the rest of the world. Don’t bother ordering room service and the coffee is almost always atrocious. The only thing Five-Star about Las Vegas hotel rooms is the glitter in the house casino and the prices they charge.

Per usual the conference was a bore. The Keynote speaker basically made an overly long sales pitch, the display floors were crowded & annoying, and the first two nights’ parties had the energy of a sleepy snail. Don’t get me wrong, there were beautiful women everywhere but they all had the practiced air of a pitch woman with the accompanying force field that kept the polite men away. Every man with any bit of social awareness at all realized that you weren’t taking that twenty-year-old girl pitching the newest router to you back to your hotel room. I don’t care how many routers you ordered on the spot.

I sat on my discussion panels and professed my latest opinions on current trends and future directions. Only one of the panels was fun, and that only because a heated argument erupted between a start-up founder in the audience and one of the esteemed panel members. That panel member wasn’t me but it was a fun distraction and amused me for the better part of an hour.

On the third night things changed; I attended a vendor party at a newly opened whiskey bar. One of my favorite vices is bourbon; I truly love the taste of quality bourbon and go out of my way to find it. This was a fine example of a great whiskey bar: they offered a massive selection of aged bourbons, ryes and sour mashes with the proper accompaniment of savory hors d’oeuvres. They sold fine cigars and had a small dance floor with a quality live band playing a smooth mix of rock and blues; I fell for the place right away.

Two hours later I was feeling good, I had run into a couple of old acquaintances and had a fun chat about the current state of college football; I was almost ready to call it a night.

I decided there was just one more bourbon I wanted to try and was at the bar fetching it when she walked into the room. I didn’t see her at first, all I saw was that a new group had come through the entrance. New large groups have a tendency, particularly when they’ve been drinking, to dominate the entry way when they first enter a room until they finally disperse and join the crowd. I lit a cigarette and decided it was better to wait for the dispersal than to fight through the crowd.

I was halfway through my cigarette when they finally started to thin out and that was when I saw her. Our eyes seemed to lock the moment our gazes met. I can’t be sure how long that moment lasted before we both quickly looked away in embarrassment – the power of that moment had been surprising.

I turned back to the bar and crushed out my cigarette in the ashtray. I ordered another bourbon and pulled another butt from my pack; my mind was suddenly unclear and I needed to think. Time wasn’t on my side as a velvety voice from my side asked, “Hey, can I get one of those from you?”

I knew better but my mind wasn’t working straight, I should have just shoved the pack to her and made my exit. Instead, I turned, smiled and offered her my freshly lit one. She accepted it and from that moment the deal was sealed. The dance commenced from there; I ordered her a drink, we exchanged business cards and we fell into meaningless talk while our eyes dueled and our libidos tangoed.

Her soft southern accent was divine, her eyes a delight and her laughter intoxicating. We relaxed and our suit jackets came off. Shapely long legs and delicate arms hinted at a treasure trove of delights hidden under that expensive business clothing. My lust rose up and cast my discipline aside. We hadn’t yet touched but I could smell and feel her.

I offered to share a taxi, it turned out that we also shared a hotel; it was a tense moment in the elevator when we discovered that our rooms were on the same floor.

My door came first, we tried to say good night.

It didn’t work.

The door opened and we were both inside, I managed to somehow close the door behind us before the fire took over. Our first touch was a kiss that didn’t end until it was over, we slowly moved across the room as our lust ran free, martyring buttons and shirts in our urgency.

We slowly stumbled and twirled across the room destination unknown and yet predetermined until I came up against the couch and there we landed with her straddling me. I finally managed to release her breasts as she continued to fumble with my trousers. A moment later my hardness came free dripping in anticipation, a silken hand was suddenly upon me and it stoked my fire. I reached my hand between her legs to find my path barred by panty hose, I kissed her harder and ripped her hose wide at the crotch.

She promptly stuffed me inside, ground down hard and joined us completely.

It was like plunging into heated honey.

For a moment we didn’t move, our kiss finally broke apart and we looked each other directly in the eye with the realization that we had just crossed a line we couldn’t uncross. Our first touch had begun with a furious kiss which continued non-stop until I was deeply inside of her.

The moment didn’t last, her body began to quiver as her orgasm began and I responded by driving into her and suckling her pert swollen nipples. We reached the heights together in record time and plunged over the cliff of full release together, sweat pouring from our bodies as we clenched tightly together. She slowly released me from the velvet vise she had clenched me in, I was surprisingly still mostly hard and we were both parched.

I rose, kicked off my trousers and went and got each of us an over-priced water from the fridge, I returned to the couch; we were both still panting lightly. I handed her a water bottle and we each took a long draught followed by a sigh of contentment; she had a cute sigh. I went fished my jacket off the floor and pulled out the pack of cigarettes and lit one. After taking a long drag I walked over and offered it to her, she demurred. Instead, she took another pull off of her water bottle and then leaned forward and gave my still mostly hard penis a kiss.

That kiss drew a groan from me which only seemed to encourage her and next thing I knew I was standing there smoking a cigarette and enjoying a delightfully skillful blowjob. She was enthusiastic, attentive and truly engaged but I had just orgasmed and it wouldn’t be happening again immediately. The first time she pulled back and stretched her jaw I knew it was time to move on. When I lifted her from the couch she tried to complain that she wasn’t done yet but I knew this wasn’t the time for that. I kissed her neck then proceeded to remove the rest of her clothes and guide her to the bed.

I turned the lights out, slid into bed and we began to make love for the first and probably last time. I fondled her breasts while I kissed her neck and collar bone, breasts which told she had a child or two waiting at home. I kissed and licked her nipples while my hands traversed her body and teased gently at her most erogenous zones. I enjoyed her fully at the same time I relaxed and let her enjoy me; her hands ran over my body and she kissed wherever I allowed her to reach.

I reentered her shortly thereafter and we enjoyed a slow and luxurious lovemaking which ended with us both wrapped tightly together and gently moaning in fulfillment. In another existence we would have exchanged loving words and supportive caresses. Instead, what followed was cuddling, sleep and sadly a morning schedule that was just a few hours away.

The wake-up call came to early and we both jerked out of sleep and bed. It was a strange moment two strangers naked before each other; our professionalism took over and we started to move. I offered her first bathroom access and she was in and out within moment. I used the bathroom next and by the time I came out she was gone.

That day passed in that strange hang-over and not enough sleep kind of way; I packed up, went down for an absurd buffet breakfast, checked out and headed for the airport. Once at the airport I checked in and worked on my email while I waited for my flight. This trip was over.

Two months later all hell broke loose and my maelstrom commenced. Trish’s eldest son brought in the mail each day when he came home from school. In the mail that Friday was a post card, not a letter, but a post card from one of our overly religious southern states.

This post card politely notified me of the fact that the mother of my potential child had aborted the fetus.

The boy didn’t understand and handed the card to Trish.

Trish shared it with me. Loudly and with finality.

Downfall complete.