(ok, I meant to do this regularly and like always, something else captured my time and attention. I have some time now so here goes....a lot of this is necessary set-up to the really good shit which comes next.)

<4 hours earler, 6 pm, that same Tuesday in Vegas, 1996. Inside Batistas Ristorante, behind and across from Bally's. The restaurant is a Vegas Landmark, and some good authentic Italian Food. Their Garlic Twists are as addictive as Heroin. The walls are full of pictures of Frank, and Dean, and Sammy, and dozens of other celebrities from the Rat Pack Years. In the corner by the kitchen door sit three men in business suits being served dinner. Two are in their early 40s, slightly overweight and balding, named Phillip and Wes.. The third is not yet 30 years old, well toned muscular upper body, shaved head and tanned. His name is Eric, and he leans back in a black and fire-engine-red titanium wheelchair like it's a recliner, resting on his wheelie bars as they clink wine glasses in a toast>

"Here's to dead trees", Wes offers, as they all chuckle at the political incorrectness of their inside joke. Dead trees refers to the 3.5 Million dollars of corrugated they just sold to a distributor who moved his warehouse operation to Vegas for all the advantages it offers. "You pulled it off dude, this should finally get you to San Jose like you want.", Phillip says to Eric. "Yes, well now we have to find our own warehouse here to service them. I am staying the rest of the week to check out a couple places. That's if I dont melt my tires in this fucking heat."

"Does Vernon know you are staying to do this?", Phillip asks Eric. "Well, yes and no. Look, How long has Vernon been CEO, 11 years? If he doesnt see 3 steps ahead at this point, then he wont be CEO much longer. This is just the tip of the fucking sword I am going to jab into this pig...with a warehouse here we can get all the other distributors who have moved here, or will do so in the near future. I mean we can't keep sending 6 trucks from Riverside all the way down the I-15 every night. Nah, we have a good thing going here now."

The three dive into their food and order more wine. "Well I cant wait to get the hell out of here", Wes says, emphasizing his displeasure with the heat and the fact his wife is 8 months pregnant with their 4th kid. Phillip is married too, with 2 kids. "Hey when are you going to get hitched?" he ribs Eric..."When someone gets me Pregnant" is the reply.

"Well what are you guys going to do this last night before you head back to LA?" Eric asks the other two. "Probably just head back to the Hotel and play Blackjack a few hours" says Wes, while Phillip shakes his head a little, distraught over his losing a bet on the Yankees the night before. "I have no luck. I am just going to get shitty at the bar and then pass out. I like that bar, The Mirage still has the best of everything. And it doesnt smell like cigs and stogies everywhere. What are you going to do Eric?"

"All these pictures are making me sentimental. I am going to play at the Desert Inn, it still has that old Vegas class. Plus one of my old roommates from college is a floor manager there." "Haha, from Harvard to Sin City getting people to blow money they dont have om Red or Black...", snickers Wes. Eric sips his wine and says "Hey, look at me. I am marketing and selling fucking boxes. I could have gone to Pomona State College to do this and saved 80 grand."

After dinner the three take a cab back to the Mirage, and Eric heads up to his mini-suite. After a shower he dresses casually and parks his chair in front of the large window that looks out across the span between the Mirage and Treasure Island. Things are going good, but as always something is missing. He cracks a Michelob from the minibar and stares...and thinks. "Well there is that nurse that works over at the clinic on Harman.....or there is always Markie." Markie is a dancer at Club Paradise, currently the top club in Vegas. It's across from the Hard Rock, which is also a great place to meet the young, undamaged (physically) "relaxation therapists", euphemistic bullshit for escorts, which is also euphemistic bullshit for prostitutes.

"Nah, I am going to see Josh (his friend at the DI) and play a little. Fuck, I can afford it now"

8:55 pm: The Desert Inn is a well lit, simplistically elegant establishment. They dont have slots or tables crammed together, there is plenty of room to move around, a definite plus for Eric, especially if he plans on drinking a lot. Nothing worse than crashing into shit trying to get to the bathroom. He sees Josh right away and the two embrace. "Dude, why the fuck didnt you tell me you were coming? I'd have taken the night off!" Eric smiles at seeing his old friend. "Nah, I am here on business mostly. How are you? How's Jen?" Eric was at Josh's wedding a year ago, down in Newport Beach; among the few details he remembers is that the garlic mashed potatoes at the Balboa Bay club were pretty good, and that Jen is gorgeous. Afterall, it was Eric that introduced them after meeting Jen during a visit to the Hoag Hospital ER. "Ah she's good, she is the charge nurse at University Medical Center ER. Hey did you eat yet, I am on break in 10 minutes?" "Yeah I bombed my intestines at Batistas...unreal veg lasagna. I'll have a couple of drinks though while you eat."

15 minutes later, inside the DI Steakhouse, Josh orders a sirloin while Eric gets an Absolut and cranberry. "So what's the business?" Josh asks. "Ah, I sold a forrest of corrugated to a distributor here in town, and now I have to find a warehouse to service him and expand to others." "Damn dude, you've made it!" Josh high fives Eric. "Not yet, I am going to use this to get a transfer to our office in San Jose, fucking shit is happening up there so fast it's sick. Our Management is all these old fuckers who are already set, they will miss it if it's not brought to them on a platter. Tech and computers and the like, I already have an inroad at Hewlett Packard...Silicon Valley. You know." Josh nods and realizes just how much he always liked and admired Eric, going back to watching him slog to class in the snow in his wheelchair over the brick sidewalks of Cambridge.

Then he comes back, "Silicon Valley huh? Yeah, unlike this place, or LA, which are now Silicone Valleys. Fake tits are all the rage in Vegas these days", he smirks, and cuts into his dinner. "No shit. So how's business here for you?" Josh pauses for a moment, "Honestly. It's out of control. We havent failed to have an increase in take for the last 14 months. The city is exploding. Word has it, Wynn is building some fucking Italian themed Monstrosity up the strip....talking, like billions. That guy is both amazing and annoying."

"Yeah well I am staying at the Mirage. It's good I like it. I actually like his place downtown, the Golden Nugget ...downtown still has that edge that makes me feel I am in Vegas and not some perverted version of Disneyland. So what table should I play at here?" Josh laughs, "They're all good, we have the best dealers here. Not greedy fuckers like over at Caesars. These guys do what they do because they LIKE it, and they like people."

11:55 PM.: Eric is up almost 6,800, and 7 Absolut and Cranberry drinks. He's feeling pretty good, and Josh sends the pit boss over to check on him, basically put his hand on his shoulder and remind him, in case the drinks are in the way, that he is up a lot.. The pit boss tells Eric he's comped at the DI the next time he comes to Vegas, room, food everything. It's both an offer and a gentle reminder, via Josh, that maybe it's time he take a break, before the booze ruins it. Eric cashes out, Josh walks him to the cage, and to the bathroom.

"I'll be back the end of the month, depending on what I find these next couple days" Eric tells Josh. "Well give me a call, let me know. Jen and I will hang out with you." "As long as she doesnt try to set me up with one of her nursing friends", Eric jokes, "I hate that." "Ha! Hypocrite! You fucking shackled me that way. Where you heading now?" Josh asks hiding a note of concern, realizing his friend has a crapload of cash on him and is in a wheelchair. "Probably back to the Mirage, I have stuff I need to do tomorrow." Josh see's him to a cab, helps put the chair in the trunk and they shake hands and embrace.

"So where to?", asks the cab driver...Eric looks at his watch, 12:15 AM: ...."The Mirage.....no wait a second, head north towards downtown first." He decides he is not ready to sleep....Maybe he will try his luck somewhere else. As they approach the intersection of Las Vegas Blvd and Sahara, Eric looks first to his left at the freakish brand new Stratosphere, Bob Stupak's boondoggle turned good overnight, then he looks out to the right. He see's this totally gorgeous woman talking into a cellular phone with a drink in her hand....her attire suggests what she probably has for an occupation, but you never know in Vegas. The traffic light at the intersection is red and they are paused behind a long line of cars. Eric rolls down the window and pauses for a moment. The booze has loosened him up a bit. "Hey! Hey! You need a ride?"

Erin hangs up her phone and walks over to the curb..."Hi", she calmly says, "Where are you heading?" "Anywhere...nowhere. You need a ride, its on me." "Well I need to head to Caesars" "Cool." Eric opens the door and Erin slinks in, but not before downing her drink and leaving the glass on the curb.

"I'm Eric." "Erin...thanks for the ride." They shake hands, and Eric tells the cab driver to head back to Caesars. Erin quickly sizes him up through her euphoric haze. To herself she says "Well he is kinda cute, smells good. What's that thing in his ear? A hearing aid, ok. Nice bod....wait, what's up with his legs?"

Eric turns back to her "So what do you do here? You visiting?" "Umm, I work here", Erin answers and stares at him with a blank expression, trying to convey it all with out saying anything more, to see what he does. "I understand", says Eric. "Are you working at Caesars?" "Supposed to, but nothing here is ever definite until its over", she says, again with the same stare. "Well its almost 12:30, what time are you working?" "Supposed to be, like, 2 am, I thought I would have a couple more drinks, waste a few dollars in a slot machine." "Ah...." "So you want to hang out while I wait?", Erin asks. Eric, still absorbing her beauty, nods..."lets play blackjack", he suggests. "Nah I suck at it!", Erin half laughs. "It's on me, I'll coach you", and he turns to look out his window, and they dont say another word until they get to Caesars.

The Valet approaches the cab, as Eric hands the driver the fare and tells him to pop the trunk. Erin gets out and Eric slides over but sits at the edge of the seat and tells the Valet to get the wheelchair out of the trunk. "Now let's see how she reacts", Eric says to himself and watched out of the corner of his eye Erin's countenance, while the valet wrestles with the chair. "Just bring it over here dude, I'll unfold it", Eric instructs and hands the Valet a 20. Erin's expression hasnt changed. Too stoned to care?. Cool with it? Mortified? When Eric unfolds it, Erin steps behind it and lifts it by the handlebars. "Wow, this is really lite. How much does this thing cost?" "A few bucks." Erin looks under it, "I like the Red." Eric hops in, relieved. "Here, I'll drive.", says Erin.

1:58 Am: "Double down sweetie." Erin looks at Eric...."Double down? With an Eight?" "Yes, the dealer has a 5 showing, a bust card." Erin places another Black Chip next to the one she has out there. She gets a 9. Dealer flips his down card over, also a 9. Next card is a 2.....and then an 8. "Fuckin' A..." Erin smiles and gulps another mouthful from her Bloody Mary. She's now up to 1100 from the 300 Eric started her with to teach her basic strategy. Eric recognizes though, from her slightly slurred speech and pinpoint pupils that this girl is not ready for card counting, and probably never will be. In the hour that they have been playing they found out a little more about each other, and in the well lit Caesars Black Jack Pit, Eric more fully saw just how unbelievably gorgeous she was. "How the fuck does she stay so toned?" he asked himself. As for her own mind, Erin came to decide that Eric wasnt just cute, he approached Handsome. But that was easy for her to decide when they first sat down at the table and Eric pulled out his wad of cash from the Desert Inn and placed the 300 down to buy in for her. In the back of her clouded mind though, was that 2 am call upstairs with the four "Allegedly" Turkish guys. And it was now 2 AM.

"Well, escorts are always late, I'll play a few more hands", Erin reasoned in her head. "This guy is different, fuck if I know how yet, but he is different. He hasnt groped, or touched, or tried to kiss me or anything. No rude remarks or innuendoe, and he looks me in the eye." Her beeper went off again..."Fuck, I need to make a call", she says to Eric. He tells her "Hey, if you need to go, I know you said you did earlier, go ahead. I'll give you my number if you..." Erin stops him, "NO No wait, just hang on for a minute, Ok? Let me go make this call...I'll be right back" Eric plays the next few hands for her until she returns.

"Can I talk to you for a minute? Over there..." Erin points to the Bar. Eric picks up the chips and rolls over to the bar with her. "I have to go upstairs, I dont know how long I will be, probably at least a couple hours. Here's my number, I know you told me you would be here another couple days, so call me if you want. For...whatever." "Ok, cool, either way, I am glad I asked you into my cab." "So am I..." and Erin bends down and kisses Eric on the cheek. "Oh wait", says Eric, "here..." He hands her 8 of the 11 $100 dollar black chips..."You won these...." She pauses for a moment, then kisses him again and says into his ear "Please call me", and then hurries off to the elevators.

Eric sat there for a minute or two, sobering up now, he pondered the last couple hours in his head. "Yeah I'll call you", he says to himself. Then he remembers what he needs to do tomorrow...."Fuck, I need to get to sleep." As he is wheeling out of Caesars after cashing his remaining chips, he rolls by a 24 hour snack bar. Hunger from booze now trumps sleep and he grabs a sundried tomatoe and turkey breast pita to eat before heading back to the Mirage. As he sits in front of the window next to the snack bar eating, watching the Valet load and unload, he sees in the reflection a silhouette approaching him from behind. Erin comes up from behind him...Eric stops chewing and mumbles with his mouth half full, "Umm...Wha' 'appened?" and then swallows.

Erin almost ignores the question and stares for a moment..."You are staying at the Mirage?" "Ummm....right." "Comeone, we can walk, I'll push you, you finish eating." Before he can say anything else she has him going at a brisk pace out the door, past the waiting cabs and onto the Vegas Strip towards the Mirage. To himself, Eric says...."Ah how hard can a warheouse for sale be to find these days in Vegas? Fuck it, there's miles of Desert, around here, we'll build one if need be, it's still worth it...."

<To Be continued, the dirty part is next>