10 hours earlier...
Vegas watched from his rearview mirror as Raja got in the back. She had her airpods in and seemed like she did not want to talk. The pure coincidence seemed to not phase her. Damn. She looked good in the dress and full beat face. He focused on the road as he pulled off from her apartment complex.
He tried to not seem too interested in her. But, he never felt this intrigued in someone before. That was when he broke out of his trance when Raja finally decided to speak.
"Thank you for helping us out earlier," she said. "Well, me."
Vegas shrugged. "It's no sweat, mama."
"I know Zayde can be a rough dude. He usually is not that violent."
"He has ego issues. I ran into his type before." Vegas hit the highway and was met with traffic immediately. He turned down the rap song that was playing on his FM radio. "I used to play ball before I got injured. I met a nigga who was just like him. He felt threatened, so he used his bigness to power over me."
"What happened?" Raja asked, taking out her Airpods.
"Honestly, ball wasn't my life. I was in business school. I wasn't sure what I was doing there. I go where the money goes," Vegas replied. "It's more like I had more dreams to dream after that injury. I didn't wanna do basketball anymore. When Tron told me he would need a manager for when he blew up, he wanted me. I never thought about the music industry until he started his little Soundcloud account."
"Little Soundcloud account," Raja repeated, laughing. "So, you wanna be a manager for your homeboy?"
"Why not? Tron's mad talented. I was good at basketball for a couple years, lost my passion. I think it was because people told me since I was tall, I should play. I'm 6'. That's average height for niggas," Vegas said. "You know, my dad actually played in college, until my mom got pregnant with my older brother."
"What's his name? Reno?" Raja laughed.
"You got jokes. No, his name is actually Pete."
"Pete? Black boy named Pete?"
"Yeah." Vegas smiled, missing his older brother. "He plays baseball, though. Dad wanted his boys to play sports. I think for me, I am more analytical about my hustle. Sports was never my thing. I was good at it because I'm a Montez."
"Vegas Montez," Raja said his name. It made him blush. "I like your name too."
"I like the way you say it," Vegas sighed. "Why you heading to the finest hotel in the city?"
"Going to see that nigga one last time. You know about break up sex, right? Gotta break 'em off for the last sensation of heaven before you send 'em to Hell."
Vegas shook his head. "Nah. I'm actually a virgin..."
"You a virgin?" Raja sounded astonished. "As cute as you are. You had a basketball career, you got a lil accent, too? How did nobody scoop you up?"
Vegas cracked a smile. "It's hard to find somebody out here who wants me for the real me and not just what I do. I guess that's why I push myself in different ventures until I find out what my true calling is. Then, maybe I'll find my true love."
"You believe in true love?"
"I do."
Vegas heard Raja scoff. He turned around as traffic was not moving. "You must believe in it too if you trying to share a piece of yourself with a nigga that don't deserve it, Miss."
"Love had me fucked up," Raja said. "You should keep your eyes on the road."
"There are routes worth traveling. I just believe the one you're going on ain't it."
"Oh, for real?"
"My name is Vegas and I drive for Uber. I know what the fuck I'm talking about."
"Cheesy ass," Raja snapped. "I'm about to put my earbuds back in if you're gonna fuck up my mood. I know what I'm doing, Mister."
Vegas smiled, turning back to the road. He noticed that traffic was moving. The rest of the ride was silent.
Now.
Vegas got a text message from Tron that was Raja's phone number. He remembered they were on their little date. Of course, Tron was going to make sure his date's homegirl was safe. He finally had Raja's phone number. Was it the way he wanted to get it? No.
Tron J: bro, pick up Raja for me and Rin. we watching a movie and she at her nigga house right now
Vegas texted Raja's number and described the situation. She chimed back almost 2 seconds after he sent the message.
Raja: thank you sm, veg. maybe u was right
Vegas knew how to give advice just because he saw Pete date and he knew Tron like the back of his hand. He saw everything he didn't want to be. If he was going to be a knight in shining armor, he was going to be smart about it. He was rational. That was often his downfall. Everyone else around him seemed to have selfish desires.
He took the back roads to avoid traffic to get to her. On the side of the private community gate, Raja was sitting against her luggage, her make up streaked down her cheeks. Vegas hopped out the driver seat and got her luggage, putting it in his trunk. "You wanna go home or do you wanna go on a ride for a bit?"
Raja wiped her eyes. "I think I don't wanna be alone right now."
Vegas nodded. "Alright. Well, we can go out on a ride. Let's get out of here."
He opened the door for her. She stepped into his passenger seat, immediately turning off her phone. Vegas jumped back into the driver's seat and pulled off.
