I Left My Heart In Vegas

The Beginning Of The End

Just breathe, Melissa. Breathe. I was still holding tightly to Bree's hand. I could feel her trying to pry her hand away. "Mel, you're hurting me." Bree said. I quickly realized, and released her hand. I looked back to the door, Aaron walked out, but he was alone. I was disappointed when I didn't see Zak, but I was also somewhat relieved. Now, I had a few more moments to relax. Aaron approached us with a shake of his head.
"I didn't see him. He's probably busy or he hasn't made it here yet." Aaron said. "Hold on, I'll give him a call." Aaron reached for his cell phone, and I quickly grasped his arm.
"No, it's alright. You don't need to bother him."
"Alright, well, you guys ready to go in?"
Bree jumped up and down, and clapped with excitement. My attitude towards entering was quite different. I couldn't understand why I was still so apprehensive. If Zak was busy, I didn't have to worry about meeting him yet. But maybe, that wasn't the reason. Maybe, it was the strong energy I felt emanating off the building. Maybe, it was the loud, obnoxious screams of the fan girls out front. Whatever the reason, I wasn't ready. "Actually, I think I need to chill out here for a minute." I said, with a bow of my head.
"Come on, Mel. You've been waiting for this for so long." Bree urged.
"No, I know. I'm just not feeling very well. It's probably from the hangover. It's okay, you guys can go in. I just need a few minutes." Bree frowned, and looked to Aaron. He took her hand, and lead her into the museum. I stood beside the car for a moment, until I saw the big, shady tree standing tall in the lawn beside me.
I walked through the freshly cut grass, and made my way to the tree. My body was tired already from the extreme heat of Vegas. I was the type of girl who preferred cool autumn weather, and would rather sit in the a/c than sweat to death outside in the summer. I leaned against the tree, and anxiously waited for the next cool breeze to come by. As I felt the wind run through my hair, I rested my head on the bark. I closed my eyes, and inhaled deeply, and I finally did it. My nerves were calmed. Suddenly, my moment of peace was interrupted by the loud roar of a car engine. The sound came closer and closer, and I could feel the vibration in the ground underneath my feet. I heard a car door shut, but I kept my eyes closed, and ignored the sound. "Excuse me? Are you alright?" My heart stopped. I knew that voice. I didn't have to go looking for Zak after all, he found me.
I opened my eyes, and slowly turned. There he was, Zak Bagans, walking closer and closer to me, until we were face to face. Even though, I had clearly heard his question, I couldn't find the words to answer. I just stared at him with my jaw dropped. "Are you alright? Can I help you with anything?" He asked again. This time, with a soft touch to my arm. I felt tingles shoot through my skin, causing the hair on my arms to stand. I could feel myself making a strange expression and I finally cleared my dry throat, and spoke.
"Yes, Im fine. I just, um..." My words were stuttering together, and I continued to tell myself to just stay calm. "...I just couldn't find the strength to walk in there yet."
"Oh, yeah, it's a little frightening at first." Zak narrowed his eyebrows, and looked at me intently. "Have we met before?"
"No, we haven't but I'm a big fan of yours. I'm Melissa." As he took my hand, I immediately felt that strong connection I had been waiting for.
"Zak."
"Yeah, I know." I said, with a laugh.
"That's it. I know where I know you." Zak took his cell out of his pocket, and opened my profile on his twitter. "I retweeted your tweet." I couldn't believe he actually recognized me. He saw thousands of fans on twitter every day, why would he remember my face?
"Oh, yeah, that's me." My face was now a lovely shade of pink.
"You were so excited about coming to my museum and now, you're just going to stand outside? Are you here alone?"
"No, actually, I'm here with my best friend Bree and Aaron."
"This Aaron wouldn't be a boyfriend, would he?"
"No, Aaron, as in your co-worker, actually. We met him on the strip the other day, and him and Bree kind of hit it off."
"Oh, well, that's good. That guy needs to get laid. Keep him from staying at home playing with his toys." I laughed, and Zak reached his hand out. I was hesitant to take it. I moved the hair out of my face, as another strong wind brushed against me. "I would like to show you around the museum, if that's alright with you?"
"Yeah, that sounds great." Finally, I took his hand, and he lead me into the museum.
As I walked through the door, I was immediately overwhelmed by the large amount of guests walking around. Thank fully, no fan girls had spotted Zak yet. "What room did you want to see?" Zak asked.
"The puppet room."
"Nice. My kind of girl." His words made the soft pink on my face grow to a solid red. We entered the puppet room, and I was surprised to see Aaron and Bree looking at all of the clown marionettes hanging from the ceiling. Bree turned, and her jaw dropped to the floor when she saw my hand in Zak's. "Hey, bro!" Zak said, as he walked to Aaron. "I'm guessing that makes you Bree." Even though, Bree was completely devoted to Aaron, she still blushed as Zak took her hand.
"He's not so bad is he?" Aaron asked me. Thank you, Aaron, for making me blush even more. Zak gave me that confident grin, and I felt my heart flutter.
"Were you afraid to meet me or something?"
"No, of course...."
"Terrified." Bree interrupted. I wasn't even upset that Bree gave me away. All I could focus on was Zak's muscles showing through his tight black shirt, and his beautiful bright smile. The way he looked at me sent chills throughout my entire body. I always knew meeting him was going to be great, but I never thought it would be this magical. Suddenly, Zak's security guard peaked his head in the doorway.
"Mr. Bagans, there's a woman waiting for you up front."
"Did she give a name?"
"Nope, just that it was important."
"Alright, I'll be right back." Zak gave me a casual wink, as he walked out. Bree was finally able to let out her excitement. She rushed to me, and gave me a hug. She held on so tight, I couldn't lift my arms to hug her back.
"Oh, my god, he totally likes you!"
"Bree, calm down, we just met."
"I could tell by the way he was looking at you." She looked to Aaron, hoping he would confirm Zak's love for me. Aaron had absolutely nothing to say. In fact, he made it a point to avoid the conversation by turning, and looking at more puppets. "Okay? Well, let's go to a different room."
Bree, Aaron, and I left the room and walked towards the front of the museum. My smile was the biggest it had been the entire trip. That was until, I saw something I wasn't prepared to see. Zak was standing out of sight in a dark corner, but he wasn't alone. I felt like I was going to be sick when I saw a slim blonde woman wrapping her hands around Zak's waist. His hands wrapped around the back of her neck, and he pulled her closer to his mouth. Their lips met. Once Bree and Aaron saw what I was focused on, Aaron closed his eyes, as if he couldn't face what he had already knew what was bound to happen.
Well, the magic is gone.