I Left My Heart In Vegas

First Date Tickles

            I'd be lying if I said I wasn't apprehensive about giving Zak another chance, but something inside of me told me to let my guard down. His words seemed genuine. I did truly believe that he was sorry for the way he acted. This was all just unbelievable to me. Aaron and Bree actually falling for each other? Zak Bagans actually liking me? I felt like I needed to give myself a good pinch to wake myself from this crazy dream, but it was all too real.
            Zak had insisted that I go to dinner with him. He wanted to get to know me one on one, without Aaron and Billy in the way. At first I was hesitant, I felt more comfortable when I was in a group. That way I could pull Bree aside if I needed a second opinion. Then I realized, I wouldn't have Bree by my side for the rest of my life. She was much too involved with Aaron anyway, to care about my personal issues. Bree pushed and pushed until I agreed to go to dinner with Zak. Honestly, I think she just wanted alone time with Aaron.
           As I sat in the passenger seat of Zak's sports car, I giggled as I felt the vibration of his engine underneath me. Zak looked at me with curiosity. "What's so funny?" He asked.
           "Your car tickles." Zak couldn't help but chuckle at my reply. He had never heard any woman describe his car in such a way. Usually, they would just flip their long blonde hair, and say how "totally hot" the car was.
            "I can honestly say that's the first time I've ever heard that." Zak continued his laughter.
            As we arrived to our destination, Zak rushed to my car door, and offered his hand. I gently placed my hand in his, and he guided me to the door of the restaurant. By the looks of this place, I knew it had to be expensive. I paused, and gave a soft tug to his arm. "Zak, this place looks pricey." I said, never being accustomed to fancy places like this. My idea of a date was a cheap movie, no popcorn of course because that's too expensive, and a dinner at Taco Bell.
            "Are you being serious?" Zak gave me that cocky grin of his. "It's not a problem, I promise."
            As he opened the door, and pulled me along, I gasped as I saw the gorgeous chandeliers swaying from the high ceilings. Everything seemed to be wrapped in gold, including, the lovely people dining. The hostess quickly greeted Zak with a shake of his hand, and gave me a subtle wink. "Mr. Bagans, it's so nice to see you again. On a date, are we? Might I say she is quite lovely." He gently lifted my hand, and gave me a soft peck. The gesture caused me to blush I smiled back at the kind man. "I will have a table for you right away."
            "Thank you." Zak said.
            Zak could see the nervousness in my eyes, as I continued to look around at all the wealthy individuals dining on their steak and lobster. At almost every table, there was an older gentleman with a young woman sitting right beside them. This was Vegas after all, a man could pay top dollar for a beautiful escort to show him the time of his life.
            Zak offered me his arm, and I locked mine around his, as the lovely man guided us to our table. Zak pulled out my chair for me like a true gentleman. I wasn't surprised by the comfort in the chair and the fact that we had fresh roses placed in the center of our table. I was however surprised on how casual Zak was acting, as if he had done this before. How many girls has he taken here? Was I just another stop on his journey of being a bachelor? Zak grew concerned when I didn't look up from the roses. "Melissa, are you alright?" Zak asked. I finally snapped out of my thought, and looked up at him.
            "Oh, yes, of course. It's just...everything is so beautiful here."
            "Yeah, I love coming here." You mean you love spoiling all of your dates here? Best way to convince them of sealing the deal? "They literally have the best seafood in this city." Zak continued, but couldn't help to see the same concerned look, caused by my thought. "Melissa, just tell me what's wrong." Zak urged.
            "I'm sorry, I know I seem a thousand miles away right now. I just....I don't want to be another notch on your belt." I confessed, as Zak bowed his head.
            "I know that you think I'm some kind of monster that only uses women for one thing, and to be honest, yes that's usually how I am, but if I didn't really like you, I wouldn't have tried so hard. I wouldn't have apologized."
            "So, you've never taken girls here before?" I asked with a curl of my brow. Zak smirked, and looked down at his plate. The way he avoided me told me he was guilty, and I couldn't help but laugh. "Uh huh, that's what I thought."
            "Okay, okay, I've taken dates here before, but that doesn't mean anything. I just really like their food." Zak laughed. Okay, Mr. Bagans, you're quite the charmer.
            I was overwhelmed, Zak ordered almost every seafood item on the menu. We had plates filled with lobster, crab, and clams covering our table. Which, didn't bother me much. Zak was right, the food here was absolutely to die for. I was, however, shocked by how many questions Zak was asking. Where'd you grow up? How many siblings do you have? What's your favorite movie, book, music, etc? He wanted to know everything about me. It finally made it all clear to me, you don't act like this if you only want to sleep with someone. But maybe that was his plan all along? I wish I could just shut my mind off and enjoy myself.
            "You know, this date didn't go exactly how I thought it would." Zak confessed. My heart sank. The only thing that entered my already paranoid mind was, what did I do wrong? I should've never asked about his other dates. Finally, I built up the courage and got some answers.
            "How did you think it would go?"
            "Honestly, every girl I go out with only talks about one thing." With his best bimbo impersonation, Zak explained. "Oh, Zak, you're so hot on tv. Oh, Zak, your cars are amazing. Oh, Zak, I love your muscles and your money. Blah, blah, blah." Zak proceeded to pretend to flip his hair, and give me an obnoxious grin. I couldn't hold back my laughter. "You're different. I think that's why I was attracted to you so quickly. Even just looking at your picture, I saw something in you that I didn't see in other women." I could feel the heat in my cheeks, as I began to blush, but I quickly became concerned, as Zak's smiled slowly faded. "Thank you." He said softly.
            "For what?"
            "For treating me like a human being."