My Bucket List

Chapter 10 - Ashton

"Sweets, look we're here," I said to Harlow when we pulled up to the Bellagio. She sat on the opposite side of me and was taking photos of everything. She was like a kid in a candy store the moment we got off the plane. She literally squealed once we landed at the airport and has been buzzing ever since. My body ached from being on a plane for 16 hours, followed by a 3 hour layover in Los Angeles and again on a 2 hour flight to get here. I was exhausted, but Harlow's excitement was contagious. We decided to ride in our own taxi and everyone else was in one of the other taxi vans, while another one carried all our luggage.

It was still early morning but the place was packed with tourists taking photos of the fountains and we had a good view of the Vegas strip. I couldn't wait to show Harlow what it looked like at night, the place would be breathtaking and I knew she would love it. I got out and came around Harlow's side to help her out. The other taxis arrived and MJ, Aurora and Harlow's friend Kristin all came rushing out and they did the whole huddle in a circle thing and started squealing, causing everyone to look in their direction. I just shook my head and went to tip our drivers while two of the hotel concierges came out to grab our bags and haul them onto their trolleys.

Xander made his way over to me shaking his head at the girls antics. "Thanks for paying for this trip Ash. Aurora hasn't been able to sit still since we left Auckland."

"Tell me about it, Harlow hasn't stopped thanking me since we got on the plane. Now I can't get her to stop pointing out different monuments. She got excited over a billboard with puppies. Puppies!" I said in exasperation. Harlow was literally excited about every little thing. The whole car ride she kept pointing out random things and taking photos. It was so damn funny.

"Aiden had the same problem with MJ. Kristin seems to be the most level headed one of the group, but that's probably cause she's already been here." Xander and I watched as the girls made their way in front of the hotel sign and took selfies. They were such a crazy bunch. It made me happy that I'd invited the girls to join us on this trip, Harlow was already having a blast.

"When do you think Gideon's gonna get here? I haven't seen or heard from him in a while," Xander asked me.

"His flight should be here soon. I know Harlow's dying to see him, even though she's spoken to him almost every day this week."

"Mum wants me to take photos with him so that she knows he's alive and well," Xander joked.

"I know what you mean. She's been asking me about Gideon all week. Harlow's been filling her in on all things Gideon related, so she's not on my case too much," I told him. Mums been going nuts having not seen Gideon since he left 6 months ago. When I told her he'd be joining us on our trip she was so excited. She tried to hijack our trip but dad talked her out of spoiling our little getaway.

"Come on, let's go check in. Tell Aiden to keep an eye on the girls and let's get our key cards," I said following the concierges as they made their way into the hotel lobby.

"It looks like they're going to be a while," Xander said making his way over to Aiden.

I walked up to the front desk and gave them my information. I managed to get Harlow and I their last Executive Hospitality suites, which we could use as the party room because it had its own spa, pool, pool table, gaming lounge and we could get a bar tender to serve drinks if we needed. I got key cards for the 3 bedroom presidential suite that I got for everyone else. Aiden and MJ would be in 1 room, Xander and Aurora in another and Kristin in her own. Gideon got his own room on the same floor as the others but wanted his own privacy. I had a feeling he wanted to bring chicks over. Once I got all our keys, I tipped the concierges and told them to take our bags up to our rooms and told them which bags go into which rooms. They were happy with the tip I gave them and walked towards the elevators with huge grins on their faces. I looked towards the door to see if anyone was coming and didn't see any sign of them, so I made my way back outside. I found them all huddled in front of the fountain taking photos. Harlow spotted me and called me over.