Free Going Nowhere (A Romantic Comedy Novella) by Kimberly Lauren Page B

cheeks, temples, and jawline. Finally, I smoothed on a neutral lipstick with a hint of shimmer. I was going for the difficult, not-trying-too-hard look.
    I grabbed some essentials and threw it all into a straw beach bag. I slipped on some leather sandals and ran out the door even though I wasn’t yet late.
    Truth be told, we were meeting in the casino, so I wasn’t concerned about being bored while I waited. Not that I thought I’d be that interested in playing. I mean, I’d never even been to Vegas. That sort of thing didn’t appeal to me.
    Five minutes later, I stood in front of a slot machine with a cup full of quarters. What can I say? The sparkly lights and jingly sounds were too persuasive to resist.
    I tried to get started, but pulling the arm was harder than I’d thought it would be. I fed my coins into the slot then heaved on it with all of my weight. The slots started to spin, but they stopped on three different symbols. I tried again. This time, when I pulled the arm, I realized that I could swing from it and it would still go down at the same slow rate. Sure, I didn’t work out that often, but I got my exercise. Whenever I went to Lincoln Road for ice cream, I walked the mall twice.
    An elderly woman approached the slot machine beside me and sat down on the vinyl-covered stool. She was four inches shorter than me, wearing a sequined jacket and shiny polyester pants. I covertly watched her take a quarter out of her cup and feed the machine. Then, without even breaking a sweat, she smoothly pulled down the arm. She watched the symbols until they stopped, then pulled again.
    Maybe I didn’t have the right position. I was standing up and she was sitting down. Maybe my center of gravity was off. I sat down on the stool and put another quarter in my machine. When I tried to pull the arm, it was out of reach. With my toes touching the floor, I managed to grab and pull as hard as I could. My hand slipped and I chipped my nail when it hit the machine.
    Super Granny laughed.
    Darn. I sucked my finger where the nail had broken off. I ought to quit while I was ahead. Just as I was about to stand up, taking my cup of quarters with me to use in a soda machine somewhere, Super Granny gave a whoop signifying that the symbols had lined up in her favor.
    I watched the coins tumble out of her machine, and then I looked back at my own machine in disgust. Sigh. Since I’d already broken a nail I might as well try to win something. I wouldn’t want my nail to have died in vain.
    Sticking three quarters into the slot one after another‌—‌I was increasing my payout if I won‌—‌I pulled the arm. Three different colored bars came up. The light on the top of the machine went on. A small handful of quarters came out of the machine.
    After literally jumping for joy, I counted my winnings. Four quarters. A dollar. That wouldn’t even buy one shoe at K-Mart. A half-hour later, I’d spent fifty dollars, won ten, and then lost it all.
    I was on my way to the ATM when I ran into Sam and Max.
    Max looked at my cup. “Doing some gambling?”
    I shrugged, trying to shield the evidence. “Oh, a little. I was bored.”
    “How much did you lose?”
    “Oh, I don’t know. Pocket change.” I dropped the cup onto a table, next to a couple empty glasses. “Ready to have some fun?”
    Sam grinned broadly. “What are you suggesting?”
    “Hmm, what would you like me to suggest?”
    Max stepped between us. “Can we go?”
    I winked at Sam behind Max’s back before leaving the casino, and he gave me a secretive smile in return.
    We made our way down to deck two along with many other passengers. Then we got in a quick moving line to leave the ship. St. Thomas was one of the ports of call where you could walk right off the ship and onto the dock.
    Sam immediately started to loudly greet passersby, saying many unintelligible things, thinking he was speaking Spanish.
    “Try ‘ hola ,’ Sam. It means hello.”
    “ Hola !” he said