Coda 03 -The Letter Z

right?” Matt says to Zach and me. “It’s because he can’t cheat in Vegas.”
Jared just smiles and doesn’t say a word.
    We get out onto the Strip and start walkin’. First intersection, there’s a bunch of guys handin’ out little cards. One of them shoves one in front of me, and I hear Zach say, “You don’t want that,” but it’s too late. I already grabbed it, and when I turn it over, I ’bout drop it again.
    “What the fuck?” I ask. “They can’t hand out pictures of naked chicks!”

    “Apparently,” Jared says to me, “they can.”
    I hand it to Matt. “Think they meant to give this to you,” I say, and he just laughs.
They decide we’re goin’ to New York, New York for dinner. Jared wants a hot dog. Zach and Matt give him a hard time ’bout comin’ all the way to Vegas just to get a fuckin’ hot dog, but he’s made up his mind. I could care less where we go or what we eat. It’s all new to me. I’m so busy lookin’ ’round I’m not watchin’ where I’m goin’. I keep bumpin’ into people, and I’ve totally lost track of whatever the others are talkin’ ’bout. I know they’re laughin’ at me a little. At this point, I don’t even care. In the end, I grab onto the back of Zach’s jacket and just trail along behind him like a little kid, with my eyes huge and unbelieving.
“Is that a roller coaster?” I ask when we get to New York, New York. I don’t get a chance to ride roller coasters very often, but I fuckin’ love ’em. “Can we ride it?” I ask.
    “Hell, yes!” Jared says, but Zach looks skeptical.
    “We better do that before we eat,” he says, and he already looks a little bit green. So we ride the roller coaster first. I ’bout have a coronary when I see how much it costs, but we do it anyway. Twice. Then we have dinner and a couple of drinks.
    “What now?” Jared asks.

    “The Bellagio,” Zach says, lookin’ at me. “Now that it’s dark, I want Ang to see the fountains.”
    I got no clue what fountains he’s talkin’ ’bout or how they can be that interesting, ’specially in the dark. But I follow ’em back north and we stop at The Bellagio. There’s a little manmade lake in front of it and they all stop and lean against the stone railing there, just starin’ at that stupid lake. I try to see what’s so great ’bout it. I mean, yeah, the hotel is kinda cool, but I’m thinkin’ the one behind us with the Eiffel Tower stickin’ up out of it looks more interestin’. And I’m wonderin’ if the fountain he’s talkin’ ’bout is inside or what.
    Like he’s readin’ my mind Zach says, “Just wait.”
So I wait.
Shoulda known Zach knew what he was talkin’ ’bout.
    The fountains start, and I’m in awe. It’s that stupid song out of Titanic , and I always thought it was cheesy before. Kinda hate to admit that those fountains might make me change my mind. But there’s jets of water with lights in ’em, and it’s like they’re dancin’. Don’t know how somethin’ so simple can be so beautiful, but it is. Even after it ends, I’m just starin’ at that lake. I turn to find Zach smilin’ down at me.
    “This is my favorite part of Vegas,” I say.
“It’s the only thing you’ve seen.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I tell him. “It’s still my favorite part.” Eventually we get back to the room. I strip down to my boxers and
    T-shirt and lay down on one of the beds. The others all slept on the drive over, but I didn’t. I’m exhausted.
    At home, I still fall asleep in my own bed most nights. That’s why Zach asked for two beds. He was tryin’ to make sure I still had space if I needed it. Bedtime is when that stupid bird in my chest acts up the most. At some point in the night I always wake up and wander into Zach’s room, like a little kid crawlin’ into his parents’ bed when he’s scared. Half the time I don’t even remember doin’ it. Sometimes, I come home late from my job at the grocery store so tired I don’t even get undressed. I just fall down on my bed and fall asleep fully clothed. Then I wake up after a bit and leave a trail of clothes down the hallway from my bed to his. He always wakes up enough to pull me against him. He fits against me just right. We usually drift off again for a while. An hour or two later I might wake him up by pushin’ back against his groin, or goin’ down on him. Or he might wake me up as he pushes me onto my stomach and pushes into me. However it happens, it’s my