In the glamorous hotel of The Golden Nugget, the casino was full of lively people with alcohol on their breath and adrenaline from the excitement of gambling, running through their blood. She felt as if it were a dream. Life was easy, and she was having the time of her life. Samantha was glued to the slot machine with a bucket of quarters in her lap and a chocolate martini at her side.
“Woooo common baby! I need 3 of a kind! Commmmon!” Samantha slammed the lever down and the machine started to spin for about the twentieth time. Two bananas and an apple appeared. “There we go, we’re getting there! Now I want three of a kind baby, not two.” She petted her slot machine like a new born pup hoping that making sweet talk would help her win the jackpot. She slid in quarter number twenty-one. “Twenty one is my lucky number! Common baby, you can do it!” The slots spun and spun and spun. It seemed to Samantha that it was taking longer then usual for them to stop. She stared intensely at it, until one apple, then two apples appeared. The third slot kept spinning and Samantha’s heart was beating out of control. Then it stopped. What appeared on the slot, Samantha could not fathom. Could this be real? Am I dreaming? At that moment, the fact that there was an apple on the third slot, all Samantha thought of was the million-dollar jackpot she just won.
“AHHHHHH!! Ahhh! Ah!!!” Samantha screamed uncontrollably as the machine ringed and sirens went off, indicating she had just won. Everyone around her clapped and hollered for her. Two guys behind her brought out a big check, almost the size of her, that read, “ONE MILLION DOLLARS”. Samantha grabbed it, held on to it tight, and smiled for the cameras.
It’s been three weeks since Samantha won a million dollars in Vegas. She had already moved to Malibu and bought a beach house. Along with the house, she purchased her self a new bright red mustang. Everyday she took a stroll down the beach dressed in a bikini and a light cover up. There were many handsome studs on the beach of Malibu and Samantha did her best to impress them. One guy in particular, who’s name she learned was Jack, always gave her a wave as she walked past him and his friends playing volleyball. Jack was a typical surfer dude with sun bleached hair and a chiseled body. Samantha felt gutsy and decided to ask him out.
“Hey Jack!...um I was just wondering if you wanted to grab some coffee sometime?”
“That sounds great, I would love to! How bout today at 7? I’ll pick you up and we can grab some dinner too.”
Samantha, a little to excitedly, accepted his offer and headed back to her house. Later that evening Samantha bought a brand new dress for her date that night. She curled her hair and put her makeup on, wanting to impress Jack. He arrived at exactly 7pm and took her to a fancy Italian restaurant.
“Wow Jack, this is really nice!”
“Anything for a beautiful lady like you.”
Samantha blushed. Jack ordered for her since he was a regular at this restaurant. They dined on steamed clams, chicken parmesan, and the best gelato she ever had. This was no ordinary relationship Samantha and Jack had. This was true love. Over the past few weeks, Jack had taken Samantha went out every weekend to a new restaurant each time. She knew she was in love and he was the one. Their relationship went on for exactly one year until he took her out again to the same Italian restaurant they went to on their first date.
“Samantha, we’ve been going out for exactly one year now and I love you.”
“I love you too Jack.”
“So I need to ask you something.” He stood up, reached in his pocket and pulled out a small black box. Jack kneeled down on one knee and opened the box. Inside was the most beautiful ring Samantha had ever seen.
“Samantha White, Will you marry me?”
“Oh Jack, of course I will!” Samantha started crying tears and Jack gave her a kiss. This was the happiest moment of her life. Samantha embraced Jack and didn’t want to let go. This was her life now, and she loved it.
Samantha felt a cold breeze on her body as she awoke. The cardboard box she lay on gave her a sharp pain in her back. Her stomach growled for Samantha had not eaten a meal in two days. She looked around her; the streets were bare, and the early morning grew lighter. Another dream, she thought to her self. She knew it was too good to be true. Lying back down on her cardboard box, one of the few things she owned, Samantha desperately tried to go back to sleep. She wanted nothing more then to dream of her perfect world. Anything was better than her life on the streets.