“And at best?” I found myself asking.
“At best we’ll hit it off,” said Brody slyly. “At which point the three of us will head up to your room…”
My legs crossed. My body stiffened.
“… and have even more fun together.”
There was another moment of silence. I felt queasy. Almost nauseous. At the same time though, my whole body trembled with an almost electric excitement.
“Lauren?” the voice at the other end of the phone asked. “You still there?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
I swallowed hard. Took the leap.
“Okay. I’ll do it.”
My shoulders slumped as the words dropped from my lips. It was a good feeling. Like all the pressure had finally been taken away.
“Excellent!” said Brody. “Corey and I will be looking forward to it.” I could practically feel hi
m smiling from the other end of the phone. “Let’s say nine-thirty?”
“Nine-thirty,” I repeated. “One drink.”
“Of course,” said Brody cheerfully. He paused for another moment. “Where are you staying?”
“The Bellagio.”
“Ah, you went big,” said Brody. “Very cool.”
I glanced through my bedroom doorway, into the main area of our multi-bedroom suite. Everything was all polished marble and deep-pile carpeting. Decor that might be considered gaudy anywhere other than Las Vegas, like the gold-leaf accents on the finely-paneled walls.
If only you knew how big, I thought to myself.
“There’s a lounge downstairs,” Brody was saying, “called the Lily. Do you know it?”
I actually knew it well. The girls and I had had drinks there just about every night, before going out.
“Yes,” I replied.
“We’ll meet you down there, then. At the bar.”
“O—Okay,” I said, trying to rally some confidence. “Sounds good.”
“And Lauren?”
“Yes?”
“Relax,” Corey chuckled gently. “This is going to be fun.”
Three
LAUREN
It was one of those days that seemed to last forever, but then ended abruptly, all at once.