Adam leans toward me and kisses me with a passion that awakens a familiar arousal in my body.

He stands, picks up a bottle of wine, and takes my hand. I follow him after scooping up a wine glass from the table. He leads me to a set of glass doors leading to a balcony attached the back of his living room. It opens up to a jacuzzi surrounded by little white lights. Soft music plays from speakers set into all four corners of the balcony.

“Did you planned this?” I ask with a grin.

“I had my hopes.”

Adam closes in on me after setting the wine down. His arms wrap around my body, pulling me close and arousing me quickly. He covers my lips with his and deepens his kiss, his tongue pushing through and exploring my mouth. I moan. My pussy is beginning to pulsate.

I feel his hands peel my dress from my body. As soon as he pulls it over my head, I run to the jacuzzi and jump in, hollering as I leap off the side.

He chuckles and watches when I come up and wipe the water from my face. I’m smiling at my spontaneity until he unbuckles his pants and removes them, along with his boxers. His eyes lock onto mine as his cock protrudes toward me, begging for my touch. I wipe beads of hot water from my face and I watch him get into the steamy water while the jets force bubbles up around me.

Adam pins me to the side of the tub and pulls my bra from my chest. He hungrily devours me from mouth to neck. His teeth graze my skin and I want him to bite down and leave a mark. I clench my teeth together and grunt as I pull him into me. He sucks my nipple into his mouth causing an electric jolt to shock me with each flick of his tongue. I wrap my legs around his side and pull his face into my chest, letting out a little moan.

“It should be against the law to be so sexy,” he growls. His tongue swirls around my breast, making goosebumps form along the sides. He lowers himself in front of me, his face almost going under the water. He fumbles around my waist and pulls my underwear down my legs.

Adam lifts me up until I am sitting on the side of the tub. The combination of cool night air and wet skin gets me shivering. My breath catches when he looks up at me and smiles seductively. His hands slide between my knees and push me open. He moves his mouth to my pussy, where his tongue explores further. The touch of his tongue on my clit electrifies me and I suck in my next breath, throwing my head back and opening my legs for him. I move my hips toward him as he licks slowly, increasing the pressure that leads to arousal.

His fingers enter inside and he starts to stroke me. I can hardly catch a breath. I lower myself into the water and wrap my legs around him until I feel his cock push into me. My arms slither around his neck and I fuck him. I ride him hard and fast as the water splashes and bubbles around us.

My orgasm explodes inside me and I throw my head back, grinding against him until he grunts repeatedly and slams into me, filling me with everything he has.

I lay my head on his shoulder and try to calm down. I smile and caress his chest. I want more.

He climbs out of the tub and offers me a towel, wrapping it around me when I climb up out of the heated water. Steam wafts from my skin.

“Shall we continue this inside?” he asks, picking up the wine.

“Absolutely.”

We walk through the glass door with our arms around each other. Just inside the door, he cups my face and kisses me, hesitating with his lips on mine.

“Come here.” He takes my hand and pulls me into his bedroom and onto his bed. His arms wrap around me and he lays there, holding me, not moving, not talking, just being. It feels so good. I close my eyes to enjoy the moment.

I wake up when the alarm on my phone starts shrieking at me. I sit up reluctantly and slide my finger across the screen to silence it.

Next to me, Adam stirs and rolls over. When I look at his chiseled, handsome face with that gorgeous smile, and run my eyes down his body, remembering how ours were pressed together the night before, a single thought runs through my mind.

I don’t want to leave.

But our flight leaves in a few hours, and the girls will be wondering where I went. I doubt any of them will even remember me sneaking out in the night. They’ll be desperate for gossip on the flight home.

Adam sits up beside me and strokes the small of my back with his palm. “Is everything all right?”

“My flight leaves soon. I have to meet the girls.”

He frowns as he watches me scan the room, trying to remember where I left my scattered clothes. He takes me gently by the arm and runs his thumb softly over my inner wrist. He looks up at me with an unreadable expression. “I’m here for another two weeks, you know. If you want to extend your vacation, you can hang on to that keycard a little longer and stay with me.”

I stop in my tracks and stare at him. Was he really inviting me to spend more time with him? The thought makes my blood run faster and my heart pump wildly. I instantly picture more days of intimate dinners, laughter over brunch, long walks down the strip, and nights filled with the most amazing, mind-blowing, toe-curling sex.

I start speaking before I know what I’m saying. “I can’t.” I place my feet down on the thick carpet and stand up, letting the covers drop away from my skin. Adam watches me as I reach for his complimentary robe hanging on a hook on his ensuite door. I wrap it around myself while I search for my clothes.

“Because the girls are expecting you to travel back with them? I think they’re old enough to get through the flight alone.”

I look back at him, raising an eyebrow in mild annoyance. “It’s a bit more than that, Adam. I’ve paid for a return ticket which is non-refundable. If I don’t go now, I’ll have to get a new flight. I’ve got work on Monday, too. I’ve already been gone for a week. There’s going to be mountains of things to catch up on.”

Adam draws his legs up and leans forward on his knees. “I get it.” He sighs heavily and drops back down onto the pillows, staring at the ceiling. “You’ve got to admit one thing, though. We would have had an incredible time.”

“We did have an incredible time.” I step back into my sequined dress, foregoing the pantyhose and pulling stilettos onto my bare feet. I pick up my clutch purse and walk back to the bed, leaning over Adam and kissing him on the lips one more time. “I’ll never forget this vacation.”

“Who knows? Maybe we’ll meet in Vegas again sometime.”

I smile sadly. “Yeah, maybe.”

Like you’ll ever go to Vegas again. You know you’re on a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

“Anyway, Adam, I really do have to go. I enjoyed this.” I don’t know how to say goodbye. What is this, anyway?

Adam offers me a resigned smile. “Me, too. If you change your mind, you have my keycard.”

But I don’t. I put it on the sideboard already.

“Sure. And if you’re ever in Illinois, you have my number.”

“Let’s hope we see each other again.”

He steps out of bed to see me to the door. We share a brief, awkward kiss. We haven’t spent enough time together to have formed any kind of real relationship, but what time we’ve had has been unforgettable. It leaves us in a strange limbo where we’re parting not as friends, but not as lovers either.

I walk slowly to the elevator, and as I descend flights to the third floor, my stomach drops. Tears are rising behind my eyes.

Stupid girl. Why are you crying? You hardly know the man. Right?

Adam is just a vacation fling, but it seems like I’ve known him much longer than only a few days. It’s funny how someone can walk into your life for the briefest of moments and make you aware of a lost piece in your life you hadn’t realized was missing.

I arrive back to my room and let myself inside. All three girls are waiting, packed, and sitting on the bed. They look relieved when I walk in.

“Laura!” Hannah gasps. “Where have you been?”

I waggle my eyebrows.

“Laura!” she exclaims, even louder, “Why didn’t you tell us where you were going?”

“I tried to say something. At the time, the three of you were trying to take pictures lying on a bed of money.”

The girls giggle.

“Check these out, though,” Amy says. She hands me her phone, which is open to a set of pictures taken the night before. They start out with the four of us sitting in the bar, holding our giant cocktails. The photos progress to the Whitney show with our arms in the air and end with a series of Instagram-worthy shots of Hannah, Naomi, and Amy sprawled across their casino winnings with faces smeared with lipstick and mascara, suggesting a tale of a messy evening.

I laugh. “It was a good night, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, it was,” Amy agrees. “Maybe a better night for some of us than others.”

“Are you going to tell us about your night with Adam?” Naomi urges. “Did you bid each other a passionate lovers’ farewell?”

I sit down on the edge of the bed and look down at the floor. In the corner of the room, my case is zipped up with only a few toiletries left to throw inside before I’m ready to walk away from this marvelous, magical place.

“It was actually pretty awkward,” I say.

“You didn’t have a good time?” Hannah asks.

“I had the best time. But when it came time to say goodbye, we didn’t know what to do. I should have left everything as a one-night-stand. A second night makes it feel different.”

Hannah sits down beside me and pats my knee kindly. “That’s because you like him, sweetie. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“He invited me to stay with him for the next couple of weeks while he’s in Vegas on business.”

The girls’ eyes grow wide. Amy and Naomi drop to their knees in front of me and kneel eagerly with upturned faces like children listening to a fairy tale.

“What are you going to do?” Amy asks. She was toying with a strand of her long blonde hair before we began talking, but suddenly she’s stopped dead still, holding the lock taught as she waits for me to reply.

I shrug. “Go home, I guess.”

“What?” Naomi’s body slumps in disappointment. “Why?”

“You sound like him!” I laugh. “I’ve got to get back to work. Back to my mom. Back to Illinois.”

Hannah scoffs. “Screw that. I can run the business while you’re here. I mean, Adam’s still going to have to work, right? You can do your graphic design from the hotel while he’s doing his hospital tours. Send me over the files when you’re done. I can manage the rest.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“Are you kidding me?” Hannah shifts her weight on the bed so she’s turned to face me, and her expression becomes as stern as a teacher’s. “When I got laid off, you didn’t hesitate to take me on, even when you were still starting out and didn’t really have the money for a full-time employee. You helped me keep my apartment and hold my life together. I’m not going to complain if you ask me to hold the reins for a couple of weeks.”

“Hannah.”

“You deserve this, Laura. Come on. Chances like this don’t come along very often. This is the first vacation you’ve had in years and the first guy you’ve so much as glanced at since graduation. It’s okay to take a breather. Step back and enjoy life for a moment.”

“She’s right, Laura,” Amy chips in. “Some time away would do you a world of good.”

“So would a bit of rough and tumble,” Naomi adds. “You need this.”

I look from one eager face to the next. I’m amazed three grown women could be urging me to do something crazy and uninhibited.

“Girls! I hardly know the guy.”

“For now,” Hannah says. “If you stay, you’ll get to know him.”

“Or at least have a bit of fun,” Naomi says.

Amy grips onto my kneecaps earnestly. “If worst comes to worst, you stay a couple days, then fly out.”

“I’ve already paid for a return ticket.”

Hannah frowns. “You act like you’re a pauper, Laura. Your company’s doing better than ever. There’s money to spare. The problem is that you don’t give yourself permission to spend a dime on yourself.”

She’s talking about Mom.

I hesitate. “I don’t know.”

“Do it,” Amy urges.

Naomi nods. “Go on, Laura. Live a little.”

“You deserve it,” Hannah repeats. “I promise to keep things going while you’re away. I’ll check in on your mom. I’ll transfer money over for you — or her — if you need it. We’ll have a call in the morning each day to make sure everything’s running smoothly.” She lifts her eyebrows beseechingly and purposefully catches my eye. “I’ve got this.”

“You don’t think it’s completely insane?”

Amy laughs. “Of course it is, but you only live once.”

I bite down on my lip, looking down at Amy with a guilty expression. “You don’t think I’d be the worst friend ever if I stayed? I already feel bad enough for spending two nights with Adam as it is. This vacation was supposed to be about you.”

“And I’ve had the best time,” Amy insists. “But it’s over now. You have my full blessing to be here. I want you to stay.”

Naomi smiles. “The bride insists.”