Cuddling in bed, Katrina asked how far it was to Las Vegas. "The signs said that Nevada is pretty much just right over there, right?"

"Yeah, we're about five hundred yards from Nevada right now," I agreed. "But we're nowhere near Las Vegas. If it's casinos you want, there are a bunch of them at the other end of the lake, or we could drop down to Reno, which is reasonably close."

"What's Reno like?"

"It's mostly like a normal town with a handful of casinos. It's not really like Las Vegas at all. None of the casinos are anything special."

"How long would it take us to drive to Vegas?" Katrina asked.

"Well, maybe six hours? Seven? I'm not sure, exactly. But the thing is, it's July, and the desert will be really hot. It might be a hundred and ten degrees in Las Vegas, and certainly not a lot cooler on the road there," I cautioned. "The road does go right by Death Valley, after all."

"Death Valley? Really?" Katrina asked, intrigued. "What's it like?"

"I've never actually been there," I admitted. "But from what I understand, it's a valley. A valley of death."

"You!" Katrina exclaimed, pinching my side. "But seriously, can we check it out?"

"Well, the car does have a kick-ass air conditioning system…" I mused.

"Let's do it! Let's drive through Death Valley on our way to Las Vegas!" Katrina said, growing excited. She threw a leg over me and climbed up, straddling me, her hands on the pillow on either side of my head. "I don't care how late we get in- maybe later is even better, right? Vegas will be all lit up and everything! You said it would be O.K. for me to fly out of someplace other than San Francisco, right? We can spend our last day in Vegas and party like rock stars!"

Amused, I said, "I have a story about rock- well, O.K., dance pop, but close enough- stars and Las Vegas parties for you."

I slid my hands up the outside of her thighs, to rest on her hips. "I'm gonna need a little bit more persuasion, though…"

"Please please please!" Katrina said.

"Maybe something a bit less verbal?"

"Boobs?" Katrina suggested, moving herself up so that her breasts, corralled by her arms, squished against my face.

"That's a good start," I agreed as best I could while greedily sucking on said mammaries.

One thing led to another and soon enough we were engaged in a tickle battle royale, which only ended when Katrina slipped off the side of the bed and fell to the floor with a loud thump. I was a lot more concerned than she was, but it did take the wind out of our sails.

Back to spooning calmly, Katrina took my hand and used it to cup her breast. "You really do like these things, don't you?" she asked.

Running my thumb over the soft, soft skin, I agreed that yes, they were among the best things ever.

"I mean mine in specific," she said.

"Please don't tell Emmy," I replied, "But yours are the nicest I've ever had the pleasure of, well, enjoying, I guess," I said. "They're pretty much perfect."

"I can just imagine that conversation. 'Hey, Emmy, Leah says my tits are nicer than yours!' Yeah, that's not a sentence that will ever come from my mouth."

"Good," I agreed, giving her breast a gentle squeeze. "But really, what would probably happen is that she would demand proof."

"A tit-off?" Katrina laughed.

"Boobapalooza!" I countered.

We came up with a few more like that until we ran out of ideas and basically just dissolved into laughter.

Once we calmed down, Katrina said, "I still don't really understand what it is you and Emmy have going on. I mean, really, why am I the one in bed with you right now, anyway? You told me you two don't have an open relationship."

"It's… complicated," I said. "But basically, it boils down to Emmy not thinking she's enough for me and encouraging me to find someone to, um, God, I don't even know how to say it, really."

"And she thinks I can be that someone?" Katrina asked. "Is that what happened with Angela?"

"No," I said with a sigh, letting go of Katrina so I could flop down on my back and look up at the dark ceiling. "Angela wasn't like that. At least, I don't think so," I hedged. "Angela was a lover and companion for both of us. She actually spent more time with Emmy than she did with me, and mostly our relationship was about being a family together. When I say that she was my wife just as much as Emmy is, but she was also Emmy's wife, too, that's what it was."

"You loved her a lot," Katrina said, her voice soft. She rolled herself over so that she could rest her head on my shoulder and drape a leg across mine. "I can hear it every time you talk about her."

"I thought we were going to grow old together, surrounded by our kids," I agreed. "That was the future I saw for us."

Katrina didn't say anything. She just held me, letting me cry for my lost love.

We got started early, since it was going to be a long day on the road. Even though it was a bit chilly we had the top down on the Z8 so we could take in the views of Lake Tahoe as we circled its eastern side. The route we'd mapped out wasn't the most direct- we'd opted for scenery rather than speed. Unfortunately this meant ten hours drive time, plus whatever amount of time we took for sightseeing.

Knowing that the bulk of the day was going to be hotter than Hell, we dressed for warm weather, but threw on a warm jacket or hoodie that we'd ditch as the day progressed. By the time we dropped down onto Highway 395 it had already warmed up to ninety degrees, and hit a hundred by Bridgeport. This was our signal that it was time to put the top up, even though it restricted the views of the incredible mountains to the west.

Katrina wanted to take a detour to check out Bodie, a famous ghost town, but when I saw a sign that said it was a gravel road I nixed that idea.

"Not in this car," I said. "Next time I'll grab one of the other cars that would be more suitable."

"Like what? You said you had five other BMWs… Is one of them an X5?" Katrina asked.

"Yeah, but that's in Manhattan," I said. "No, I was thinking about one of the Porsches."

"A Porsche? For gravel roads?"

"Oh, heck yeah!" I said. "It'd be perfect. Of course, it's loud inside and not nearly as comfortable as, well, any of my other cars, but still…"

"I think you're gonna have to show me pictures of this Porsche," Katrina said.

We did detour through the Alabama Hills, but neither of us were Western movie fans enough to say that we actually recognized any movie filming locations. Still, it was cool and worth the time.

At lunch in Lone Pine I showed Katrina some of the photos I had of the Porsche Safari I had on my phone.

"This is Angela, right?" she asked, holding the phone for me to see. It was one of the pictures we'd taken on that dirt road off Big Tujunga. Angela was leaning with one hip against the car, sweeping her long black hair aside. The late afternoon sun shone on her and the car, giving everything a golden cast. "She looks like a model in this picture."

"She was a model," I confirmed, looking at the photo. I scrolled through the pictures really quickly to make sure I had none of the nudes we'd shot that day on my phone before handing it back.

"I'm sorry about what happened to her," Katrina said, resting her hand on mine.

"I am, too," I agreed.

The thermometer on the wall of the small general store in Furnace Creek said one hundred and thirteen degrees when we stopped to get cold drinks. It was the hottest part of the day- perfect time and perfect time of the year to visit one of the most famously hot places on Earth.

"As hot as it is," Katrina said as we stood in the shade, "as long as you're not in the direct sunlight it's tolerable."

"Even then, it's not too bad for short periods," I agreed.

That short period of time turned out to be shorter than the actual time it took to walk out on the boardwalk down to Badwater, the lowest point in North America. The ten or so minutes to walk down from the parking lot and then back up was enough for Katrina to feel overheated, so that was it for sightseeing for a little while- that is, until we saw signs for Dante's Peak.

Thankfully the overlook at the peak was a couple of thousand feet above the valley floor and had a decent breeze. That breeze felt as if it was straight out of a hair dryer, but still…

"I have never seen anything like this in my life," Katrina said as we gazed down at the valley below, now in shadow thanks to the setting sun.

"I never have, either," I admitted. "I'm not sure I'd come back in the summer again, but this is really amazing."

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"Amazingly hot," Katrina said. "But beautiful, in a strange sort of way."

"This town is famous for two- no, three things," I said as we passed through Pahrump, top down now because it had cooled to below a hundred degrees. "Although 'famous' is probably too strong a word. The first one is that it's basically a retirement community. The second is this racetrack right here," I said, waving to the left side of the road. "The third… See that red light way out there? That's a whorehouse."

"A what?"

"It's called the Pussycat Ranch or something like that. Whorehouses are legal in Nevada, but only outside the city limits."

"Seriously?" Katrina asked, rising up in her seat to get a better look through the twilight.

"Yeah," I confirmed. "The first time I came to drive this track the guys were joking about it. It has Yelp reviews and everything."

"Yelp reviews? Seriously?" Katrina asked, pulling out her phone to check. After a couple of minutes she started reading out loud. "Tricia treated me right," she read. "But I tried every girl in this brothel and they are all professionals. They really take care of you, where the customer always cums first," she read, laughing. "Damn- I've lost signal," she griped when she clicked on another review.

"Nevada isn't just another state," I said, smiling. "It's another state of mind."

"Wow- that's incredible," Katrina breathed as we crested the ridge and saw Las Vegas for the first time. "It looks exactly like I imagined it, but just more so,"

"Las Vegas is exactly like how you imagined it, but much more so," I confirmed.

"Where are we staying?"

"The Venetian," I said. "I managed to get us a decent room this morning."

"That's the one that has a canal with gondolas, right?" she asked, excited.

"Yeah, that one," I confirmed.

It was still maybe ninety-five degrees out when we pulled up to the valet stand at the hotel. A day in the heat had roasted both of us pretty well, so we went straight up to our room to shower and relax before going out.

"This is what you call a 'decent room'?" Katrina asked, turning around and around to gape in awe at the king suite I'd booked us. "How much does this even cost a night?"

"Our two nights here are probably more than you pay in rent a month for your apartment there in Miami," I said with a shrug.

"Fair enough," she said as I tipped the bellhop. "Since this is bigger than my apartment. Has better views, too," she said, looking out the window at the world-famous Las Vegas Strip.

"How soon do you want to go out to dinner?" I asked, dropping onto the luxurious king-sized bed.

"It's getting late- maybe we should go soon?"

"Your idea of getting late and Las Vegas' idea are two different things. I'd bet the restaurants here in the hotel stay open until maybe two AM?" I said.

Katrina laughed, turning away from the window. "Maybe let's take a shower, then find something to eat?"

"That sounds like a workable plan," I agreed.

"We may have to change that plan," Katrina said from where she'd wandered into the en suite bath.

"Yeah?"

"It's bath time!" she said, turning on the water. "Give me five minutes or so, then come join me!"

Following instructions, I waited about a minute, then slowly ditched my clothes and made my way to the bathroom. Katrina was lying back in the mostly full tub, a giant marble and ceramic thing almost as big as the tubs we specced in our houses.

"This is glorious!" Katrina said, swishing the water around with her hands.

Stepping into the tub facing her, I had to agree. After a long, very hot day in the desert, soaking in a big tub of hot (but not scaldingly hot) water was one heck of a pleasant experience, made all the more pleasant by the fact that I was sharing said tub with a gorgeous naked woman.

"That feels so good," Katrina moaned as I gave her a foot rub.

"Today was quite a day," I said.

"Crazy day," Katrina agreed. "But awesome."

"What was your favorite part?" I asked.

"Wow, that's a tough one," she replied, thinking about it. "I guess it was just going from the high mountains, with pine forests surrounding a big, beautiful lake, then the desert, then Death Valley… It was just such a contrast, you know?"

"So, that was really only the northern half of the state, but what do you think of California?"

"It isn't what I expected at all," Katrina admitted. "Well, I mean, San Francisco was, except for it being so cold. But everything else? Way different than I imagined California to be."

"Has it been a good time?"

"Oh, God yes," Katrina replied. "This is probably the best week of my life. Seriously, just awesome."

"I'm glad," I said, bringing her foot up to my face so I could kiss her instep. "I've had a great time, too."

"It's not over yet," she said. "We're in Vegas, baby!"

"What do you want to do here?" I asked.

"Everything!" was her reply. "Why? What do you want to do?"

"You. I want to do you."

Rolling her eyes, Katrina said, "Well, I mean, that's a given."

"Does that mean you're gonna give it up?" I asked, sliding a hand up the inside of her thigh.

"I think we can say that that's a given, too," she replied, sliding a little lower in the water to bring herself closer to my questing fingers.

Once we cleaned up, Katrina put on a cute little knit mini dress in black with silver sparkles.

"How do I look?"

"Smoking hot," I replied.

"Can I ask you to do something for me? Can you wear something kinda, I dunno, butch?" Katrina asked.

"Sure, but why?"

"I guess it goes back to that whole 'test drive' thing. I want to go to dinner with you and then check out the casino, all with your arm around me. I want everyone to look at us and just know that you're gonna rock my world tonight."

"Why does that matter?" I asked, curious.

"It just does, O.K.? I can't really explain it, but trust me. It matters."

"I don't think that anybody who's seen us together this last week thought anything else than we're a gay couple," I said, even as I hunted around in my suitcase for just the right ensemble.

"That's perfect!" Katrina said once I'd gotten dressed. "God, you look amazing. Those pants! And that shirt! It's like they were made just for you!"

"They were," I said.

"They were what?"

"Made for me. These are from a tailor in London, made from cloth I selected- well, O.K., Emmy selected, because she knows these things better than me- and made to measure just for me."

"Freaking rich people!" Katrina exclaimed. "I bought this dress off the rack at a little shop in South Beach. It was on sale."

"Kat, I know your family has money. You aren't some sort of thrift-store bargain-hunter," I objected.

"No, you're right. We aren't poor, but we don't have the kind of money you do," she admitted.

I took her hands and looked her up and down, liking what I saw. "Let's go down and spend some of my money," I suggested.

"I need something first," Katrina said, her voice serious. At my questioning look, she stood up tall and leaned in for a kiss.

It was a hot one, with plenty of tongue and a lot of groping. I slid my hands down Katrina's bare back and cupped her ass, pulling her closer. In turn, she ran her hands up and down my back, dragging her fingernails as she went.

When we parted, she said, "You're gonna need to clean that off," indicating my lips, which were covered in her lipstick.

While I did that, she re-applied her dark red lipstick. Satisfied it was perfect, she said, "O.K. Now I'm ready to go."

Deciding to stay in the Venetian, we ate at a 'Latin Fusion' restaurant, which seemed to mean whatever the heck they wanted. The food was good, but not identifiably Latin American in style as far as I could tell. The drink menu was heavy on tequila and mezcal, which I guess is where the whole 'latin' thing came in.

After dinner we wandered into the casino proper, which was mostly filled with rows and rows and rows of what they still call 'slot machines', even though there is no longer a coin slot. Everything is done with prepaid RFID cards anymore. There isn't even an arm to pull, so you can't call them 'one-armed bandits', either.

The section of the casino devoted to table games couldn't have been more than twenty per cent of the floor, but that's where I steered Katrina.

"What do you like to play?" I asked.

"Blackjack, I guess?" she said, with a remarkable lack of confidence.

"How well do you know how to play?" I asked. "The thing about blackjack is that people take it really seriously, and if you play badly at a table you'll get the other players pissed off at you."

"Why?" she asked.

"It's weird, but they have the attitude that you'll fuck up their cards if you hit when you shouldn't or something like that. They think they should have gotten the card you took instead, and if it was one that would have benefitted them, they get bent out of shape," I explained.

"You know this from personal experience?"

"I am afraid so," I confirmed. "So, let's start with something that's a bit less competitive," I suggested.

We played a few rounds of roulette, but Katrina got bored quickly. Nothing else really appealed, so we wandered over to the Grand Canal. About half of the shops had already closed, but the gondola rides were still open for a little bit longer. Admitting to each other that it was ridiculously cheesy, we went for it anyway.

"I think I'm ready to get you naked," Katrina said as we stepped off the gondola, making the gondolier laugh.

"If you insist," I said, letting her take my hand and lead me along.

Neither of us had any sort of motivation to get out of bed early the next morning, but we did eventually make our way down to the Grand Canal area for breakfast.

Discussing what to do for the day, we decided to check out some of the other casino hotels along the strip.

Over lunch at a French restaurant in the ersatz Eiffel Tower at the Paris hotel, Katrina admitted that I'd been right.

"Las Vegas is exactly like I imagined, but way more. They didn't just turn it up to ten. They turned it way, way past that and then broke the knob clean off."

"That is a fair assessment," I agreed. "I've never much cared for the place, but it is something every American should experience at least once."

"Can we see a show tonight?" Katrina asked, changing the subject.

"We can do whatever you want," I told her.

We wound up catching the early showing of the water and fire-themed Cirque du Soleil spectacle, and we both agreed that it was freaking amazing. Wandering through the hotel, I suggested maybe we could do a little shopping, but Katrina put a hard no to that.

"Leah, you've spent so much money on me this week," she said. "Jewelry or whatever would just be too much."

Back at our room, Katrina suggested another bath.

"I think that sounds like a really good idea," I agreed. As it turned out, Katrina really didn't have sex on her mind at all. No, she wanted to simply soak, wrapped up in my arms.

"Leah," she said when I kissed her hair. "This week has been amazing. Like I said a couple of days ago, this has been just about the best week of my life."

"I had a great time, too," I said, kissing behind her ear.

After a long, thoughtful silence, Katrina said, "My flight takes off at ten thirty-five in the morning. I should be at the airport by nine or so, and then there's the time it takes to get there-"

"It's about five blocks from here," I said. "Sure, they're kinda big blocks, but the airport is literally right next to the Strip."

"Seriously?"

"Yup. Maybe a mile at the most."

"This town really is crazy," Katrina said, shaking her head in disbelief. "But anyway, what I was getting at is that after breakfast, I take off for Miami and you, what, drive back to Los Angeles? Then what? I go back to work at my dad's office, and you go back to Emmy and doing whatever billionaire stuff you do…"

"I'm not a billionaire," I corrected.

"Whatever," Katrina replied. "Close enough to it from my perspective." She fell silent, and I just gave her the space she needed to speak her thoughts. "I like you. I really do. And this week has been… Like I said, amazing. The sex has been incredible, too. I think I've had more sex this week than I have in the last couple of years combined. I didn't really know if I'd be into the whole lesbian sex thing, but…"

"You sure seemed to enjoy yourself," I said, giving her nipples a little pinch.

"I did!" she admitted, turning to give me a kiss. "And I fully expect you to rock my freaking world one more time tonight."

"I can do that," I said with a nod.

"Quit distracting me," she said as I palmed her exquisite breasts.

"Nuh uh," I replied, nuzzling her hair some more.

"I'm trying to be serious," she said, so I relented and stopped my ministrations. "Thank you," she said, settling back. "Like I was saying, we're about to go our separate ways. I've been thinking about this all week, and, well, I just don't see how we can make a real relationship work. I've been trying to imagine what it would look like, like you asked me to do. I just can't see how we could make this work, Leah. I can imagine you and me hooking up again, maybe when we both happen to be in Colombia at the same time or something like that, but us being, um, committed girlfriends? I just can't see it."

I let out a long breath. "I've been thinking that this is what you've been thinking," I admitted. "And honestly, I can't say that you're wrong. The most I could imagine we could see each other is a few times a year. I could come to Miami, or we could get together in Montreal-"

"You and Montreal!" Katrina exclaimed.

"Or maybe Singapore, or wherever," I continued. "But yeah. I can't see us having a real life together, and that's no good basis for a real relationship. A booty call once in a while isn't really fair to either of us. I've loved this time we've had together, but…"

"I wish we could make it work," Katrina said, wistfully. "But I just don't see it."

"I think there's really only one thing left to do," I said.

"Have incredible sex all night long our last night together?" Katrina suggested.

"Exactly," I agreed.

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