The woman peered at Leah. ‘Zis your boyfriend?’
‘Yes,’ said Leah.
‘I bet he’s got a nice big dick,’ the woman said and put her hand right on it.
Brandon jumped, laughing, and grabbed at her wrist while Leah got ready to give the woman a big old shove. Drunk or not, you don’t grab the dick of another woman’s man. Before Leah could do anything, though, the woman managed to back off. She straightened her dress and jerked her thumb over her shoulder at her date, who was staring at them all blankly.
‘Thass my husband. He’s hung like a bear.’
‘Rawr,’ said the man.
‘Like a bear, huh?’ Brandon shook his head. ‘Never heard that one.’
‘Means he’s got fuzzy balls and a furry ass!’ The woman broke into gales of hysterical laughter. ‘C’mon, hairy ass. Less go fuck and stuff.’
‘I’ll be surprised if they can find their way back to their hotel,’ Leah said, watching them. ‘I can’t believe she touched your crotch.’
‘She was right though. I do have a nice big –’
‘Hush,’ Leah said and stopped him with a kiss. ‘Don’t be naughty.’
‘I thought you liked it when I was.’
‘Pffft.’ She waved a hand and stood. ‘Come on. Let’s walk. We only have a few more hours here and we might as well make the most of them.’
He stood up and up and up, stretching. ‘What time’s our flight?’
‘Ten. So really, there’s almost no point in going to sleep.’ Leah grinned at him and swatted his very fine ass. ‘And since we already made looooooove …’
Brandon grabbed her up and pinned her against him, earning a ‘woop-woop!’ from some passing drunken frat boys. ‘That doesn’t mean we couldn’t do it again.’
She reached between them to squeeze his very fine package – but gently. No point in bruising the merchandise. Only in Vegas would she stand on a sidewalk and fondle him. ‘Rawr.’
‘My ass,’ Brandon said with dignity, ‘is not furry.’
‘Thank God for that.’
He frowned. ‘What, you wouldn’t love me if I had a hairy ass?’
‘Well, now, see, that’s the problem with hair in places you don’t expect it,’ Leah said as they walked along the rows of shops and hotels. ‘By the time you discover it, it’s usually too late to be worried about it.’
‘Uh huh. So does that mean if I start getting hair in my ears and stuff you’ll disown me?’
She paused to give him a look of faint alarm. ‘Are you expecting to grow hair out of your ears?’
‘My grandpa does. Tons of it. All over the place. His eyebrows too.’ Brandon made a scared face and gave an exaggerated shudder ‘He’s like a sasquatch, that guy.’
‘Oh, my.’
He rolled his eyes towards her. ‘Yeah.’
Leah hugged his arm closer to her side so she could press against him. ‘I think I can handle that.’
He shot her a grin. ‘You sure?’
‘I’m sure.’
He nodded. ‘OK, then.’
‘What about me?’
‘Do you expect to start growing hair out of your ears?’
She shook her head. ‘No. But what about when I start to get hair on my mole?’
Brandon snorted. ‘What mole?’
‘The one I’m sure will grow on my chin eventually.’ Leah raised an eyebrow. ‘Will you still love me when I grow a mole with a hair on it?’
‘Of course,’ he scoffed.
‘But will you still want to make love to me?’
He stopped, not caring they caused a minor traffic jam in the stream of people parting around them to get by. ‘Leah, I will want to make love to you no matter how many moles you get with hairs on them.’
They’d been being silly, but now tears nudged the backs of her eyes and thickened her throat. ‘That is the most beautiful thing anyone’s ever said to me.’
‘Well,’ Brandon said. ‘I mean it.’
And even in Las Vegas where so much was made of illusion, Leah had no doubts that this was all truth.
The last time Brandon pulled an all-nighter he’d been in college, pepped up on No-Doz and three pots of coffee, trying like crazy to cram for a Sociology final he needed to pass with an A in order to keep his scholarship. He’d fallen asleep halfway through taking the test, woken ten minutes before the hour was up, and managed to squeak by on the skin of his teeth. Tonight was nothing like that – they stopped to grab steaming cups of coffee from a vendor but not because he was in any danger of falling asleep. Being with Leah was enough to keep him energised.
She was tired, he could see that. Her hair had fallen out of the pretty hairdo she’d put it in for the party, but he liked it that way, tumbled over her shoulders. Her make-up had smudged, too, giving her smoky eyes and fucking incredible pouty lips he couldn’t stop wanting to taste.
They had done everything they possibly could in the few hours they had left. Stopped for hot dogs at Coney Island, rode the roller coaster, visited the Eiffel Tower and viewed most of the free shows. Now the sky was finally turning light, though the thousands of lights still gleamed as bright as they had all night.
Vegas in the morning looked hung-over. There were still people on the streets and casino lobbies, a number of them dressed in formal wear. They were the ones who looked like they might pass out at any moment. There were other folks dressed in regular clothes, up early for the buffets or an early shot at the tables and slots. Tourists pulling suitcases towards taxis. Some gave Vegas a last, longing look while others tried slipping away leaving behind a few hundred bucks and probably some dignity, too.
‘I’m hungry.’ Leah took a deep breath. They were leaning on the railing in front of the Bellagio, having made a full circuit of the Strip. ‘Can you believe that?’
He put a hand on his belly. ‘Sure.’
She nudged his side. ‘You’re always hungry.’
‘Well, yeah. But it’s been
