Tasteful colored lights reflected off the dark floors and marble columns. Beyond the check-in area I could see giant crystal columns flanking an escalator, all bathed in a soft purple glow. None of it was quite what I expected-definitely not flashy or gaudy. Instead, it struck me as very chic, very cool.

"This says there's a mall in here somewhere," Jen said, turning her attention back to her guidebook as Kiki and Eric headed over to the desk to check us in. "It's supposed to have awesome shopping. And I guess the casino is that way. Oooh, and it says there's a really good club over there..."

"Sweetie," Matt said, taking her hand. "You're on vacation. Let's put the book away and relax, okay?"

"Yeah," Ginny agreed, s.n.a.t.c.hing the book out of her hand. "No planning on this trip. We're all just gonna go with the flow and have fun."

I laughed at the crestfallen expression on Jen's face. For her, planning was fun. But letting go a little definitely wouldn't hurt.

"We're all set!" Kiki said, hurrying over to us. "They have us in three different rooms, but they're all really close to each other. And they're supposed to have amazing views."

"Let's go check it out!" I said, feeling like I might soon join Kiki in bouncing around.

As we headed to the elevators, I put my arm through Ginny's. "So," I said. "Are you totally b.u.mmed you're stuck rooming with me?"

Gin snorted. "Yeah, right. We're gonna have a blast. It will be like old times."

"Yeah, but won't you miss Josh?"

"Sure. But I'm not going to let it ruin my trip."

"This is why I love you," I told her, as we followed the rest of the group onto the elevator. "You might be an old married fart but you can still have fun without your hubs."

"I'm actually looking forward to it," she said, squeezing my arm a little. "I don't get to see you as often as I want these days."

"We're all gonna have so much fun!" Kiki said, peering around Eric to look at us. "Just you guys wait!"

The elevator pinged as we reached our floor, and I felt another little jolt of excitement. I wondered what the rooms would be like in a place this nice.

"Okay, this is you guys," Eric said, stopping at a door and handing me a small envelope with our key cards. "Jen and Matt, you're two doors down." He handed Matt their cards. "And Kiki and I are right next to them."

The girls and I grinned at each other goofily for a minute, like little kids at Christmas, before we all dived for our doors. I frantically fumbled with the key card, finally getting the door open so Ginny and I could rush inside.

"Wow," Ginny said, stopping in the foyer. "I mean...wow."

I was having trouble finding words. The room was huge, bigger than Jen's and my entire living room. Probably our entire first floor combined. "Did you know she was getting us a suite?" I asked.

"Nope," Ginny said, setting her purse on a small coffee table. "But I sure as h.e.l.l ain't complaining."

In addition to two queen-sized beds, there was also a living room area and giant floor-to-ceiling windows. The staff had pulled the curtains, giving us a spectacular view of the Vegas strip far below us. I walked over to the window, staring down in amazement.

"You have to see this," I called to Ginny, who had wandered into the bathroom. "There's a replica of the Eiffel tower down there!"

"Hang on," Ginny called. "This bathroom is incredible."

I ran in to check it out and saw Ginny sitting, fully clothed, in the marble tub, testing its size. "This is bigger than our kitchen!" she cried.

I started laughing and found I couldn't stop. I felt giddy with excitement. Ginny started laughing too. "Can you even believe this?" she asked.

"Come look at the view," I told her, grabbing her hand to pull her out of the tub.

We ran back into the living area and stood at the window, gazing down at the lights.

"Oh my G.o.d!" Ginny squealed, grabbing my arm and pointing. "It's that fountain! You know, from the George Clooney movie!"

"You're right!" I told her, following her pointing finger down to the Bellagio fountain, which looked familiar to me from Ocean's Eleven.

"You guys," a voice said behind us, and we spun around. Jen was standing in the still open doorway. "Isn't this amazing?"

"Do you have a view like this?" Ginny asked.

"Yes!" Jen said, coming over to stand with us. "It's totally incredible!"

"Look at our bathroom!" Ginny said.

"Mine is like that too!" Jen said, sounding more and more like Kiki with every word.

We were saved the embarra.s.sment of jumping around like five-year-olds when the porters showed up with our luggage. Seeing them standing there in the doorway with my bags had the effect of reminding me that I was actually a grown woman. I tipped the porter generously and Jen slipped away to help Matt unpack.

"Late dinner and drinks in half an hour," she called over her shoulder. We had all eaten on the plane, but that felt like hours ago. We had a full night of partying ahead of us and I was determined to have the energy to go the distance.

Chapter Seven.

*While it's important to have confidence when dealing with men, it's equally important not to be too bold. Men like it when you let them make the first move. A woman who insists on ignoring this fact will have a hard time making a man interested in her.'-The Single Girl's Guide to Finding True Love "Wow," I said again. "I know I keep saying it, but this place is unbelievable!"

"I know!" Ginny squealed, grabbing my arm. "Look at all the people!" Our group was standing at the entrance to the casino. Everywhere I looked I was bombarded with noise, lights, conversation, and people. It was so cool.

"What should we do first?" Jen asked.

"Drinks," I said immediately.

"Obviously," Ginny agreed.

We headed over to the bar and placed our orders while we all gazed around. "I want to try this," Jen said excitedly. "I want to learn how to play cards."

Matt chuckled and put his arm around her. "I have a feeling you'd be pretty amazing at that."

"I want to try the slots first," Ginny said.

In the end we decided that Kiki, Jen, Matt, and Eric would head over to the blackjack tables while Ginny and I gave the slot machines a try. The two of us headed to the loudest, most garish machines we could find and sat down together.

"So, how does this work?" Ginny asked, adjusting her sparkly top. She and I couldn't help but to get a little gussied up before coming downstairs, and I was glad we had done so. I had already spotted several guys I wouldn't mind getting to know a little better.

"I think we just put our coins in here?" I said uncertainly.

We decided to give it a try. Within a few minutes we were each out five bucks.

"Wow," Ginny said. "That wasn't quite as much fun as I thought it would be."

"Let's walk around a little," I said. "Do some people-watching."

We grabbed our drinks and made our way deeper into the casino floor. There was so much to look at it was hard to focus on anything. We ended up gathering with a small crowd around a c.r.a.ps table. There was a man there who seemed to be on some kind of roll. Every time the dealer rolled the dice the people around him would start screaming. He seemed to get free drinks every few minutes.

"What's he made so far?" Ginny asked the middle-aged man next to us.

"Oh, he's up to thirty thousand," the man replied.

"Holy h.e.l.l!" I said. "Seriously?"

The man smiled.

"So how does this work?" Ginny asked him.

"First time in Vegas?" he asked.

"Yeah," Ginny replied. "First time in a casino, actually."

The man started explaining the rules of c.r.a.ps to Gin, and I felt myself zoning out. I just had never found card or dice games to be all that interesting. The money sounded great, sure, but I couldn't really imagine trying to learn all the intricacies that the man was explaining. I let my eyes wander around the crowded floor. There were groups of people everywhere, gambling, chatting, and drinking. I felt the unmistakable feeling of someone's gaze on me, and I turned.

I found myself staring at a man, probably about my age. He was dressed casually in jeans and a tee shirt. His body looked nice, but it was hard to make out his face under his baseball cap. Then it hit me. He was wearing a Detroit Tigers hat.

"Gin," I hissed. She tilted her head in my direction. "See that guy over there?" I asked. She looked in the direction I was indicating.

"Yeah," she said. "So?"

"Do you think he's from Detroit?" I asked.

She squinted. "Hmm. Could be. But a lot of people wear that hat. It's a cool logo and Eminem made it totally famous."

I thought about that. She had a point. But the guy was still looking at me, and I found my curiosity and interest pique.

"Care if I go over and talk to him?" I asked her.

Ginny rolled her eyes at me. "You're such a tramp," she teased.

"Yeah, yeah," I said. "Seriously though, you okay here for a minute?"

She waved me away and I smiled at her. I headed over in the direction of the guy. He was now breaking away from his friends a little and walking in my direction.

"Hey," I said.

Up close he was definitely good looking. Tall and blond, very clean cut. He reminded me a little bit of Kiki's husband, Eric. He had that football-player, cla.s.sic-American look to him. Not necessarily my type, but who cared? A little flirting never hurt anyone.

"I've been watching you for ages," he said, then flushed. "Oops, sorry. That sounded totally creepster, didn't it? I just meant that you look familiar to me. I've been trying to place you."

I had a hard time not rolling my eyes. Real original line.

"I noticed your hat," I told him, pointing up at it. "Are you from Detroit?"

"Yeah," he said eagerly. "Well, Birmingham actually, but close enough."

I did roll my eyes at that. Birmingham was a totally ritzy suburban town-about as far from Detroit as you could get, figuratively speaking.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I live in Ferndale," I explained.

"Wow. That's a small world. Maybe I have seen you around then."

I smiled up at him flirtatiously. "Perhaps," I said. I saw him gulp and felt my heart soar a little. He was totally into me.

"So how long are you in Vegas for?" I asked.

"Just the weekend," he replied. "My buddy is getting married in a few weeks; bachelor party, you know." He gestured to the group of guys behind us. "How about you?"

"The same. Well, minus the bachelor party stuff. So, are you guys just getting wasted and getting a bunch of lap dances?"

He laughed. "Hardly. I mean, we're drinking but I don't think any of us would be too into the stripper thing. I have little sisters and I just couldn't imagine ogling a girl like that."

I looked at him, trying to figure him out. He seemed like a pretty nice guy, but it could always just be an act. I'd seen it before.

"So, what are your plans while you guys are in town?" he asked.

"I think we're gonna do the Stratosphere thrill rides tomorrow," I replied. "You know, the ones on top of that tower? And see the Cirque du Soleil show too. Probably do a lot of dancing, that kind of thing."

"That sounds great," he replied. "It would be cool if I saw you around."

"Yeah," I said, smiling again. I had to admit, faker or not, it was nice that he was so clearly into me. "Well, I should get back to my friend."

I couldn't be sure but I thought I saw his face fall. "Yeah?" he asked.

I gestured over to where Ginny was standing, clearly gawking at us. Poor married girl, she had to live vicariously through me when I chatted up new guys.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around," I said, turning to go.

"Wait!" he called after me. "I don't even know your name."

I kept walking. When I had gotten a few feet away I turned back. "It's Annie," I called out, grinning, then turned back to Ginny.

"Like I said-tramp," she sighed when I reached her.

I grinned at her. "Oh, Gin," I said. "You're just jealous."