Part 1

"Start spreadin' the news, I'm leavin' today, I want to be a part of it: New York, New York. These vagabond shoes are longing to stray right through the very heart of it: New York, New York. I want to wake up in a city that doesn't sleeps and find I'm king of the hill, top of the heap."

"Stop that." Sara buried her head under a pillow. Why was Sofia awake? Why was she in such a good mood? Why did she have to sing? Why couldn't she sit somewhere in silence and read the newspaper?

"Grumpy Smurf." Sofia jumped on the bed, sat on Sara and started to tickle her.

"Bitch!" Sara tried to turn but couldn't move her upper body. Being on her belly she was helpless.

"New York, New York!" That was where they were. Finally after a long time of talking about it, they had managed to go to New York. An apartment in Manhattan, upper east side, was theirs for four days. Over one year after Australia this was their first house exchange holiday.

"If you don't go down from me I'll hurt you."

"You can't do anything, Sara Sunshine, you can't move." Sofia laughed, bent down and hugged Sara before she let herself slip next to her friend.

"I could now."

"You won't." Sofia smirked. "I'm so happy that we're here. Finally. The big apple."

"See New York and die."

"I won't die, you'll take care of me. Come on, smile, Grumpy Smurf."

"You're annoying."

"I love you."

"I hate you."

"No you don't. I made some coffee and got us some bagels."

"Why are you awake? It's me who's the one to organize the breakfast."

"I woke up, it was seven so I thought it's time for a shower, breakfast and this way I can surprise you with a lovely breakfast in bed before we start our sightseeing tour. I like to have breakfast in bed."

"How much coffee did you already drink?"

"One mug only."

"Not enough to be on a coffee rush."

"No I'm on a New York rush…a Sara rush…you're my drug. I missed being on holidays with you."

"We went hiking."

"Hiking is great, no doubt but it's not a holiday. I like real holidays with you. And we don't have to drive a few hundred miles a day this time."

"No we have to walk a few miles today."

"It's a bus tour…most of the time we'll sit in a bus and get entertained. Oh and don't plan anything for our last night."

"Why?"

"I planed something and I can't rearrange that. Trust me you'll like it."

"Trust? You?"

"If not your best friend who else do you want to trust?"

"The devil? Oh I forgot, that it is my best friend." Sara pulled Sofia in her arms and kissed her cheek. "Thanks for taking care of breakfast." She got her legs around Sofia so that the blonde couldn't move away. "What time is it?"

"Half past eight."

"We need to hurry, don't we?"

"If you want to be on time at ten, yes, we should have breakfast now."

"And I need my shower."

"Want some company?"

"You had your shower."

"I'd sacrifice myself for you."

"I think I can cope. But thanks." Sara hugged Sofia again and then got up. "I'll be with you in five minutes."

"I'll miss you every second you are away."

"Stay out of the bathroom!"

"What a good idea…" Sofia grinned and laughed when she heard how Sara locked the door. She wouldn't come in the bathroom when Sara was in it. The brunette knew that but she locked to door to tease Sofia. Their favorite hobby: teasing each other.

"I've chocolate, coke and a few sandwiches…that should be enough for six hours." Sofia checked her backpack again.

"I'm sure we'll have a lunch break, no need to take the whole household with you."

"Better safe than sorry. Open your mouth for a piece of chocolate."

"I had breakfast only…" The rest of the sentence went under in a piece of chocolate Sofia pushed in Sara's mouth. For a short moment the brunette bit slightly on Sofia's finger with a grin and without hurting her.

"Am I that sweet to you that you want to eat me, Sara Sidle?"

"If I want to try you, Sofia Curtis, I wouldn't do that here right on Broadway." In front of a musical, surrounded by hundreds of people…okay these people weren't interested in them, they were rushing their way.

"Not? Where would you take me?"

"I can hear the ambiguousness in your voice."

"Can you? I'm sorry." Sofia smirked.

"Don't make me do something that will make you're really sorry."

"If you try to tell me not to dare you, don't waste your energy. I do dare you." She always dared people who told her not to dare them. That was her problem in high school already. She had dared her teachers often, they had sent her to detention regular. Which had lead to trouble with her parents but Sofia didn't think of changing herself.

"Do you?"

"Oh yes. Come on, old woman, this is the last time to be wild, your youth is almost over. Only two more months and you're old." Sara's fortieth birthday was coming up. Sofia had so many ideas about parties but Sara had made it clear, she didn't want a party. She had three days around her birthday off and wouldn't be in Las Vegas. She didn't mind the age, she minded the party. And she knew if she stayed in Vegas there would be a party. So far she hadn't told anybody where she would go, Sofia was asking her every day but Sara refused to say a word. To dangerous. Tell them now and they'll all be there to have a party. The brunette knew her best friend had also three days off, if Sofia behaved herself Sara would take her with her.

"I think I'll book another room for tonight. I don't think I want to spend any more time with you."

"You do." Sofia got Sara's arm and pulled her towards the tour bus at the corner. There was their bus, time to get a good seat.

"Hey we're Sara and Sofia." She handed the driver their tickets.

"Welcome aboard, ladies. Take a seat if you like, we'll start in ten minutes."

"He is seriously cute." Sofia whispered when she pulled Sara in the seat two rows after the driver.

"I thought you would think so. Don't tell me you need to get a man for tonight?"

"No, I've got you, you can satisfied me."

"Uh-huh with chocolate mud cake."

"See you know exactly what I need." Sofia observed the tour guide. He was in his late twenty, had short black hair and a gray eyes. And too tall for his jeans jacket. Whenever he bent over a bit it slipped up and showed a piece of a tattoo on his back.

"Maybe him as a dessert."

"Pick him or me."

"I can have you as dessert?" Sofia raised an eyebrow.

"You can have him as dessert or me as your evening company."

"I'd never choose somebody else when I can have you. Not even Lady Liberty."

"She's stone cold."

"Yeah I thought so. We'll see her. I hope we can take nice pictures and I want one of Manhattan in the sunset. Do you go shopping with me? I mean after this tour and after the sunset in Manhattan. I want to go shopping in the dark, want to watch people rushing around while we sit somewhere have something nice to eat, drink a glass of wine and take the subway back to the apartment. Maybe we can sit somewhere at the Rockefeller Center."

"Aren't you the one who asks for a club tour? You want to replace that with a boring dinner? No hitting the clubs?"

"I think we'll be tired after this tour, we can hit the clubs tomorrow after we had a sleep in and had some walking tours in the Central Park."

"Sounds like a plan…"

"Where are you ladies from?" The tour guide asked.

"Vegas" Sofia smiled wide. If she could get him to go clubbing with them?

"Sin City. You're here for some culture."

"We've culture too, colorful culture."

"Yeah but not that old like New York. And you tried to build our Lady Liberty."

"We have her too, yes. With a roller coaster, can you top that?"

"We've the original Lady Liberty."

"And we're not allowed to climb her."

"No."

"Shame."

"You can take pictures from the Staten Island Ferry, that's really nice. And you'll have some magnificent views on Manhattan from there too."

"Sounds good. What's our first stop?"

"We'll stop in front of the Dakota, the place where John Lennon used to live and Yoko Ono still lives. After that we'll have a little stop in the Central Park, there's a John Lennon Memorial – the Imagine Mosaic - I'll show you."

"No long walks through the park?"

"Not with this tour. If you want a Central Park tour I can give you a flyer of one of our other tours. It's a full day walking tour through the Central Park."

"A full day of walking? No thank you, I'm not on a hiking trip. I think I take a bike or a horse."

"A carriage ride? More expensive but very nice. And don't forget the zoo."

"Of course not. We'll have a complete day for Central Park." She would be happy about the half an hour in the carriage. It was good she had taken her hiking shoes with her, she would need them in Central Park.

"You'll need it. Do you like ice cream?"

"Are you kidding me? I love it."

"There's a little shop between 86th and 87th street, just where the water reservoir begins, that sells great ice cream. And when you ask for some chocolate sauce and cream your ice cream will drown in it."

"We'll have a stop there!" That was no question from Sofia to Sara, it was an order.

"That's fine with me." Ice cream, sitting in the sun, looking on water, that was a nice picture and perfect for a stop between lunch and dinner. She wanted to have a picnic in the park anyway. An ice cream picnic was even better than self made sandwiches.