A/N - thank you for all the reviews. I love them! Keep them coming! It helps me keep motivated on writing more. :) And just a reminder, I dont' own anybody or any characters or anything like that. This is pure fiction. Hope you enjoy.


"I can't believe we're going to Vegas." Joelle said, rolling her luggage behind her at the airport. She was with Lindsay, Chris, Jackie, Ryan, Charissa, Eric, Crosby, and his new girlfriend Bethany. She didn't mind that out of the whole group of them, she was the only one without a date. She knew that once they had gotten to Vegas and joined the group that would be there, it would hardly be noticed. Joelle was just excited with the fact that Jackie and Charissa were able to find someone to watch their kids while they were away. They all felt the need to go on vacation. Nobody more so than Joelle.

"I know. I haven't been on a vacation without the kids in, well, ever." Charissa said.

"And we are so looking forward to it." Eric said.

"Even though we're going to miss them."

Joelle smiled at her friends. She had been out of the hospital for about 1 ½ weeks now, and she was more than thrilled to be out. She still had her moments, where she deeply missed her mom and brother, but she just pushed them aside. She didn't want to go back to the hospital. She did not want to put her family through that again.

"So, where are we staying when we get there?" Lindsay asked as they stood in line to board the plane.

"Well, Kendra said we are more than welcome to stay in the Hugh Hefner Sky Villa. There are quite a few rooms for all of us to stay in. Or, we can get our own rooms. From what Kendra said, Hef is going to pay for it if we want our own rooms. He more than insisted."

"Are you serious?" Jackie asked, her mouth dropping open.

Joelle nodded.

"Why is he doing that?"

"I don't know. I tried to talk him out of it when I talked to him, but he insisted. He said that us coming make the occasion more special, and he wants us to enjoy it."

"What is the occasion of them being in Vegas?" Lindsay asked.

"I don't know the whole thing, but I know that Bridget is performing with Cirque du Soleil a little." Joelle said. "We are going to that tomorrow."

"Wow, I always wanted to see them." Jackie said.

"I'm just excited to a weekend full of playmates." Crosby said, jokingly. Bethany slapped him in the arm after the comment.

"It's a man thing." Joelle said to her, eying Crosby. It was the first time she met Bethany, and so far, she didn't know what to think. She, personally, didn't want her to go, but she didn't want to say anything to Crosby.

The flight to Vegas was long, mainly because the group of them were constantly talking about Vegas, and watching the time go by slowly. When they arrived, they all piled out of the airport to a limo that was waiting for them that was sent by Hef.

"He is too much." Joelle said, shaking her head. The large group piled into the limo, which drove them towards the Palms Hotel. Joelle called Kendra immediately to see where she was.

"You are in town! We will come to the hotel and meet you. Just tell the front desk to let you in our resort. I already gave them your name, so you should have no trouble. We will be there as soon as we can."

"Sounds good. Can't wait to see you!" Joelle said into the phone.

Joelle hung up the phone, and watched out the windows and all the sights. It was her second time in Vegas, but she felt as if it were her first. She felt better, emotionally, but physically didn't have much energy. She was starting to gain weight again, but was still not near close to being the normal 120 she normally was at. She was just over 100lbs, and she had to go shopping for new clothes due to her normal clothes being so big on her. She wasn't going to let being so weak ruin her weekend in Vegas. She was ready to have fun, and forget about what had been going on the past few months.

The limo pulled up in front of the hotel. Everyone piled out, and then followed Joelle inside. Joelle walked up to the front desk to get the key to the Hugh Heffner suite. She handed over an extra key, and then the group headed upstairs. Once inside, they were all in shock, looking around.

"This place is huge! Look at this pool! And look at this view!" Lindsay said, walking around the main living area.

"This is going to be one hell of a weekend." Joelle said with a smile, turning toward Crosby, who was standing behind her.

"And if I see you depressed once, I'm kicking your ass." He said, pushing her a little.

"Roger!" Joelle said, kicking her shoes off. She pulled the legs of her jeans up and put her feet in the water a little. "This pool feels amazing."

Lindsay and Charissa followed Joelle's idea, and stuck their feet in the water.

"This trip is going to be amazing." Joelle said with a smile.

Just then, Joelle heard the door to the room open. She turned to see Kendra walk in the door.

"Kendra!" Joelle screamed, and then ran in the direction of Kendra. She jumped in her arms and gave her a big hug.

Kendra screamed just as loud hugging Joelle.

Bridget and Holly were with Kendra, and so was Brittany and Jessica. Joelle gave each of them a hug, and then introduced everyone to the friends she brought. Kendra knew them already, but the others were just meeting for the first time.

"Joelle, you look great." Holly said.

"Thanks, but I'm too skinny, and I know that. I'm working on it." Joelle said, smiling at her. "But we are ready to party, and I think we need a shot to start the night."

It was close to 8 at night, and Joelle was more than ready to start partying. Kendra ran behind the bar that was in the room and took out the Yeager and started to pour everyone a shot of it. The group sat around the bar, waiting for the night to begin.

"To a weekend of no regrets." Kendra said, raising her shot after handing out all the shots.

Everyone cheered, and took the shot. Joelle made a face, knowing that Yeager is not a favorite drink for her, but lived with it.

"How about we all get ready to go out. I know I want to get out of this outfit and change." Joelle said, standing up.

"I agree. I do want to freshen up a little." Lindsay said.

"Yeah, I want to wear something different myself. How about we all start getting ready then." Bridget said, setting her empty shot glass on the bar.

Everyone scattered. Joelle followed Kendra and Holly into a bedroom with her suitcase. She quickly opened it to find one of the many dresses she brought for the weekend. She decided to wear a black dress that was short, and draped in the front to expose a glittery bra. She kept her hair down and used her curling iron to put a few spiral curls throughout it.

"Look at you. I love that dress." Kendra said. She was wearing a simple black halter dress which accented her figure perfectly.

"You don't look half bad yourself." Joelle said with a smile.

"We finding you a man tonight?" Kendra asked.

"Hell yes. It's been way too long since my last one." Joelle said, putting the finishing touches to her make-up on.

"Glad to have my girl back." She said, smiling at Joelle.

Everyone met back by the wet bar, where everyone was helping themselves to a drink.

"I took the pleasure of making your specialty." Crosby said to Joelle, handing her a crown and coke.

"What would I do without you?" Joelle asked, smiling at him, graciously accepting it.

"Joelle, you look amazing." Lindsay said. "Even with all the weight lost, you look amazing."

"Thanks." Joelle said, taking a long drink of her crown and coke. Everyone stood around, waiting for the stragglers to finish getting ready.

"Now are we all ready to go out?" Kendra asked when the last person joined the group.

"Where are we going?" Joelle asked her.

"Rain Nightclub." Holly said. "We're doing the Playboy Club tomorrow night when Hef is here."

"I can't wait to see him." Joelle said with a smile.

"He asks about you all the time." Kendra said.

"Well that's nice of him." Joelle said. "Now are we all ready to go out?"

"Lets head out."

The large group headed to Rain, which was there in the hotel. They were immediately let in front of the large line that was waiting. Everyone was busy taking pictures of the group when they saw Hef's girlfriend's. A couple people recognized Joelle, and were screaming her name. She just waved to them, and kept on walking through the guard at the door, where they were immediately led into the VIP area. The club was packed, and the girls immediately headed towards the dance floor to start dancing. The guys and Bethany headed towards the bar to get drinks. Joelle loved being out with her friends. She felt like she belonged there.

"I need a drink." Joelle said to Lindsay.

"Me too."

The two girls walked off the dance floor away from the others and met up at the bar with the guys. Chris handed Lindsay a drink he had gotten her. Joelle leaned over the bar to get the bartenders attention, but felt a nudge.

"You think I wouldn't get you a drink?" Crosby said, handing over a glass.

"You're amazing." Joelle said, taking a long drink. "Bethany, do you want to join us?"

She shook her head, forcing a smile.

"Alright, you're loss. Let's go back Lindsay."

Lindsay handed her drink to her boyfriend, and then the two girls joined the group, who all moved closer to a platform where there were dancers on it. When they got closer, Joelle realized that Kendra and Brittany were on the platform.

"Pull me up!" Joelle said, smiling.

Kendra and Brittany each grabbed a hand and helped her up, and then the three girls danced with each other. They were definitely drawing a crowd, mostly of men, but they barely realized it.

"I think it's shot time!" Jackie yelled.

Agreeing, the three girls jumped off the platform, and headed towards the bar, all sweaty from dancing. Joelle grabbed her drink, which was next to Eric, and finished it off.

"Slow down! It's not a race." Eric joked, handing his wife her drink.

"I know. I'm dying of thirst though."

"What do we all want to take?" Holly yelled to everyone.

"No Yeager. One shot of that a night, and I'm good."

"I think the girls should all do blowjobs." Ryan said, smiling.

"Yeah, that's not lame." Jackie said, elbowing him.

"I'll do them. I don't care." Kendra said, waving to get the bartenders attention. The guy, who wasn't bad looking in Joelle's eyes, immediately came over the large group.

"Well, there are ten sexy ladies here wanting to show just how well we do blowjobs." Kendra said with a sly smile. "However, the shot will have to do."

Joelle shook her head, laughing at her friend.

"Yeah, that won't get him flustered at all, eh?" Jessica said to Joelle, laughing.

The bartender, whose name was Jared, started to pour the shots. Joelle leaned over the bar, and smiled at her group of friends who were all talking amongst themselves.

"You're doing it, right Bethany?" Joelle asked.

"No, I don't think so."

"Why not? It'll be fun." Crosby said.

Bethany shrugged her shoulders, then reluctantly agreed to do it.

Joelle cheered, grabbing her camera that was strapped around her wrist, and handed it to Crosby.

"I want you to take a picture of this." She said.

He laughed, taking the camera from her. Jared handed out the shots, and each of the girls lined up to get ready to take them.

"No cheating ladies!" Jared said, smiling.

"I can't get a good angle of this." Crosby said, trying to get a good shot of everyone.

"I'll take it." Jared said, holding his hand out for the camera. Crosby handed it over, and Jared stood on the end of the line and got the camera ready. "Alright, on three!"

Jared counted down and on three, the ten girls all leaned over and did the shot, not using their hands at all. She could hear as some of her friends failed to finish the shot without grabbing it with their hands. She watched the flash go off on her camera a few times as Jared took a few pictures.

"Epic fail." Crosby said, laughing as Bethany set the shot half done on the bar.

"Thanks for taking the pictures for me!" Joelle said, smiling at Jared, who handed over the camera.

"No problem." He said.

"I do want another crown and coke." Joelle said. Her other friends put in their drink orders, and Joelle climbed up and sat on the bar to get a better look of everything.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Jared asked with a smile, coming back with some of the drinks he made.

"Getting closer to you!" Joelle joked, winking at him. "Plus, I want a picture with you."

Joelle watched as Kendra whispered something in Bridget's ear, and then her nodding in agreement, looking at Joelle.

"Get your ass up here. Kendra, take the picture!"

Kendra came over and Jared crawled up on the bar to have the picture taken with Joelle. The two posed, and after the picture was taken, Joelle winked at Kendra. "I don't think it was a good one. I blinked. We need another."

Kendra nodded in agreement, getting ready to take a picture.

Jared, who didn't seem to mind too much to be crawling back up on the bar to get close to Joelle again, got close to her, and then Joelle, just as the picture was to be taken, kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks!" Joelle said, hopping down.

"I don't get to return the favor?" He asked, laughing.

"Maybe, if you're lucky." Joelle said, taking her camera back from Kendra.

"If I see you around again, I will remember it." He said, pointing to her.

Joelle winked at him, taking a drink.

"So, prospect for the night?" Kendra asked, laughing.

"Maybe. I'm feeling out the night."

The rest of the night was spent dancing and drinking. Joelle was having the time of her life, and didn't want the night to end. Everyone ended up back in the Hugh Heffner Suite, and with the big day planned the next day, decided to call it quits around 2 that morning. Joelle laid on the floor in the main room with the blankets and looked over at Kendra.

"Thank you." She said softly, since most of the people in the room had fallen asleep already.

"For what?"

"This weekend. I needed away from everything family." She said, propping her head on her hand.

"I'm glad that you were able to come." She said.

Joelle smiled, laying her head down on the pillow. Joelle stared out the window at the Las Vegas skyline, and smiled. She laid there and felt herself drift off to sleep.

The next morning, everyone slowly woke up and ordered room service. Joelle never really was much of a breakfast person, but knowing that everyone was keeping a close eye on her to make sure she didn't slip back into depression, she ordered herself something small to eat.

"When is Hef getting here?" Joelle asked Holly.

"Should be here very soon." They were all getting ready by that point for the day. Joelle had on a nice haltered baby blue sundress and had put on a pair of heels as well. Bridget was getting ready to head towards where Cirque du Soleil was held, but was going slowly so that she could see Hef.

Just then, Joelle heard the doors to the room open. She turned to see a group of people enter, one of which being Hef himself.

"Hi honey." Holly said, going to greet him. Kendra and Bridget were close behind. Joelle quickly walked over to him to say hi, and to thank him for everything that he was doing for her and her friends that weekend.

"No problem hun. You look great. You had my Kendra very worried about you or awhile there."

"I know. I had quite a few people worried about me, but I'm doing a lot better now."

"Good. Now who is everyone." Hef said.

Joelle introduced him to all of her friends, and then quickly said hi to Mary, who had joined them for the weekend. After all of the introductions were done, and everyone was finished getting ready, they all headed out to the large limo that was waiting for them to take them to where Bridget was going to be performing with the Cirque du Soleil performers. They were going to be performing a private show for the group, and Joelle was more than excited.

The performance was more than Joelle had expected. She was in awe watching Bridget and the rest of the cast fly in the air as if they had wings. They effortlessly did their tricks and stunts, and by the end, Joelle found her jaw had dropped down.

"That was amazing." Joelle said to Kendra, clapping.

"I didn't know she could do that. I want to try!" Kendra said, laughing.

"You'd break your neck." Holly joked, smiling at her.

The rest of the day was filled with sightseeing and dinner at a nice Italian restaurant. Later that night, everyone headed back to the suite to get ready to head to the Playboy Club, which Joelle was excited to see. It had just opened up the year before, and it was the one year anniversary party that night. Hef and his girlfriends were going to be doing signings for the first few hours before the real partying started. Joelle had decided on wearing an all white skin tight dress that was strapless. It was short, and had a little bit of material that hung loose on the bottom, and then had a small amount of material that dangled on her right side. She wore white heels, which made her legs look even longer than they already were. She didn't know if she wanted to wear the outfit, but Kendra more than insisted that it was the perfect outfit for the night, so Joelle agreed to wear it.

"Wow, Joelle, you look amazing!" Lindsay said, smiling at her friend who walked out of the room she was getting ready in.

"Thanks. You look pretty amazing yourself" Joelle said, smiling.

Crosby and Bethany came into the room and Crosby stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Joelle.

"Wow." He said, flabbergasted.

"That's all you have to say?" Joelle asked, smiling.

He didn't respond, and just stared at her.

"Wow, you have no comment. Alert the media, this is a first." Joelle joked, sitting down at the wet bar. Chris made her a drink and Joelle appreciatively accepted it.

"You look….wow." He said, walking. Bethany just gave him a look, obviously not amused by his reaction.

"Thanks. You look nice Bethany." Joelle said, trying to be nice to the girl who obviously wanted nothing to do with anybody in the room but Crosby himself. All she did was force a smile on her face instead of saying thanks. She grabbed Crosby's hand and led him away.

"Can we say megabitch?" Lindsay said to Joelle softly.

"Thank you. I am actually trying to be nice to her. When do I try to be anything?"

"Never." Lindsay said, taking the seat next to Joelle. "You have to say something to Crosby, or her. Say something to her. That will be more fun to watch."

"I don't want to ruin the weekend. Maybe I'll wait until we get home."

"You are no fun. I want the fun, who gives a fuck, Joelle back." Lindsay lit a cigarette. Joelle quickly stole one out of the carton sitting on the bar and lit herself one.

"She does kind of deserve it." Joelle said, glancing in the direction of Bethany.

"She needs to go. Nobody wants her here. I even heard Kendra say something about her."

"Really? What did she say?"

"You know out of everyone here, she was the only one not to thank Hef for this amazing weekend? Not one word to him."

Joelle's mouth dropped open, mad with hearing the news. Hef had done a lot for them all that weekend, and her disrespecting him like that was not going to fly in her book.

"Now I may have to say something. But not now. Not with Hef around."

Lindsay nodded in agreement.

"Megabitch Joelle will be coming out tonight." Joelle said with a smile.

"Can't wait." Lindsay said, smiling back.

Before long, everyone was ready and they headed towards the nightclub. The amount of fans outside was unreal. Hef and his girlfriends stayed outside the nightclub to do the meet and greet and signed autographs for their fans, while the rest of the group headed inside. They went to the bar first to get the first shot of the night going. Joelle insisted on buying the first shot for everyone, and bought shots of Patron to go around. The bartender, who was dressed as a playboy bunny, handed the shots out and everyone held their shot glass up.

"To our last night in Vegas. Let it be an amazing, memorable night."

Everyone cheered, and then downed the shot. Joelle enjoyed how smooth the shot went down, and then set the glass down and insisted on dancing. All of the guys and Bethany decided to head to the blackjack tables and the rest of the group headed towards the dance floor. Nobody seemed to realize she was gone, and they were all having a great time on the dance floor.

A couple hours passed, and they were all exhausted, sitting down on a large couch in the VIP area.

"I swear if Ryan is losing all of our money, I'm gonna' kick his ass." Jackie said to Joelle, smiling.

"Yet, if he's winning, you'll be happy."

"Well, of course."

"Maybe we should go and crash their game." Joelle said wish a sly smile.

Jackie agreed and the two of them headed towards the blackjack tables. The group of guys were all sitting together, and Chris seemed to be the only one looking happy.

"So, who's winning?" Jackie asked, putting her arms around her husband.

"Definitely not me." He said, sounding disappointed.

"That would be me. And I thank your husband for letting me have his money." Chris said, smiling.

"Total crap." Eric said, whispering to Joelle.

"Maybe I should play." Joelle said with a smile.

"Sure, I'll take your money too."

"I'm out. " Crosby said watching Joelle sit down at the table.

"Party pooper." Joelle said, smiling at him.

Crosby just gave her an eye, knowing exactly that she was a good card player, and was even called a shark at times. She learned well from her uncles, and only used her talents to her advantage.

Crosby watched as Eric, Chris, and Ryan play their best against Joelle, and then after a few hands, get up from the table after losing all their money.

"I guess this means drinks are on me, eh?" Joelle asked with a smile, sorting her money.

"They better be, because I'm broke now!" Chris said, looking disappointed.

"Come on, I'll buy you a drink for letting me have all your money." Joelle joked, leading him towards the bar.

Joelle bought everyone another round of drinks. By that time, Hef and the girls had come into the bar and were sitting in the VIP area with the rest of her friends, who were sitting down taking a break. She immediately went over and sat next to Kendra.

"So, any prospects?" Kendra asked, looking around.

"Haven't been paying attention, since I've been too busy taking everyone's money from them." Joelle said with a sly smile.

"Good for you! But it is time to play with some boys' heads." Kendra said, grabbing her hand. Brittany followed close behind as they walked over to the balcony that overlooked the whole place.

"Those guys are kind of cute." Brittany said, pointing to a group of guys by one of the bars.

"We're not looking for kind of cute." Kendra said, dismissing them without looking. Joelle felt as if she was looking for someone in particular, but ignored her feeling, looking around some more.

"How about them?" Joelle asked, pointing to a couple guys on the dance floor. They weren't dancing, but really more scoping out the group of people there.

"No, they look retarded just bobbing their heads like that." Brittney said with a laugh.

Joelle smiled, agreeing with her friend.

"I can't get a good look up here. Let's go downstairs." Kendra said, grabbing Joelle's hand and pulling her towards the stairs that led to the dance floor. Once there, the three of them started to dance while looking around at the other parties that were there that night. She then felt someone put their arms around her waist and she immediately turned around and slapped the person who was touching her. She came face to face with Josh Harris, who was holding his face.

"Holy shit."

"What was that for?" Josh asked, looking at her.

"I didn't know it was you. And why would you just sneak up on someone like that? Seriously?" Joelle asked, leading him off the dance floor.

"I was trying to surprise you." He said.

"I was surprised, that's for sure." She said, taking a closer look at his face now that they were away from the mob of people dancing. "I'm sorry, it is a little red."

"It's alright."

"Now, seriously, what are you doing here? And how did you know I was here?"

"Kendra invited me." He said. Joelle looked over at Kendra, who was leaving the dance floor with Brittany, but with a smile on her face, looking obviously pleased with herself.

"I'd go into asking how you two got each other's numbers, and planned all of this, but it's all irrelevant at this point." Joelle said, and then started to walk towards the bar. She ordered herself a crown and coke, and then looked over at Josh, waiting for him to order. He ordered the same, and when the bartender brought them their drinks, Joelle handed her some money, and then she faced him. "Honestly, what brings you here?"

"It's Vegas. I was planning on being here with my friends anyway, and when Kendra called and stated you all were going to be here, I decided to join." He said, shrugging his shoulders. "Plus it's nice to see you outside of the hospital setting."

Joelle smiled.

"Or in work clothing." She said, shrugging her shoulders.

"You look nice." He said, smiling at her.

"Thanks. You don't look bad yourself. You clean up nicely." She joked, taking a seat at a small couch away from the rest of the group. "So, who else is here with you?"

"Andy and Kris are here with me. You met them the same night I met you." Josh said, lighting a cigarette.

"Shouldn't you go and get them?" She asked.

"Nah, I'll get them in a bit. They are fine, I'm sure."

"How long you guys in town for?"

"Just the weekend. You?"

"We leave tomorrow. Just had a weekend away with everyone, and the girls invited us to join them on the Playboy Club's anniversary party."

"How do you know them, if you don't mind me asking?" Josh asked, curious.

"I grew up across the street from Kendra when I lived in LA. I met Holly and Bridget through her. I have been at the mansion a few times actually."

Josh nodded, looking around. He noticed Crosby heading their way with who he figured was his girlfriend.

"Joelle, there you are, the guys wanted to win their money back." Crosby said, leaning over the couch to talk to Joelle. Joelle got a glance at Bethany, who clearly looked annoyed.

"I bought them drinks. That should be enough."

Crosby laughed, and then realized who Joelle was sitting with.

"Josh, what are you doing here?" He asked, standing up.

"Happened to be in Vegas at the same time. " He said, smiling.

"Small world." Crosby said, forcing a smile on his face. He didn't know what to think of the attraction between Joelle and Josh, but ignored it for the moment. He had realized at that moment the look that Joelle was giving Bethany. "Don't' start Joelle." He whispered to her, but she shrugged her shoulders, looking away from them.

"Crosby lets go." Bethany said to him, grabbing his arm.

"Where? We're fine here." He said, shrugging her off his arm to sit down across from Joelle and Josh.

Joelle was quiet while she listened to Josh and Crosby talk between each other. She watched Bethany, who was clearly not happy with being near Joelle. Joelle didn't know what she had done to make Bethany hate her. She barely talked to her the whole trip, so it wasn't something she said to make her mad. Joelle got up, and decided to find out what crawled up her ass. She moved to sit next to Bethany, who slid closer to Crosby to try to get away from Joelle. Crosby, watching Joelle move from where she was, knew that something was going to happen at that point.

"May I ask why you hate me so?" Joelle asked kindly, looking at her.

"No." Bethany said.

"So you do hate me. Alright, so we're getting somewhere. I just don't understand why you do, since this is the most we have said to each other the whole time we have known each other."

Bethany ignored the comment.

"Is it because my friends have treated you to this wonderful vacation? And the fact that I invited you?"

"You didn't invite me, Crosby did."

"True, but I invited Crosby knowing very well you would be following him like a little puppy dog." Joelle said, annoyed.

"You really are a bitch." Bethany said, turning away.

"Why thank you. You are so kind. At least I have a mind of my own and don't need someone to tell me where to go, when to go, and how to do things. You can't leave Crosby's side for a moment without feeling lost like a little child." Joelle said, getting defensive.

"Joelle, don't." Crosby said, giving her a look.

"No, don't stop me. She needs to be told what her problem is. She hasn't tried to meet anybody here. She hasn't tried to be friendly to anybody. I haven't heard her say thank-you once the whole time we were here to Kendra, Holly, or Bridget, or more importantly, Hef, who helped us with having such a great weekend."

"At least I am not a whore dressing the way you do and acting the way you do. You're all over every guy you come across like you are god's gift to men. Guess what, nobody's interested." Bethany said.

"Don't be jealous because you're a fat bitch and I am not." Joelle said, sitting up. "I could have any guy here that I want, but guess what, I don't sleep around like a little whore, but if you would have gotten to know me, than you would know that. Don't go assuming things that aren't true."

"If you could have any guy you wanted, then why are you still single? Do you have daddy issues? I heard about all of your little problems and how you were an anorexic little whiny bitch crying for attention. No wonder why your dad beat you." Bethany said.

With that, Joelle jumped from her seat and advanced towards Bethany. Crosby immediately went in between them, holding Joelle back.

"You're just mad it's true." Bethany said.

Joelle stood on the couch to try to go over Crosby to get at her, but he grabbed ahold of her small frame and took her away from Bethany. Kendra was with them at that point, not wanting them to get kicked out, and also wanting to calm Joelle down.

"Crosby, you need to get her the fuck out of here, and don't bring the bitch back with you. Get your own hotel room if you have too."

Joelle walked away towards her friends away from Bethany and Crosby. She could hear Lindsay cheering and made it a point to walk over to her. She was mad, and everyone there could tell, but nobody seemed mad with the fact that Joelle just went off on Bethany. According to all of them, she deserve it, and had it coming. Josh, however, was stunned by what just happened and slowly stood up.

"I really don't know what just happened." Josh said to Crosby and Bethany.

"Just go. I'll take care of it." Crosby said, shaking his head. He couldn't help but laugh at the situation, which didn't make Bethany any happier.

Josh walked over to where Joelle was at, sitting next to Lindsay and Charissa. She had lit a cigarette, and was looking angry.

"I'm sorry Josh." Joelle said, taking a deep breath. "I'm not letting her ruin my night. Guys, this is Josh Harris. Josh, these are my friends Lindsay and Charissa."

"Nice to meet you." Josh said, sitting down.

"I have met you before." Lindsay said, smiling. "I heard all about you."

"I hope good things." Josh said, eying her.

Lindsay just shrugged her shoulders, taking a drink.

"Let's go get your friends." Joelle said to Josh, standing up. She was tired of the looks that Bethany was giving her at that moment, and wanted to get away. The two of them headed downstairs to search for Adam and Kris. They seemed surprised to see Joelle, and they did say they remembered her from months ago. She led them back to the VIP area. Joelle couldn't help but glance around to look for Bethany, but her and Crosby had disappeared.

"Where's Crosby?" Joelle asked Kendra.

"I don't know. I saw them leave I think."

Joelle made a face, finishing off the drink she had.

"Don't let the bitch ruin your night. You know what we should do? I think you, me, Holly, and Bridget, and whoever else wants too, should go and dress up and perform on stage down there."

Joelle looked downstairs and saw a stage in front of the dance floor. It wasn't huge, but it was big enough for the girls to make the scene that Kendra was hinting at.

"Dress up in what?" She asked with a sly smile.

"They have bunny outfits in the back. I already know Holly wants to do it, and I'm sure Bridget would be for it. Just depends on if you think the others would be for it. Jessica and Brittany are already out."

Joelle laughed.

"I think Lindsay would do it, but that would be it."

"Four blonds and a brunet would be perfect. Every mans dream." Kendra said. "Go ask her."

Joelle went off in the direction of where Lindsay was sitting. She asked her if she would be interested, and Lindsay immediately jumped to the chance to performing on stage in a bunny outfit. Joelle introduced Josh, Adam, and Kris to the rest of her friends, and told them all to keep an eye out for a surprise coming their way. Joelle then ran to join Lindsay, Kendra, Holly, and Bridget and they all headed backstage to a dressing room. When they got there, a lady by the name of Ann was there waiting. She was one of the managers on duty that night at the club, and was more than thrilled when she heard the girls wanted to do their own little performance.

The girls all dressed in the many outfits that they had in the back. Each were different bunny outfits that had different styles to them.

"I always wanted to wear one of these." Lindsay said as she was zipped up into the outfit.

"Me too actually. My uncles would kill me if they knew what I was doing right now." Joelle said, smiling.

"I gave Chris your camera, so he'll take pictures."

"He better!" Joelle said, laughing. She put on the bunny ears and looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. This was exactly what she needed to get her mind off of the fight she just had with Bethany. And the fact that Josh was there seemed to help her mood. It was a nice surprise to see him there, and she mentally made a note to thank Kendra later on.

"Ready ladies?" Bridget asked, smiling.

The five girls walked out onto the small stage and immediately everyone in the room started to cheer. Bridget had a microphone and thanked everyone for showing up to the anniversary party, and hoped everyone had a great time, and asked for everyone to join them in partying for the rest of the night. The music came on and the five girls immediately started to put on their show. They weren't on stage long , since getting down into the crowd seemed like more fun. After an hour, they all headed up to the VIP area, where they all danced with Hef, who seemed more than pleased with the idea.

Joelle then spotted Josh, who was sitting across the room with his friends as well as Chris, Jackie, Ryan, Charissa, and Eric. She went over and grabbed Jackie and Charissa's hands and had them stand up to join in dancing. The guys all sat back and enjoyed the show. Joelle kept glancing over at Josh out of the corner of her eye, and she saw that he was watching her every move.

"So, Chris, did you get good pictures?" Joelle asked, stopping dancing. She was a little out of breath, and needed to take a break.

"I got some great pictures of you three there. I need to get my girl in on that picture."

"I can arrange that, hold on." Joelle quickly ran over to grab Lindsay, who was talking to Holly, and told her that Chris wanted to get a close-up picture of them. Lindsay ran over and they all posed with Joelle and Lindsay in the middle in their little bunny outfits.

"This thing is tight." Lindsay said, adjusting the corset she was wearing. "And it's making me hot."

"Here's your drink." Chris said, lifting it up. Lindsay sat on his lap accepting her drink graciously. Joelle grabbed her camera from Chris and took a picture of the two of them together.

Joelle looked behind her, wondering where Crosby had disappeared too. It wasn't the same hanging out with everyone without him.

"Don't worry about him." Jackie whispered to her.

"I shouldn't." Joelle said, turning back towards everyone. She grabbed her drink and walked over to where Josh was sitting and sat on his lap. He seemed surprised by how forward she was, but didn't try to move her at all.

"So do you guys all live in Seattle?" Eric asked Josh, Kris, and Adam.

They all nodded in agreement.

Joelle rested her arm around Josh's shoulders and leaned toward his ear and quietly asked him if he was okay with her sitting where she was. He told her she was fine, resting his arm around her waist.

"I'm sorry about the episode from earlier." She said, making a face.

"Don't even worry about it. From what these guys were telling me, that girl had been nothing but a bitch all weekend."

Joelle nodded, taking a drink. She wanted a cigarette, but had promised Ann that she wouldn't smoke in the outfit, since it was bad for the image.

"Did you guys want to come back to the room with us? There is an after party there when we get done here."

Josh nodded, liking the idea of spending more time with Joelle. The more that he got to know her, the more he liked her, and her personality. She was nothing that he had originally thought about her when he met her up in Alaska. She was passionate about everything in her life, no matter how she acted in the situation she was dealt with. And, even after everything she had gone through, he could tell that she was stronger than she let on, both emotionally and physically. She definitely handled herself well, and that was probably what attracted him to her most of all.

"I need out of this thing now. I want to smoke in the worst way." Joelle said, standing up. "Plus, I'm sweating to death in it."

Lindsay, agreeing, stood up. Kendra went with them, wanting to get out of the outfit herself. Once changed, Joelle almost immediately lit a cigarette and felt so much better about changing outfits.

"So, you and Josh. You are looking awfully cozy over there." Kendra said, smiling at her friend.

"He's a real nice guy." Was all Joelle said, smiling back.

The three girls headed back to where everyone was and Joelle immediately saw Crosby, who was looking for her.

"What?" Joelle asked. "Where did you go?"

"Alright, so I talked to Bethany, who was willing to give you a chance. We came in here, and saw you wearing the bunny outfit, which looked great by the way, but that set her off. So, she is at the hotel, packing."

"So you're leaving?" Joelle asked, crossing her arms in disgust.

"To take her to the airport, and then I'll be back. You really got her heated." He laughed. "But honestly, I told her that if she couldn't hang out with my friends and get along, then she might as well leave. So, she started packing."

"I'd lie and say I was sorry, but I'm not. You are way too good for that bitch."

"Don't be so blunt about it." He said, laughing.

"I'd ask if you wanted me to go with you, but that would probably not go over well at all."

"Yeah, not at all. So, I'll be back in a couple hours." He said.

"Call me if you need me. I will bitch slap her." She said.

"Yes, I know. I vaguely remember holding you back." He said, laughing. "And I'm sorry for what she said. It was uncalled for, and I let her know that."

Joelle nodded, giving him a hug.

"Thanks Crosby." She said, holding him tight.

"I will see you when I get back, okay?"

Joelle nodded, watching Crosby leave the club. Kendra walked up and put her arm around her friend.

"So, he's going home?"

"Nope, he's putting Bethany on a plane and sending her away. He will be back after he drops her off."

"So he's coming back? Good. I'd hate for his weekend to be over because of her." She said. "Plus, now you can relax knowing he's here with you."

Joelle sighed. She went back and joined the group of her friends sitting on the couch. She sat next to Josh after grabbing her drink. Lindsay was on the other side of her and Joelle whispered in her ear , "ding dong, the witch is gone."

Lindsay laughed.

The group stayed at the club a little longer, and then headed back to their suite. Kendra and Bridget more than insisted in going swimming, but instead of changing, just took their dresses off and got in the pool.

"Get in the pool Joelle!" Kendra yelled at her friend.

"I am good. I'll stay over here and keep fueling my addiction." She said, holding up the drink she had just gotten.

Kendra ignored her friend, going to the edge of the pool to look over the glass wall at Vegas. Joelle sat back and watched all of her friends in the pool. The alcohol was starting to take its effect on Joelle, and the drink she was currently holding was barely being touched.

"Do you need a baby bottle for that?"

Joelle turned to see Josh standing there, smiling at her.

"I have definitely hit my limit for the night." Joelle said, smiling back. "I hate getting drunk to the point where I want to throw up, so I try not to pass that point."

"Smart. If only I knew when that point was." He said, finishing the drink he had in his hand.

"If you hang out with me, you will learn in time." Joelle said, smiling. She lit a cigarette and took a long drag from it.

"So, did you want to get together when we all get back home? Just us two?" He asked. He looked as if he was trying to get the courage to ask her out for awhile.

"If you can manage to not lose my number again, sure. Give me a call."

"How about we both put our numbers in each other's phones, that way one of us is bound to not fuck up."

Joelle laughed, and went to her purse, which was on the other side of the room to get her phone. Once she retrieved it, she went back to the bar and sat down next to him. They exchanged phone numbers, and Josh promised he would call her later that week to set up a time to get together.

Joelle then noticed Crosby walk into the room. She smiled her greeting to him, and he smiled back, but went over to where Chris and Lindsay were sitting.

"So, no Bethany?" Josh asked when he saw Crosby.

"She is on a plane to get away from here." Joelle responded, finishing her cigarette.

"Good. She seemed to bring a lot of people down here."

Joelle nodded in agreement.

"So, how was your crab season? I never had a chance to ask you."

"It went alright. It took a lot longer to catch the crab than we had wanted, but we got it done."

Joelle nodded.

"I wish I could have fished the season." Joelle said, shrugging her shoulders.

"When do you go back out?"

"Well, if I can get my strength back up, I leave in August with Edgar and Norman to go salmon tendering. After that, king crab season starts. It would be the perfect birthday present if I was able to go."

"When's your birthday?"

"End of July. So only a couple months away."

"How old you going to be?"

"Twenty-three." She said with a smile. "How about you?"

"I'm about to be twenty-five myself." He answered.

"Old man." Joelle joked, taking the first sip of her watered down drink that she had taken in awhile.

"I'm definitely not old yet." He said, laughing.

It was around five in the morning when people started to fall asleep. The flight that Joelle was leaving on left around noon, and she knew at that point that she wasn't going to get much sleep that night.

"Where are you guys staying at?" Joelle asked Josh. They had spent most of the night talking, oblivious to what was going on around them.

"Here in the hotel." He said, standing up.

"Where did Adam and Kris go?" She asked, looking around for them.

"They must have left already." He shrugged his shoulders, looking at Joelle.

"I'll walk you to your room then." She said, standing up herself. "Lindsay, I'll be back."

Lindsay nodded, putting some of the empty glasses on the bar. She looked exhausted, but she was debating on whether to just go to bed, or just stay up the rest of the night, since they were going to have to wake up soon anyway.

Joelle and Josh walked out of the hotel room and got in the elevator to go down to the level Josh's room was at. The ride was silent, both nearly exhausted from the full day they had, but neither of them really wanted it to end.

"I'm glad you came." Joelle said to him, not really looking his way.

"I'm glad I came too. I had a lot of fun."

Joelle nodded. He leaned over and put his arm around her shoulders, holding her close to him. She rested her head on his shoulder as they waited for the elevator to come to a stop. Once it did, the two walked out hand in hand to Josh's room.

"So, you'll call, right?" Joelle joked, smiling at him.

Josh nodded, smiling back. Before he could talk himself out of it, he leaned over and gently gave her a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her, bring her closer to him. Her small frame seemed to fit perfectly in his arms.

"Have a safe trip home." He said, holding her close still.

"You do the same." She said, smiling up at him.

Josh kissed her one last time, this one lasting longer, before Joelle finally headed back up to her room. Once inside, she saw that Lindsay was still awake, sitting with her feet in the pool.

"Decide to just pull an all nighter?" Joelle asked, sitting next to her.

"It's pointless to try to get sleep. I'll just wake up cranky, and nobody wants that." She joked.

"Good point. Have fun tonight?"

Lindsay nodded.

"I can't believe it's over already."

Joelle sighed, agreeing.

Before they knew it, it was time to wake up the rest of her friends to start packing and getting ready to go to the airport. She said her good-byes to Kendra, Holly, Bridget, and Hef, and thanked them all a million times for such a great weekend. The group headed towards the airport, all walking zombies.

"I shouldn't have fallen asleep." Crosby said to her on the airplane. They were sitting next to each other, half asleep.

"And I should have slept." Joelle said. Their flight wasn't going to be a long one, but Joelle felt herself starting to fall asleep.

"I have a shoulder to sleep on." Crosby offered.

Joelle accepted the offer, and was asleep before they even took off to Seattle.


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