Saturday morning, Audrey was gathering her things ready to leave. She had a flight at lunchtime and would get a late breakfast near the airport with Laura. Her evening with Kashal had ended quite quickly after dinner and she retired to the bedroom as soon as they'd arrived back at the apartment. She didn't feel like sitting around and making any more small talk.

She couldn't help comparing the place to Neil's apartment back in San Jose. The layout was quite similar, but this was bland and impersonal. She knew he'd only been there a little over a week, but there wasn't even a picture of her or a personal item to be seen. Neil's place was full of life, photographs of his family, nik-naks from here and there and his bedroom, well his bedroom was just him. Masculine, strong and smelt amazing - she laughed to herself at that last point. Since when had she cared how Neil smelt!

She lay back on the rumpled covers and stared at the ceiling, trying to drop off to sleep. Thoughts raced through her mind but she eventually drifted off and by the time she woke the next morning, Kashal had already left. A note by the coffee machine was the only evidence that another person had been in the apartment at all. It simply said 'Thanks'.

Laura picked her up dead on time and they drove back to Dulles chatting as they went. They found a themselves a nice spot for breakfast and Audrey set to filling her in on her dinner with Kashal.

"I can't believe you agreed to that!" Laura exclaimed. "What were you thinking?"

"I don't know" Audrey replied shaking her head. "I suppose I thought I'd help him out."

"Why?! Do you think you'll change your minds if you give each other some space? Maybe realise you miss each other?"

"I doubt it" Audrey said, sounding a little sad. "I've just never really failed at anything before. I mean, I got a B once in High School, but I soon fixed that. It's just not in my nature to fail at anything."

"Well I think your lucky to have gotten this far Aud" Laura said sympathetically. "Maybe marriage isn't your thing? Serious relationships take work which you're not willing to put in."

"Wow! That's harsh" Audrey exclaimed sitting back in her seat.

"Am I wrong?" Laura continued , like a dog with a bone, she was not letting go. "If you had both worked as hard on your marriage as you did on your studies, things could have been very different."

Audrey just looked at her friend and nodded.

"Your probably right" she said quietly. "Relationships don't come naturally to me. All this talk of feelings makes me uncomfortable and I could quite happily go without" she said sadly.

"I know. I'm sorry if I upset you, bit I hate seeing you like this. So unsure of yourself" Laura said, moving her seat a little closer and taking Audrey's hand.

"It's fine" she replied. "I mean, it's not fine, but it's fine, you know?"

"Yeah sure" Laura said smiling. "And you're right. You suck at talking about feelings."

Laura waited with Audrey until it was time to go through security to departures.

"It was so good to see you, Laura. Thanks for taking such good care of me" Audrey smiled as she embraced her friend.

"Any time" Laura replied. "Maybe we don't leave it so long next time though, please?"

"Absolutely not. I'll let you know if I get any offers" she days pulling back a little and looking at her friend.

"When you get offers more like" she smiled. "And we'll figure out how to turn them down together."

Audrey smiled, a big genuine smile which brightened her eyes and made her cheeks glow.

"I love you, you know that right?" Audrey said.

"I love you too."

X

Saturday in Las Vegas was quite different. Neil and his friends were heading out into the sunshine for a day of what they had dubbed "manly activities".

Neil had arranged a morning at the gun range, which turned very competitive very quickly. As it turned out, Neils steady hands made him an exceptional shot much to the delight of the group. Another reason to roast Mr. Perfect!

Next was a ride in a helicopter (or two) to lunch at the bottom of The Grand Canyon. He'd been in touch with the tour operator and got them to switch out the champagne lunch for beers much to the delight the party. None of them were fans of the champagne lifestyle so the change suited them perfectly.

"This is brilliant Neil" Adam said as they sat eating lunch. "Such a good day."

"No worries brother, you deserve the best" Neil replied smiling.

"I'm glad you could make it, you know. It wouldn't have been the same without you. I definitely wouldn't be this sober" Adam continued. "What made you change your mind?"

"I just thought I should be here, being best man and all" he started.

"I call bullshit" Adam laughed. "You were stuck working, then suddenly you weren't?" he jibed.

"Honestly! I sold my soul to the devil" Neil chuckled. "I'm working every weekend between now and the wedding to pay it back."

"No way! That's gotta play havoc with your love life" Adam teased.

"Chance would be a fine thing" Neil laughed.

"The well has dried up since you and Jessica split, has it?" one of the other guys piped up, overhearing the last part of their conversation.

"Funny, funny" Neil replied, rolling his eyes. "You guys gossip like girls!"

"Seriously though man, if you're having girl trouble, the rest of us are doomed" another added with a raucous laugh.

They sat enjoying the views and the beers a little while longer until the pilots announced that it was time to head back. They snapped their last few photographs and strolled back towards the helicopters.

"Seriously, Neil" Adam started as they hung back a little. "Are you alright?"

"Yes mate, I promise. Just needed a break and some fun with my friends. I'll be fine" he smiled.

"Is it woman trouble?" he asked, not letting it drop.

"You could call it that" Neil laughed not going into further detail. Adam stopped still and just looked at him until he cracked. "I told someone how I felt and got shot down in a ball of flames! I just needed some time and some fun, so here I am."

"Well I'm glad" Adam said clapping him on the back. "About the trip, not the woman thing, of course.'

"Of course" Neil repeated as they climbed back into their seats.

X

Audrey landed on time back in San Jose and as promised, Kevin and Jo were there to meet her in Neil's clapped out old car.

"How did it go?" "Are you hungry?" came the simultaneous questions.

"One at a time" she laughed. "Let's get dinner and I'll fill you in on everything."

"Sounds great" Jo said, linking their arms and pulling her off to the car.

Sat close together at a half decent steakhouse, Audrey filled them in on the events of the last couple of days. Both of them were delighted to hear that she was intending on rejecting any offers she received and she'd be around for at least another year.

"Your friend Laura sounds very wise" Jo said nodding. "I'd like to shake her hand."

"Only because she said what you wanted to say" Kevin teased.

"Pretty much" Jo confirmed. "Like I said, very wise."

They sat and laughed and enjoyed their dinner happy in the knowledge that their little group would be whole for another year.

Eventually the subject the two of them had actively been avoiding came up when Audrey asked "Have you heard from Neil, is he having fun?"

They looked at each other, then back at Audrey.

"We've not heard from him" Jo said and it wasn't technically a lie. They hadn't spoken, but they had seen him featured heavily in social media tags by his friends and her looked like he was having a great time.

Audrey was not a subscriber to social media just yet and they were grateful for that. They weren't sure how she'd feel seeing Neil locked in an embrace with a dark haired lady captioned 'Mr. Perfect in action!' They weren't particularly happy about it, but if Audrey was going to stay married she couldn't expect him to wait around, could she?

"Do you think he'd like a lift from the airport tomorrow?" she asked them. "I could borrow his car?"

"I'm not sure Aud, I think he booked a transfer otherwise he'd have asked one of us. He knows we've borrowed his car" Jo said trying to put her off.

"True" she agreed. "I'm going to look forward to telling him everything on Monday."

"Everything?" Kevin asked.

"Yes" said Audrey innocently.

"Even about your plans to divorce?"

"Yes" she said confidently. "Maybe he'll be willing to wait a little longer? Laura said if I want something, I've got to put some effort into it" she said excusing herself to use the bathroom.

"Maybe Laura isn't as smart as I thought" Jo said shaking her head after Audrey was out of earshot.

"This could go horribly wrong" Kevin agreed said as her took a long drink from his glass.

X

Saturday continued in Vegas just as it started with the group of friends laughing and having the best of times together. Their afternoon was spent at some batting cages before heading back to freshen up for a nice steak dinner and a night in a club.

They had tickets for XS at The Wynn so were dressed to impress. Smart trousers and short sleeve shirts were the order of the evening and they had all scrubbed up very well indeed. They had a cabana table booked with bottle service and were very much enjoying being looked after by their servers.

They spilt off into smaller groups as the night went on. Some were dancing up a storm on the dance floor, others were propping up the roulette tables and a couple were sat out by the pool, having taken off their shoes and dangling their feet in.

Adam, Neil and two others were sat outside at their cabana, having drinks and people watching. Neil felt a hard nudge in his side from Adam who was nodding his head in an attempt to subtly draw his attention to a group that had just arrived poolside. It was the ladies from their hotel.

"Invite them over" Adam said. "They're good fun."

"You do it, it's your party" one of the others argued back.

"Fine" he said as he sat more upright and waved. He caught their eye and they headed over towards them. The guys found themselves sitting up a little taller and straightening their shirts as Adam invited them to join them at their table.

Once again, the group gradually broke apart even further and left just Neil and Nicola sat at the table, sipping their drinks.

"This is starting to feel like a set up" Nicola smiled into her drink after they had moved to sit next to each other.

"Seems so" he smiled back. "That ok? We can go find some of the others if you like?"

"It's fine" she said shyly.

"Good."

They sat comfortably passing the time, catching up on the events of the day. He found that they had spent the day in the spa, and recovering by the pool while the boys had been out all day.

"Want to go dance?" he asked after a lull in the conversation.

"Not really my kind of music" she said. "I like things a bit more relaxed. What about you? Your favourite music?"

"Most things to be honest. But I'll tell you a secret" he said leaning closer to whisper in her ear. 'I do like a bit of county, but that's classified."

She looked at him with a smirk. "Country?!"

"Ssshhh" he joked, looking around. "You can take the boy out of Texas and all" he shrugged making her laugh out loud.

He liked it when she smiled, and he liked it more when it was him that made her smile. 'What the hell' he thought to himself and he closed the last few inches between them and kissed her.

He felt her tense for a brief moment and smiled into the kiss as he felt her relax. They moved closer as and his hand came to rest in her thigh which made her tense again. He stopped.

"Is this okay?" Neil asked, resting his forehead against hers.

"It is" she said. "It's just, you know. I don't normally do this."

"Kiss strangers?" he smiled.

"Pretty much" she said s little shyly.

He sat back to give her some space and held out his hand. "Neil Melendez, nice to meet you" he smiled cheekily.

"Nicola James" she said shaking his hand. "And I feel like an idiot. I'm sorry."

"No need" he smiled, taking another swig of his beer. "Like I said before, it's your party. You should do what you want."

She laughed and shook her head as she mumbled something into her glass. He just looked, eyebrow raised questioning her.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that" he said.

She sat forward again and cupped his chin. "You weren't meant to" she smiled as she leaned in to kiss him again.

X

They woke early the next morning tangled in bed sheets and each other. After stretching slowly, Neil pulled the warm body next to him closer and he felt her smile against his chest.

"Morning" she mumbled.

"Good morning" he replied.

"Is this going to be weird?" she asked quietly. "I've not really done this before."

He untangled them just enough to scoot down so he could see her properly. She had one arm tucked under her like a pillow and had a nervous look on her face.

"It doesn't need to be weird at all" he said dropping a brief kiss on her lips getting a smile in response. "And if it makes you feel better, this isn't something I do every weekend either."

"I wouldn't mind doing it again though" she said letting her free hand rest on the stag head tattoo on his upper chest.

"My pleasure" he replied closing the gap between them again.

When they woke for the second time that morning, they were much more relaxed and familiar around each other. Nicola seemed to have gotten over her initial apprehension and didn't seem so keen to get rid of him. She even offered to make him a coffee while her grabbed a shower.

Walking out into the sitting area of the suite looking for his shirt which had been discarded in the heat of the moment, he was met with hushed whispers from the rest of the occupants.

"Morning" he said giving them a small smile as he headed towards Nicola and his coffee. "Thank you" her smiled as he took the steaming cup from her hands and took a sip.

"So are you guys going to swap numbers then? Or are you done with your plaything Nic?" one of her friends asked.

He watched her blush again at the suggestion.

"I don't think so" she said. "This was just a holiday thing, right? Besides, you live in Texas, it's not exactly a short hop to visit!" she said casually.

"No I don't" he replied shaking his head, watching the confusion cross her face.

"You said last night 'you can take the boy outta Texas'?" she said slowly.

"Yeah" he replied slowly. "Take out, as in moved when I was a teenager. I live in San Jose" he smiled, looking a little bemused.

"Oh" she said quietly, her face falling.

"Yeah, oh" he smiled awkwardly at her reaction.

"You should probably go" she said, taking the still hot coffee cup from his hand.

"Erm, sure, okay" he replied, unsure what he was meant to do next. After a few seconds, which felt like a lifetime to both of them, he leaned and kissed her cheek before he turned and left.

Closing the door behind him, he stood a moment outside the suite trying to figure out what had just happened. He shook his head and started walking back to his room.

"Neil!" he heard as he waited for the elevator. He turned to see one of Nicola's friends coming towards him. "I'm glad I caught you" she smiled as she approached. "Can I have your number?" she asked casually.

She laughed at the shocked look that crossed his face and jumped back in before he could object.

"Not like that! She's going to regret what she's just done. I want to help her out 'if' she wants to call you." The was particular emphasis on the 'if' which made him smile. "We're from Salinas. She was fine until she realised you only lived an hour away."

"And not in Texas" he said.

"And not in Texas" she confirmed with a laugh.

"Okay then" he said as he took the cell phone she was offering. He typed in his number and handed it back. "Thanks" he smiled.

"No promises mind" she reminded him. "Just in case."

"I get it, don't worry" he smiled and as of on cue, the elevator doors opened and he stepped inside.

"See you around? Maybe?" he said as the doors closed.

"Maybe!" he heard.