“You saw that last ace, right?” Dana’s grin gave her away.

“Shane’s a smart-ass,” Alice answered, following Dana into the now deserted locker room. “I couldn’t let her get away with it.”

Before she knew what hit her, Dana pressed her into the cool tile wall and captured her lips in a kiss that was urgent and tender at the same time. Alice was just as ready as Dana, unceremoniously slipping her panties to the floor before making quick work Dana’s shorts. Both moaned loudly as they discovered how wet the other was. Alice suckled at the salty goodness of Dana’s pulse-point, leaving Dana breathless, her index and middle fingers working the velvet folds of Alice’s core, taking her to the edge in record time.

“Miss?” Al groaned in protest, pulling her blanket over her head. “Miss?” The perky voice was insistent this time. “We’ve begun our descent. I’m afraid you’ll have return your seat to the upright position.”

Alice wasn’t sure which was worse. Finishing the dream and waking up alone or waking up in this particular state, unable to do anything about it. She took a drink from the bottle of cold water the flight attendant offered and willed herself to get it together.

Details tend to get lost when plans are made quickly or under duress. In this case, both had been true. Alice stood in front of the rental car kiosk, her bags beside her, trying to figure out how she’d overlooked the fact that all the car rental places would be closed at this hour. Calling Lenore was out of the question. Fuck. And she hated cabs. Even in New York, she walked or used the network car service. She brightened when she saw the decrepit old phone tucked into the furthest corner. In short order, she arranged for the only 24 rental service in all of Los Angeles to pick her up. Forty minutes later, she impatiently initialed the over-priced daily insurance boxes and accepted the keys to a ten year old baby-poop green Dodge Neon.

Alice sat in the car, adjusting the seat and mirrors while she pondered her next move. Her first stop from the airport had been the same since she was a little girl. The 24 hour burger joint built on the outskirts of LAX, resembled the original air traffic control tower, and had, as the locals knew, the best burger in town. Unfortunately, it was so out of the way for most Anglenos that the only time many went was when they had to go to the airport anyway. Alice’s mouth watered, but she hesitated, remembering the day she’d introduced Dana to the place. She’d been stunned to learn that people in Orange County could grow up without ever tasting a Tower burger. From then on, going there, sometimes even when they weren’t coming back to town, had been one of their things. Now Al debated whether three and a half years was long enough to keep her from having a Dana melt down if she went. Fuck it, she thought, this was my thing before it was ours. She gunned the engine and turned away from the freeway.