As they talked over morning coffee, Hana learned that Dahlia's ex-girlfriend had also been her manager. The previous night's show had been the last one she booked before they broke up, and Dahlia had no idea what she was going to do next.
Impulsively Hana said that she should come with them to Phoenix and Vegas. After taking all of about five seconds to think it over, Dahlia grinned and said she'd love to. Before long the two of them and Jenny were in the increasingly crowded car heading west on I-40. Donna and Haley -- who had stumbled in somewhere in the wee hours, long after Hana, Jenny, and Dahlia had gone to sleep -- would follow later in the van.
A few minutes out of Albuquerque Hana was struck by a brainstorm. When she excitedly suggested that Dahlia join them onstage that night, Dahlia hesitated for only a moment before agreeing. They spent the next few hours working out vocal arrangements for half a dozen songs -- Dahlia had a gift for harmony as well as melody -- and practicing them.
When they finished it was getting late in the afternoon and Hana fished a joint out of her bag, feeling like she'd earned a treat. Jenny didn't want to smoke while she was driving, and Dahlia was sprawled out across the back seat with her eyes closed, so Hana cracked her window and puffed alone as she watched the desert landscape roll by.
Soon she was extremely high and commensurately horny. In her mind's eye she saw herself climbing into the back seat and leaning down to nuzzle into Dahlia's belly. She could feel the tiny hairs tickle her face, could smell that special scent as she unbuttoned Dahlia's jeans and began to pull them down....
But she was too contented and lazy to actually do it. Instead she just stared out at the mesas and cacti as the first hints of sunset began to color the sky.
* * *
As evening settled over Las Vegas, Miss White found herself feeling restless. There was something she wanted, or needed, to do; she just didn't know what it was yet.
Preparing for whatever it was involved getting Jodie into the blue dress they'd bought their first day in town, then accessorizing it with her collar, heels, and the fur stole. She looked absolutely luscious and for a while Miss White was content to just stroll around with the younger woman on her arm, feeling immensely privileged and proprietary.
But there weren't many people around and eventually Miss White decided it was time to sit down and have a drink. She realized that they were not far from the bar where they'd met Cat, Charlotte, Lena, and Astrid. It seemed like years ago now, so much had happened, but in reality it was what... maybe a week? Miss White shook her head in disbelief.
In contrast to the previous time they'd been there, the bar was totally dead. There was one couple at a table in the far corner and one customer at the bar; the bartender was all the way at the other end, staring into her phone. The lighting was dim and some quiet jazz was playing. It felt like 3 A.M. instead of mid-evening.
When Miss White looked over at the single patron at the bar, an older woman with long blond hair, suddenly a full-blown scenario popped into her head. She pulled Jodie aside for a minute and whispered instructions, whereupon Jodie walked away down the hall. Only then did Miss White go inside.
The bartender looked up from her phone, sat it down, and stood up to serve Miss White, who took a seat a few stools down from the blonde. Though she was butch, stern-looking, and heavily tattooed, the bartender flashed a warm and lovely smile as she took Miss White's order. After setting the whiskey down, she returned to her spot at the other end of the bar and was immediately absorbed in her phone again.
Miss White studied the woman sitting nearby, who was looking at a TV playing an old movie but didn't seem to be paying much attention. She was clearly not a natural blonde; her features had an Asian cast to them, but her coloring was Mediterranean. Though she was indeed on the older side -- Miss White guessed mid-50s -- she was still quite beautiful, and was wearing a top with a plunging neckline that displayed substantial cleavage.