Lori's face grew steadily paler as she listened to the recorded message. Quickly waving her hand, she motioned for Stan to come over. Running up to her, he wrapped an arm around her waist as she handed him the phone. He lifted it to his ear. The corner edges of his lips curled up as he set the phone on the table.

Lori looked at Brook, then Stan. "This guy worries me. Should we call the police?"

He rubbed her back. "Jason sounds like a problem child. I wouldn't give him a second thought. Even if he tries to gain access to our property, we'll be waiting."

Brook walked toward Stan and Lori. "Oh, my God. He's coming, isn't he? What did he say?"

Lori reached for Brook's hands. "Yes, honey. He said he's coming."

Blinking fast to hold back the tears, Brook looked into Lori's eyes. "Oh, my God! I'm so afraid. I'm so sorry for getting you both involved with him."

Lori threaded her fingers through Brook's hair and tucked some strands behind her ear. "Oh, honey, this resort is practically a city within a city with its own police force. I promise if Jason shows up, we won't let him near you. I think our focus should be on your healing and recovery, not on whether Jason comes down here or not."

Stan placed his hand on Brook's shoulder. "I agree with Lori, your recovery should be our main priority. Why don't you walk around the resort, take in a show, try a few games in the casino, eat, drink, swim, get that tan you always wanted and just have some fun. You've been through enough with that guy. Now it's time to focus on Brook and take care of her."

"You two are incredibly good to me. Thank you, I really mean that."

Lori rubbed Brook's back. The buzzer to the penthouse rang. Brook jerked her head around toward the door. "Jason?"

Lori giggled as walked toward the front door. "I doubt it. There were some people outside all concerned about Stan. I'll thank them for coming and dismiss them."

"Please, allow me, love." Stan beat her to the door dressed in his dark blue bathrobe and pulled the door open. The crowd outside had grown to over fifty concerned people all talking amongst themselves.

As the door opened, a hush came over the group. Someone from the back yelled out, "Stan, are you okay?"

"Yes. I want to thank you all for coming and your concerns. I had a little accident in the bathroom, but I'm okay now. Thank you all for coming up to offer help."

Some people stopped at the door to hug Stan and express their concerns for his well being, but most of the others went back to talking and turned around to take the elevator down, relieved everything was okay.

Brook turned toward Lori with a puzzled look on her face. "What happened?"

She glanced over toward Stan. "Oh, nothing really. Stan fell and hurt himself earlier, but he's okay now."

Closing the door and looking towards the girls Stan asked, "If it's okay with you beautiful ladies, I'm going to get dressed and meet the governor before she thinks I've forgotten her."

Brook turned to Lori with want in her eyes. "Let's go out too. I need to get my mind off Jason. I don't know what it is, but I feel so much energy surging through me all of a sudden. Besides, I'm starving."

Lori smiled. "We can't have that. Let's get dressed."

Brook and Lori headed toward Brook's room to change. Stan looked down at Linda as she soaked in the hot tub full of swirling bubbles and winked. "Told you, didn't I? Cartwheels."

"It's amazing how fast the venom works. You must let me learn more about it."

"Haven't we been over this a hundred times? It must remain a secret and you know why."

Scooting closer, Linda replied, "Perhaps, but I must keep asking." She looked down at her watch. "Oh, how time flies when you're having fun. This is probably as good a time to leave as any. I think I'll head downstairs for a nightcap before turning in." Linda stood up and got up out of the tub, then dried herself off with a gold Wishes Resort towel. "Are you still feeling okay?" Reaching toward the sofa, she grabbed her clothes and got dressed, pulling up her shorts and tucking in her shirt.

Walking over, Stan replied, "I'm fine now. Thank you again for coming, Linda." He leaned close to her and kissed her cheek. "I truly appreciate your help and friendship."

"Well, I still love you, you know. Good night," she whispered, returning his hug.

Brook and Lori exited the bedroom. They were dressed in tan shorts which showed off their beautiful long, thin legs. With their shorts and hair tied up into ponytails, they looked more like sisters than cousins. "Are you leaving, Linda?" Lori asked.

Linda turned around. "Yes, I want to take care of a few things before turning in. It was nice meeting you, Brook."

"Nice meeting you too," Brook replied.

"Remember if you need anything or don't feel well, you can always get a hold of me by dialing 911 here in the resort."

"Thanks."

Linda grabbed her medical bag and walked out. Lori followed closing it then turned around and leaned back against the frame facing Brook and Stan. "Let's party!"

"You two go have fun. I have some things to tend to with the governor in the casino. If you get bored, I'll be in the high stakes section."

Pointing a finger at Stan, Lori replied, "Okay, but you owe us both a dance tonight in the club."

He stared at them both taking in their beauty. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. Have a good time," Stan said as he closed the door.

The resort operated twenty-four hours a day and that included the restaurants, nightclubs and casino. The two words guests would never hear were "last call". Wishes never slept and neither did the guests.

Lori led Brook out to the pier where they sat and gazed out at the dark horizon. The smell of fresh grilled food rising from the snack hut, mixed with the smell of the ocean, caused hunger pains deep in their stomachs. The girls ordered and dined on sizzling kabobs piled high with Cajun shrimps, cubed chicken, tender pieces of steak, onions and green peppers. The kabob's chicken was oven roasted and marinated in sweet barbeque sauce while the steaks were dipped in a tasty butter sauce. These tastes left them hungry for more. At their side they had thirty-two ounce frosted mugs that were kept full of Wishes own home brewed beer.

Leaning back on the bench and stretching, Brook looked up at the stars. "Ah, this is the life."

"Isn't it peaceful out here?" The sound of a fog horn blew in the distance.

Brook lifted her beer to her lips and took a sip. "It sure is. It's unreal for me."

With her two thin fingers, Lori gently pulled off a piece of shrimp and lifted it into her mouth. "Hmm, delicious. Yes, I know that feeling. What would you be doing back home about now?"

"I don't even want to think about it. I'd probably be getting yelled at by Jason in another one of his drunken fits. It's so different here, so relaxing. It's like heaven."

"One night we should take the dinner cruise out to the reefs. If you think you see a lot of stars now, just wait till you get out a mile or so from shore where the sky is pitch black."

"I'd like that. Say, do you think I can get another one of those kabobs?"

"How many have you had already?"

"Who's counting, I lost track after the last four." They both laughed.

"You must be starving." Lori waved to the attendant at the hut.

"Yes, Lori?"

"We'll have another round of beers and four more kabobs please."

The attendant hurried back fulfilling her wish.

"Thank you, Andre."

"These are so delicious, I think I can eat them all night," Brook said as she bit into another juicy piece of steak.

"Stan brings in the best chefs from around the world to cook for us. They're always competing against the other hotels and winning contests for best tasting food. It's another reason year after year this place is booked solid."

"I can believe it." Brook looked up, and her eye caught the bright flash of a falling star. "Look, Lori, a falling star! That's so cool."

"Oh, wow, that is. Good catch." Lori looked at Brook and smiled.

"There you two are. I knew I would find you eating somewhere."

"Stan! Hey, you just missed catching a falling star," Lori said as she stood up and hugged him.

"Maybe I can catch the next one. "He sat next to Lori and looked toward Brook. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, thanks. These kabobs are out of this world."

He smiled. "I'm glad you enjoy them. Can I get you some more?"

She rubbed her stomach. "Oh no, I think I might have overdone it. Maybe later."

Stan turned toward Lori as she whispered, "She's had eight of them already. I don't think she has much room left for any more, honey."

"Where do you pack all that food in that tight body of yours?"
Brook smiled. "I don't know."

"So, how did your meeting go?" Lori asked.

"It went a lot faster than I thought. We agreed on some new strategies for her re-election campaign then I cut her a nice check to help her. Afterwards, we cut the ribbon to our new high stakes section in the casino. We shared some laughs and then she had to leave. She had already eaten dinner by the time I arrived."

"Do you really think she has a chance?"

"Absolutely." Looking up, Stan pointed to another falling star and said, "There's one, Brook."

"Where?"

"It's going right over us."

"Oh, wow!"

"We need to get her out about a mile from shore one night."

"I already told her didn't I, Brook?"

"You sure did and I can't wait."

The three sat on the bench for another hour and talked while watching for more shooting stars.

"Would you two beautiful ladies care to join me in the club drinks and that dance you promised me?"

"We'd love to," Lori replied.

They walked down a torch lit path that led past one of the Olympic sized pools. As they reached the large colorful Wishes waterfall at the resort's entrance, Lori asked, "Brook, did you make your wish yet?"

"No, I haven't had time."

"Here's your chance, honey. Here, take my penny."

Brook brought the penny to her lips then tossed it into the colorfully lit waterfall.

"What did you wish for?"

"I can't tell you that, Lori. That would be bad luck."

They both giggled as they walked through the main doors and headed to the nightclub.

"I can't believe how crowded this place is at two in the morning," Brook said.

"Oh, this place keeps going till the sun comes up. Our guests never sleep," Lori laughed.

"Here's a table," Stan said as he grabbed hold of a small round table near the dance floor that was barely big enough to hold their drinks. They all sat down when a waitress stopped by and asked them what they wanted. The girls both ordered a Wish Supreme, the largest jungle juice drink they served on the property. The waitress came back and set the monster sized drinks with sliced pineapple hanging off the edges down in front of Brook and Lori.

"Look at the size of this drink. I can't drink all of that," Brook laughed.

"You're going to get thirsty out there on the dance floor. I bet you can finish that in an hour," Stan said with a smile.

Brook and Lori took huge sips through their straws and both purred and hummed as they drank. "Delicious," Brook said. Noticing Stan didn't get one she asked, "Where's yours?"

"I'll share with Lori."

An assortment of fast paced disco music echoed in the club. A gold disco ball hung from the ceiling and turned, spreading a rainbow of colors down on the packed and dark dance floor. Stan stood up and reached out to the girls with both hands. "May I have this dance?" They both stood and strolled out to the dance floor. At times they danced together with Stan and at other times Brook and Lori danced together. They all had a great time. All the problems Brook had were for the moment just a distant memory.

"I can't remember when I've had this much fun," Brook yelled to Lori as she danced.

"I know, isn't this great."

"It's good exercise too. I've been so cooped up at home. This is such a nice break."

"I'm glad Brook, you needed this."

Brook giggled. "There's something else I need. I need to use the ladies room. I'll be right back." She hurried off the floor and headed toward the rest room.

As Brook left, a slow dance began to play. Stan wrapped his arms around Lori, embracing her as they gazed deeply into each other's eyes. Stan's lips met Lori's. Slowly, his kissing lips wandered to her cheek, her ear lobe, her lower jaw and finally pressed deep into her warm neck.

Lori tilted her head back and pulled his face lower into her neck inviting him closer. "Ah," Lori gasped as Stan gently bit.

Brook returned from the bathroom and took another few sips of her drink, before looking around for Lori and Stan on the dance floor. When she saw them, she noticed Stan kissing and licking the full length of her throat continuously. Something about that image aroused Brook, but she didn't know why. Brook remained at the table until the song finished.
Lori and Stan returned from the dance floor. Being thirsty, Lori gulped down half her drink. Lori noticed Brook's face looked flushed. "Are you feeling okay, Brook?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Your face is so red like you're blushing."

"Oh, I'm probably feeling a little warm. Can we go for a walk and get some fresh air?"

"Sure."

They grabbed their drinks and began their walk around the resort. Colorful lights planted under palm trees pointed up at the large green foliage and softly lit the many trees around the resort. Waterfalls bathed in colorful lights appeared at every turn, bridges all decorated in colorful Italian lights arched over the lazy river to other areas of the resort property. The sounds of bells ringing and coins clinking grabbed Brook's attention. Then as they turned the next corner there it was all brightly lit, the Wishes Grand Casino. The casino was packed as always. The loose 99% payouts brought people in from all around the world.

"This place looks like fun," Brook said as they walked in and stopped at the first Red, White, and Blue Seven machine. Brook turned to Lori. "Can you loan me a few dollars? I want to try my luck."

Lori pulled out a twenty and handed it to Brook who quickly fed the machine. She bet the max, seventy-five cents and pushed the spin button. 7-7"was the first spin. "Damn that was so close." Lori and Stan sat back and watched, clearly enjoying Brook's excitement.
Brook hit spin again... --7-7. "I can just feel this machine wants to pay out, can't you? Come on sevens!" Brook said. She rubbed the top of the machine for good luck and hit spin again. The wheels spun round and round until suddenly three blue sevens stopped on the line. Bells rang, "Bing-Bing-Bing". Brook yelled, "I won, I won!"

"What did you win?" Stan asked.

"Let's see, three blue sevens, 240 quarters, I won $60 bucks!"

Stan rubbed his hand on her shoulder. "Congratulations Brook." Lori wrapped her arm around her and hugged. The rest of the night the three played and sampled the many different varieties of machines among the five thousand slot machines available. Within a couple hours Brook was up four hundred dollars.

As the sky began to change colors from black to dark blue, Stan needed to retire to his secret place. "Are you two going to watch the beautiful sunrise this morning?"

"Is it that late already, honey?" Lori asked.

"I'm afraid it is"

"The time really flew today. I'll see you later then." Lori and Stan hugged and kissed goodnight.

"Where are you going?" Brook asked.

"I have to take care of something, but I'll see you later tonight, okay?"

"Okay. I have been having so much fun, I don't want this day to ever end."

Stan hugged Brook and then left.

Brook turned toward Lori and said, "Stan is quite a guy."

"He sure is. And he's taking a real liking to you too. Are you up for a walk on the beach and look for dolphins?"

"Dolphins? Sure, I'd like that."

They left the casino and walked over to the same bench at the end of the pier they were at before. The sun was not quite up yet, but it was easy to see the calm water and anything swimming in it. Breakfast was being cooked at the snack hut nearby filling the air with the smell of fresh eggs and crisp bacon. Brook and Lori grabbed some breakfast and a large orange juice and sat down and watched for anything in the water.

"These eggs are out of this world," Brook said as she wolfed down another mouthful.

"It's their special recipe. The eggs just melt in your mouth as does the bacon and hash browns."

"How do you stay so thin here with all this good food around? Do you watch what you eat?" Brook asked.

"No, not really. I work out a little, but since coming here I haven't gained a pound and the best part is I can eat whatever I want."

"What was that?" Brook asked as she stood up and looked out into the ocean.

"Yep, there they are. There should be six of them. I think they are a family."

"Oh they are so cute. Do you think they will come closer?"

"No, the fish they feed on stay further out. But the resort does have a swim with the dolphin program at the north end of the resort. If you'd like to do this we can go there later this afternoon."

"That would be great! This place just keeps amazing me. Is there anything not here?"

"Well, Wishes doesn't have Mickey Mouse, at least not yet. But knowing Stan, he's already working on something because Disney still competes with us pretty good."

"You know, I'm surprised my eyes aren't burning yet."

Looking into Brook's eyes, Lori asked, "Why's that?"

"My contacts need to come out and give my eyes a rest. I haven't taken them out since we left Minnesota."

"Brook, you're not wearing contacts."

"What? How can that be? I'm blind without them."

"Here, let me take another look," Lori said as she looked into each eye closer.

"Do you see anything?"

"I don't know where your contacts are, but you're not wearing any."

"This is so weird. I can't see without them. Oh, wait, I remember, I did take them out when I went to bed. You're right, I'm not wearing them. How can this be? Could the jungle juice do this to my eyes?"

"That would be my guess," Lori replied, but she knew it wasn't the jungle juice, but rather the venom Stan shot into her bloodstream earlier that corrected her DNA.

"Ouch!" Brook yelled out as she raised her hand to her neck.

"What is it?"

"I just felt a sharp pain in my neck. Ouch! There it is again. I think it's related to these flashbacks I'm having from earlier last night."

"Oh?"

"They're really strange. In them I'm floating over my body. There's someone on top of me and my head is off the edge of a bed. I think I'm being bit! There's blood everywhere."

"Oh my, do you remember any more?"

"No, but it's really strange. Every time I have this flashback I feel a little horny too, well, more than a little."

"Maybe it's just a recurring dream." Lori recognized the phantom pain as being a lingering pain that happens after the bite sometimes. She also recognized the feeling of being horny as a side effect of the venom. She worried that Brook might fully remember, for if she did, their growing friendship might end forever.

"I don't think so, I think it really happened. I think it happened in your room too because I vaguely remember going there by mistake. It doesn't make sense though. Can I see your room again?"

"Right now?"

"Sure."

"Not now, Brook, okay?" Lori knew that the room still needed to be cleaned. There were blood stains everywhere.

"I really need to know if this weird flash back is a dream or real."

The girls made their way back to the penthouse. The door to Lori's bedroom was still closed.

"Before you open that door, there is something I must tell you, Brook." Lori followed close behind.

Brook turned the knob and slowly opened the door.

Clasping her hands together, Lori said a quick prayer.