Chapter 26

After a wonderful afternoon spent drinking wine, dancing, and enjoying the view, it was time to return to their respective hotel rooms. A kind of tension was in the air as to how to proceed, as they had immediately reestablished their previous connection. The conversation came natural and easy, but now they faced a different kind of decision. 

They got to her room at the Four Seasons and stopped at the door. She pulled him into an embrace and kissed him, and he didn’t have the strength to resist. The wine and the ocean breeze and the slight hint of her body soap had drawn him in, and he had been fighting the urge to kiss her the entire day.

She opened the door as they continued to kiss and embrace. At the moment he wasn’t thinking about impulse control, or her situation or what his responsibilities were. He was however thinking of Pink Floyd. Right now they were two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl.

She poured them both a glass of wine and put on some music. They found each other in the middle of the room and began to dance again, this time to Adele,who sang with a kind of sad melancholy. They kissed again, and he pushed her hair gently to the side and began softly kissing her neck.  

She let out a soft moan and they moved in synch over to the large bed. He continued to kiss her neck and lowered himself down her body until his hands were under her short skirt. She raised her hips enough for him to remove her tiny panties and he felt her wetness as he continued to kiss her everywhere. 

They made love a number of times that evening, both feeling an almost insatiable urge for closeness and connection expressed through physical love. They slept in short bursts and then found their way back to each other’s bodies again and again. It was one of the most erotic nights of his life. 

The next morning he saw her head resting on the pillow, and thought about everything that had just transpired. He had made a vow to never use someone for his own selfish gratification again, but he didn’t think this qualified. It hadn’t even occurred to him that someone might want to use him.

He took the liberty of ordering breakfast as she slept, and paid the waiter in cash including a generous tip. He looked at the gorgeous woman lying in the bed and the bounty of fine foods in the middle of the room. It was a glimpse of what life could be.

But it was also a glimpse of a life that wasn’t his. She wasn’t his woman and this wasn’t his town and this wasn’t his life. He had loved their time together but he could also feel it slipping away. Was there some future place with this woman that would work in his life? Right now that was unclear. 

She stretched to life and sat up in the bed, and he saw her reach to cover herself. He resisted the urge to climb back into bed, as his desire for her was still intense. Was it her or just a desire for closeness that he craved so much? He knew it was important to think about this question over the next few weeks.

“Well hello there,” she said as she smiled. “And look at you! You ordered breakfast. What a sweet man you are.”

“Well it was the least I could do after last night. I had a wonderful time and wanted to make it last as long as possible. I hope you’re hungry?”

She looked back over at him, and pulled the sheet off her shoulder to reveal her naked body.

“I only have a few hours left in town doctor, and I can get a scrambled egg anywhere. I think I’d rather spend my last few hours with you if that’s okay?”

He crawled back into bed with her and kissed her, but also reminded himself that they needed to have a conversation. It was too easy to become immersed in her body again, and he needed some clarity at this moment before proceeding, despite everything his body was telling him.

“Look, last night was so wonderful, and I would love nothing more than to lie here with you for hours, weeks, and even years. But we had our night together and I do need to know where you think we go from here?”

She pulled the sheet back over her shoulders and looked out the window with a long sigh. She was hurt by this rejection, and not in the mood to talk.

“Look John. I kind of feel like I’m repeating myself here, but the truth is, I don’t know. I do know I’d love to keep seeing you when we get back home, and I’m happy to find a way to make that work. Can that be good enough for now?”

He touched her hair, and stroked it gently and thought about the question.

“I wish that was good enough.”

“I really wish it was.”