I stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel to dry off. As I hung it up, I opened the bathroom door to let out the cloud of steam that was hanging in the air. When the fog on the mirror cleared I looked at myself, still trying to understand what had just happened over the past twenty-four hours. My best friend from work, Amber, and I were in Chicago for a convention where one of our projects had been nominated for a design award. We had flown into town yesterday and upon seeing the frozen, wintery hellscape that is Chicago in December, we decided to spend a quiet evening in. We relaxed, ate takeout and drank some wine. As the wine lifted our spirits and we became gleefully disinhibited, we found ourselves flirting with one another.
This in itself was a huge development in our friendship. Amber and I, having worked together every day for over a year, had become close but our relationship was never anything more than that of really good friends. Of course, that hadn't stopped me from thinking about Amber, even fantasizing about her while alone. But that attraction I began to feel for Amber was something I could never have told her about; I would never have wanted to risk our friendship.
Then last night, as we were both relaxing and feeling the effects of the wine, Amber and I flirted. It soon became apparent that each of us held deeper feelings for one another that neither of us had dared to ever share. As Amber and I became increasingly comfortable with the situation, we eventually found ourselves there alone in a hotel room, slowly undressing and then pleasuring ourselves in front of one another.
With that barrier shattered in our relationship, Amber ended up spending the night together in my room. I awoke nervous that the events of the previous night would create an insurmountable awkwardness between us; but it quickly became aparent that neither of us regretted the abrupt change in direction our friendship had taken. What followed as we lied together naked in bed was an incredibly erotic conversation where we shared some of our most personal secrets. Listening to one another, the images that formed in our minds brought each of us to the height of arousal. Then there, together in bed, we touched each other for the first time and brought one another to orgasm.
Now a few hours later, Amber had gone back to her own room to get herself cleaned up and dressed for the day. As I finished getting ready at the sink I shook my head in disbelief before stepping back into the room to finish getting dressed. Soon we would need to be downstairs for the business portion of our trip. After buttoning my shirt and cinching down my belt, I sat on the edge of the bed to put on my shoes. Then standing and smoothing front of my pants, I heard Amber knock at my door. Before turning to the door, I quickly remembered the mess that we had made of the bed earlier in the morning. I retrieved a laminated card from the desk and tossed it on my pillow, a signal to the maids that the bed's linens needed to be changed.
Opening the door, I was not at all prepared for what awaited me. Prior to last night, I had never seen Amber in anything other than a polo shirt and a pair of khaki pants. That basic wardrobe that Amber always wore to work made her appear very plain, your run-of-the-mill, slightly heavy-set Midwestern girl. Now standing before me, I saw an absolutely stunning woman.
The wrinkled polo shirt was gone, replaced instead by a white pull-over dressy sweater. The sweater seemed to hang precariously from her shoulders, its wide neckline sweeping across her chest to perfectly frame her voluptupus breasts. Those breasts somehow seemed even larger than usual by being pushed up and supported from underneath. The long sleeves and waist of her sweater were perfectly cut to accentuate her figure, smoothly silhouetting all of her wonderful curves. Amber's wornout khakis had been replaced by a light purple skirt, also made from a thin, sweater-like fabric that clung tightly to her body. The waistband of her skirt sat atop her hips, the stretchy fabic clinging perfectly and calling attention to her shapely backside. The skirt then tapered loosely down her thighs, stopping right at her knees. Her lower legs exposed, Amber's calves appeared firm and toned as she stood in a pair of low-rise heels. She carried a black coat with fur accents draped across her arm.
When my eyes made their way back up her body and to her face, for the first time I noticed that she was wearing makeup. A little lipstick and the slightest hint of some dusky eye-shadow really brought out the blue in her eyes. The always-cute, now-gorgeous face was framed by her black hair, which was now styled to fall at her shoulders instead of pulled back in her customary ponytail. She was nothing short of beautiful, and as I felt a flutter in my chest, I managed to choke out through a suddenly dry mouth, "Goddamn, Amber... you look amazing."
Amused by my direct assesment of her appearance, she smiled. Looking me up and down, her eyes narrowed and with a grin she said, "This'll do just fine." Grabbing my own coat and then stuffing my phone and wallet in my pocket, I closed the door behind me as I stepped into the hallway. With a nod, we made our way down to the elevators. I couldn't help but glance out the corner of my eye to catch a glimpse of the beautiful woman walking next to me. As we waited for the elevator, I put an arm around the small of Amber's back, pulled her close to me and gave her a kiss on her neck. A small whimper let me know that the kiss had its intended effect just before the elevator dinged twice to announce its arrival.
Taking our places in the elevator, no words were needed. Amber and I both understood that we were now effectively at work. Representing our firm, we knew to remain professional. Despite the past twenty four-hours, which found Amber and me suddenly in the midst of a full-fledged romantic tryst, to the outside observer there would be no indication that we were anything other than really good work partners.
As we made our way down the hallway to the exhibition, we exchanged a look of mutual support. Amber and I both dreaded this part of the evening. After checking our coats and walking into the repurposed ballroom, we made our way through and around throngs of people gathered around the booths of various vendors, contractors and other design firms. We stopped to make polite conversation with the occasional person we recognized from previous functions, doing our best to avoid any prolongedinteractions. Eventually, I was roped into one conversation while Amber was pulled in another direction. I did my best to feign interest in the topic at hand. Every time I thought I had found an opportunity to escape, someone else would always interject and keep the inane banter going.
As I lamented my conversational captivity, I gazed out across the crowd. A few groups down I found Amber, seemingly engaged in a similarly banal conversation with a group of self-impressed colleagues. Again, I was captivated by her appearance. As I watched, she glanced back in my direction. Making eye contact, she smiled back at me before making a face of melodramatic suffering. With a chuckle I returned my attention to my group and eventually worked my way free.
By the time Amber and I regrouped, people had begun making their way to the adjoining ball room, which had been set up as a makeshift auditorium. Rows of seating faced a stage decorated in the ubiquitous trade show style. We found a pair of seats at the end of an empty row near the back and sat down. A few other people sat further down and before long the program started. As we sat through an interminable string of speakers, Amber occasionally teased a finger across the back of my hand. With a smile and a wink, she pulled her hand back. This tiny yet forbidden public display made me feel like a kid with his crush.
Finally, we reached the portion of the evening where the awards were to be presented. As our category came up, we listened as a competing firm's project was announced the winner. Sure it would have been nice to win; the financial bonus at work would have been appreciated. But Amber and I were also somewhat relieved. By not winning, we wouldn't need to stick around for the obligatory pictures and additional small talk. Our absence also wouldn't be noticed at the awkward social function later in the evening.
As the program started to wrap, Amber and I took the opportunity to slip out theback. Emerging into the relative quiet of the spacious hallway, we retrieved our coats and crossed over to a wall of windows. Despite the early evening hour, it was already dark outside. The sidewalks had been cleared but the landscapping was covered in a fresh layer of snow. The lamp posts lining the walkway cast warm glowing circles on the ground. A light flurry continued to fall as the occasional gust whipped up blowing clouds of fresh powder. As we stood quietly admiring the scene before us, Amber and I put on our coats.
When we finished zipping up and buttoning our collars, we set about deciding on what to do for dinner. There was no way I was going to let Amber talk me into another night staying in. I was enjoying the novelty of getting dressed up and I wanted to take this beautiful woman out for an evening together. Thankfully, Amber seemed to be thinking along the same lines when she reminded me that dinner would be at the company's expense. I suggested steak and with a grin Amber latched onto my arm and we made our way to the lobby.
After soliciting a suggestion from the concierge, I pulled up my ride-share app and reserved a car that was already waiting in front of the hotel. Wrapping an arm around Amber to brace ourselves against the cold, we stepped through the door and out into the night. Thankfully, the covered entryway had overhead heaters and we hurried to the waiting car. Holding the door for Amber, I slid in behind her and quickly shut the door. After confirming our destination with the driver, he shut off the dome light and pulled away from the curb. As soon as the car was moving, Amber had reached across me and gave me the longest, most passionate kiss of my life. We proceeded to make out like teenagers as the car traveled on for a couple blocks.
