Lisa walked into the hotel bar, unsure about why she was here and not back up in her room. Tomorrow was the first day of a big training conference, the first trip that her company had sent her on since she started only a few months ago. Lisa was young, only 25, and she was anxious to make a good impression for her boss. The responsible voice in her head told her that it has already been a long day, up at 4 AM to get to the airport followed by a long day of travel. But she'd travelled from the west coast to the east coast, and so although the clock on the wall read almost 10 PM, her internal clock still said it was 7 PM.
Lisa knew that she'd have to get up by 6 AM the following morning, and that she should at least try to get adjusted to the new time zone, but her internal clock just wasn't having it. Besides, what good was it to travel on the company dime, if she couldn't enjoy being somewhere new? Lisa was young and attractive, with short dirty blonde hair and a toned figure. She'd had a few boyfriends and although she was currently single she was not looking. That didn't mean she couldn't be social. "Just one drink to relax while I go over my schedule for tomorrow," she told herself, "and then I'll get some sleep."
Lisa sat down at the bar and ordered a Lemon Drop martini. After the bartender brought it to her and moved on to help other customers, she turned her attention to her phone. As she scrolled, trying to decide which specific training sessions she would attend tomorrow, an older man approached the bar next to her and ordered an Old Fashioned. While he was waiting for the bartender to make it, he looked over at Lisa. "Here for the conference, I see. Still working out your schedule?" he asked.
Lisa looked up. The man was probably in his early 50's, with hair that was mostly gray but still enough dark in it that she could tell he'd probably had very dark hair when he was younger. His build wasn't exactly muscular, but it was clear that he'd taken care of himself over the years. The man continued, "I've been to a bunch of these and can never manage to nail down which sessions I want to go to until practically the day of. My advice? Commit to breakfast, the keynote, lunch, and then wing it for the rest."
Lisa smiled politely. "Thanks," she said. "It's my first time and there are just so many options."
The man smiled back at Lisa. "Well, like I said, I've been to a bunch of these. I'd be happy to make some recommendations."
Feeling a little overwhelmed by having been sent to her first conference by herself, Lisa decided to accept. The man introduced himself as Alex, and as the bartender brought Alex's drink, he sat down next to Lisa. They spent the next little while alternating between working on her schedule and making small talk, during which time she found out that Alex was there as a trainer, although he was to be training in the information technology area, whereas Lisa was focused on finance. As the conversation continued, Lisa found the conversation moving further away from the conference and more towards more personal topics.
Soon, Lisa was feeling more like this was a date. She'd never been on a date with someone twice her age, but she found herself surprisingly attracted to Alex. He was confident, relaxed, not at all pushy, and had a subtle sense of humor. They'd each had a couple more drinks by this point, and Lisa was in full flirt mode.
Suddenly, Lisa's mind wrenched itself back to reality as she noticed the time. "Oh wow, I didn't realize how late it was!" she said. "I'm still on Pacific time, it doesn't feel that late. But I suppose I should get to bed."
Alex smiled. "It's OK, I'm on Pacific time too, I know how it goes. But yes, I should get upstairs too." They collected their belongings and walked to the elevator together. Alex gestured for Lisa to enter first, then followed and pressed the button for the 7th floor. "What floor are you on?" he asked.
"I'm on 7, too," Lisa said, while wondering if fate is going to have this date end with Alex walking her right to her door.
"Must be our lucky number!" joked Alex. "It certainly was lucky to have met you, I had a fun time talking. I hope I'll see you again this week!"
"Yes, lucky!" Lisa said, suppressing the urge to make some corny joke about getting lucky. After all, the whole conference hook-up thing never really happens to anyone, does it? And she had a boyfriend. Then again, it's away from home, nobody would know. Lisa's mind raced back and forth between taking a risk on adventure and being the 'good girl' she'd grown up being. Lisa thought she caught a gleam in Alex's eye, suddenly wondering if he was thinking the same thing. No, it must have been her imagination running wild. Wasn't it?
Lisa and Alex exited the elevator together and begin to walk down the hall. Lisa stopped after a few doors. "716, this is me. I had a good time tonight. Get some sleep, maybe I will see you in the morning!"
"Ah, yes I'm just down in 721. Not quite neighbors! I enjoyed tonight too. Maybe I'll see you at breakfast!" Alex smiled, and Lisa felt her resolve to be good waver as she briefly wondered what it would be like to see him much earlier than breakfast. But then Alex turned towards his room, and Lisa entered her room and closed her door.
As Lisa got ready for bed, her mind was racing, replaying all the things she could have said. Her mind argued with itself, waffling back and forth between reason and fantasy. Finally she thought, "screw it, I'm going to go down there and see what happens!" As she opened her door, she had two thoughts. First, 'This is insane, I should go back inside.'. The second thought was shock, as she saw Alex standing there, his hand raised as if about to knock. "Um, hi again!" Lisa managed to say.
