Room 14
Ron's breathing began to slow and I could feel his arms tighten around me. He was already asleep and I shifted just a bit to get comfortable. All his naked glory was pressed up against my flesh, I felt the heat radiate from him, warming my hungry body. I couldn't believe what had happened in the past 10 hours. I felt as if my life had been completely turned upside down.
Shards of morning light pierced the curtains and I looked over the austere room, having missed details due to the...previous distraction.
I noticed the undergarments thrown to the cheaply carpeted floor and the crumpled, cotton shirt sprawled over the one, chipped, wooden chair in the corner. A painting of a daisy rested crookedly against the corner of the desk. I smiled to myself. My breathing began to quicken at the recollection, but I willed myself to calm down. A dull throbbing from below served as a constant reminder. Things had gotten a bit rough and now I was just a little sore. Worth it, though. I wouldn't have traded this for anything else.
10 hours earlier:
It was supposed to be a casual meeting, a chat among friends. A year since we had last seen one another. We had initially met in high school, a couple decades back, but at that time he hadn't appeared very interested in me. I had since grown into my personality, and my body. As did he. Perhaps there was a reason for everything and we were meant to cross paths now.
So, yes. Last summer he had taken me out for drinks. But he was too polite, aloof. Guarded somehow. I actually left thinking I would be immediately forgotten. It was a shame, because spending time with him like that had brought up a lot of memories. I found myself longing to discover how he kissed, what he smelled liked when he began to sweat. Thoughts I tried to unsuccessfully discard once I got back home, to my "real" life.
This summer, I was back on my annual visit. Drinks again, pre-dinner. I was secretly hoping we wouldn't get to the meal, but that was presumptuous on my part. It wasn't looking promising. He had his groupies buzzing around him at the bar, especially the younger ones. Still, though amiable to them, I did get a sense that he was annoyed by their presence. It was as if Ron would have made the room go silent if he could have.
Yet he played the game. It would have seemed rude not to, and that wasn't the impression he wanted to give. That wasn't who Ron was, I suppose. He was an introvert masking as someone social.
When he saw me again this time around, he had changed disposition. His eyes lit up. "Hey stranger..." Ron said, flashing me that divine smile. I noticed his biceps tight under his work shirt and I wondered if he had been working out more than before. Everything about his physique was taut this year, he filled out his clothes to perfection. I was engrossed by his presence and realized I had yet to say anything. I nervously pushed my black bangs to the side of my freckled face.
"Hey there. How have you been?" I replied.
What a dorky thing to say! I immediately regretted that tone I had used. I had to be more careful around him. I didn't want to come off like some brainless fan girl. He was kind of famous, and I wasn't. Which tilted the scales in a way I didn't really feel comfortable with. I would have felt more at ease had I accomplished more in my life, perhaps. But I was but a lowly employee and he...well, he was an enigma to me, despite his public persona.
There had been a few exchanges on social media, but nothing of real revelation. It had mostly been a lot of discussions about books and films. I still had no idea what he thought of me and I didn't want to make a bad impression.
Small talk ensued and this time around I had this nagging feeling in my stomach. It was worse than butterflies. It was like a cannon ball. I had come to the conclusion that I really liked this amazing guy, and perhaps, on some level, he also liked me back. Though all reason argued otherwise, I wanted so much to believe it.
"Can you give me a minute?" he inquired, sharp, green eyes locked on his phone screen. "I have to make a phone call."
I nodded. "Sure thing."
He walked away slowly, lifting his finger in the way people do when they want to tell you "Just ONE minute, be right back."
I paused to speak with some friends and momentarily forgot that he was going to be coming back for me. I felt a light touch on my shoulder some time later, and when I turned around ...there he was. Ron greeted the others and engaged in a bit of chitchat, though everything about his body language screamed that he wanted to get far away. Ultimately, he excused himself and took my hand, pulling me aside.
"Let's get out of here. I know a place."
I nodded, and followed him out of the back door of the venue without even saying goodbye to my friends. I could have carried my excitement better but I was trying to play it cool. I had no idea what was going to happen.
Outside, he had a car waiting. I raised an eyebrow in wonder and he said "That was the phone call. My brother lent it to me." So, he had planned this?
Ron graciously opened the door for me and as I got in, his toothy grin won me over yet again. He had the perfect American smile. White. I mean...pearly white. Straight teeth, except for a subtle protrusion of his canines, as if he had been trying to straighten vampire fangs and had almost succeeded. I could not tear my eyes away from his mouth.
"I'm hungry, and I want to buy you a drink." I woke from my hypnosis.
"Um...yes. Of course. I could use a drink," I replied.
We drove for a short distance, stopping at a rather secluded little diner. I didn't even know it was there and I had lived in this city for years. Granted, it was many moons ago. But still. I was pleasantly surprised.
The diner was very cozy and not too bright. A perfect place to talk, to blend into the background, in fact. And that's exactly what we did.
We got lost in conversation for a couple of hours. We spoke about his music, and my living abroad. The travels we both had undertaken over the years.
