“Okay,” she affirmed to Ken. “BRB.”
Lisa grabbed two dollars and her key card. She walked up to the door and paused, looking through the peephole. Nothing was there.
Slowly, she opened the door, just enough to stick her head outside to see the hallway. She saw the long patterned carpet and the closed doors of her neighboring suites. She could hear no voices, just the low hum of the HVAC pumping air into peoples’ rooms.
Okay, she thought. It’s just a few feet away. You can do this.
Lisa took a step outside, then her second leg. She stood there, with the door still ajar so she could dart back inside in case she heard something. It was quiet. The door pushed up against her soft ass.
Slowly, gingerly, she closed her room door. As if she were trying not to awaken someone. The door closed and the lock engaged. Lisa’s heart raced. She stood frozen for a second, but then remembered her mission.
Just a few doors down was the alcove with the vending machines. Okay, she thought. Hurry and let’s do this. Her heart was beating a thousand beats a second. Lisa stepped into the middle of the hallway, and practically tiptoed down the hall like a cartoon character creeping about. Oh my God, she thought. This is crazy. She could feel her breasts swinging freely with each step.
She moved faster and got to the vending machine. The bright red of the Coke machine bathed her naked body. Okay, she thought again, nervously flattening one dollar bill and feeding it into the machine. The machine rejected it.
Oh God. She flattened and smoothed it again. This time, it went in. She repeated this with the second bill, but again, the machine spit it out.
Fuck, she thought. In the distance, she heard a man laugh. What was that? It was faint enough that it probably came from within a room, but at least one person on the floor was awake, and liable to walk outside…and buy a Coke.
Okay, okay. She smoothed and flattened the bill. It was mercifully accepted by the great Coca-Cola gods. With her $2 credit, she hit the top button without thinking. The machine seemed to pause and think. Come on…!! A pair of noises ensued, and then the tumbling of a bottle down to the tray. Oh, thank God, Lisa thought, grabbing the bottle and scurrying back to her door.
She ran without running, not wanting to look too crazy, one foot always on the floor. It was more of a hurried shuffle. Why, she wondered, would she look crazier if she ran? She was buck naked holding a bottle of Coke. The stories in the news would surely call her Looney Lisa, the Coke Fiend.
Her heart motored like a Harley as she got to her door. Okay, room key. She raised it and, feeling a sigh of intense relief, touched it to the sensor on the door.
It blinked red.
She tried the door – it would not open. Okay, I did it wrong. She more slowly placed the key card onto the sensor. Again, it blinked red, refusing her entry. She tried again anyway. Locked.
Oh fuck. Oh God.
Lisa tried again. And again. The door would not open. Oh please, not now. This can’t happen. Her heart went into overdrive. Her cheeks became red hot and her head buzzed with adrenaline. She turned the latch and pushed repeatedly, hoping that her adrenaline would force it open. People can have incredible feats of strength under stress. Open!!
She panicked, but did not want to shout or speak loudly, for fear of waking up anyone. What could she do? Walk into the lobby and say, “Hi, I just ran to the soda machine, I was so thirsty I forgot to get dressed. My key doesn’t work. Can you help me?” Or what – go to the roof and wait? Text her mom? Hide in a stairwell?
This cannot be happening, she thought. You’re so stupid. Why did you listen to what Ken said? You could have just fingered yourself or played with a dildo and gone to sleep. Lisa kept scanning the card and turning the latch in vain.
Suddenly, from down the hall, came a noise. The stairwell door was opening. Oh my fucking God. No..
A lone figure emerged, shadowed from behind by the fluorescent lighting of the stairwell. Lisa became frantic, trying the key card and turning the latch repeatedly. She could feel her ass jiggling in plain sight as she desperately tried to get the door open.
The figure approached. Lisa’s thoughts became words. “No, please…open…come on dammit…please open…”
Suddenly, the figure picked up its pace, jogging down the hall toward her. Oh God, that’s it. I’m going to be violated, right here in the Marriott. It will be on the news and in everyone’s feed. Lisa did not believe in victim blaming, but if anyone was asking for it, it’s me right now, she thought in a moment of grim humor.
Terrified, she turned her head to see who it was. It was Charlotte, the employee from the pool. A miniscule amount of relief flowed through Lisa.
Getting closer, Charlotte smiled and said, “It’s okay honey, don’t worry.” She got to Lisa and stood as best she could in front of her to block any possible view of Lisa from any passers-by. Then Charlotte reached into her back pocket and pulled out a card, scanned it, and opened the door. The sound of the card being accepted and the sight of the little green light made Lisa exhale from so deep within, it was like every one of her cells were breathing out.
The pair entered. Lisa was hyperventilating. Charlotte put her arm around her. “It’s okay, it’s okay. You’re safe now, sweetie.” She walked Lisa over to the bed and sat her down, grabbing the robe on the bed and draping it over Lisa, who started crying.
Charlotte petted her hair and put her arm around her again. “It’s all right,” she reassured Lisa. “You’re safe.”
After a couple of minutes of release, Lisa turned to Charlotte in tears. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I was just…” she wasn’t sure how to explain it. “I was just running to get a Coke.”
Charlotte’s large brown eyes looked into Lisa’s and she said, “It’s okay, it’s over now, and you’re fine. Next time just put on a bathrobe.” Lisa laughed a little but was still shaken up. “Let me get you a glass of water,” Charlotte told her. She grabbed a glass from the table and went to the bathroom to fill it up. Standing over Lisa, she handed her the water. “There you go, sweetie,” she said. Lisa’s neck tingled a little from Charlotte’s motherly tone.
“Thank you,” Lisa said, sipping the water. “I’m just a little over-excited.”
Lisa watched Charlotte’s eyes drift across the bed and catch something. “I’m sure,” Charlotte said with a knowing grin. Turning her head around, Lisa saw that her mother’s dildo was still lying on the bed. “Oh Goddddd,” she uttered in further embarrassment – not imagining it could get any more embarrassing. Charlotte laughed a little, adding, “Maybe I interrupted you….again?” Lisa bowed her head. She wanted to disappear.
Charlotte chuckled a little. She bent down in front of Lisa so that the two were eye level. With a smile she said, “Hey, it’s all right, dear.” Charlotte brushed Lisa’s locks back behind her ear. Still crying, Lisa asked sheepishly, “Are you going to tell anyone about this? Are you kicking me out of the hotel? Please don’t tell my mother…”
Charlotte shushed her gingerly and walked to the landline phone. She dialed the front desk. “Hi, Benjamin? Can you cover for me for a while? I’ve got a situation here,” she said. She looked Lisa in the eyes. Lisa looked back at her, wondering what was coming next. Her heart raced. “I’ve got a guest who’s feeling ill. No, no, she doesn’t need that…I’m just going to stay with her for a while until she’s a little better. Okay…okay. Thank you.”
Hanging up the phone, she came back to Lisa and sat down. She slapped her hands on her own thighs and said “Look – don’t worry. You’re not in any trouble. As long as you promise not to do it again.”
“Yes, yes, I promise,” Lisa assured her desperately.
Charlotte nodded. “Good. I can’t have naked people running around my hotel. Don’t take that the wrong way, honey, you look damn good, it will just upset other guests. Some of them, anyway.”
Lisa giggled a little. She thought for a second, then asked innocently, “I guess you’ve probably never had this happen before?”
Charlotte raised her right eyebrow. “Seriously? Honey, this shit happens all the time. Naked in the sauna, topless in the pool. Naked photo sessions in stairwells and hallways. And people getting themselves off when the staff come in. That’s my favorite,” she said sarcastically. “Usually it’s gross old fat guys pulling their meat. Not very often someone as cute as you,” she said.
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