The next morning I awoke, and as the fog began to lift, it took me a few seconds to realize where I was. I wasn’t in the tiny shoe box room inside my small apartment. Looking around, I realized I was in a large soft bed in some huge hotel bedroom. I became scared until it all started to come back to me. The charity fund raiser, the orchestra, the dancing, the drinks, the…. OH SHIT… SEX.
As I moved in the bed, I felt James’ body pressing against mine. I looked over at the bedside clock. God, it was almost two in the afternoon.
My mind started whirling. It was Saturday afternoon and I thought of everything that I needed to get done before Monday. Damn, I had already wasted half the day sleeping.
I quickly formulated a plan. I could attempt to make a stealthy getaway by slipping out of the bed, silently getting dressed, and slipping out of the room before I was discovered. Unfortunately, it was all for naught when I discovered that my stirring had woken James.
“Good morning,” he said, smiling at me.
“Good morning,” I said shyly, pulling the sheet up to my neck, making sure my naked body was covered.
“Listen, I had a great time last night, but I need to figure out where my clothes are so I can get home,” I said in low, mortified tone.
My whole body was sticky from sweat and I didn’t want to think about what else it was probably sticky from. I knew I was a mess and I probably smelled like I had been having sex all night.
“What’s your hurry? I don’t want you to think I’m running you off,” he said, in a jovial tone.
I looked down shyly.
“No, it’s not that. I have a million things I need to get done before class on Monday and I’m sure you have things you need to do as well. I don’t want to get in your way.”
Why couldn’t I have just got up a half-hour ago and snuck out while he was still asleep? Now he’s awake and I have to pay the piper. God, how mortifying.
“Nonsense. Why don’t you get a shower and then we’ll get breakfast, err, um, lunch,” he said, after looking at his watch and realizing the time, “we have things we need to discuss.”
“First, the only thing I have to wear is that wadded up cocktail dress in the corner. Second, I don’t think we have much to talk about.”
He smiled confidently. “First, we have a lot to talk about. Second, by the time you’ve showered, I will have solved the clothes problem.”
I thought about my options. I could either do the walk of shame wearing a dirty thong and wrinkled cocktail dress all the way to the cab stand outside of the hotel, with everyone I came in contact with in the Paris knowing I had just woken from a night of what turned out to be really great sex. Or, I could take a shower, hopefully put on some clean clothes, get something to eat (my grumbling stomach reminded me that I hadn’t eaten in the last fourteen hours) and salvage a little dignity from the previous evening’s activities.
I finally relented and agreed to eat lunch with him, provided I didn’t have to wear the same clothes I wore the night before.
A half hour later, I felt human again. I was scrubbed clean and at the very least, looked presentable. I wrapped myself in a towel and stepped outside the bathroom and saw a large shopping bag from Victoria’s Secret on the bed.
“I’ve never been that great at picking out women’s clothes, so I hope you like them,” I heard James say from the bathroom, that must have been located in the other bedroom of the suite.
I walked over to the bed and began to remove my new outfit from the bag. I found pink gym pants with matching pink socks; a white cotton thong and matching sports bra, a white athletic T-Shirt, a grey hoodie, and short brown Ugg boots. My jaw dropped open, how did he get all of this in the time it took me to shower, I wondered.
I stepped out into the great room wearing my new clothes and James met me with a smile. He cleans up nice, I thought to myself, admiring his tight blue jeans and pressed white collar shirt.
“How did you manage to get all of this, in my size no less, in a half hour?”
“I’ve learned that when you tip the concierge really well, he can perform miracles,” he said laughing.
“Now let’s get going. You look beautiful, and you must be starving.”
I listened to James talk between bites as I silently ate my chicken Caesar salad. He had picked a small and relatively secluded Parisian themed cafe for us to dine. He told me that he normally stayed at the Bellagio. However, one of his close business associates helped to organize the charity fund raiser last night, and his friend expected him to attend and make a sizable donation, so it was easier to stay at the Paris for this trip.
He asked detailed questions about my classes and he marveled at how the undergrad business program had changed since he attended USC. He was at ease making small talk and although I got the feeling that he was genuinely interested in my college courses and my life in general, it felt like he was holding something back, an important subject that he had yet to broach with me.
As the waiter cleared the dishes from our table and refilled our wine glasses, James’ face turned serious as he looked into my eyes.
“Melanie, I want to see you again when I’m in Las Vegas next month.”
I looked down, flustered at his statement and it took me several moments to collect my thoughts.
“James, I can’t imagine what you must think of me. We meet, and a couple of hours later, I’m in your bed. You might not believe me, but last night was something I’ve never done before with a man. I had an amazing evening, probably the best of my entire life, but what we did last night isn’t going to happen again. It was a one-time thing”
It broke me up inside to see the hurt look in his eyes. Like a little boy who had just lost his puppy. He looked down, and I realized that my statement had clearly shook confidence.
“I shouldn’t have expected a pretty young college girl like you to want to spend time with me. Hell, I’m old enough to be your father and then some.”
My eyes widened as I processed his words.
“James, my decision not to see you again has nothing to do with your age, or how you look. My life is a mess, and even though I’ve built a nice facade for you over the past eighteen hours, there is a lot about me you don’t know.”
His expression lightened once he learned that my not wanting to see him again had nothing to do with his age or appearance.
“Has anything you told me been a lie up to this point?” he said, looking seriously into my eyes.
I gasped.
“Of course not.”
“Then fill me in on the details of your messed up life,” he said, a smile returning to his face.
I let out a low sigh. I didn’t even like to think about my problems, much less admit them to myself, and now I was about to air my dirty laundry to someone I hardly knew.
I looked down, trying to collect my thoughts, thinking of the best way to proceed.
“James, I’ve only been in college for a year and a half, and I already have a mountain of student loan debt. The lease is up on my apartment and my roommate is moving in with her boyfriend, so in another month I’ll probably have to move back into the dorm, because I can’t afford to pay the rent by myself.”
I paused again to collect my thoughts.
“I drive a beat up Honda Civic that my parents bought me when I turned sixteen and it’s on its last legs. The dress and shoes that I wore last night maxed out my credit cards, but I didn’t have the heart to tell my friend I couldn’t go with her because I didn’t have anything nice enough to wear. I am probably the most proud person you will ever meet, and a couple times a month I have to call my parents and beg them for money.”
At this point I could feel the tears start to well up in my eyes and I felt like a foolish child for unburdening my soul to someone I barely knew.
“And don’t think I told you this to get your sympathy, because I’m not asking for it and I don’t want it,” I abruptly added.
He tried to force back a smile, then his expression quickly changed to concern when he saw that I was about to cry from my revelation.
“The biggest reason I can’t see you again James is because my friend Sue is going to help me get a job where she works and as much as I’d really like to, between my studies and working, I simply won’t have the time to spend with you when you are here.”
He looked into my eyes with concern.
“What type of job is she going to help you get?”
“Sue is a cocktail server at the Rio and she arranged an interview next week for me with her boss.”
He thought for several moments before he spoke.
“I don’t want to further upset you, but can I suggest an alternate plan?”
“All right,” I said, without really thinking.
“I come into town once, sometimes twice a month. If you’ll agree to see me, more specifically, agree to stay with me at my hotel, I’ll take care of whatever you need and I can solve some of these financial problems that have you so upset.”
My jaw dropped as I started to comprehend the type of arrangement he was suggesting.
He broke the silence with another question.
“Melanie, you told me last night you had a 3.8 GPA and that your adviser has already suggested that you consider an MBA program or Law School, once you’ve completed your degree, right?”
“That’s correct,” I said, my mind still racing.
“Do you honestly think you’ll be able to keep your high GPA once you are working a part time job? I know you have big aspirations, and I’d like to help you achieve them.”
Silently, I considered his last statement. I was pretty sure I could keep my GPA even with a part time job, but all of my spare time would be devoted to academics. I had come to the realization that my life of clubbing and partying would come to a quick end once I started working, or I knew my grades would suffer.
“I don’t want to sound condescending or self serving, but you have the rest of your life to work Melanie. I’m offering you an opportunity that few college girls your age will ever have. You’ll have time to do the things you want. To study and maintain your grades, while still enjoying the club life that you told me you love. And if we do this right, every time I’m in town can be like last night for both of us, only better.”
Leave a Reply