I walked into the room I was sharing with a couple of my friends, which was currently empty. Bringing my drink with me, I went into the bathroom and started to run a bath for myself, and quietly sang the chorus to one of the pop songs they’d been playing on the big speakers at the party. As I waited for the tub to fill, I slowly took off my party clothes, which consisted of a white flowy skirt and a pale-blue tank top, then took my hair out of the long braid I had done it up in, before slipping my feet into the hot water.
There was a spot on the side of the tub that was the perfect size for my wine glass, and the bath itself was big enough for me to stretch my legs out all the way and rest my head back. I closed my eyes and moaned with delight.
Thiswas exactly what I needed.
I took a sip of my wine, relaxed my body as best I could, and soon I was thinking about the guy from the hallway again…
Who was he?
Did he look at me after I looked away?
If he did see me… did he think I was pretty?
* * *
That night, I went to bed feeling cozy and content.
I was glad I left the party earlier, even if it meant my friends would surely make fun of me for it the following day. About an hour after I crawled under the covers, Rose came back to the room and got ready for bed as quietly as she could. Shortly after she got into her bed, she fell asleep, snoring a little bit. I flipped over on my side and faced the large window that overlooked the beach and the water down below. The moon was bright that night, and I had a feeling it was going to keep me awake, but I didn’t mind. I smiled to myself and closed my eyes, letting my mind wander. Soon however, even with the moon’s powerful rays streaming in from the window, I drifted off to sleep.
We were back in the hallway. He was standing facing the wall, talking on the phone, just like I had seen him do earlier that night. I looked down and saw that I was wearing a silky black dress and impractical black heels. My hair was done up in curls, something I never did, and I was wearing lipstick even though I had never been a fan of the way it stained glasses and napkins when it invariably rubbed off.
He hung up the phone and I waited for the elevator doors to open… But they didn’t. Instead, they remained closed and he walked over and stood next to me, now with both hands in his pockets. He smiled in my direction.
“Hi there,” he said.
“Oh, uh, hi…” I tucked some hair awkwardly behind my ear and looked anywhere but back at him.
“How’s your night going?”
“It’s good!” I said. “Great.”
He raised a brow. “Great? Really? Because in my experience, most great nights don’t end with me sneaking off alone to my hotel room just as the party’s getting started.”
“I’ve had enough partying,” I said. “It’s not—er—I’m just a little tired, that’s all.”
He sighed, rocked back onto his heels. “I hear you. I was about to call it a night as well. What floor are you on?”
I hesitated to answer. He was a stranger after all. He laughed. “Sorry,” he said. “That was very forward of me. I hope you don’t think I’m a creep. It’s just been a while since I’ve talked to someone as beautiful as you and I’m a little out of practice.”
I laughed so hard that I snorted a little, which made my face immediately get hot with embarrassment. I looked down at my feet, hoping he wouldn’t notice and collected myself. “That’s—” I couldn’t find the words.
“That’s what?”
I cleared my throat. “I highly doubt that’s true, is what I meant to say. I mean, I’m sure you talk to beautiful women all the time. Not that I’m even beautiful, or whatever.”
“Did you just say you weren’t beautiful?” he asked, his tone one of complete and utter shock.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to answer right away because the elevator doors finally opened and we stepped inside. A silence engulfed us when the doors closed and I folded my hands in front of me and tried to think of something else to say.
“Were you on the phone with your kid just then?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said, smiling. “I’m a dad.”
“That’s nice,” I said. “I love kids.”
“Do you have any?”
I shook my head. “No. None of my own. But I spend all day taking care of other people’s kids. I’m a nanny, and my mom runs a daycare so I work there a few days a week as well. My whole life is kids, and yet, I’m not a mother myself.”