“Could you close the door for me, maybe?”
“Oh, sure.”
She saw a muscular forearm come into view, and then pull the door shut for her.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Lea stepped out of the bath. What was going on? She toweled herself dry, and dressed rapidly.
By the time she stepped out of the bathroom, she was thoroughly annoyed. Adam was half-lying on the bed, flipping through photos on his camera. The sight of him bare-chested reduced her annoyance a bit – he had well-defined pecs and abs, and the body of a man who was strong because he needed to be, not because he was interested in bodybuilding.
Lea managed to sound a lot calmer than she felt. “What are you doing here?”
He looked up at her, and took in her blue cocktail dress, her hair damp and curly and her eyes wary but polite. “I’m guessing there’s been a mixup,” he said casually, “They asked me to switch rooms this morning so obviously they got their records muddled.”
“Hmm.”
He’d said it so calmly, so matter-of-fact, that Lea felt her annoyance disappearing and felt a little silly for being so worked up about it in the first place. Nothing seemed to ruffle Adam, and she wished she could be more like him. Sure, she’d been in the tub, but it wasn’t liked he’d walked in on her naked, the bubbles had covered everything.
“It’s happened to me before,” he went on, obviously trying to calm her down. “You work in crazy places and need last-minute rooms, you see a lot of this kind of stuff.”
She let out a deep breath. “Ok. But I guess we need to go down and talk to that girl in reception.”
“Hmm. I spoke to a guy.”
“Great – and they got mixed up.”
Adam smiled, revealing his rows of perfect teeth. “I think I’ll take a shower first. I just came from the gym.”
She couldn’t help teasing him. “Oh. So that’s why you were in your tighty-whities.”
Adam laughed, his voice a deep baritone, and refused to get embarrassed. “See anything you liked?”
Lea blushed again, and shaking her head in mock despair, she wondered over to the wardrobe. Why was it so hard to be mad at him? She kept her back to him as she rifled through her luggage, looking for her makeup bag. When she heard the bathroom door click shut, she finally turned around.
There was a large mirror on the wall, and she applied her makeup rapidly. She heard the shower running, and Adam stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed, thankfully, and he watched her critically as she applied the last of her makeup.
“Are we done?”
She nodded, and grabbed her purse, and they both grabbed their carry-ons and headed downstairs towards the reception. As they walked towards the lift, Lea couldn’t help thinking that they looked like a normal couple, about to check out and head back home, and wondered how it would be if that were true.
***
The man at reception seemed as confused as they were, and Adam could tell that Lea was getting irritated again. Trying to stay calm, he explained their situation one more time, giving the man, whose name-tag said “Harold,” their full names, former room numbers and current room number. Adam’d had quite a few run-ins with bureaucracy, and was usually good at staying calm in these frustrating situations. Beside him, Lea smelled sweet and fresh, and he wondered if it wouldn’t be a good idea not to sort out the problem, and just share the same room instead.
Harold’s face broke out in a broad smile as he finally understood the situation, and after a quick apology, he started typing in things and staring at his computer screen intently.
Finally he turned to them with a look of consternation and said, “I’m really very sorry about this, but it turns out there are no spare rooms at the moment.”
Lea’s eyes flashed dark. “Are you kidding me? I pay good money and plan my entire holiday around this hotel…”
“Allow me,” Adam interjected smoothly. Picking a fight with the receptionist wouldn’t
“Oh, sure.”
She saw a muscular forearm come into view, and then pull the door shut for her.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Lea stepped out of the bath. What was going on? She toweled herself dry, and dressed rapidly.
By the time she stepped out of the bathroom, she was thoroughly annoyed. Adam was half-lying on the bed, flipping through photos on his camera. The sight of him bare-chested reduced her annoyance a bit – he had well-defined pecs and abs, and the body of a man who was strong because he needed to be, not because he was interested in bodybuilding.
Lea managed to sound a lot calmer than she felt. “What are you doing here?”
He looked up at her, and took in her blue cocktail dress, her hair damp and curly and her eyes wary but polite. “I’m guessing there’s been a mixup,” he said casually, “They asked me to switch rooms this morning so obviously they got their records muddled.”
“Hmm.”
He’d said it so calmly, so matter-of-fact, that Lea felt her annoyance disappearing and felt a little silly for being so worked up about it in the first place. Nothing seemed to ruffle Adam, and she wished she could be more like him. Sure, she’d been in the tub, but it wasn’t liked he’d walked in on her naked, the bubbles had covered everything.
“It’s happened to me before,” he went on, obviously trying to calm her down. “You work in crazy places and need last-minute rooms, you see a lot of this kind of stuff.”
She let out a deep breath. “Ok. But I guess we need to go down and talk to that girl in reception.”
“Hmm. I spoke to a guy.”
“Great – and they got mixed up.”
Adam smiled, revealing his rows of perfect teeth. “I think I’ll take a shower first. I just came from the gym.”
She couldn’t help teasing him. “Oh. So that’s why you were in your tighty-whities.”
Adam laughed, his voice a deep baritone, and refused to get embarrassed. “See anything you liked?”
Lea blushed again, and shaking her head in mock despair, she wondered over to the wardrobe. Why was it so hard to be mad at him? She kept her back to him as she rifled through her luggage, looking for her makeup bag. When she heard the bathroom door click shut, she finally turned around.
There was a large mirror on the wall, and she applied her makeup rapidly. She heard the shower running, and Adam stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed, thankfully, and he watched her critically as she applied the last of her makeup.
“Are we done?”
She nodded, and grabbed her purse, and they both grabbed their carry-ons and headed downstairs towards the reception. As they walked towards the lift, Lea couldn’t help thinking that they looked like a normal couple, about to check out and head back home, and wondered how it would be if that were true.
***
The man at reception seemed as confused as they were, and Adam could tell that Lea was getting irritated again. Trying to stay calm, he explained their situation one more time, giving the man, whose name-tag said “Harold,” their full names, former room numbers and current room number. Adam’d had quite a few run-ins with bureaucracy, and was usually good at staying calm in these frustrating situations. Beside him, Lea smelled sweet and fresh, and he wondered if it wouldn’t be a good idea not to sort out the problem, and just share the same room instead.
Harold’s face broke out in a broad smile as he finally understood the situation, and after a quick apology, he started typing in things and staring at his computer screen intently.
Finally he turned to them with a look of consternation and said, “I’m really very sorry about this, but it turns out there are no spare rooms at the moment.”
Lea’s eyes flashed dark. “Are you kidding me? I pay good money and plan my entire holiday around this hotel…”
“Allow me,” Adam interjected smoothly. Picking a fight with the receptionist wouldn’t
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