Be Careful What You Wish For
(Chapter One: A One Night Thing)
Elliot was sitting on a barstool in the airport lounge talking to the bartender. His flight had been delayed by the thunderstorm outside for more than three hours now and he was bored out of his mind. Elliot had shared a few words with this man during his past visits to Chicago. Since Kathy had moved here with the children he tried to visit as frequently as he could, often staying just one night before flying back to New York to rush back to work.
"How long do you think this delay is going to be?" Elliot asked looking at his watch.
"I don't know," the bartender replied. "I have seen flights grounded all night because of storms like this."
"Great," Elliot scoffed tapping the bar as he motioned for another beer.
"You might as well get a room and make a night of it," the man behind the bar suggested.
"A night of it? I was supposed to take the earlier flight and be back by now."
"Why didn't you?"
"My little girl, Elizabeth, had a ballet recital. She begged me to go and watch her dance."
"You got a kid?"
"Kids. Four, three girls and a boy," Elliot said opening his wallet to show the man some pictures of the children. "Maureen is sixteen, Kathleen is fourteen and the twins are ten."
"Good looking bunch of kids," the man said handing the wallet back.
"You got kids?" Elliot asked.
"No, kids aren't my thing. Not yet anyway."
"Not yet?"
"Maybe in the future after I finish school. I wouldn't mind starting a family. But not until I can at least support them. And that isn't going to happen working at the bar four nights a week while I'm going to school full time."
"Responsible thinking. What are you….twenty?"
"Twenty two."
"You still have time for the family life."
"What about you?" the man asked looking at Elliot. "The ex-wife and kids live in Chicago and you are in New York. Any hot new girlfriend?"
"No. I thought I would take a break from relationships for a while. Apparently I am not that great at them. I just don't think that I am in a place right now where I can offer what it takes to make a relationship work."
"So, you are more into the one niters?"
"No," Elliot laughed.
"Nothing? How long have you been divorced?"
"Almost just over a year."
"You should really consider finding a pretty young thing to spend a little time with, if you know what I mean. Even the best men can't go that long without sex. I couldn't do it," the man joked as he wiped off the bar.
Elliot laughed as he nodded his head.
"I guess you're right. I wouldn't mind finding someone. Just a one night thing, no rules or responsibilities. It could be nice."
"Here's your chance," the bartender said with a nod and a smile as a woman took a seat a few stools down from Elliot.
"You can't be serious," Elliot whispered looking back at the man.
"What? She is gorgeous and I don't see a ring on her hand."
"That doesn't mean she's interested."
"You will never know if you don't go over there and talk to her."
Elliot watched as the man stared at him with a blank look. The bartender shook his head and walked over to take her drink order.
"What can I get for you, ma'am?"
"Umm….vodka on the rocks," she said combing her fingers through her hair. "Any idea how long flights are delayed?"
"I haven't heard anything," he said as he slid her drink over to her.
"Of course," she groaned pulling a wallet from her purse. "I have to get back to New York. Is there a car rental place around here?"
"There is, just around the block. But the storm is bad and New York City is over a twelve hour drive on a clear day."
She exhaled, obviously inconvenienced by the delay and tossed a ten dollar bill on the bar.
"Don't worry about it," he said. "This one is on the house."
"Thank you," she said forcing a smile as she picked up the glass.
"You're trying to get back to New York, too?" Elliot asked looking at her down the bar.
"Yeah, but it doesn't look like I'm going to make it. It figures, my who life has been like this lately."
"I'm sorry you're having such a rough time. You're going to be late for something important?"
She looked up at him and laughed nervously.
"My first day at a new job."
"Ouch," Elliot said. "So you are moving from Chicago to New York for a job?"
"Umm, actually I live in Manhattan. I flew to Chicago for a training thing, a conference. I am supposed to start tomorrow. What about you?" she asked picking up her glass and moving to the stool beside him. "Do you live in Chicago?
"Queens."
"Queens?" she asked with a smile. "So what brought you to Chicago?"
"My ex-wife. She moved here with the kids a year ago after we divorced."
"I'm sorry."
"No, it's alright. It is hard being this far away from them all of the time. I visit when I can. The ex and I get along better this way. Maybe you should call your boyfriend back in Manhattan and let him know you will be late getting in."
She smiled and laughed.
"There is no boyfriend back in New York."
"No boyfriend? What a shame."
She laughed again.
"I don't date."
"Neither do I," Elliot replied flagging the bartender for another beer. "Can I buy you another drink?"
She smiled at him and tipped her head as she stared into his eyes.
"It doesn't look like we are getting out of here anytime soon," Elliot said pointing to the television screen behind the bar that showed the storm front completely covering the screen.
"What the hell," she replied with a smile.
"I'll take a beer and a vodka on the rocks," Elliot told the bartender.
"Actually, a beer would be great," she corrected him.
They talked for hours. About everything and nothing. They laughed and joked more like two old friends than a couple of strangers who met in a bar on night. Before they knew it four hours had past and the airline announced that all flights would be grounded until the following morning.
"Wonderful," she said sarcastically as she looked over at him.
"Maybe we should try to get a room," Elliot suggested as she stared at him. "I don't mean we as in….together. I just meant we, you and I, both….you should get a room and I should get a different room. Like on another floor or even in another hotel."
She laughed as he nervously tried to cover his slip of the tongue.
"I know what you meant."
"Because I….I mean we barely know each other."
"It's okay, really."
Elliot turned around to the bartender, still a bit embarrassed.
"I'd like to close out my tab," he said as he cleared his throat and laid a handful of cash on the bar in front of him.
They talked as the bartender called them a cab that took them to the nearest hotel. Inside she stood beside Elliot as he spoke to the woman behind the counter.
"We need two rooms for the night, please."
"I'm sorry," the woman said as she pulled up her list of openings on the computer screen. "I only have one room available."
"You can take it," he said looking back at the brown eyed beauty beside him. "There is another hotel down the road."
"Everything is full, sir. The storms have grounded every flight out of every airport within a hundred miles. Rooms are going fast. I only have this one, because someone didn't make their reservation."
"There is nothing else available anywhere?"
"There might be something further into the city. But all of the hotels close to the airport are booked up."
"We probably need to stay nearby to try to catch an early flight in the morning," Elliot thought out loud.
"If I could make a suggestion," the woman behind the counter said watching him for a reaction. "You could share the room."
"Share the room?" Elliot asked.
"It is a double suite, with two queen sized beds. Plenty of space for two people."
Elliot stared at the floor for a moment then looked at the woman beside him.
"What do you think?"
"It's better than spending the night in the airport. You aren't a crazy psycho murder, are you?" she asked with a smile.
"I left my weapon collection at home. I was afraid I would have trouble boarding the plane," he replied with a sarcastic smile.
"My bags have already been checked, so I think you're safe for one night," she said as she smiled back.
"We'll take it," Elliot said sliding his credit card across the counter.
"Okay. Wake up calls can be set from the phone in your room. Check out is ten o'clock and there is a free continental breakfast served in the lobby starting at six. Here are a couple of extra towels. If you need anything else, do not hesitate to call."
"We wont, thank you." Elliot picked up his carry on bag and looked at the room number on the receipt. "Where is room five fifteen?"
"Take the elevator to the fifth floor and it is about half way down on the left side."
The elevator ride up five floors was a long and awkward one. Neither of them said anything at all. Elliot wanted to say something to break the silence, but was afraid of making the situation even more awkward, so he said nothing. Instead he watched her as she stared up at the numbers above the door as they lit up one by one.
They stopped on the third floor as a few other passengers got on. The other elevator car must have been full, because they were going all the way to the fifth floor before going back down to the lobby.
Elliot let his mind wonder for a few moments and it found it's way back to her. The brunette who would be his roommate for the evening. She wasn't tall, but she wasn't short either. She was a bit athletic looking and had a lean, but shapely body with amazing curves. To say she was attractive would be an understatement, she was gorgeous. She was the kind of woman who made men nervous just to talk to her. She had a pretty face and a beautiful smile and Elliot was kicking himself for not remembering her name. he couldn't even remember if she had ever given it.
"Are you okay?" she asked with a smile as she caught him staring at her.
"I'm good."
"Ah, you don't do this often, do you?"
"Share a hotel room with someone I met six hours earlier? No."
"It has been almost seven hours now," she said and he couldn't take his eyes off hers.
"That makes it a little better," he laughed nervously.
"Here we go," she said as the doors opened and he followed her into the hall.
"She said it was on the left."
"Five eleven, five thirteen, five fifteen, this is us."
She leaned back against the wall and looked up at Elliot. He fumbled with the card key in his hand as he felt his heart racing. This was completely innocent, but he still felt nervous about being alone like this with the beautiful stranger.
"Do you need any help with that?" she asked as she stared into his eyes.
"With the key? I've got it," he mumbled like a fool as the lock beeped and the door popped open. "There," he said without breaking his stare.
"Thank you," she said without blinking as she stared into him and just like that, Elliot could see it in her eyes.
It was like he was reading her mind and he knew exactly what she wanted. What he wanted too, but they were both afraid to say. He watched as she raised up and leaned forward brushing her nose against his, inviting him to kiss her. But he was frozen and couldn't seem to move.
His heart was pounding and that wasn't the only part of his body responding to this perfect female creation in front of him. His jaw fell open as she crumpled his tie in her hand and leaned closer. Her dark eyelashes batted as she smiled, but didn't pull away from him.
Then she did it.
She must have gotten tired of waiting for him to respond, because she leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his. Elliot closed his eyes as they shared the most amazing kiss he had ever shared with a woman in his life.
She moaned softly as their lips parted only for a second before finding each other again. When Elliot opened his eyes, hers were still closed. He raised his hand to cup her cheek and placed his other arm against the small of her back to pull her body in to meet his.
This time the kiss didn't end. Instead it was followed by another and another and another, until they were both inside the room and the door had closed behind them. She rushed to pull undo his tie and unbutton his shirt.
Elliot couldn't help but be drawn to the exotic beauty as he combed his fingers through her hair and kissed the soft skin on the side of her neck. The next thing he knew his clothes were in a pile in the floor next to her black dress and they were in bed together having the most incredible sex he had ever experienced.
Afterward Elliot laid there with her in his arms and watched her as she slept. The beautiful one night stand he picked up in an airport lounge.