Ben managed to bring a woman who wasn't his wife to his hotel room.
Deannah's a writer. Ben has a thing for writers, and always has.
In college, he'd developed a technique of how to sniff out writers. They are obviously the most difficult to flirt with verbally; after many failed attempts of wooing female writers in his class, he got creative. He'd return to this method while attempting to pick up Deannah.
Ben noticed her in a coffee shop a block away from his hotel. She was sitting by the window, and Ben was in queue waiting for the caramel frappe latte he'd just ordered. He had Alan on the brain, of course. That is until he set his sights on the girl, who wore reading glasses while pounding furiously on the keyboard of her MacBook. He could tell she was extremely invested in what she was typing, so instead of interrupting her and throwing her off of whatever she was thinking about, he grabbed a napkin, asked the barista for the pen, and upon receipt, began writing a note:
You are invited to a seduction. Please come to dinner on Friday night. Wear the kind of clothes you would like to be seduced in.
Picking up his drink and returning the pen to the barista with a cheery "Thanks," he grabbed the napkin and, walking past Deannah's table, slid the napkin onto the surface. This skill was something that Ben knew would woo the pants off of any woman, especially female writers, but even Ben was astonished when the young woman noticed the napkin, opened it and read the note, a smile creeping across her mouth and her face lit up. She glanced over at Ben with that smile; he motioned to her to flip the napkin over, the other side containing the hotel's name and his suite number.
And there Deannah and Ben are, in the living space of his suite, sitting on the sofa and full from eating dinner Ben ordered through room service. Deannah didn't find this rude at all, for neither of them had to worry about getting overdressed and sitting in a fancy restaurant. Boooooring.
"Thank you for dinner," said Deannah. "And thank you for that note."
"You liked the note?" Ben was genuinely surprised; it was something Neil Gaiman mentioned in answer to a question sent to him on Tumblr on how to seduce writers. He thought it was just simple sarcasm, but he never thought it'd work.
"I did. Pretty innovative."
"Thank you." To Ben, this was too good to be true.
"You must be a big fan of Neil Gaiman," said Deannah with an arched eyebrow.
"Damn, you got me," said Ben in defeat. "But it got you here."
"Yes, it did. I really did like it, and I'll have to remember that for the next time a rare species of male like you attempts to flirt with me through writing because I'm a writer."
"I'm not trying to be a jerk that just wants to sleep with you..."
"I understand. You observed that I was busy and intensely invested in what I was working on, and were considerate of that, and I appreciate that. Wish there were more people like you." Deannah's hand patted Ben's thigh, which began to slightly tense to the touch.
"I'm sorry... I just-never mind. Long story."
"It's alright. It's your decision of whether or not you wanna talk about it."
"I'd rather not; I don't wanna scare you away or ruin your digestive process," said Ben; Deannah chuckled.
Ben and his new favorite scribe stared at one another in silence, their hands interlaced and Ben's thumb rubbing Deannah's thumb. Then, a knock at the door.
I thought I put the 'Do Not Disturb' tag on the door, thought Ben. He looked over at the door of his suite, noticing that it was still there.
"I'll be right back," said Ben, releasing Deannah's hand, getting up from the sofa and walking over to the door. He took a peek through the peephole to find Alan standing on the other side of his suite door. WHAT IS HE DOING HERE? thought Ben.
"What are you doing here?" Ben whispered loudly once he opened the door.
"I need to talk to you about something," said Alan. "It's very important-"
"I myself have something very important going on at the moment," said Ben, his hand stopping Alan at the door. Alan managed his way past Ben and got into the sitting room of Ben's suite, noticing that Ben had a guest.
"Hello, Alan," said Deannah with an annoyed tone.
"Wait, wait. How do you know Alan?" asked Ben, sounding a bit irritated.
"Alan comes into the coffee shop occasionally," said Deannah. "Usually to annoy people."
"I don't annoy anyone," grumbled Alan. "I like their coffee."
"You like flirting more," replied Deannah.
"Okay, kids," Ben cut in, "let's not get into it right now. It's just-what is it you wanted to talk about, Alan?"
After a while, Alan answered, "I can't talk about it with the girl here."
"What's wrong, Alan?" Deannah asked. "Are you afraid I'll spill your secrets to your little girlfriends that you pick up from the coffee shop?"
"Please leave, woman. This news is meant for Ben's ears only."
Ben had to intervene. "Now I will not stand for you being rude to my guest." Ben was getting red around the ears and annoyed at Alan's insolence.
"No, no, I'm gonna get out of here. You have my number, right?" Ben nodded to Deannah as she got up from the sofa and walked towards the door. "I hope to hear from you soon, Ben." He'd followed her to the door, and as she eased herself halfway out into the hallway, she gave Ben a peck on the tip of his nose, and grins formed on both of their mouths.
"Okay, time to go now," yelled Alan as he pushed Deannah's head out into the hallway and slammed the door.
"You... are SOOOO... RU-" Once Ben'd body was turned towards him, Alan smashed his lips onto Ben's before he could finish the sentence. Alan's thick fingers ran their way through curly, auburn locks while Ben, although shocked, didn't push Alan away; instead, he pulled Alan in and their tongues wrestled, caught up in a wave of sudden and intense passion. The kiss lasted a good thirty seconds, maybe a bit longer, before they separated.
Alan looked into Ben's wide eyes. Ben was in shock, completely stunned and taken aback by what just happened. "So that's what you needed to tell me?" Ben said as he looked down at the floor and quickly back up at Alan.
"Yes. That's what was... very important."
"Why were you so rude to Deannah?"
"She was an old conquest, but she turned me down. Said I... 'interrupted her creative flow'."
"Well, it seems that, although you're a ladies' man, you don't know a thing about writers. They're pretty touchy about things like that."
"Yeah, but I just wanted to get laid, is all." Ben could do nothing but chuckle. The man he thought was the chick magnet of this hotel turned out to be a normal guy who couldn't bag just any woman, especially women like Deannah, someone who intrigued Ben. But back to the issue at hand, the kiss. That kiss...
"Why did you kiss me?"
"I felt I had to do it, get your attention."
"Well, you certainly have it. Is that all you needed to tell me?"
"No." Alan walked over to the sofa, plopping down onto it and sitting back, getting comfy. Ben sat down next to him, his chin resting on his hands, which were interlaced together.
"I've been thinking about you lately," said the older man. "Even when I picked up this gorgeous redhead and brought her to my room, she just... reminded me so much of you."
"Yeah, but I don't have... breasts." Both men chuckled at the joke. "That kiss was rather... very passionate."
"Yes, it was, and I don't regret one bit of it."
"And I don't resent you for it," replied Ben. "It's been a long time since I've kissed anyone like that."
"Oh, really? Well, who was better?" Alan asked jokingly.
Ben took a minute or so to think about his answer.
"You were," he said surely.
Alan looked over at Ben, his grin falling from his face. He liked it, thought Alan. There are so many things I could do to this beautiful man. Many naughty things. But Alan understood that, with fresh, new beginnings came boundaries, so Alan had to stick with the basics, which included touching Ben's face in his hands, caressing Ben's cheekbones with his thumbs, pulling Ben's face closer to his, and kissing him once again.
