***The next morning***
Jennifer woke up around 6, and saw the sun coming through the windows. Power was still out, but it was light enough that she could blow out the candles.
She had offered Jonathan the bed, but he insisted on the couch. She had tried to make him as comfortable as possible, and had given him the bedspread from her bed and 2 pillows.
She got out of bed and started blowing out the candles in her room, and then opened the door to go into the den.
He was standing up folding up the blanket. He was only wearing black boxer briefs.
She was momentarily stunned by his abs, and rippled chest.
'My god, he is so handsome'.
"Morning".
"Morning…sleep well?"
"Yeah, this couch is pretty comfy".
She blew out the candles in the den and then turned to him.
"I'm going to jump in the shower. Make yourself at home, I guess".
He nodded.
She went and showered and got ready, and then came out to the den.
He was back in his jeans and polo from the night before.
"Well, I guess we get to sit here a little longer. At least till the power comes back on".
They sat down on the couch and chatted about various things, and then Jonathan started asking her about the articles and interviews she had done.
"Who was your favorite?"
"Hmm… that's a tough one. Probably the president. He was very interesting".
"Who was your least favorite?"
"Oh that's easy. I was interviewing this basketball player, and he had just won some big MVP status. His wife was there, we were at his home. And he just kept ordering her around like she was a 5 year old, and talking down to her. I tend to extend their answers to some kind of small talk, so that I have more than just a question/answer type of article after it's over, but this time he was so infuriating, I didn't do that. I just asked his questions, and then told him I had to go, and gave his wife my business card on the way out. I was hoping she would call me and I could convince her to divorce him".
"Did she?"
"She never called me, but they are definitely divorced now. And she did it in a sneaky way, and got more than ½ his fortune".
They sat there talking for another hour or so, and then the power kicked back on.
"Great! Now I can curl my hair".
"And I can get to the office. Thanks for letting me crash".
"Don't mention it".
"Are we still on for dinner tonight?"
"I'd love that".
"Great. I will pick you up at 7".
"Sounds perfect".
She walked over and hugged him and then walked him to the door.
"See you tonight".
"Yeah, see you tonight".
He had a little more spring in his step when he left her hotel.
She had a smile on her face that she couldn't wipe off no matter how hard she tried.
She made it to the office in an hour, and explained to her boss what had happened.
"That's ok. Most of London was without power last night. Listen, I wanted to tell you, I submitted your latest article. As soon as you finish up the one you are working on now, your assignment here is through. You can return to the States as early as Sunday if you'd like".
"Great, I can't wait".
She made the arrangements and was going to call Caroline, but decided to surprise them instead.
She finished up her article and submitted it and then went home.
She took a little bit of extra time getting ready for her date with Jonathan. She selected a two-tone strapless dress, and black heels. The dress was black on the bottom and green on the top, and had a sparkly black belt in the middle. Her dress had a slight v-cut in the middle to show just a hint of cleavage. Once her makeup was flawless, she quickly put on some jewelry and then switched purses from a white clutch to a black one while she waited for Jonathan.
He showed up right on time, with ½ a dozen white roses for her.
"Hi, come on in".
"Hi. I saw these and thought you might like them".
"Thank you, how sweet".
She went to put them in water really fast.
He looked really good, in a gray suit with a dark tie.
"Where would you like to go?"
"I made us reservations at a place called Remington's. They have the best drinks and a great view".
"Sounds wonderful. Do we need to take a cab? I have an unlimited pass".
"Not a bad idea".
She put the pass in her purse and they left.
They walked into Remington's, and were seated right away.
He even pulled out her chair for her.
They ordered drinks and sat there chatting, and then ordered dinner.
He ordered them champagne, and poured them each a glass when it arrived.
After a very nice dinner, he paid the tab and they went outside and took a cab with her pass.
"Where to?"
"How do you feel, are you up for some dancing? Churchill's has dancing."
"Sounds wonderful".
She scooted a little closer to him in the cab as he told the driver to take them to Churchill's.
They took a seat at a high top table and as soon as they did so, the band started to play.
"Would you like to dance?"
"I'd love to".
They ordered some more champagne as they got up to go dance.
He led her to the dance floor, and held her close as they danced. They seemed so comfortable with each other. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe not…
"Whatever perfume you are wearing, it's very lovely".
"Thank you. It's called Rare Orchid. It's the only one I wear".
She rested her cheek on his and softly rubbed her hand up and down his back as they moved around the dance floor.
After several dances, they had some more champagne, and then about an hour later, they headed out, taking the half-empty bottle with them.
He hailed them a cab and she handed him the pass, and they headed to her hotel.
She put her hand on his leg as they rode along.
"Want to come up to my room?"
"I'd love it".
They got out of the cab and he tipped the guy and they walked in, together.
She handed him the hotel key and he opened the door for them and let them in.
She kicked her shoes off and tossed her purse on the couch, as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and started kissing her neck.
"You are the most beautiful woman on the whole continent".
"Thank you".
She turned around in his embrace, intending to get him to let go so she could go get them water or something. Instead, the instant she turned around, he kissed her, full force. It was the most intoxicating kiss she had ever had, and she never wanted it to stop.
He held her tight as his tongue probed her mouth, making her head spin.
He finally broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers.
She grabbed his hands and led him to the kitchen area and handed him a water bottle, and grabbed one for herself.
He handed his water bottle back to her and then scooped her up and kissed her as he carried her to the bedroom.
She tossed the water bottles on the bed and he gently set her down.
Their kiss ended and she wrapped her arms around him.
He put his hands on her shoulders.
"I'm sorry, I just thought you wanted to-"
"It's ok, I do want to".
He kissed her again, as she reached behind herself and started to unzip her dress.
He helped her out and she started undoing his tie.
He got her dress unzipped, and then let it fall off of her, down on to the floor. She pulled his tie off and started working on his shirt buttons.
She was standing in front of him in only a pair of black lace panties and a black lace strapless bra. He got stripped down to his boxer briefs, and then laid her down on the bed.
He started kissing her neck, as his arms wrapped all the way around her.
She ran her fingers through his hair, as he moved his kisses back to her lips.
She felt him fumble while he was trying to undo her bra.
She grabbed his hands and moved them to the front of her.
"It's in the front".
He got the bra undone and took her perfect breasts in his hands.
She arched her back when he touched her, her body aching for more.
She could feel his erection straining against his boxer briefs and pressing against her.
She reached down and pulled his boxer briefs off his hips, as he seductively grabbed her butt and started pulling her panties off.
He kissed her a few times.
"Hang on".
He rolled off her and grabbed his wallet and pulled out a condom. She took her panties off while he protected them, and then rolled back on top of her.
He kissed her with more passion than he had ever kissed a woman, and she was so taken with the kiss that he caught her by surprise when he plunged himself inside of her.
"Oh!", she cried out.
"Am I hurting you?"
"No, just the opposite. Don't stop".
They matched their hip movements, both of them trying to please the other one. She pulled him as close to her as she could, and he stuck his fingers in her hair and pulled her head close for a kiss while he sank himself inside of her over and over again.
He took them over the edge together, and they both lay there, exhausted afterwards. It was the most thrilling, exhilarating, intense lovemaking they had both ever experienced.
He reached over and grabbed his water bottle and opened it and handed it to her. She took it from him and took a few drinks. He downed his and put the bottle back on the nightstand.
"There's another one in the kitchen if you'd like".
"Sure".
He got up and took care of the condom and then headed to the kitchen.
She couldn't keep her eyes off his naked backside as he walked out of the room.
'Damn he's a gorgeous man'.
He came back to bed then, with another water for her in case she wanted it, and the half-empty bottle of champagne from the restaurant, and two glasses.
He poured them each a glass and handed one to her. They clinked glasses, and then kissed before they took a sip.
She put her head on his chest and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Oh, you probably don't want to know".
"Yes, I do. You can tell me anything".
"Well, I was just thinking about how I misjudged you. I thought you were this horribly chauvinistic man, who was never going to get out of the fraternity boy-bachelor phase. But tonight, you showed me how respectful of others you are, and how you are really a nice guy and how wrong I was".
"Yeah, I feel horrible about our first meeting. I was so nervous around you, and that's not normally like me".
"What was your first impression of me?"
"Well, I thought you were beautiful, and that I had no chance of ever getting you to be interested in me and then when I saw the way Savanna is so attached to you, I thought about how lucky Caroline and Patrick were to have someone who is so capable with kids in their lives".
"Yeah, she and I have always had a special bond".
"Where did that come from?"
"I'm not sure, really. Patrick took a few weeks off when she was born, and then he had to go out of town on an emergency business trip, so Caroline asked me to come stay and help out, because she still couldn't drive. So, the first night I get there, she's a mess of hormones and Savanna is crying and Caroline can't get her to stop. Luke only wanted Caroline to take care of him, so I took the baby while she took Luke upstairs for a bath and when she got back down, Savanna was asleep in my arms. And then it seemed like every time she got really upset, she would only stop crying for me. So eventually, we switched, and I took care of Luke and she had Savanna, and then we realized that Savanna just needed a calm, quiet room to calm down. And ever since then, she has been attached to me and wants to do everything I do when I'm with them".
"They are a great family".
"Yeah, she's always telling me how pretty I am".
He set his champagne glass down on the nightstand and she handed hers to him. He set hers down and then rolled on top of her.
"I can see why".
He leaned down and kissed her again, and wrapped his arms around her.
He made love to her again, and then they fell asleep together.
***The next morning***
Jennifer stretched and moved a little.
"Mmm, morning".
Silence.
"Jonathan?"
No response.
She sat up. His side of the bed was totally empty. She got up and grabbed her robe and went to the den, but he wasn't in there either.
Thinking he was in the bathroom, she went back to the bedroom. That's when she noticed that his clothes were gone.
Before she could react, she heard a knock at the door.
'He must have gone to get breakfast'
She opened the door.
"What did you get?"
Only it wasn't him. It was housekeeping.
"Here to clean, madam".
"Oh, certainly. Come on in".
She went to the bedroom and got her clothes up from the floor, as the housekeeper started in the den.
Jennifer didn't even notice the housekeeper throwing away a note that had fallen to the floor.
She took their glasses to the sink, and poured the rest of the champagne down the drain, along with her hopes for any thing further with Jonathan. He had ghosted her, plain and simple. She managed to hold the tears back until the housekeeper left.
She made a beeline for the shower, and as soon as the water hit her, so did the tears. She berated herself for being so stupid, and vowed that she wouldn't give him the time of day ever again as long as she lived.