It wasn't a one night stand. He repeated the words to himself as he loosened his tie, swallowing as he met his own eyes in the bathroom mirror. Sandy was still standing by the window, taking in the magnificent view, completely unaware of his nervousness. They hadn't seen each other since high school, and now, a chance meeting at a hotel in San Francisco, this city so far from where they had grown up, and here he was. Here she was. In his hotel room. Tyler swallowed again, running a hand over his short black hair. The sudden memory of Sandy teasing him about it in high school, always obnoxious, always unable to keep her hands to herself, made him smile. She tried to make him dye it a different color every year. Once she even brought silver hair spray into class. But he had always been too serious to play along. He'd just smiled and shrugged. He took another glance at the mirror, and then turning abruptly, walked back into the room.
Sandy was standing by the window, and for a moment, he just watched her; light grey jeans encasing her legs smoothly, curving around her butt in a way that made his hands ache to touch her. She had on a floaty beige top, sheer in places and opaque in others. One hand rested in a back pocket, the other in front of her, delicate brown fingers curled around the stem of a wineglass, filled to the rim with bubbly champagne. She tossed back a cascade of jet black curls, and then, perhaps sensing him, turned around. Full lips smiled.
"Heyyy." Her voice was soft, inviting. For a moment, he thought he saw nerves flitting around the edges of her dark brown eyes. She shook back her hair again, and stepped toward him.
"How's the wine?"
"Delicious," she said, taking a small sip. The image of her full lips against the rim of the glass was enough to make him hard. He tried to take a deep breath. He and Sandy had been friends for years, but he had never seen her like this. When they were in high school, both nerds in science class, he'd only ever seen her as an ally. He'd never looked at her as more than a friend, never with this desire of wanting to lose himself in her, to sink into her warm softness, without a care in the world.
Sandy was handing him a glass. She kicked off her heels, losing about three inches of height, and turned back to the window. "You really do have an impressive view. Your company is paying for this?"
"Yeah. Gotta travel in style." He smirked. If only she knew the elaborate cover-up that was the actual reason behind the swanky hotel room. But he should have known better than to expect Sandy to be intimidated. Or even visibly impressed.
"Whatever. I'm surprised they haven't relegated you to a Motel 6. Maybe they weren't aware the type of trouble you could get into with a view like this." Her grin was faintly naughty, and he took an unconscious step toward her. She took another sip, eyes on his. His whole body tightened, again. He couldn't think of a time when he had been this hard for anyone. He was afraid if she came any closer, he might come. Before they had even kissed. The thought made him frantically grasp for something, anything to say, to distract her.
"Ah, there's a balcony."
Her eyes widened in delight.
"Ooh let's see it, Robot." The high school nickname rolled easily from her lips, and he found himself smiling, the familiar memories easing, momentarily, the silken clutch of his desire.
"Alright. C'mon." Her hand was hanging by her side, and in a fleeting moment of courage, he took it to lead her to the balcony. It was soft and warm, and fit into his perfectly as he led her to the balcony on the other side of the suite. It was an opulent addition, a pleasant surprise at check-in. It would also be useful as an alternate escape route, although he hoped he wouldn't have to use it. Her hand rested in his comfortably, and as he slid open the glass door, her felt her fingers tighten slightly against his. They stepped out into the night air. It was brisk, but not too cold. The stars were out, and the balcony was lit by a luminous half moon. Sandy exhaled on a gasp and smiled up at him.
"Tyler. This is gorgeous. I still can't figure out what you did to deserve this." He glanced down, surprised, but then saw the faint smirk hovering around her lips and laughed out loud.
"Still trying to give me a hard time, I see."
"Aw Tye, you know I'm just playing." She leaned into his warmth, and he tentatively curved his arm around her shoulders. "Sometimes it feels like forever, doesn't it?"
"What?" His hand was resting on her arm, with her soft body against his, he was having a hard time concentrating.
"Since we last saw each other."
"Well, yeah. It's been since graduation."
"Ten years, though. It's not all that much."
"It's enough."
"Yeah. I guess so. I never stopped thinking about you, though." The soft admission made him look at her, but she was still looking out over the lights of the city as she spoke. "Who would have ever thought we'd run into each other here? I hate staying in hotels for work. It makes me lonely. And cranky."
"I'm an engineer." Tyler shrugged. It wasn't the whole truth, but not an outright lie, either. He couldn't bring himself to tell her a complete lie, and knew he could be reprimanded for it. "A certain amount of crankiness is to be expected from time to time. I don't know what your excuse is, though."
