Natalie unhooked her bra as she walked across the messy, dark hotel room. She let the bra fall to the floor with her other clothes as she entered the bathroom.
Flicking a switch on the wall, she stood in front of the mirror as the stark fluorescent light flickered on. She wanted to assess her breasts, to decide if they were good enough. She cupped them and decided they were more than firm enough. Aged 26 and just a few years out of college, she had more or less the same breasts - same shape, same firmness - she'd had back in the third year when she was dating, hell, unofficially living with, Nick.
The one thing she'd like to change was that she wishes her nipples were bigger. They weren't weirdly small, but they were smaller than she'd like. She wanted big puffy nipples, but she was stuck with small pert ones. She looked herself in the eyes and couldn't help a little smile. If only her nipples were the only thing she had to worry about tonight...
There was a DING! as the elevator doors opened and Natalie stepped out into the hotel lobby. She was wearing her favorite little black dress now, the one she reserved for special occasions like this. Feeling more confident than she'd ever felt in her life, she clip-clopped in her heels across the marble floor, heading for the hotel's dark, moody, cool little bar. She was hoping the hot barman would be on duty tonight, and she wasn't disappointed.
After sitting alone in the empty bar for half an hour, with just occasional glances at the barman to keep her amused, Natalie felt her phone vibrate in her purse. Fishing it out, she answered.
"I'm already there," she said, then listened intently. "Yeah, yeah, don't worry. I won't forget anything. You taught me too well for that." She hung up, and felt a little buzz of excitement: she'd never been the one to hang up before. She felt Nick would be secretly quite impressed.
"Natalie," said a voice.
Looking up, Natalie saw a smartly-dressed, attractive businessman with a winning smile, standing by her table and looking a little embarrassed. He had the same old glint in his eye that she remembered from so long ago. "Nick!" she exclaimed with obvious excitement, getting up and giving him a hug, making sure he felt every inch of her body pressed against him. "How have you been?"
"Good, Nat," said Nick as they separated from their hug. "I'll just get a drink."
As Nick went to the bar, Natalie made eye contact with the barman. He looked a little disappointed that she was with someone. Another confidence boost. This was turning into a good afternoon.
When Nick got back from the bar, he and Natalie sat and talked, and it was like old times. They'd always had a good rapport, spending hours chatting away while they were at school. All their friends had predicted they'd get together long before they first kissed, and it had seemed inevitable that they would one day get married, have kids and grow old together. Somehow, that hadn't happened...
"I'm getting married next month," Nick said, trying really hard to sound casual but failing. He eyed Natalie, looking for any kind of response.
"I heard," Natalie said, with a carelessness she'd practiced over and over again. "Congratulations. Some girl named Lisa?"
"Yeah," said Nick, nodding. "She's really nice. You'd like her." There was silence for a moment as they both thought about how unlikely it was that Natalie would like anyone who married Nick. "So... what are you doing in London?"
"Business," said Natalie. "Meeting potential clients for the publishing company I work for. We're looking to expand."
"Cool," said Nick. "Sounds like nice work."
"It is," said Natalie. Now that they were talking about her visit to London, she knew it was time to initiate phase two of this little operation. "And they've paid for this lovely hotel room," she said carefully.
"Yeah," said Nick, looking around the bar. "Nice place. Not been here before."
"Me neither," said Natalie. For the first time, she was feeling a little uncomfortable. Could she go through with this? "The room's amazing. So big and comfortable. Great bed."
Nick didn't say anything, just smiled and nodded. In so many ways, he hadn't changed since she'd last seen him half a decade ago.
"You want to see?" Natalie asked, and she could instantly tell that not only was Nick interested, but he also understood exactly what was on offer. "I guess you won't get to see the inside of strange girls' hotel rooms after you're married."
"No," said Nick, clearly a little nervous. "I guess not."
Natalie glanced at the barman, who seemed to be following the conversation. "So what do you say?" she asked Nick after taking a silent deep breath. "Want to see?"
