- This is the third and final chapter of Love. Lust. Lost. I have broken the story down so reading them first is not essential, but if you want to check them out, they're also in the Celebrities section or you can find them by clicking on my username. Thanks. -
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As we walked back through reception, I intercepted the concierge and ordered a chilled bottle of Bollinger accompanied by a pair of white and dark chocolate mousse off the room service menu.
"So where are the rest of the guys?" I asked as we stood by the bank of lifts.
"So where's the champagne?" She fired back, as ever ignoring any reference to the rest of the band.
"It's on its way." I said as I wound my arm around her slender shoulders. She looked gorgeously ruffled. Her hair hung down in parts and stuck up in others. Her top didn't look quite right somehow and as I pulled her close, I could smell sex steaming from her flushed skin. "You have never looked sexier." I whispered into her ear.
"I bet I look a mess."
"You look like you've been dragged through a toilet backwards." She turned, a wide grin stretched across her face, her eyes still hooked up. "So how long do you normally last after a show?"
"Normally a couple of hours, sometimes all night. Tonight feels like an all-nighter."
"I'll try and keep up." I promised. "And where are the guys?" I probed again.
"They'll be on their way to Sheffield. It's just me and Vicky, my PR. She's going to take me up to the gig tomorrow. I've got a signing in town in the morning."
"Doesn't that piss the band off?"
"Yep. But it's me the press want." She said and shrugged. "Tell me," she continued, "who was Alanys Morrisette's guitarist?" I held up my hands in submission.
"No idea."
"Exactly. That's the way it is. It does piss the band off, but my fame gets them paid and laid, so..." She just let the statement hang as the bell chimed and the lift doors slid apart.
...
"So what did you plan for the rest of the night?" She asked as the heavy hotel door swung shut with a bang and she kicked her trainers into the wardrobe. "I think I might grab a shower and freshen up."
She was stood facing away from me and I placed my hands on her shoulders, immediately feeling her lean back into me.
"I thought maybe we could run that giant bath and chill out, just you, me and the champagne." It had been nearly three years since I had enjoyed a bath with a girl, and with a bath you could almost swim in, it was an opportunity not to be missed. She turned around and looked at me quizzically, her forehead wrinkling.
"You're full of surprises. I thought you'd just want to jump into bed again." She said. "But you're quite the romantic really aren't you."
"Well it's been a funny sort of one night stand, so why not?" She took my hands in hers. "Do you regret any of this at all?" I was still seeking reassurance that this was at least a little special for her as well.
"You know this can't go any further, don't you?" She said over the thunder of running water. I smiled down at her, but my body sagged at the admission that there would be no fairytale.
"Hey, I'm a little more philosophical than last night. I've been a mess all day. I did nearly stand you up." I said as we stood in the bathroom. "Everything I said last night was true and tonight is not going to make tomorrow any easier but," I paused just a beat, "I wouldn't have swapped the last couple of days for the world." I was just about to say something else, when there was a sharp rap on the door.
When I returned with the champagne and glasses, the mousse placed on a bedside table for later, she was testing the water in the now full and foaming bath.
She took the bottle and glasses off me, raising her eyebrows in approval at my choice, and placed them on the tiled floor at the foot of the gigantic enamel bath.
She walked back over to me and placed her forefinger on my lips to stop me interrupting, then replaced the finger with her lips. Her touch was soft and caring, her lips moist and welcoming. She broke the embrace and looked up into my eyes.
"I want to say something and I need you to let me finish." My mind raced through a thousand scenarios, the last one was me sitting proudly on the tour bus, her acoustic guitar in my lap. "I've been on the road for almost six months. Every place I go looks the same and I've had almost no contact with my folks. Until yesterday, I can't remember when I last had a drink or a meal with someone who wasn't part of the crew." I watched the sparkle drain not just from her eyes, but from her soul and she seemed to sag with sadness. Suddenly she looked very young, very small and very fragile.
"This last day has been amazing, almost like a holiday and I know you agree that it seems like we've known each other all our lives. But." She paused, searching for words to follow, but I knew what was coming. She shook her head and blinked, unsure how to finish what she'd started. "But, I'd really like you to stay tonight, if you can. I know it's selfish, but trust me, this is not something I will forget in a very long time. It's just that there's no way it can work long term." I bent down and kissed her.
"Thank you." I said and she looked back at me blankly. "Thank you for being honest." I kissed her again. There was no way I would ever tire of doing that. "I'd love to stay and I promise I won't come up to Sheffield and hide in the bushes outside your hotel." That made her smile and the verve inside her re-inflated, the sparkle rekindled.
"Anyway stop stalling," she said as she started to strip down, "get that champagne open, I'm thirsty."
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