Sitting on the balcony I watched the crowd throng beneath me. I wondered about the day's events. Going to clubs with my best friend and his girlfriend had been fun, but now they had decided to call it a night and go to bed. I was impressed with him. Scott was famous for his drinking binges, and the 2 of us together were legendary, but tonight I didn't think I'd seen him drink anything harder than coffee. This had been the first time I had met Dannie. Somehow Scott had managed to meet a woman I didn't introduce him too. I tried to remember where he'd said he met her, something about Barnes and Noble but the details were fuzzy.
At first I'd wondered what had attracted Scott to her. I supposed she was pretty in that bookish way that he found so attractive, but she wasn't what anyone would call stunning. But as the night progressed I'd seen what he found so appealing. They shared a sense of humor and enjoyed talking about many of the same subjects. Then I noticed the way she looked at him, as if he was the only man on earth. I remembered the pang of jealousy even as I was happy for Scott.
I finally decided that I needed to turn in too and I stood and put the chair
I'd been sitting in back under the table were I'd found it. As I stood there I knew why Scott liked this hotel in the French Quarter of New Orleans. It had a veranda on every other floor that wrapped all around the building and you could hear the music from the jazz clubs wafting up and filling the air. I turned around and caught a glimpse into the room I'd previously had my back to. I laughed softly as I realized I could see completely into the room but in the dark the guests couldn't see me at all. I knew when I'd sat down the light in the room had been off but now he large suite was filled with light. I could see the telltale signs of occupation, a pair of shoes tossed carelessly on the floor, and small black suitcase open on the chest. All the little things people did when the entered a hotel room.
While I stood there staring I saw the bathroom door open and, to my surprise, Dannie came out. She pulled her hair into a ponytail as she padded across the room to the suitcase. She was wearing a pair of blue plaid boxer shorts and a t-shirt that was a few sizes too big for her. It's probably Scott's, my inner voice to me. She grabbed a bottle of lotion out of her suitcase and began smoothing it over herself. I was transfixed by her actions. I watched as she placed her foot on the bed and moved her hands up her calf to her thigh, her fingers slipping briefly beneath the hem of her shorts. She then moved to her arms. I looked at the bottle and realized it was simple baby lotion. So that's what I'd smelled all night long. There had been a pleasant scent every time she moved past me, but I couldn't name it, now I knew.
She was still smoothing the lotion over her skin when the door opened and Scott came in carrying a bucket of ice and a few cans of soda. He looked ridiculous wearing the large terry cloth robe that on most people would've been floor length but on him it was mid-calf. I couldn't hear their words but I saw her shoulders shake softly as she laughed at something he said. He offered her one of the cans, which she declined, with a shake of her head. He nodded and sat on the side of the bed and opened one of the cans while she talked to him. He nodded a few times and watched as she walked over to him with the bottle of lotion in her hand.
