I AM TRYING DIFFERENT WRITING STYLES. THIS IS A STORY OF A COUPLE MAKING THE MOST OF A LUCKY BREAK HOWEVER SPECIFICALLY IT INVOLVES TEASING SO THE EROTICA IS DELIBERATELY LONG AND DRAWN OUT. ALSO THE LABEL DROPPING IS A NOD TO THE STYLES OF THE EIGHTIES LIKE BRETT EASTON ELLIS (WITHOUT THE PSYCHO OBVIOUSLY) BUT AS I SAID THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT. THE SEX GETS MORE HEATED IN LATER EPISODES SO THIS IS A TEASER EXPERIMENTING WITH TEASING.
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The taxi dropped us at the hotel. As we got out we realised how extravagant the hotel was, we were expecting something posh but this level of opulence was mildly threatening to our comfort zones. There was an usher who found a porter to pick up our luggage and take us to the reception.
We felt underdressed in our combination of Debenhams, Peacocks and eBay (possibly knock-off but don't ask) BNWT clothing. We had worn our finest for the journey, but now we were seriously doubting ourselves. But both the usher and porter were incredibly pleasant and were smiling and polite. The receptionist was all smiles and the bell hop that took us to the room was relaxed and friendly and took our, what we thought to be, meagre tip graciously.
This trip was due to a competition win, a 5-star luxury weekend break in New York at the Surrey on East 76th Street. A penthouse suite with balcony, flights and restaurants all paid for, and with £5000 spending money to top it off. It really was the win of a lifetime and we were planning on making the most of it. The kids were safely with their grandparents and we were in New York! We unpacked our bags, looked at each other and grinned. We phoned down to the front desk and ordered a taxi.
Within a short time we were on 5th Avenue. My wife had done her research and knew which shops to hit first. It was mid-January and the city streets were cold but not too busy. As she was 6ft tall our first stop was Uniqlo, a department store to be sure, but the devil take the hindmost (ok, that was going to be me later this evening). Then it was Anthropologie, Banana Republic, Lord & Taylor, Club Monaco, Saks and Bergdorf Goodman, BCBG and finally Valentino, Intermix and Gucci. I didn't really need much myself, some nice jeans, shirts, designer tees, and a suit or two but my wife went to town, and she wouldn't let me see what she chose.
I knew she was mostly stocking up on basics like most Brits on a spending spree in NY, but she spent a lot of time looking for a few very special things that were to be a 'surprise', this wasn't our money after all, and like good English peasants without an ounce of Protestant Ethic, the bane of Adam Smith and romanticised by Thompson, we were going to spend it and enjoy it. We were going to sin our way to heaven and get slaughtered, holed up in a New York Surrey Cathartic castle surrounded by the forces of Mammon, deep down in the belly of the Beast. After visiting a few shops I had enough and retired to a bar to drink some of New Jersey's finest cask ales and a quality bourbon or two whilst my wife continued shopping.
The competition company had planned our long break for us, and tonight was dinner at some restaurant called No. 24. When we got back from our shopping spree there was champagne on ice in the room and we had time to relax before we were to be picked up. I was already sozzled but I broke open the champagne whilst my wife put on a fashion show for me.
I just sat back on the bed, propped up by pillows, champagne flute in hand, relaxed, chilled and watched the entertainment. My wife retired to another room, giggling at the idea that we could, and put some of her new purchases on, whilst I lay back and sipped champagne, the bubbles making my nose tingle and getting a bit giddy with the decadence (the bottle said it was a Boërl & Kroff Brut but I didn't know what that was until I was home days later and googled it but it tasted nice), plus the beers and bourbon earlier.