Meet me at the Travelodge for a drink? 7pm xx. An innocent enough message, you'd imagine, but this was Laura we're talking about -- the young woman with whom I'd had a very steamy relationship a few months ago, culminating in a one-night stand at the Travelodge. When I'd left her to go home, she'd been lying in the bed still naked, thighs parted just enough that I could see the slippery whiteness I'd left in her. "I'm not planning to have a shower before I come into the office tomorrow," she'd teased.
I looked at my phone again, and with the same rush of anticipation and guilt I'd felt the last time, sent back: Love to -- see you there x.
Of course I made up some excuse -- a drink with a couple of (male) work colleagues, could be late, don't wait up. Then I was in the shower, shaving more carefully than usual, a smart shirt, trousers. The drive to the Travelodge was just a few minutes, and I parked in the same spot -- out of sight of the road, just for paranoia's sake.
I took the lift up to the first floor, and my heart jumped as I walked into the bar. There was Laura -- I was almost certain she wore the same dress, and her electric blue hair looked exactly the same as when I'd last seen it spread over the pillow... "Cat got your tongue?" she teased.
Without waiting for a reply, she leaned in to kiss me, her tongue darting between my lips briefly. "Missed you."
"Missed you too," I finally managed to find some words. "Have you got a drink?"
A grin. "If you've got time, I thought we could have a bite to eat. Dessert in my room, though."
With the distinct feeling of a lamb being led to the slaughter, I followed her to a table, ordering the first thing that came into my head when the waiter approached. "And a couple of cocktails -- Long Slow Screws," Laura added.
When he'd gone, she leaned across the table. "Want to guess what I'm wearing underneath?"
I knew she'd have been tempted to go without underwear completely -- she'd not so subtly let me find that out in the office a couple of times -- but even Laura appreciated the anticipation that came with her lover finally removing the last couple of lacy items. "I think... the same as last time."