Hearing the knock at the hotel room door, he looked out the peephole into the hallway. "What's Ariel doing there?" he wondered, as he began to open the door. He was about to speak when he was interrupted.
"Ok, Max, before you say anything," the slight blonde woman exclaimed, words rushing from her mouth "let me explain! I know you have an extra ticket to the concert tonight, and I really was hoping to go, and I know that maybe right now I'm not exactly at the top of your list for someone you want to do a favour for, but still, I thought there was no harm in me asking whether, maybe, there was some way I could talk you into letting me go? Maybe?" The cascade of words stopped and she stood there, bobbing slightly on her toes.
He looked at her as he stood with one hand on the door frame, the other holding the edge of the door, his body barring any access to the room. After a long moment he said "So. If I'm understanding you correctly, you've come here to see whether there's anything you can do, 'anything at all'" as he made air quotes with his fingers before putting his hands back in place "to persuade me to take you tonight? Is that the general idea?"
She smiled a bit nervously. "I, I was trying not to use, maybe, those exact words?" she replied.
"But that's the gist of your request?" he pressed, an appraising expression on his face.
"I, I mean, not literally ANYthing" she said, her eyes dropping "but, I mean, I, I do want you to feel it was worth giving me the ticket, yes."
"You want to make it 'worth my while'?" he said, raising an eyebrow in amusement.
She lifted her eyes and tried holding his gaze, but soon dropped her eyes again, saying something inaudible.
"I didn't catch that", he said. "You're here to do whatever it takes to get the ticket, are you?" A hint of a smile played across his lips. "To 'talk me into it' -- or, more than just talk, if necessary?"
Her voice just above a whisper, she replied "yes".
He smiled more broadly. "I'm sure we can work something out," he answered.
Looking up, she asked "can I come in now?" but saw that he had not moved.
Ignoring her question, he gestured with his chin towards her blouse and asked
"What are you wearing under that?"
She blinked in momentary confusion, then said "a...a camisole?"
He nodded contemplatively. After a moment he said "All right. Give me your blouse."
She swallowed nervously, then asked "can I come in first?"
"No" he replied, staring at her impassively.
Glancing apprehensively down the corridor, she said "um, oh -- oh-kaaaay". She slipped her purse off her shoulders, held it in slight confusion for a moment, then placed it on the floor near the door. Glancing around again, she undid the buttons, pausing as she finished the last one. She looked up at him hopefully, but found him just watching, no emotion on his face. Swallowing nervously she slipped the blouse off her arms and handed it to him. He took it and draped it over his shoulder, saying nothing.
In the silence that followed, she shifted uncomfortably, not sure what to do with her arms, trying not to cover her chest with them and betray how exposed she felt, but also struggling with the feeling of exposure.
After another long moment he calmly said "now the camisole."
"Oh Max, no!" she cried. "At least let me in first! Someone could walk along the hall at any moment!"
"Funny, I'd always thought of you as a smart one. You understand that's the point, don't you?"
"But -- oh gods -- but, but Max, I can't stand out here half-naked in the hallway!! You can't seriously want me to do that!"
He shrugged. "Up to you. Nobody's saying you have to. If you don't want the ticket..." he took the blouse from his shoulder and held it out to her, shrugging again.
"Oh gods" she said "oh gods oh gods oh gods!" Her body a mass of barely controlled twitching, she said "Ok. But then you're letting me in, right?" He shrugged noncommittally. "Oh gods" she said, shutting her eyes for a moment and forcing her body under control.
After a few seconds, she said "Ok" again, just to herself. Then, holding a strap with her left hand, she wriggled her right arm under it and inside her camisole. Reaching from inside with her right hand she held the left strap, and with some awkward struggling managed to get her left arm inside as well. With a bit more manoeuvering she managed to wriggle the camisole halfway up her torso, grasped the bottom with her right hand, and with one clumsy movement tug it over her head. With her left arm already drawn across her chest, there was only a quick flash of bare breast visible as she tossed the camisole to Max and then hugged her right arm in front of her as well. "Happy now?" she said, a hint of exasperation in her voice.
Max smiled. "I am quite pleased with how this is going so far, yes" he replied. "It's obvious you REALLY want this ticket." A flash of dread crossed her face. "Now then", he said "I'm taking for granted that you are wearing something under that skirt..." Her eyes widened in alarm "...but there's no good reason you should be. You can keep the skirt -- lose anything under it."
"But Max!" she said, waving her shoulders, her whole upper body, in a vague gesture aimed at showing how crucially occupied her hands were "How?"
He smiled at her. "I believe traditionally one tucks one's thumbs into the waistband and pushes downward" he said condescendingly "but you are welcome to employ any technique you wish."
She let out a little "yeep" of exasperation and nerves, her body writhing. She turned down the hallway away from Max, then back to him, torn over her best choice. "Will you at least look away?" she asked.
"No," he replied, shaking his head slightly.
She turned to face down the hallway and stepped out of her shoes. Hunching into a half-crouch and keeping her eyes focused for anyone entering the hallway, she reached both hands under her skirt and wriggled the panties and pantyhose down close to her knees. She stood again, quickly covering her breasts with one arm, and struggled to keep her balance as she lifted one leg, then the other as she manoeuvered the garments down. More than once she was forced to reach out to the wall for a moment to steady herself, exposing herself but eventually pulling everything off. Clutching her arms across her chest and saying "There, finally, no thanks to you, ANYone could have seen me!" she turned back to look at Max.
What she saw instead was the last three inches of the door's movement as it clicked shut.
"MAX!!" she cried out, then in alarm dropped her voice to an urgent stage whisper. "Max! Let me in!!" She huddled into the doorway, arms clutched tight, occasionally glancing nervously behind her. "Max? Please?" she urged him.
After only a moment, the door opened again, and he stood there -- holding a silver ice bucket. "You see that side corridor down there?" he said, pointing, "About six doors along? I think that's where the ice machine is. You don't mind fetching some, do you? I don't have any at the moment." He held the bucket out to her.
She looked down at the bucket disbelievingly, then at Max, then down the hall, at the bucket again, then at him. "And then you'll let me in?" she finally said, desperately.