"...finish up with a short walk along the bay before returning to get dressed for dinner... Anna? You haven't heard a word I've said, have you? Anna!"
The woman jolted in her seat as she was pulled back to the present.
"What?"
"I was talking about our plans for the afternoon but you didn't hear a thing, did you? What's on your mind?"
Roger.
Anna averted her eyes from her fiancé's gaze before responding, "I was just admiring the view from the room. You were right, it really is beautiful."
Tom sat beside her and put his arm across her shoulders before pulling her close to place a soft kiss on her temple.
"I'm glad you like it. We get to stay here all week, courtesy of Albright Realty as a show of thanks for the properties I recently signed."
He kissed Anna on the cheek, then again at the corner of her lips. It had been over a month since he had been with her. His other hand reached over and began to caress her thigh using slow, suggestive strokes.
"Is this okay?" he asked her softly. That was just like Tom. He was always careful and considerate, asking permission for the smallest of intimate gestures.
She hated that about him, though she had not realized that until this morning.
Anna turned her face and offered him a light kiss on the lips before standing up to move away. Tom grabbed her hand and smiled up at her.
"Trying to escape?" he asked playfully while covering the back of her hand in gentle kisses.
Anna shook her head and pulled herself free of his grasp. "No, I just need to use the bathroom." She walked quickly across the room to the adjoining bath and closed the door. Tom watched her walk away, mildly irritated, but still in good spirits.
"Hurry back, Love," he called out to her through the closed door.
In the bathroom, Anna turned on the faucet and ran her hands under the cool water. She stared at herself in the mirror and tried desperately to push the images of Roger from her mind: the way he had forcefully pinned her against the wall and kissed her, or the way his mouth felt between her thighs...
Anna squeezed her eyes shut and let herself drop to a seat on the bathroom floor. What have I done? She layed back on the floor's cold tile as the running water drowned the sound of the television being turned on in the suite's main room. Anna tried to focus on purging her thoughts of last night's memories.
Instead, she found herself writhing and panting on the bathroom floor, a hand between her legs and Roger's name on her lips.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Are you mad at me for not making it here last night?" Tom asked, perplexed by the cold shoulder he had been receiving all day.
Anna ate her dessert quietly and shook her head. This was the fourth time Tom had asked her the same question and the fourth time Anna had refused to answer. He could tell something was bothering her and her refusal to open up about it only made Tom believe he was somehow at fault.
Tom dropped the matter for now and let her enjoy the remainder of her strawberry cake in peace. They had managed to enjoy a morning and afternoon together even though she was quieter than usual. He was not going to let the matter go for long, however, and that made Anna wish she was better at hiding her emotions.
At least her strawberry cake was delicious. Anna lost herself in it entirely for the last few bites.
She could not stop thinking about Roger and the mystery of the hotel founder's son. Was he a ghost? In broad sunny daylight, the idea seemed absurd. As the sun dipped beyond the horizon and darkness fell over the hotel once again, however, Anna was no longer so sure. The Grand Hotel of the Bay was a creepy old place with long halls and poor lighting. The view of the bay from their suite balcony was breath-taking, but once it was night again, there was a biting chill in the air that made Anna shiver. The frightening atmosphere of the place would have the greatest of sceptics searching the dark, shadowy corners for ghosts.
Tom's cellphone rang. Normally, he would mute the ringer and ignore the call until after dinner, but it was his work calling.
"Do you mind if I answer, Anna?" he asked, showing her the name on the screen.
She glanced up at him. Why would I care that you answer a call from work? Why must you always ask me for permission about stupid things like that?
"No, go ahead, Tom."
He was already saying "hello" before she finished speaking.
"Hold on a sec, the reception in this place is terrible." Tom covered the phone's microphone and turned back to Anna.
"I'm going to step outside for a bit." After seeing her rub her arms and tremble he asked, "Are you cold, Love? Would you like me to go up to the room and grab your coat?"
Anna shook her head again and stood up. "I'm done eating, I'll just head up to the room."
"Okay, Love. It's Jerry calling about those contracts we finalized on the last property deal. It might take me a bit to sort it all out with him."
She waved at him absently before walking toward the elevators. At least it wasn't raining tonight. Anna pressed the elevator button and waited for the doors to open. It was certainly getting pretty cold, though. She shivered and pressed the elevator button a couple more times. When the elevator doors finally opened, Anna gasped.
Roger greeted her with that damned-cute smile of his. "Hey there, cutie. Going up?"
Anna wrinkled her nose at him and glanced around for her fiancé. Tom was beyond the lobby doors chattering away on his phone while trying to find a spot with better reception. She looked back at Roger and felt her pulse start to race. She stepped into the elevator and the doors closed behind her.
"Where were you all day?" she asked him without turning around to face the man she had slept with the night prior.
"You kept me up half the night. I slept in most of the day."
"For a moment this morning, I had the absurd idea that you were a figment of my imagination." Roger laughed at her words and she felt his arms slide around her waist. She slapped them away playfully, but his arms only held more firmly, pulling her up against his warm body again.
"Does this feel like your imagination, miss Anna?" His teeth raked the bare flesh of her neck and shoulder, making her tremble and shake her head.
Tom will be upstairs any minute.
Anna tore herself from Roger's grasp and exited the elevator the moment the doors opened. She walked straight to her room and fumbled with the key. Roger followed a short distance behind her and paused to let her open the door.
"You can't be here. We can't be seen talking to each other... please! My fiancé is here and should be up any minute."
