"But, what are you doing here?"
Her entire face was glowing as she smiled at me and answered my question.
"I'm here on a cosmetics sales meeting, but what are you doing here?"
"I'm here on an annual conference meeting." came my reply while I realized that she must be just as surprised to see me as I was to see her. After all, we both lived thousands of miles away, so to meet this way was in fact a surprise to both of us. I stepped forward and hugged her tightly and inhaling deeply while burying my face in her long thick auburn hair. Feeling her arms wrapped around me and holding her close to my body felt so good, but at the same time I knew this friendly hug would end within seconds, just as it always did.
It was Friday afternoon, and the my friend from teenage years was in my arms. My thoughts rushed trying to sum up what to say, just as it always did when I met her, trying hard to remember what had happened since I saw her the last time. Then suddenly it dawned on me that we would both be staying at the conference hotel this weekend. What a great opportunity to catch up on all that had happened since our last correspondence, not having to realize afterwards that I had forgotten to mention something important.
We had met while we both were teenagers, and ever since stayed in touch through mail. We had been pen-pals for over 20 years. To begin with living in different towns, but a few years shared hometown before our work has made her move again. We both had busy lives, so naturally the letters had been less frequent the last couple of years compared to when we both were teenagers and wrote each other almost once a week, but the introduction of electronic mail had given us new opportunities to write each other more often.
She broke the hug and looked at me before she said.
"I have to go. I don't have much time before I the first scheduled lecture begins."
She walked away, carrying her two bags, and after a few steps looked at me over her shoulder which caused her hair to cascade around her face as she said.
"I'll see you soon I hope, Trey."
"Absolutely, I'm already looking forward to it, Tess." was my instantaneous reply. It was a standard answer that came without thought, which I had said to so many customers over the years. It felt so plain and boring, that I almost felt ashamed to use such words to my old friend, but to my relief she only smiled back at me before she turned her head away from me again. I watched her walk away until she was out of sight, just as graceful as ever. What a marvelous surprise to a most likely common weekend trip. I picked up my bags and smiled while I felt the rush of warmth spread through me which I felt each time I had spoken to her. Walking to my room, the same room as I had been sleeping in the last fifty times, I remembered her warm body against mine and the scent of her hair.
I had as usual given the room number when I made my reservation, and it wasn't because I wanted something luxurious, but rather because I knew where it was and also that it was at the end of a corridor, so noone would need to be running outside. Looking out the windows showed treetops and in a distance the churchtower. I unpacked the belongings I had with me, and took a shower. It was always nice to get a fresh start before the weekend of handshakes began, and laying in bed after a long shower, I watched the news on TV. It was a habit of mine, to watch the news several times a day, read information from different online websources, and think about how I could use the latest news to my benefit in my interaction with customers and members of the organization. Gazing at the laptop screen as text scrolled by I noticed news in Borneo which caught my attention. It took me nearly three hours to get ready for dinner, and by that time it was already 7:30PM. It didn't matter, I was used to eating late, and never rushed a meal. Knowing that they would probably serve some fancy three or four dish meal on Saturday, I simply decided to eat something more normal, and as the waitress brought the plate of pasta with bacon and vegetables to my table, and poured the tall glass of milk, she caught my attention again. I had almost forgotten that she was staying at the same hotel, and that I had met her in the lobby a few hours before. It was probably a natural reflex to think of it as a nice daydream, but now that I saw her again the dreaming was over, and the day too.
"May I join you?" she asked before sitting down. She didn't need to wait for my answer. There was no chance of me saying "No" to that, and as she pulled out the chair on the other side of the table, I move my hand in a fairly graceful way to show her that she was welcome to sit down.
"Are you hungry? You can order anything."
"I'll have what you are having." she said.
The waitress looked at me, and I nodded silently, before she rushed off to get another plate.
"It looked delicious. I probably wouldn't say that at home, but here it actually looks like a feast for kings."
"Or queens" I filled in. "It's actually nothing. I just like it simple before those fancy meals tomorrow. A little boiled pasta, fried bacon, cooked vegetables and vinegar to top it off."
"All that, and no fine wine?" she said with sarcasm. "I didn't even know they served something that common in this place."
"They don't, but they do have all the ingredients, so they do it for me." Changing the subject, I changed my tone of voice and said.
"So how was the lecture?"
She looked at me, as if she needed time to think about what to answer, and then leaned forward a bit and whispered.
"It was quite dull. In fact, the only rewarding thing was that I got to know that I am beautiful. Or at least that's what some of the men said as I walked by them in the corridor."
"I agree, Tess, you are beautiful."
"Thank you Trey, but it's not true. I'm a 35 year old mother of three."
"Yes, that's true, but when did that stop you from also being one of the most beautiful women i know?"
"Oh Trey, now I know you're lying, but flattery gets you far, and you always knew what to say to make me feel better."
She paused a while, and then continued.
"But that wasn't all that they said."
She looked down into her lap, and then at me with her big brown deer eyes, and flickered her eyelashes innocently. She smiled a little, and was just about to speak up again, when the waitress returned to the table. She placed the plate before Tess and poured another glass of milk, before asking "Would that be all?" I looked up replied with at simple "Yes, thank you." As I looked at Tess again, she had picked up her fork and begun eating. I also started eating from the slightly cold dish before me, while looking at her to see if she would continue where she had stopped. For a while we both sat silent and ate, until she looked at me again and whispered.
"They also said that they wouldn't mind the thought of grabbing my ass and fuck me from behind."
I almost choked on the pasta I was about to swallow, and started coughing. My eyes must have momentarily popped out of the sockets, and she waited until she had eyecontact with me before asking me the most dreadful question she had ever asked me throughout the years we had known each other.
"Do you think so too? Would you mind the thought of grabbing my ass and fuck me from behind."
"No... I mean yes... I mean no."
I didn't know what to say. All the standard replies that my mind was filled with, and came without thought, gave me no comfort in my seat as I looked at Tess and felt all warm inside. There were times when I had thought of her while masturbating, but I had always thought of her as an innocent girl, not like some naughty girl who was willingly opening up for me. I was stunned by the question, and she continued.
"I knew it, you have."
"No, honestly I haven't."
"No? What's wrong with me? Don't you find me attractive? Am I not sexy enough for your masturbation fantasies?"
"Well, yes, but..."
"So you have thought of me while doing it?"
She knew that I had always been honest with her. I had never lied to her, nor been given any reason to, so here I was in a rather awkward situation.
"Yes, I have, once or twice. But never like that?"
Trying to get some control over the conversation, I just blurted out.
"Hey, you can't ask me things like that?"