The sky was still dark outside when I left my apartment on Friday morning. The faint glow of the rising sun was starting to creep over the horizon, and there was a fine mist in the air from the cool humidity.
I sat down in my car with my travel mug and took a sip of coffee to wash down the Pop-Tart I had finished on the walk down to the parking lot. Since I'd spent the night alone while Anna and her sister had gone out for a night of bonding while Vanessa was visiting from California, I thought today would be a good idea to show up for work early and catch the transition from the night shift.
The Global Gateway, the Disney World-adjacent Orlando hotel I was training to manage, was an enormous property and had a dozen or so departments, each one employing more staff than the entire previous property I'd run down the street. I figured I'd post up at the front desk, meet some of the night staff, and get a better understanding of another aspect of the new gig.
My girlfriend Anna had been out quite late with Vanessa, likely drinking a bit if the quick call we'd had before I went to bed was any indication. I sent her a text instead of waking her up with a phone call.
"Hey, gorgeous. Hope you had a good time last night. Going to work early; I'll talk to you later. See you tonight?" I asked. There was no immediate response, which made sense -- I was certain she was going to sleep late.
I drove happily to work, energized by a good night of rest and spirits buoyed by the knowledge that I planned to propose to her soon.
***
Rick was surprised to see me when he arrived but was glad that I'd taken the initiative. My 'reward' was a day with Sydney, the Events Head, who was in the final stages of preparation for a convention the next day, some kind of toy collector thing. I got to rush around, acting the part of one of her underlings making last-minute runs, coordinating with booth operators, and working with IT on some audio-visual setup. None of it was in my job description, but I was getting a feel for the responsibilities of each department, and this was a day in the life of an Events staff member.
When I wasn't out of breath, Sydney walked me through the finer points of running a convention center. She was a gorgeous woman, maybe 40 or so, with dirty blonde hair and a disarming smile almost as nice as Anna's. Sydney was fit and liked to wear her clothes tight to show off a bit, and despite having no romantic interest in her, it would have been impossible for me not to notice that she had a very attractive body.
I watched her use her looks to her advantage more than once, charming people into taking care of things as quickly as possible. When we'd met, I'd wondered if she was being flirtatious with me or was just like that; after the morning rushing around with her, I'd decided it wasn't specific to me -- it was just her personality.
"Hey, Charlie," she shouted as I ran a cable across the temporary stage at the behest of one of the other staff. "Join me for lunch, yeah?"
"Sure," I replied. I finished unrolling the cable and handed it off to the sound guys before joining her on the floor.
***
We sat down in the breakroom with sandwiches procured from the nearby kitchens. Sydney had brought her planner with her and was going over the next three months of events with me while we ate. I was quite overwhelmed but did my best to keep up.
"And then in July, we've got a minor Comic-Con. Nowhere near the scale of the big ones, but they've been coming back here for seven years now, and it gets a little bigger every year. Great people to work with, and the costumes are always fun to see," she said. "Brings in a lot of money to the hotel."
"I'm impressed with how much you do; I'll tell you that," I said. "I'm not sure I could keep up every day."
"It's hectic," she replied, "but I love it. It gets me off my desk more than most jobs would. Helps keep me in shape, too, being on my feet all day." While she spoke, my phone buzzed, and I checked the screen. When I saw it was Anna, and knowing how Anna usually texted me at break times, I quickly put it down without looking. It buzzed again.
"Charlie, you can check your phone," Sydney laughed. "You're technically my boss, you're not going to get in trouble."
"It's my girlfriend," I said. "I'll message her back in a bit."
"Well, I insist you take it then. My ex-husband always texted me 'later' while he was working. And he was always working, hence why he's my ex."
"Uh, it's not that," I said, and Sydney looked confused. I tried to explain it without admitting that she often sent me dirty images for my breaks. "It's just that, well, she's a model, and sometimes her texts can include images that are a little inappropriate for work, depending on her job that day." Sydney laughed.
"Ooh, a model," she teased. I rolled my eyes.
"By the way, what do you mean by technically your boss?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. She smirked.
"I just meant that although you're my boss, the convention center essentially runs autonomously. I don't hear much from Rick outside of senior staff meetings and whatever signatures I need to get from him monthly," she replied. Not wanting to be undercut by what seemed like a mild power-play, I considered my reply carefully.
"Well, I see no reason to upset any apple carts just yet, so that's probably the same arrangement I'll work with, at least until I've got my feet under me," I said back. Sydney just smiled at the insinuation that I might change things up in the future.
"Well, Mr. I'm-dating-a-model, I think I've overwhelmed you enough with work, so I'm going to get back to it. I'll see you around. Tell Rick I think you got enough hands-on experience today." She stood and shook my hand before heading for the door.
I waited until I was alone before opening my phone. As expected, Anna had sent an inappropriate picture, but it made me laugh more than anything else. It was a close-up selfie of her lying in bed on her stomach, a close-up of her face in the foreground, looking haggard. Bunched-up white sheets framed her body; her hair was mussed up, her eyes looked tired, and her expression was somewhere between exhausted and mildly ill. In the background of the image, I could see the swell of her naked ass as she arched her back for the camera.
"Well, I feel like hell and look like hell, but at least my ass still looks hot," she had texted me with a queasy emoji.
"Too much fun last night?" I texted back.
"Too much vodka," she replied.
"Well, I hope you feel better soon. Will I see you tonight?"
"I've got plans for us, so yes, unless I die before then, which feels like a distinct possibility," she responded. I smiled.
"Go eat something greasy and drink some water," I told her.
"Practical solutions, ugh, you're such a guy lol. I just want to lie here, though," she said, and I could practically hear it in the pouty voice she sometimes did.
"Get your hot ass up," I replied with a winking emoji.
"Boo, fine," she replied. "Love you."
***
I walked out of the hotel after my shift, ready for the weekend, expecting to turn and head down the path to the employee lot. In my determination to see Anna, I almost didn't see Anna. Almost. I did a double take when I spotted her familiar black convertible in the drop-off lane, Anna and Vanessa sitting in the open-top vehicle and waving in my direction. I walked over to the car, confused.
My gorgeous girlfriend had light brown hair and a model's face, with soft angles, full lips, and big blue eyes which were currently hidden behind large fashionable sunglasses. Vanessa could have been her twin despite being two years older, the only distinct features she had that set her apart from Anna were a narrower face and deep brown eyes, which she'd also hidden behind a pair of wayfarer sunglasses.
Both girls were dressed for the warm central Florida evening in floral sundresses and sunglasses. Anna's dress was green and Vanessa's blue. Anna looked quite sexy in hers, the plunging neckline revealing the swell of her breasts. I'm sure Vanessa looked good, too, but I was still silencing that part of my brain.
"Get in loser, we're going shopping," Vanessa said, laughter in her voice. I just stared at them, and for a moment, Vanessa hesitated. "What? It's Mean Girls."
"I know that. I'm just surprised to see you both here," I said. "I'm honestly surprised to see Anna out of bed today," I said while looking at my girlfriend, who grinned.
"Yeah, well, we had cheeseburgers and Gatorade for breakfast, so that helped," Anna said, smirking from behind her big sunglasses. Vanessa looked over at her with an eyebrow raised.
"We ate after noon; it was hardly breakfast," she laughed. Anna smiled.
"Whatever, hop in, Charlie, we'll pick up your car after," she demanded. I shrugged with an amused smile on my face and hopped over the door into the backseat. Anna shifted the car into drive, and we headed down the driveway out of my hotel and onto the main road.
"So, what are we shopping for, exactly?" I asked loudly as the wind whipped past us. Both girls' hair blew in the breeze; I'm certain they could have made a car commercial out of it.
"New suit for you, odds and ends for us," Anna half-shouted back to me.
It wasn't long before we pulled up at the outlet mall nearby. We got out of the car, the sun still beating down on us even in the early evening. Anna took my hand, and we wandered out of the parking lot and into the shopping area. Vanessa checked the map and directed us through the concourse.
When Anna made to lead us into the Brooks Brothers store, I balked.
