Rob's eyes glazed over for a second as the background noise of the bar blurred into a gentle hum, leaving him suspended momentarily in a tipsy bliss. He lingered there briefly, until the sound of a voice brought him tumbling back to reality. The man sat opposite him was talking again, although Rob couldn't focus enough to parse the exact words - just recognise the general boisterous tone. The man, Ben, was a coworker of his, a man who he had the (dis)pleasure of spending a good chunk of the working week around, and had now spent the majority of his Friday night around too. Bumping into him was always going to be an inevitability on a work retreat at a relatively small hotel, but he hadn't expected to be sat on a dinner table with him. After that, Ben had been impossible to shake - and it shouldn't really have been hard to figure out why.
Sat to Rob's right was his fiancee, Kate. She'd dressed up for the night, and it showed. At a petite 5'4 she wasn't an imposing figure, but when she was fully made up, black hair framing her face, a little cleavage hinted at by the low cut of her dress - well, she was certainly an eye-catcher.
Rob turned his head slowly to look at her. She was laughing at whatever Ben was talking about, as she had been all night. The prick really fancied himself as a bit of a ladies' man...but to be fair, seemed like he wasn't too wrong. Rob looked back over to his left, out across the bar, which was occupied with the occasional group of colleagues whose names he didn't really know, and other random hotel guests. Tucked away on a booth at the edge of the room, Rob felt like a bit of an outsider looking in at the scene, much as he felt like an outsider to the conversation at the table.
"Rob, what do you think?" The sound of Kate's voice pulled him back in, although he didn't know what she was talking about. How long had he been spaced out? Both she and Ben were looking at him expectantly. Maybe they were thinking of calling it a night.
"Hm? Sure." He replied. It seemed to be the answer they were expecting, although he didn't like the way Ben smiled. It was like a shark swimming in to feed. "Good man." Ben said, as he got to his feet. Kate shuffled out from the booth and did the same, with Rob soon following suit. The trio headed towards the elevators, and although the conversation continued, Rob lost the thread again. The allure of a comfortable hotel bed was too strong, and all he could think about was bedding down for the night and sleeping off this whiskey. He leaned back against the side of the elevator, thankful for a little rest, and looked over at the other two as they ascended the floors. At 6'2, Ben pretty much towered over Kate, and his muscular build against her petite frame made her look comparatively smaller. Did he shrink his shirts in the wash, or did they just come that tight? Whatever, they'd be rid of him soon.
The elevator doors opened and the trio exited, making their way through the corridors of the 11th floor as a collective. Each step drew them closer to the bedroom, closer to sleep, closer to getting rid of the third wheel... Rob fumbled with his wallet to pull out the keycard, but by the time he looked up again he found himself...alone in the corridor? Not a good sign. He lurched into the room, letting the door swing closed behind him, and found Kate and Ben still talking, helping themselves to the minibar.
Rob surveyed the scene with a little confusion, until his brain caught up. He recalled the waiter taking last orders, and the suggestion to have a couple more back in their room. God, he did not have the energy for this. He teetered over to a chair as Kate set about pouring them all some wine. He was nodding off gazing out over the skyline when Kate put a glass in his hand, then took a seat on the sofa next to him, that separated the little mock living room from the bed. Ben took the chair opposite Rob, although not before taking the time to walk around behind the sofa, and using the oppotunity to peer down the top of her dress. Rob clocked it, but wasn't feeling confrontational enough to do anything about it.
His focus drifted in and out of the conversation again as it had been doing at the bar. He didn't have a grasp on the time but he'd counted at least a couple more refills of drinks - although he'd hardly touched his first glass. He was barely even awake enough to keep it upright on the arm of the chair, but concentrating on not checking out tomorrow with a giant wine stain on the carpet was enough to keep him one step away from sleep.
Ben had pulled his chair closer to the sofa, and there was no pretense now - it was obviously just a conversation between the two of them. Neither one was even looking in Rob's direction any more. Ben was leaning forwards...did he have a hand on her leg?! Rob bolted upright, suddenly feeling a lot more alert. He nearly sent the wine glass tumbling, but managed to catch it in time. Kate turned quickly at the commotion, and Ben glanced over. The other man's hands were both in his lap now. Had he imagined it?
"Everything alright, babe?" Kate asked. To the side of her he could see Ben's Cheshire Cat grin, which made it hard to form a proper response.
"I...err..." Rob tried to fumble some words out, and it took a little while. "I'm fine, just dozed off for a second. Pretty tired..."
"Aaw, that's okay. Why don't you get some sleep? We won't be much longer."
Rob pasued for a moment. He would rather that Ben just left already, but he'd still be in the room at least...and he was pretty exhausted. Eventually he nodded.
"Sure, yeah, okay. Don't stay up too late. I'll see you in the morning." He stood up, then bent over to give Kate a kiss goodnight. He gave Ben a nod, who replied with "Sweet dreams, bud." Sarcastic prick. It didn't matter. All that mattered now was getting some sleep. Rob climbed onto the bed, and started to drift off.
What a run of shit luck. A night away in a hotel should have meant a night of fun in the bedroom with Kate, a night of enjoying her new lingerie, not a night of putting up with Ben's bullshit. He could hear them talking softly in the background as he quickly lost consciousness, hushed whispers and giggles as he plunged into a much-needed slumber.