It was the last leg of my business trip, a trip in which my company pinched every penny they could. So, instead of booking me on a nonstop from San Diego to New York, they booked me on a flight that stopped in Chicago to save fifty dollars. Fifty crummy dollars! To make matters worse, I was wearing a navy blue silk dress with a nice slit up the side, a slit that would
not
behave. The slit slipped off my legs constantly, giving the creeps on each side of me—yes, of course I had a middle seat—a good look at my legs. A
really
good look.
All right. I admit it. Looking back on the airplane ride, I know I enjoyed being ogled, especially since the men next to me
weren't
creeps. One was a fifty something sexy guy with salt and pepper hair and an infectious laugh, and the other was a college kid who tried desperately not to let me know he was staring at my exposed thighs. I suppose the attention I was getting must have ramped up my hormones because...well, let me go on.
It doesn't matter that the flight was pleasurable. I was still upset at having to spend two extra hours traveling and having to be stuck in a middle seat just to save the company a few pennies. But that wasn't the worse of it- the pilot came on the intercom and said, or should I say
mumbled
, "Ladies and gentlemen. I'm sorry to tell you that Chicago is being hit with heavy snow. We'll be able to land, but no flights are leaving, so if you have a connection..."
Oh,
great
. This situation was happening only because I wasn't allowed to book a nonstop flight. I was so angry that I ignored the cell phone prohibition and called my husband. I told him to find me the best hotel he could near the airport-the
very
best. I was going to make my company pay.
Then, of course, the situation got worse. After we landed we were told that the ground crews had been brought in so we couldn't get our luggage. Boy, did the passengers get unruly! Fortunately for me, I always take my exercise clothes in my carry-on luggage, so I had a pair of shorts, a running bra, a tee-shirt and running shoes handy. I may not have been able to change, but I would at least be able to sleep in comfort.
My husband did very well, booking me into a fancy place with a magnificent lobby and a noisy bar that was, at five in the evening, already packed with travelers drinking way their blues. My room was okay. I mean, how nice can a hotel room be? It did have, though, a nice desk with a mirror behind it directly across from the foot of the bed. To the side of the desk there was a huge flat screen TV that swiveled so you could see it from a couch next to the bed or while you lay in bed.
I turned the TV toward the bed, ready to relax for the night, but thought-
to hell with this
. Instead, I sat at the desk and carefully applied some makeup, readying myself for a session at the bar. I was hoping for nothing more than a little more ogling and perhaps some flirtation.
I hoped I would at least get some hard looks from the men at the bar, but there were too many sexy young things there for that, or so I thought. I was fortunate to find an empty table and was about to signal to a waiter when two Air France pilots slid into the empty seats across from me. In their wonderful French accents, they asked, "May we?"
"Mais
oui
," I said.
They laughed at my pathetic attempt at humor. "So, you speak French?"
"Um...no," I said. "That was about it."
"That's enough," one of them said. "That happens to be one of my favorite phrases."
I allowed myself to think he was flirting. Despite my efforts to remain cool and composed, I actually felt my nipples harden under my dress. Oh—did I mention that I had decided to ditch my bra? Just before I left my hotel room I noticed that my silk dress had another slit-one that exposed my cleavage more than when I wore my bra. I guess the bra material held it in place so-
whatever
! I was okay with a little more body exposure-more than okay with it.
The pilots were Pierre and Guy and they were gorgeous, both about six feet tall with black hair and blue eyes. And their accents-
OMG
! Oh yes—they were both wearing wedding rings, so I was certain they weren't going to hit on me. I was torn between relief and disappointment, but what could I have done with two guys, anyway?
Pierre and Guy decided that, despite the fact that it was lower grade than the French champagne they were accustomed to, they would treat me to the only champagne the bar had to offer. They frowned at the taste, but I thought it was fantastic, especially when we got to the second bottle.
"Well," Pierre said. "We're going to go to the hot tub on the roof. There's nothing like sitting in a hot tub in a snow storm. Care to join us? We'll get another bottle of—how do you Americans say—
bubbly
."
"But," I said. "I have no bathing suit."
"Neither do we," Guy laughed. "But we have boxer shorts. Same thing, eh? Plus the hotel gave us terrycloth robes, so we can walk around wearing anything we like, even nothing at all."
"Wait," I said. "I have my running shorts and bra. Just like a bikini, huh?"
Pierre winked, stood up on champagne-loosened legs and winked at me. "See you in five minutes?"
My heart pounding, I raced to my room. Just the idea of being in the hot tub made me lightheaded, the champagne helping, I suppose. I debated whether to wear panties under my running shorts or not.
Not
! Throwing the robe over my running outfit, I headed to the roof. The snow was so heavy that I could barely see the hot tub, but there they were, surrounded by steam, big smiles on their faces. We were, apparently, the only three people in the hotel crazy enough to sit outside in the storm. Or maybe it was just too early. Whatever, the timing worked out perfectly.
The next bottle of champagne went down easy. Apparently Pierre and Guy had also cleaned out their mini-bars because they kept pulling out little bottles booze from the pockets of their robes which, by the way, were lying next to the hot tub and almost totally covered with snow. We were all feeling quite good when Pierre said, "Let's do what the Danes do. Let's roll in the snow!"
Oh, God! We rolled in the snow, made snow angels and giggled until we started to get numb. I flopped into the hot tub, letting the hot water warm me, closing my eyes when Pierre sat on one side of me and Guy on the other. I felt the touch of two fingers on my chin and turned toward Pierre, accepting his tongue into my mouth while, at the same time, I felt a hand slide under my running bra. After he lifted my bra over my head, Guy put
his