This is how my life changed. This is how it all started. A stranger's hand, her hand, on mine. It was strange, but not unwelcome. The softness of her skin, the warmth of her touch. I didn't know what I was getting myself into, but I knew that I liked it. I knew that it was right, despite everything I'd always believed.
Twenty minutes earlier I was having dinner with my husband in the Hotel's restaurant. Twenty minutes earlier my husband and I were eating silently. Twenty minutes earlier, everything was normal.Then his phone rang and he had to rush off, again. Not that our evening was going perfectly, but I didn't enjoy being left alone. This entire trip felt like a waste of time. I'd barely had any time with Ifran, he'd been working since the plane landed. I felt more alone than ever, sitting in a strange restaurant in a strange hotel in a strange city. No one to speak to, no one I knew. I wished I'd stayed at home, I wished I'd not tagged along. This was never going to be the romantic vacation I'd imagined. Ifran was too busy, Ifran was always too busy.
I was gathering my things and preparing to return to our room when I heard a voice. It was silky and warm, and it rolled over me like a silk sheet.
"Hey there, new in town?" She asked, touching my hand gently.
I turned to look at her, and found myself lost in her brilliant blue eyes. She smiled, warm and inviting. My heart fluttered and I started to stammer an answer, but couldn't force one out.
"Are you shy?" She asked almost playfully.
I could feel my face flush with heat, I felt like a schoolgirl. I tried to break her gaze, tried to look away. I thought, if I could only look down at the floor I could speak. I felt frozen by her eyes, by her smile. I took in every facet of her pretty face, the way her blonde hair hung in flowing ringlets, the way her soft, pink lips curled up in her smile. Suddenly, shamefully, I was struck by a desire to kiss those lips. I fought the desire and returned the smile.
"I'm uh... I'm Sonam." I whispered.
"Sonam, that's such a pretty name." She whispered back, leaning closer to me.
I watched her lips part as they worked their way around the consonants and vowels of my name. I could feel her breath on my cheek as she spoke. It sent shivers down my spine. I opened my mouth again to say something, anything, but she continued.
"Do you have plans tonight?" She asked warmly.
"No... I was just going back to my room to wait for my husband." I managed to reply.
"That was your husband?" She asked, "Are you two fighting or something?"
"No... He's just busy." I whispered reflexively.
"Too busy." She replied, the smile briefly leaving her face.
"Yes. He's often too busy." I admitted.
"I know what that's like, my husband works a lot too." She said, her smile starting to return.
"How do you..." I started, before realizing how close I was coming to opening up to a complete stranger.
I didn't want to tell her too much. At least not so fast. I wasn't sure how to process these feelings, and I was afraid that I would scare her away if I was too forward.
"How do I, what?" She asked, the smile turning sharp.
"I get lonely..." I whispered, my eyes returning to the floor.
"I used to get lonely too." She said, grinning wolfishly now.
She closed my hand in hers, and my heart began to race. Her touch was electric, bolts of sensation shooting from her fingertips, and rolling up my arm. My breath caught in my chest.
"Lets have a drink, and I'll teach you how to handle loneliness." She said, pulling me towards the bar.
I followed dutifully. I didn't know how to do anything else. Her touch, her eyes, her smile, her voice.... I was totally hypnotized. We took our seats at the bar, and she ordered us some wine.
"Put it on room 223." She told the bartender, then she turned her attention back to me.
Her eyes glowed with an almost eerie internal light. It was like she was more alive than anyone I'd ever met.
"Neglect." She cooed, running a finger over the top of her glass. "Neglect is a form of abuse."
"Ifran does not abuse me." I said quickly, feeling almost defensive.
"Neglect is a lack of attention, and it is abuse." She said matter-of-factly, "Do you get enough... Attention?"
The way she said that word. The power she put into her breathy voice when she said it, made her meaning clear.
"We make love." I said suddenly, then added "If that's what you're asking."
"It's close, but no cigar." She laughed, "I'm asking if you two fuck."
"I said that we made love." I stammered out.
"So... no?" She replied coyly. "Let me ask you a better way. How often do you orgasm?"
"Oh... Um..." I started.
"Never, got it." She shot back, sharply.