The train ride from Gatwick's airport to the centre of London had taken longer than expected and from the station, they hailed a cab to the hotel in Kensington. Though calling it a hotel was perhaps a bit much. The Russel's Arms Inn was essentially a large townhouse like the many others on the same street. A red brick facade with white stone corners marking the borders between it and the neighbours it shared walls with. The glass front door with the hotel logo and name engraved on it had a tasteful minimalist fashion. While the building looked old fashioned on the outside, the interior was modern, white slick counter placed on what was once the house's atrium, and some generic black and white photos of London's main landmarks adorned the walls along with a quiet plant in the corner.
As the couple entered the main room, they carried their luggage with them in two separate, small-wheeled suitcases, one pink and one grey. A few seconds to take in the somewhat harmless and generic atmosphere before they spot the young girl working behind the reception desk.
The receptionist had delicate, sweet features, wavy copper-coloured hair and a line of barely noticeable freckles beneath her eyes and across the bridge of her nose. She looked to be in her late twenties, and perhaps a bit bored as she browsed her phone in the absence of guests. But as the new arrivals cross the threshold of the door they can see her emerald green eyes light up with a welcoming smile and straightening her back to assume a proper professional posture. This only made her look even more attractive in her well-tailored black suit that was part of her uniform for the small hotel.
"Welcome to Russel's Arms Inn. How can I help?" She says, with a perky attitude as if she was legitimately happy to do her job. A rare sight in modern times, but always a welcome one.
"Hey there." Paul steps forward towards the counter, his wife sticking just a step behind him. "We are the Williams, we have a reservation here, let me just..." He takes a moment to fumble with the folded paper on the back pocket of his pants to produce the printed page with the information on the bookings. But the girl is already typing on the reception's computer as soon as he mentions their surname. The reservations popped in immediately and she looks at the screen, slightly puzzled for a second.
"Hm... Just to make sure there wasn't any kind of mistake. We have a second room, a single one, booked under your name for Saturday, along with the double room."
"Oh, yes. There's no mistake." Paul says with a faint blush rising to his cheeks but he doesn't hesitate much before saying, "We have an old friend coming to meet us in London this Saturday."
"Oh, that's grand." The redhead offers a smile. "I'll put their name on the booking for the single's room, in that case. What's your friend's name?"
"Actually, that won't be necessary." Paul speaks again, a very slight pause before he continues "He will be staying in the double room with my wife. You can put me in the other room. Put the double room under Sarah Williams' name."
"Oh." The girl says at the explanation, an eyebrow raised as she stares at the computer screen and then looks up to the couple. A couple of seconds before she realizes what was happening, or at least formulate a likely theory. "Oh!" She repeats now with more emphasis and a more dragging expression of surprise. "I see. Of course, Mr Williams."
The girl's rosy pale complexion gains a red tint and despite her very professional posture so far, she can't help but smirk knowingly and shoot a glance over Paul's shoulder towards Sarah. She finishes adjusting the reservations with fast typing fingers before producing the key card for the double room, tidily wrapped in a paper envelope marked by the hotel's logo and room number.
"Here you go, Mr Williams, Mrs Williams." She slides it across the counter. "Do you need any help with your luggage?"
"That won't be necessary," Sarah says, gently pushing the handle of her pink wheeled suitcase to Paul's hand, wordlessly implying he'd carry it for her upstairs. She collects the card key and gestures towards the staircase behind the reception desk.
"In that case, welcome to the Russel's Arms Inn. Enjoy your stay..." The girl says towards them and then, in another breach of her more professional posture, she shares another complicit glance towards Sarah and adds a bit off-script: "And have fun."
The Williams had spent a lovely couple of days in London, visiting the main attractions, finding some well-reviewed places to have dinner and overall enjoying what the city had to offer. All the while, Sarah made sure to keep checking her Tinder profile and making conversation with the most likeable suitors for her Saturday night date. The options had already been narrowed down to three and she made a point of commenting how hot they looked in the pictures without minding to be too quiet, even in public, while showing Paul her phone with pictures of the tall, young and very fit men she had been talking to on the app, after being matched with them.
When Saturday rolled around, she had picked John. He was tall, undeniably handsome with a well-trimmed beard, short hair and a physique you can only get by spending many hours a week at the gym. His profile was filled with pictures in sleeveless shirts, in workout outfits and speedos at the beach, which left very little to the imagination. Perhaps one picture in particular, where he appeared in a tight red speedo and the outline of his cock could be seen against the tight fabric, had been the ultimate tiebreaker. She had used her fingers to enhance the picture, almost shoving her phone in Paul's face while the whole screen was taken by the red, minimalist bathing suit that bulged even at the visibly flaccid state of what laid underneath.
"Wow... Now that's a real cock." She commented playfully, "Not like yours... It would probably disappear in a speedo, wouldn't it, love?"
Paul visibly flushed, especially as she had chosen to say those words just as the waitress had come to their table to ask if they needed a anything. The attractive brunette in clear earshot for the entire exchange while Paul meekly nodded in agreement. They were finishing their seafood lunch and getting ready to go clothes shopping for Sarah's big date, and by the time the meal was ready and the same brunette had come to bring the check and collect the card for payment, Sarah playfully touched her arm to call her attention and bring the same picture up again on her phone.
"Sorry, to bother you... Joan." She says, reading the girl's name-tag. "But what do you think of this guy? He's hot, isn't he?" The wife asks while Paul was busy producing his credit card to pay for their meal.
"Oh... Uh... Yes, Ma'am. Very attractive." The girl commented, slightly unsure about the situation but as Sarah continued to smile and Paul offered no sign of offence at the situation, besides blushing and meekly staring at his feet, the waitress added. "He has some of those sexy hip dimples too."
"Oh, yes. He does... Though I'm much more interested in what they are pointing at." Sarah responds and they both share a mischievous giggle before the girl turns to Paul to collect his card and inform she'd be back with it and the receipt soon.
From the restaurant, they took a cab to a high end department store as Sarah wanted to make sure she looked nice for her date with John. She wasn't exactly sure what she was after yet, but she knew she wanted a dress that was sexier, and perhaps a bit sluttier than most of the things she owned. Something that really showcased what she was working with.
Their first stop was a designer clothes store in the first floor. As they walked past the racks of pants and blouses, one of the shop's employees, a petite blonde with sweet blue eyes, approached them following the usual script for establishment.
"Hello there. Looking for anything in particular?"
"Oh, hello!" Sarah greeted the girl enthusiastically. "Yes, in fact, we are. I'm going on a date tonight... And I want something really sexy to wear, you know? I don't own a lot of clothes like that but I want to make tonight special."
The blonde smiled. "Of course, I can help with that." She says, noticing the wedding rings in both their fingers and speaking now more towards Paul "Date night, hm? That sounds fun, keeping things fresh between the two of you." She says as she begins walking and makes a gesture to be followed to the dress section of the store.
"Actually..." Paul begins to talk, following behind the girl but Sarah had stepped ahead, walking side by side with her now, and interrupts him.
"Oh, no, the date's not with my husband. I'm meeting a guy for drinks later tonight." She clarifies, letting her excitement for the idea and the upcoming night show in a very transparent fashion. And it was a bit contagious. If initially, the blonde seemed a bit unsure of what to say about that, Sarah's smile encourages her to keep smiling as they arrived at the dress section.
"Oh, I see... In that case, you said a sexy dress, our new collection has a lot of form-fitting dresses that are quite charming." The shop worker moved a few dresses on the rack aside to show a black tube top style dress and another one, vivid red with thin shoulder straps and a deep cleavage.