Another work trip, another hotel, another three hundred and fifty miles from home, it's a small world; you'll see what I mean later. There I was back at the hotel where I stayed at for a week while I sorted out some contracts with the new customer.
I had come back from the customer, had a shower and meal. I came down to the hotel bar for a quick night cap, it was late, around ten thirty. It was my first time at that very classy hotel and the restaurant seemed to be very popular, was busy, and even that late there were lots of people around.
I sat at a table where I had my laptop with me and looked over some paperwork. I wanted a refill so made my way to the bar. As I approached the bar I noticed a lady sitting there with her back to me. The bar was busy and the only space to squeeze in and to the bar was next to that lady.
I got there; she looked like a very sexy lady, she was facing away from me. She had long red hair very stylish, a very short red leather skirt which was probably only half way up her thighs if she stood, and while she sat it had ridden up fairly high and exposed a lot of thigh flesh, her legs were crossed. She wore a white blouse and the perfumed air around her was very sensual. She almost looked familiar, but I did not know anyone in that part of the world.
The barman came upto me and asked me what I wanted and I told him. The next thing I heard was, "Mike!"
That's me, my name was Mike and as I turned to look to my side the lady had turned around and it was a familiar lady, it was a lady I thought I knew fairly well. Not well enough though. By then she was joined by her husband. The ladies name was Val and her husband Paul. They are both friends of mine and we live on the same street, 'It's a small world.'
Never in a million years would I have said it was her, Val looked like a different woman, looked like a sexy woman, looked like a very sexy woman. I leant over and kissed her on the cheek and said, "Val," with a very surprised tone to my voice and look on my face.
I shook Paul's hand and said, "Hi guy's fancy seeing you here."
Val stood, pulled her skirt down while she said, "We often come here for a few days, never seen you here before!"
I said, "No my first time, a new customer, we have meetings all week."
Paul looked very uncomfortable, almost embarrassed to be seen there. I've, well, we've known each other for over six years; we've been out to dinner and to each other's homes. But Val never looked that sexy, ever!
Val was always the more forward one, a very confident woman. She asked, "Are you on your own or with colleagues?"
I looked towards Paul; he was looking the other way and looked to be lost. I looked back at Val and said, "I'm on my own, just lonely old me."
Let me tell you a bit about Val and Paul. Let's start with Paul, he's five ten tall, fifty five years old and works in an accounting office. Val is also five ten tall, but a bit younger at forty eight. She is not a slim lady but not fat, she has all the right bits in all the right places. Long well-formed legs, first I'd seen that much of them. Flattish tummy and I would put her boobs at around thirty four or so and with the blouse she wore you could see a bit of cleavage.
Val asked if I was busy and I had said I was just going through some paper work which could wait. We all looked a bit awkward since there was no seating available at the bar; I offered them to sit with me at the table I had.
Paul looked like he did not really want to, but followed Val when she said, "We'd love to."
I got a round of drinks and we sat at the table, we chatted and joked about the coincidence of our meeting so far away from home. Paul after a while got up and said, "Little boy's room."
He went off and I asked Val, "Is Paul okay, he seems very distracted?"
Val came and sat next to me and said in almost a whisper, "Can I confide in you?"
That was interesting, I did not think there were any secrets from Paul that Val had, so I said, "Sure your secrets safe with me you know that!"
Val smiled and said, "Well it's Paul really, he doesn't want you to know."
Got more interesting, what was Paul's big secret? I asked, "What does he not want me to know? He usually tells me everything."
Val took my hand and sandwiched it in hers and said, "No he has not told you this and if I know Paul he'll never tell you himself."
Got more interesting by the minute, I asked, "What won't he tell me?"
Val looked over to the men's room to see if Paul was coming back, he wasn't, so Val carried on, "I don't mind you knowing, in fact I've wanted to tell you a couple of years ago."
The anticipation was unbearable, I looked over to the men's room and then back to Val and said, "Well tell me, you can't stop there and not tell me now!"
Val looked back over to the men's room and took a big swig of her drink and said, "We're here for a reason."
I said nothing I looked at Val with a keen ear and willed her to carry on when she said, "We... are swingers."
Holy fuck, I would never, ever have thought that of Val and Paul. I was silent, stunned, speechless, and I just stared at Val, when Val said, "Mike, you do know what I'm talking about?"
Oh, I knew. I was still in a state of semi shock. Val said, "We are due to meet a couple here but they haven't shown yet."
I said, "That's why Paul's been looking over his shoulder all evening. Like he was going to get found out if they showed up with me here."
Val said, "Probably, but I don't care."
And as she said that her phone rang, Val said to me, "Excuse me, I have to take this."
She picked it up, stood and walked away a couple of steps, just then Paul returned. He sat back down but still looked very nervous, Val came back and sat next to Paul, she leant over to his ear and said something.
And instantly Paul looked a different person, more relaxed, no more did he look over his shoulder, he slumped back and drank his drink with a big sigh.
We chatted some more and Paul got up again and said, "I'll get some more drinks, wine okay with everyone?"
He walked off and Val said to me as soon as Paul was out of ear-shot, "They're not coming."
Val said that with a half disappointed sounding voice. I looked and saw a very disappointed look on Val's face and I said, "I'm sorry, I suppose you were looking forward to it."
Val looked across to the bar and said, "Yes, we had planned it three weeks ago."
Then Val looked straight into my eyes and said, "What you doing tonight?"
Holy shit, had she just asked me to well, to put it bluntly, join them in group sex. I blinked my eyes and said, "Sorry Val what!"
Val did not take her eyes off me and said, "Come on you'll enjoy it, I'll make sure you enjoy it."
I shook my head and said, "No I can't do that to Paul."
Val said, "Do what to Paul... he's already seen me with other men."
I looked at her and said, "But he's my friend... we're friends."
Val looked at me in a very serious way and said, "What, you think we just meet up with total strangers."
I looked at the floor and still shook my head. Val said, "If you change your mind we're in room three zero six. Come any time. Here... this was for them." She put a key card on the table and slipped it in my direction.
I was in a state of confusion, Val is definitely a sexy woman, any man being asked that sort of question - Val or otherwise, would not say no, but I knew them, I knew Paul, we were all friends.
Paul returned with a bottle of wine and Val said, "Let's take it up."
She stood and looked directly at me and said, "Well... would you like to join us... for drinks?" She winked.
She grabbed Paul by the arm and led him away. I sat there for another five minutes then I gathered my laptop, picked the key card up and I went to my room.
There was no way I was going to sleep; Val's comments and invitation rang through my head. It was midnight, I really wanted to go over there, but something stopped me, Paul in my head was the stopper.
I was about to leave my room and go to them, when I thought, I couldn't just go and knock on their door, it seemed so strange. I had both their mobile numbers, they were both my friends, I really fancied Val, to the point that I had dreamt of Val, I had dreamt of Val in a sexual way, but was never brave enough to act upon it with the relationship we all had.
I'll text Val, I started with, 'Hi Val,' and then I didn't know what else to say, I meant to press delete but in my state of confusion I pressed send.
I threw my phone onto the bed and went into the bathroom to wash my face. It was refreshing, it calmed me down. I came back into the main room and my phone bleeped. I picked it up just in case it was the customer. But it was Val, the text read, 'Come in, use the key.'
Holy shit, I seemed to have committed myself, should I go? I didn't know; they were my friends. If I went, it may be the end, the end of a long acquaintance. I was in turmoil, I banged my head with my hand, 'Shit, shit, shit.'
The phone bleeped again, I pressed the button and it read, 'Paul knows.'
Holy fucking shit, Val had told Paul, I wondered what Val had told Paul, what does Paul know? I built up such a picture in my head I had lost all common sense. I had no sense of what was going on. I couldn't just go, I'll just stay here.
I went and washed my face in cold water again and came back into the room. There was a message on the phone. I looked at it, it was from Val, it read, 'Don't be afraid.'