Rolling his wedding ring round and round, watching intently as his wife chooses a pair of stockings. Lucas sits on the edge of the bed, aroused, watching as she rolls a stocking up her elegant leg and fastens the small clips at her thigh. He has no idea that he is tapping his feet, but as Audrey slides a stocking up her other leg, he taps. It isn't nervousness, not this time, this time he is holding off the sea of fear that threatens to engulf him. Rolling and tapping, rolling and tapping, holding on.
Approaching the closet she already knows that she will wear the slutty red dress, his favourite. For the past five years of married life she has dressed herself, but tonight she yields to temptation and calls Lucas over. He approaches reluctantly, reaching to help zip her into her dress. They lock eyes in the mirror, a little smile from her sealing his despair.
The room fills with a familiar fragrance as she spritzes 'Daisy' across her collarbone, between her breasts, on her wrists, the back of her knees. Her cleavage is on show, her plump breasts inviting attention. He wraps her in his jacket, marking her as his own for a little while longer, knowing that he will not be the man to unwrap this beautiful package. She accepts, simply because it is cold outside.
Both feel a pull to hold each other, ground themselves, but a crunch of gravel and honk from the cab interrupts. One last check in the mirror and she goes to the door, this time she doesn't meet his eye. He follows like a dejected puppy, jiggling the keys in his hand and sliding into the back seat of the cab alongside her.
She stares out of the window, he stares straight ahead. The silence could be mistaken for a couple's argument, but reality was otherwise. The shared silence came from different places. The husband nervous, the wife eagerly anticipating the assignation ahead. Still, they do not look at each other.
The hotel is in sight, not their usual standard, his fears double as his mind plays over what is about to happen. His thoughts crash to a stop as his cock leaps into life. An instant and undesired erection as Audrey runs her hand over his crotch, teasing, luring, reminding him of what he is not about to enjoy. They have arrived.
It is nauseating for Lucas to contemplate. As Audrey steps quickly into the hotel, he pays the driver The shiver down his spine partly due to the wind, mostly due to his situation. Why did he agree to this?
A quiet hotel, nothing special. Music slightly too loud, the smell or furniture polish slightly too strong. A group of men at the bar sizing up the women that pass by, no doubt lewd comments are made as their laughter excludes those around them. They are interested in Audrey for sure, openly ogling and appraising her.
"Lucas, are you coming?"
Attention shifts to Lucas, the bar guys size him up, watching as he fumbles the door handle, catches his toe on the mat and joins his impatient wife. He tries to calm himself but the unpleasant smell and the sound of local love songs wasn't doing him any favours. To his relief his wife makes haste up the wooden staircase, key in hand, escaping the guys at the bar. Like the little puppy, he is he rushes to follow; he needs to be close to his mistress, his wife.
Down the anonymous corridor, door after door, they stand in front of '111'. Cheap gold letters on white wood. A gentle knock from Audrey brings an immediate response from within. A deep authoritative voice deals another blow to Lucas' guts. "Come in." He follows her with a heart that beats rapidly and a mouth that is dry.
The guy at the desk doesn't turn around at first. His crisp white shirt and dark trousers suggest a muscular build beneath, a broad back. He turns and shows his face, clean shaven with a chin strip, young. Rolled up sleeves showing muscular forearms. Removing his reading glasses he reveals sharp yet gentle brown eyes. His lips curl into a smile followed by a lusty grin as Audrey slips the jacket to the floor.
Standing there in her slutty dress, smoothing it over her thighs, she is a little nervous. Stepping forward to take the outheld hand of the guy at the desk, drawing closer as his hands fall to her curvy hips. Stopping to pick up his jacket, Lucas watches his wife passionately kiss a complete stranger. Watches as she becomes an object of pleasure for a new lover.
Chuckling as he breaks the kiss, the young guy sends Lucas out to get a bottle of wine, his tone is not kind.
Feeling helpless, Lucas obliges. Dashing to the bar where the atmosphere was previously disturbing, it almost feels comfortable compared to the atmosphere in room 111. A few men hanging around, waiting to get laid, hoping tonight would be a good night for a pickup. One of them ahead of the pack, his arm around a blonde, his hand on her butt as she giggles and their heads move closer together. Sex appears to be on the menu.
Clutching the cold bottle of Sauvignon, glasses clinking as his hand trembles, Lucas heads back up. The door is ajar and he pushes in, meeting the young guy's eyes over his wife's shoulder.
"Knock next time. Leave it, we'll call down when we're done."
Lucas steps back, staring at the door as it swings closed between him and his wife and her lover. Backing up he leans against the corridor wall, staring at '111'. No sound. His heel taps against the skirting. His head drops. A muffled giggle.
Whilst he wants to break down the door, he heads back to the bar and takes a seat away from the bar guys, settling on a tall metal stool. Behind him a middle-aged couple is engrossed in a make-out session, wrinkled, slightly puffy faces merge with each other, distorted in the mirror behind the bottles at the back of the bar.
"Whiskey and soda."
Rolling his wedding ring round and round, his eyes closed, he sighs. The clink of a glass and the hiss of soda, he smiles weakly at the bartender. Another drink on the tab for 111. The bartender's sympathetic smile in reply suggests he knows what that means.
A few clinks and hisses later, a few drinks sipped in silence, the population of the bar has dwindled to two.
"Closing in ten, need another lining up?" the bartender asks.
