Note from Author:
I decided it would be best to put all of the "vacation" chapters into one single chapter, hence this one being much longer. There is still plenty more to come so I do hope you'll enjoy it.
--- Chapter 4 ---
"You've got my card in case you need anything, you've got our numbers and if anything happens don't hesitate to call Mrs Townley, alright?"
I stared at Mom as if she'd grown three heads. "We'll be fine," I assured her as Dad finished loading their stuff into the back of the truck.
Ellie stepped up beside me and bounced on the balls of her feet. "Have fun, Mom. I bet you'll find some neat stuff in those little stores. Bring something back for me?"
Mom smiled down at Ellie as she stepped into the passenger seat. "Kids," Dad called out, leaning over Mom in the cab. "If there are any problems, just call us or the Townleys, alright?"
I ground my teeth in frustration. Were they serious? "If anything major happens I'll call the police or fire department, not you guys."
He gave me a wide grin before nodding. "That's my boy."
"Just remember, if you get hungry then please order anything you need. We can deal with money later."
I grumbled.
Mom gave me a look. "I'm just making sure that you'll both be okay."
Ellie jumped in this time. "Mom, we'll be just fine, I promise. Go and have some fun! I'll look after him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
I shot her an accusing look and a shrug. She met it with a shrug of her own.
Dad and Mom laughed as they gave us one last wave before pulling out. We waved until they disappeared around the end of the road.
The street was silent for a few moments before I turned to Ellie. "Good to go?"
She didn't answer me as she bolted for the house to grab her holdall. I did the same, dragging it downstairs before grabbing my coat and keys.
"Are you good to go?" I called out again as I heard her stomping down the stairs. She dropped her two cases on the floor in front of me with a huge grin on her face. "Two cases? We're going for two nights, not a month."
Her grin turned a little sinister as she shrugged up at me. "I need it all."
"Fair enough, are you ready?"
"Yep! Let's get going."
I started the car up and let it run for a few minutes, warming up the freezing cold interior before loading our stuff in the trunk. My car really was a piece of shit. I made another mental note to get myself something more comfortable and better equipped as soon as possible.
"Three whole days with just the two of us and no one else to worry about," Ellie murmured.
I wanted to reach over and pull her to me, but unlike the truck there was no middle seat here. Instead, I opted to reach over and stroke her thigh. She immediately grabbed my hand and made a small noise of appreciation.
"Check in is after 5pm. As soon as we get there we can relax," I said while revving my old motor.
"I can't wait, Adey," she said, her voice as bright as her smile.
I shifted into gear and took off. As usual, Ellie fell asleep within minutes, softly snoring against the door while I took my time on the long drive. My car was reliable enough but I wasn't going to risk pushing it on a long journey. We pulled up to the strip over an hour later. The traffic had been a nightmare, so at least we weren't too early to check in. As I pulled into the underground parking lot, I glanced over at a sleeping Ellie.
"Hey, sleepyhead. We're here," I called out.
She stirred, opening frowning eyes to look around as I parked in one of many open bays. It wasn't busy at least. As the engine shut down Ellie let out a little squeaky yawn before looking up at me. She seemed to wake up almost immediately, no doubt as excited as I was to finally get our weekend underway.
"Let's go and check in," she said with a grin.
"No arguments here," I answered with a wink.
Our check in went off without a hitch. Hell, the room service met us on the top floor with some cold champagne as we tried to enter the suite. I guessed there were upsides to paying so much for a room. Ellie took it with a massive grin and a thank you as I let us in.
My stomach lurched a little as we walked into our suite. I'd hoped it would be everything we'd seen... and it was. Man, was it what we'd seen and more.
The pale grey and white room was easily big enough for way more than two people... maybe too big for ten people. All of the outer walls were lined entirely with floor to ceiling windows, electric blinds above each. The bed sat in an intricately built oak display, while the bed itself was absolutely massive. I could've laid on it width-ways and still not touched the sides. A gigantic chest sat at the end with a remote control beside it, no doubt for a TV. I glanced around at all the fine decorations as Ellie explored the entire area.
"Oh. My. God, Adey! Come and look at this!"
I snorted a laugh at her screeching and followed her excited voice into the massive bathroom. Once in, I had to let out a whistle of appreciation myself. A huge Jacuzzi ate up a corner of the huge room while an open shower was built into the adjacent corner. There were a pair of sinks opposite the shower, hung under a massive, wall-width mirror while an overly complicated toilet sat opposite the tub.
"I thought it looked good from the pictures but this is insane..."
"Isn't it?" Ellie could barely contain her excitement as she sat on the edge of the tub and grinned up at me. "Just think of how amazing the bath we could have in here would be." She glanced down into the tub and poked one of the jets. "We could have a glass of champagne and turn down the lights, cuddle up together and relax after we..." she stopped herself, eyes shooting up to nervously meet mine before she went back to fiddling with the tub.
Her nervousness was adorable only because I knew that it was completely unnecessary. I stepped up to her. "After we...?" I murmured as I slipped my hands behind her neck. She let out a tiny noise as I tilted her head to look at me. "Ellie?" I asked, though I was pretty sure I knew exactly what was running through her mind.
She kissed my forearm before taking a deep breath. "After we make love..." she said, clearly fighting the urge to look away. "I sound so stupid."
I hated how she called herself that. "You do not sound stupid," I reassured her as I knelt down, stroking the tiny hairs at the base of her neck. "Ellie, listen. There's no pressure. If you're not comfortable or if you're unsure at all-"
Ellie cut me off. "I'm not," she said with a tiny, almost nervous giggle. "I'm really, really not. I'm so excited, Adey."
"Me too," I whispered. She let out a little noise as I continued to stroke her hair, marveling at how beautiful she looked in the gentle bathroom light. I searched for a topic to change the subject and shift her attention away from sex. "We still have a couple of hours until our dinner reservation. Is there anything you wanna do?"
Her answering smile was infectious. "Why don't we get ourselves ready then head out a little early? The strip looks so beautiful and quiet from up here, we could take a slow walk to the restaurant?"
Part of me wanted to grin. She was a hopeless romantic, which was perfect since if I were honest with myself, so was I. "Sounds great, we can check out the room properly later."
We spent the next hour and a bit getting showered separately. Ellie made a point of keeping the bathroom locked as she got herself pampered, powdered and whatever else it is women did in the eternity it took them to get ready.
On my end, I went about getting unpacked and dug out my good dress clothes. They didn't see much use these days but what better opportunity to get dressed up? I gave my leather shoes a good buffing before taking out my black slacks and soft grey button-up shirt to give them an ironing. I followed it up by hanging out my Italian-made jacket. It was the single most expensive item of clothing I owned and it fit me incredibly well. Good tailoring cost good money, I figured.
I gave myself a small spritz of cologne before pulling on my tie and giving my hair a final style in my reflection from the window. Done with getting ready, I spent the next little while wandering around. I grabbed the remote first and found I was right about the TV, but what I didn't expect was the absolute monster of a curved screen that appeared.
"Damn, this is insane," I murmured to myself before clicking to drop the TV back down again.
I heard a crash from the bathroom, my head snapped around to stare at the door.
"You alright?" I called out, a little worried as I headed towards the room.
"Fine, thanks!" Ellie yelled back, her tone oddly pinched. "I won't be long!"
I folded my arms. "What are you doing?"
"Just getting dressed!"
I hummed but decided to ignore it and went to put on my jacket and straighten myself out.
A few minutes later I heard the lock on the bathroom door before it was slowly pulled open. Ellie took a meek step into the room and I swallowed hard, my blood searing in my veins at the sight that greeted me.
A pair of black, high-heeled pumps framed her lithe ankles. The low, angled hem of a dark emerald dress seemed to shimmer in the light. It ended halfway down her calves and somehow hugged her body in spots and flowed in others, highlighting her gorgeous curves to amazing effect while still being quite demure and unrevealing. Her neck was adorned by a delicate, silver chain necklace that held a small, silver heart. She'd transformed her hair from its usual waviness into thick curls that flowed to the middle of her back, with a few locks pulled forward to frame her face. Even her makeup seemed heavier than usual. Glossy, pink lips and slightly blushed cheeks were teamed with mascara and eye shadow that turned her teal orbs into sparkling aquamarine.
She looked absolutely stunning.
"I, uh," I stumbled over my words with a shake of my head, unable to take my eyes off of her. "Uh, you look..." I just stood by the door with my hands in my jacket pockets like a mute jackass.
Her nervous, tight lips quickly shifted into a toothy smile as she walked up to me. I couldn't move my appreciative gaze as she stopped right in front of me to reach up and take hold of my jacket collar.
"You're so beautiful," I breathed.
"Thank you, Aden," she giggled, exuding far more confidence while smoothing my collar out. "You look wonderful... so handsome and sexy in a suit. It's not often I get to see you all dressed up... I'm one lucky lady."
