A Night at the Wesley

In this short story, Connie Atkinson is on vacation and ready to embrace her inner seductress in a five-star resort in Vail. However, a late deposition and a freak snowstorm derail her plans and she is forced to spend the night at the lackluster Wesley Hotel in downtown Detroit.
In a gloomy mood, her spirits are lifted with the offering of a salaciously named cocktail and the appearance of her former college study partner, who didn't think of her in that way. Since her divorce, Connie is opening herself up to new possibilities and a night with Noah Cohen has just made the top of her list.

A Night At
The Wesley

By Vallory
Vance

Published by Vallory’s
Calliope

Copyright 2012 Vallory Vance

Connie
Atkinson marched into the restaurant of the Wesley Hotel in downtown Detroit, a
frown etched into her face. She was in need of a glass of wine, preferably something
dark to match her mood. She cleared her throat to signal the hostess stationed
at the entrance.

The young
woman didn’t move, seemingly more interested in twirling the heavily
highlighted tendrils of her blonde ponytail around her fingers and batting her
eyelashes at the admiring bartender than acting as a hostess. Connie cleared
her throat again.

No response.

“Miss!” She
stomped her booted heel so that it echoed causing several patrons to lift their
otherwise disinterested heads in her direction.

Goldilocks
looked at her with an air of annoyance and straightened the rounded band of
what must be the hotel’s required uniform. Connie doubted that the young woman
would have opted for the white lacy collar and contrasting light-weight pale green
blouse on a blustery Friday night.

“Table for
one?” Goldi grabbed a menu and turned toward a tiny table near the bar.

“I want the
booth by the window.”

Goldi spun
around and twisted her mouth into a condescending grin. “Booths are reserved
for parties of three or more.”

“Then I’d like
to speak to your manager,” Connie said icily. Having worked in the service
industry to pay her way through college and law school, she knew that there
were rules employees followed. However after being grounded in Detroit and
missing the first four hours of her vacation in Vail, she was in no mood to be
amenable.

Goldi blinked
back in astonishment. In a room full of business travelers, mostly male, Connie
doubted that the hostess had met with an ounce of resistance to her clipped orders.

“That won’t be
necessary.” Goldi dipped her head, offering an insincere smile. “Right this
way.”

Connie quickly
followed Goldi’s long strides to the bay of large windows surrounding several
unoccupied circular booths.
Sweetie, you can’t outpace me
, she thought
stifling a laugh.

Slipping around
the edge of a black lacquered table, she bounced down on the springy pink
leather cushions. The view was the saving grace of the Wesley – the lights of downtown
Detroit twinkled in a swirling white haze. Tiny pockets of snow glistened in
the nooks and crannies of the beveled glass and a soft whistle of wind floated
around her like the melody from a much loved piano.
The perfect backdrop for
relaxing in front of a roaring fire in the lounge of the Mountain Lion Resort
and Spa…in Vail.

Tonight she
should have been enjoying all the luxuries that the villa-inspired resort had
to offer including a private masseuse and a slice of the decadent Death by
Chocolate triple tiered cake topped with mocha ganache. Instead she would have
to endure a meal in the cavernous dining hall sparsely outfitted with cafeteria
style tables and darkening cream walls lined with artwork reminiscent of the
Miami Vice era. “Ugh,” she groaned. “May I have a wine list, please?”

Connie looked
up to notice a quick roll of the young woman’s eyes.
Well, at least the Wesley
has fantastic service.

Pulling out
her phone, she speed dialed Jessica. After a few rings, Jessica answered with a
snorting laugh. Then there was a metallic clang followed by muffled, garbled
noises.

Those
bitches are already drunk
.

“So you think
you’ll get here tomorrow?” Monique finally retrieved the phone from a fumbling Jessica.

“Weather
reports are saying that planes can leave mid-morning to early afternoon so I
should be there sometime tomorrow.” In the background, she could hear music,
Jessica’s tinny giggle, and a man’s husky laugh. Connie sighed involuntarily.

Where was
Goldi with her drink menu?

“Well you
better get here. ‘Cause they’re gonna find this heifer during the spring thaw.
She acts like this is her first…”

“Connie, these
guysss… from Brasssil bought us drinthks. They are sooo…” Jessica’s words
slurred together and the clanging sounded again.

Monique
reacted quicker this time and was on the line within a beat. “Bye. Let me get
her out of here before I’m trying to stop a strip tease.”

“See you
tomorrow.” She let out a small laugh. Jessica could be quite a character once
she’d had a few drinks, but Monique was definitely the person to handle her.
At
least Jess wasn’t crying…yet
.

Connie jammed
the phone back into her purse and scanned the crowd. A room of other business travelers
gathered at the bar or hunched over cell phones at tiny tables. They were stuck
for the night in the lackluster Wesley and not an interesting one in the bunch.

If she hadn’t
been held over taking the deposition of her client’s husband, she could have
had a darkly tanned Brazilian with thick black hair and a sexy accent plying
her with potent beverages. Only the thought of breaking her client’s prenup could
atone for this disruption of her plans.

For the first
time since her divorce last year, she’d taken a break from her role as lead
attorney in a family law practice for a much needed vacation with her friends.
She groaned, turning her attention to the list of cheap wines.

“Ma’am?” Goldi
set a yellowish brown cocktail on the table.

“I didn’t
order…”  Connie’s voice trailed into nothingness as she stared at the vaguely
familiar drink. She lifted it to her nose and was immediately accosted by the
strong aroma of tequila. “What is this called?”

Goldi blushed.
“Umm…A Long…”

“A Long Slow Comfortable
Screw Up Against A Wall!” Connie howled in disbelief unable to contain the
piercing laugh that bubbled from her mouth.

“It’s okay,
sweetie.” She waved an obviously mortified Goldi away and reached for her phone.
Thumbing through her contacts, she found Monique. Only her former college
roommate would appreciate the humor of some ass using a lame pick-up technique
reminiscent of their partying days in Memphis.

“I was going
to be really embarrassed if that wasn’t you.”

A hand slid over
her shoulder, halting her call to Monique, and Connie spun around on the slick
leather seat to look up into the most beautiful brown eyes she’d ever seen.
They glowed as if backlit by candles. At least that was what she’d written countless
times in her journal.

“Noah.” She breathed
out, too stunned to say anything else. He pulled her into a tight hug and memories
of college swept through her with the speed and heat of lightening. In an
instant a nineteen year old girl’s yearning for a study partner, who didn’t
think of her in that way, was awakened from a long slumber.

“Wow, Connie.
You look…fantastic.”

“Thank you.”
She smiled, noticing that his eyes lingered longer than was appropriate at the deeply
curved neckline of her sweater.

At her
request, he slid into the opposite curve of the booth and her gloomy thoughts
were abruptly uplifted.
This night might not turn out so badly,
she
thought as she eased back into the tufted cushions.

She was no
longer the shy girl too afraid to ask for what she wanted. And right now in
lieu of a Brazilian buying her a drink in Vail, the object of a school girl
crush would do just fine.

She clasped
his left hand in hers, lightly brushing her thumb over his ring finger.
No
indentation!

“So Noah, what
have you been up to?”

~~~

Dinner was
passing too quickly and before he knew it, their server was placing a brownie
topped with hot fudge and vanilla ice cream on the table. Connie took a bite,
pulling the spoon through her full lips with a low moan of delight. “Mmm.”

“Good?” he
asked, blowing out the breath that had stuck in his throat.

“De-li-cious”
she whispered, holding each syllable in her lovely mouth before releasing it
like a flamed arrow to his crotch. He shifted uncomfortably in the groaning,
unforgiving booth.

All night, he
hadn’t been able to take his eyes off of her. Brief glances had become
practical leers as he struggled to concentrate on their conversation. While she
looked much the same as she had during their days at Vanderbilt - a slender
pretty face, the color of dark caramel, bright hazel eyes and lips that had
been too sexy for the shy pre-law student. Right now though, those plum glossed
lips were curled up into a breathtaking smile that fit perfectly with the woman
offering him a spoonful of hot fudge and melting ice cream.

“I don’t like
chocolate.” He managed to say, distracted by the crush of her breasts on his
arm as she leaned in closer with the spoon.

“Pity”, she
crooned, looking up at him with a wicked grin. “You don’t know what you’re
missing.”

Noah grinned. He
wasn’t planning on missing anything.

Her seemingly
innocent flirting had driven him crazy throughout dinner. She had stroked his wrists
while he talked and slid her hand down his thigh when they laughed about their
small pre-law group. Now scooted close to him, she swirled another spoonful of
ice cream into her mouth. The push of his erection against his zipper was impossible
to ignore and he inched away from the incendiary heat of her body in hope of
relief.

“You didn’t
touch your drink.” He carefully picked up the melting cocktail and took a deep
swallow.

“I never liked
that.” Her eyes narrowed and she lifted her chin up in an apparent challenge.
“I think you were thinking of either Heather or April.”

It had been
her. On the night he was going to stop pretending that he thought of her as
just a study partner, Andy had swept in with the drink. Immobile and getting
drunker, he had watched Connie giggling and being felt up by the law school
grad.  “This is the drink Andy brought you that night at Topper’s. Remember? A
few days before graduation.”

“Andy.” She
rolled her eyes at the mention of her ex-husband and her smile briefly
disappeared. “I knew there was a reason I couldn’t remember it.”

She grinned up
at him and slid her hand down his thigh again. “Excuse me, will you?”

Her pinkie brushed
over his zipper and he drew in his breath sharply between his teeth.

“Ohhh, sorry
about that.” she slid out of the booth, an impish grin creasing her pretty face.

Fuck!
His erection was throbbing and he twisted down into the booth to rub his hand
down the front of his tented pants. Watching the sway of her hips in her tight
fitting black jeans, was doing nothing for the painful ache; he increased the
pressure of his hand.

Think!
Racking
his fevered brain for a clever ruse to get her back to his room, he took
another swallow of the diluted cocktail - a long slow comfortable screw against
a wall.
Now, that would be an excellent start to a night of fulfilled dreams.

“Noah.” Her
voice called him out of his roguish thoughts.

Straightening
in the booth, he looked up into her dazzling hazel eyes.
Shit! Should he
just ask her up?
He couldn’t miss the opportunity afforded by a freak
snowstorm.  “Connie…”

“Why don’t we
talk in my room?” She handed him a keycard.  “Room 326. Just give me a few
minutes to freshen up, okay?”

“S-sure”, he
stammered “I’ll take care of the bill.”

Slumping down
into the booth, he had to adjust himself beneath the table. She had wiggled
away, the roses adorning the back pockets of her jeans holding his attention
until she was out of sight. The visual of pulling those black jeans down over
the curve of her ass had flashed in his mind and caused his dick to harden…again.

~~~

“People do
this all the time,” she told her reflection. Saying it out loud helped to quell
the nervous jitters that had awakened as she tied the sash of the short lilac robe
into a bow. She’d arranged her hair so that it hung down her back, curling at
the ends and had taken the time to redo her make-up so that her almond-shaped eyes
were outlined in a complimentary shade of purple that made them sparkle. She’d
always thought her eyes were her best features and she smiled.

She flattened
the robe’s rumpled neckline over her breasts. “Oh, well.” She grimaced. There
was nothing she could do about her modest bosom and sashayed over to the door,
wiggling her other best feature. She had a great ass and she knew it.

Of course Noah
would knock instead of entering uninvited. She remembered that he had been as
practical and courteous as she. However at the moment, practicality was not in
her vocabulary. Excitement coursed through her and tingled down to her toes. She
couldn’t believe she was about to do this, but there was no stopping her. She
was on vacation stepping into the waiting embrace of her inner seductress.

She briefly
wondered why he had accepted her invitation. He couldn’t really think she
wanted to talk?

Pulling the
robe down just a tad, she swung the door open to greet Noah’s sweet smile and
impossibly deep dimples. His squared face looked pale and soft beneath the
shock of black hair that fell across his forehead. He was a quietly handsome
man whose serious eyes warmed her insides and made her momentarily unable to
speak.

“Uh…Come in.”
Her voice was as weak as her knees.

Noah didn’t
move. His eyes traveled in a slow drift from her from her face to the robe’s
hem. After a moment under his intense gaze, her thighs were clenching against
the considerable tingles radiating between her legs.
So much for being the
seducer.

“Sorry.” He
blinked up at her as if snapped back from somewhere else and stepped into the
Wesleyan’s   VIP room. It was merely a queen-sized bed wedged between two
bedside tables and a faux oak desk with swiveling black office chair. His presence,
though, illuminated the muted palette of dulled beiges and greens to a vibrancy
that dazzled her vision.