Always wanting to try new things, Alex was chatting to her friend one day about on-line dating.
“So, how did you and John meet again?” she asked.
Her friend, Tanya, replied, “I registered on a dating site. I started chatting to this guy, and we arranged to meet. It was that easy.”
“But weren’t you nervous about meeting someone you didn’t know?” Alex asked quizzically.
“Yes, of course I was, but it was exciting at the same time,” Tanya chuckled, “And look at us, we are still together.”
So Alex, being Alex, thought she would give it a go. She had been single for a while and she needed some excitement in her life. So, she set up an account with the on-line dating website and waited.
Now, Alex was normally a smart girl and not at all up front about such things, but she thought it would be even more exciting to specify that she wanted an intimate encounter.
She started chatting to this guy, who lived in London. They chatted for a few weeks and one day he told Alex that he was going to be in her vicinity for a meeting. They arranged to meet at his hotel, a five-star place on the outskirts of town.
Nervous, and excited at the same time, Alex arrived at the luxurious five-star hotel, called him and told him she was downstairs waiting. He told her what he was wearing, brown jeans and sweater, and that he would be down in a few minutes. A few minutes later he was in reception, in brown jeans and sweater, they said hello and went up to his hotel room. He told Alex that he had to finish some work, but it would only take about thirty minutes for him to finish, after which they could go out.
Great! she thought, it’s the first time I have met him and he has to finish work, not exactly romantic! But then she reminded herself that they were both there for an intimate encounter, not exactly wine and roses in itself. Anyway, he offered her a beer and she sat watching TV while he carried on working.
After about an hour he said, “OK, I am done, let’s go eat.”
“Great,” she replied, “Where shall we go?”
They left the room and went downstairs and walked towards the exit.
“I don’t really know this area” he said.
“I do, but all the restaurants will be closed” she replied.
“OK, no problem, let’s go to one of the hotel’s restaurants” he suggested.
So they made their way back inside the hotel. However, by this time it was close to midnight and all the restaurants in the hotel were closed. Even five star hotels have their closing times.
“Never mind,” he said, “we can get room service.”
“Er, OK,” was her tentative reply. Alex wasn’t feeling quite as excited as before. In fact she was rather wishing that she hadn’t put that she was up for an intimate encounter.
But not one to give up, she followed him up to his room and sat down. He offered her another beer and they looked at the menu. They settled on a tuna sandwich each. Not exactly the meal she had had in mind.
They sat there chatting and Alex thought to herself that, after all the weeks they had been chatting, it was very nice to meet him in person. And he seemed like the perfect gentleman, so she started to relax a bit, although she did get a little bored when he kept referring to how much money he made, how much the hotel room cost, how many this he had, how many that he had. Those things held no interest for Alex whatsoever. But who was she to complain? They were both after an intimate encounter, this should not be forgotten.
After a while he blurted out “Do you want a bath?”
Alex nearly choked on her tuna sandwich “A bath?” “Er, no!”
“Oh, it can be quite nice” he replied.
“Oh,” she didn’t want to hurt his feelings, “I don’t really like baths.”
With that he got up and said “OK, am gonna take a shower.” And off he went.
When he had gone, Alex’s courage started to wane. She started to think what on earth she was doing in this random guy’s hotel room. One who she had never met before, and one she certainly didn’t know. So she started having a conversation with herself practising what she was going to say. But then… on the promise of an intimate encounter…What if he didn’t let her go? What if…? What if…?
Alex could feel panic rising.
When he appeared from the bathroom towel in hand saying, “There are towels on the bed.” She very quickly and calmly said “You know what, I’m gonna go.”
He asked “Oh, why?”
“This thing is just not me.”
“You put on your profile that you wanted an intimate encounter” he stated.
“I know.”
She told him about her friends and how it had worked for them. “But this is just not me” she repeated, and continued with the “It’s not you, it’s me,” line.
She needn’t have worried about anything, because he accepted what she said and, being the gentleman he was, he walked her to the lift, gave her a peck on the cheek, and said, “Am sorry that you have to leave.”
“I’m sorry too” she lied.
And with that, she left the hotel feeling like the hotel staff knew exactly what she had been up to, after all they had seen her arriving, and now departing in less than two hours.
On the way home, Alex realised that what she had done was such a stupid thing to do. To go to someone’s hotel, someone she had never met before.
“Really Alex?” she said aloud.
But, she was one of those people who likes to put her trust in people and, thankfully, this guy turned out to be a gentleman. The night ended happily, sheepishly, but happily. However, it could have gone a different, less than pleasant, way, and she didn’t relish that thought.
Once home, Alex called Tanya and told her about the whole episode. Tanya burst out laughing.
“I’m sorry,“ she giggled, “ I know I shouldn’t laugh, but you ate tuna sandwiches, and he gave you towels?” Not much of an intimate encounter!”
Alex saw the funny side, and even though she could laugh about it, she knew then that it would be something that this smart girl would never repeat.
Author
Gill Morris
