AROUND THE HEART IN 80 DAYS

Thirty-Nine

Edrei and Jacqueline were being led to their suite by a cheeky and knowledgeable young bellhop who bore the lady's overnight bag. A bag that he, Edrei, was unaware of. As it seemed, somebody had already come up with a plan for the eve of the New Year ahead of time.
Innocent little, wild headed roomie he had. But he wasn't innocent either. Had he not switched to the honeymoon suite last minute, which, by the way was costlier than the economy bedrooms? It was a chance of luck, switching rooms. If she had not stayed, he would have solely taken up the luxury of a grand bed.

He looked down stylishly at the dazed girl hooping arms with his. Coy, sly but truthfully amazed by what was presented to her of late. Why wouldn't she be, though? When all she ever did in her life was suffer and work for the better tomorrow... that never came.

"This one, Edrei. May I?" With stars in her eyes after the soothing dance they shared, she waved the key card playfully before his eyes while the bellhop halted.
He nodded his head in affirmation and she pressed the card to the lock.
The bellhop rolled in, helping to dispatch her bag then went on to smile shyly with his head down. Good gracious! Could the young man also see what was happening here? Or was he just shy with every couple who booked a honeymoon suite?

Jacqueline walked in with uttermost awe as Edrei ushered the bellhop quietly to the door again with one hand behind the boy's shoulders. Soundlessly, he clapped a hundred upon the boy's chest and shut the door before the young staff could gratefully react.
He turned round to see his friend gazing around the room. It was expected, though. The decorators did wonders. It was traditional meet modern. Intricately carved wooden furniture --teek, mayhaps-- with marble and stone. 7 Mirrors took pride in using the sense of reflection as their signature. So gloss, reflection and shine bore a print in most of everything apart from the mattress and bedding. Even the ceiling was a large reflective glass behind the criss-cross of wooden plank mat in a grid style.

He glowered as he stared at himself in the ceiling.

Jacqueline, on the other hand, was at the end of the room, throwing open the glassy double doors which led to a balcony bearing a magnificent view of the city at nighttime, especially now that it was a festive season. Colours in reds and blues and greens and yellows shone distinctively in the dark blanket of night. "What a breath taking view," she breathed.

While he drank in the sight of her. Just that night at dinner, he had finally learned that the girl had a harder time than he ever did. In comparison, the only serious thing that had shaken his life was the death of his girlfriend. Which was gruesome, by the way. But Jacqueline? She'd lost her own mother, was taken away from her joyous family she was compensated with at a very young age, brought into a family that didn't appreciate her, lost her father, had to work tirelessly to survive though she was a foreigner, still hadn't reached the pinnacle she hoped for and still had the heart to take his BS. She had such a clean heart. A godly one. Pure innocent Jacqueline Hernandez.

He tried his hardest to respect her and not think of tracing that curve of her spine from the top of her neck to wherever it may end. Her back was to him, her incredible gown falling straight from her exercise-induced toned hips. How lucky he was.

Toeing aside the forgotten night bag on the floor, he peeled off his blazer and folded it upon the armchair. Instantly, he caught sight of a neat roll of silver shiny packets arranged on the left side night table. Condoms.
Understandable if couples chose not to conceive immediately but in this case... . His gaze flew swiftly across the room to see if his guest had noticed this.
She had.
Her own gaze was returning from his discovery and ended up locking eyes with him. After a second or two, she cleared her throat and looked away.

Where was his phone?! He had to call an Uber. He found it in his back pocket, uncertain of how it had gotten there in the first place. Curious to see what she was up to, he stole a glance at her. She had leaned one long hand to steady herself on a drawer chest while reaching down to unbuckle the straps of her shoes. This caused her whole leg to sneak out from the high slit. He saw how toned her thighs were and it reminded him of the days of dance and meets. She started to walk --float, actually, with the long hem covering her feet-- barefoot across the carpeted floor to the other side of the bed where a bottle of chardonnay lay in an ice bucket.