Good Morning Hong Kong

Good Morning Hong Kong - Part One

"The Mandarin, please", she said in a soft voice when closing the door. As the car started moving, she took a deep breath. She stared out of the window but her mind was too occupied to see what was going on outside. Rumbling in her hand bag she took out her little makeup mirror. The red lipstick that she had put on five minutes ago was still neatly on her lips. The lips he couldn't take his eyes off. Unconsciously she started to bite on the inside of her cheek. What on earth did she think she was doing?

Her flight to Hong Kong had been a breeze. Twelve hours on the plane passed by quicker than she expected. She had made herself comfortable in her seat, downed a drink or two while watching a couple of Goliath episodes (he said it was good, but she wasn't convinced) before she managed a proper nap. When the flight attendant woke her up for breakfast reality hit her like a ton of bricks. At first she thought he was joking when he said he would take her to the other side of the world to spend some time together. They had only just met, but he had been captivated instantly by her slightly arrogant attitude, her mysterious grin and ever sparkling ice blue eyes. But there she was, on an airplane on her way to a five star hotel in central HK where Gary Barlow was eagerly waiting for her to arrive.

She looked down on her phone while the taxi was frantically cruising through the busy streets of the city. "Room 1124 - reception has keycard ready for you. Can't wait to see you xx". A little smirk appeared on her face. What is it with men and their straight to the point, informative way of texting? She closed off WhatsApp, put her phone in her bag and stared mindlessly at a string of high end shops outside the window until the taxi made a full stop. "We're here, Miss."

With butterflies flying around uncontrollably in her tummy she stood in the hotel lobby, she tried to straighten out her little red dress with her hands. The bellboy lead her and her luggage to the reception desk, where she was given her key to Gary's room without anyone blinking an eye. "I've got it from here, thank you", she told the bellboy with more confidence than she was feeling on the inside and quickly made her way to the elevators. After swaying the keycard she pressed on number 11. A deep breath escaped from her mouth when the doors closed.

Room 1124 was located at the very end of the corridor. As she stood in front of his hotel room door she paused for a second with her eyes closed before muttering a not-so-ladylike "oh fuck it" under her breath and pressed down the handle.

Curiously poking her head around the door she had a quick glance around the room. The curtains had been opened slightly, letting in rays of the morning sun. A suitcase opened up in the corner, a pile of pillows on the carpet, a MacBook set up with a keyboard on the desk, a king sized bed with messed up crisp white sheets. No sign of Gary.

She closed the door behind her and put her luggage next to his. That's when she heard the sound of water running in the bathroom. With a smug little smile she kicked off her shoes and sat down on his bed, her heart rapidly beating in her chest. Staring out the window through the curtain gap she watched the rising sun hitting the water of Victoria Harbour. Golden twinkles dancing on the waves. She had no idea what to expect and no idea what was expected of her. All she knew was that she had taken a leap of faith and flew half across the globe to spend the weekend with a man she barely knew, and whom she had fancied immediately more than she should. The attraction between them had been electric from the second the two of them laid eyes on each other. He came up to her with a glass of wine and a poor excuse. She had pretended not to notice and played along. Giggled at his dad jokes which they both knew were lame, but he couldn't help himself and neither could she. Without even trying Gary had swept her off her feet right then and there. Judging by his nonstop stares and the sensual energy filling the air between them she wasn't surprised that he wanted to see her again. She was however surprised when he told her he was leaving on a two-week business trip the next day and asked her to join him for the final weekend. "Don't you worry, I'll take good care of you", he added with a quick wink. She had told him she would think about it. And now she was sitting on his bed waiting for him to finish up in the shower and there was nowhere in the world she'd rather be.