In the Interlude

Chapter 27 - Room Service

Stepping into the hotel elevator, Aïcha pressed the button for the last floor. Her hands shook, barely able to hold her small bag. It wasn't heavy, just a few essentials for the weekend with Tom. She sighed and looked up at the numbers as they counted up, one by one by one, bringing her closer to her final destination.

Aïcha had been tempted to cancel this weekend. And it wasn't because she was afraid of sleeping with Tom - that bridge had been crossed and burned. They had both enjoyed it and she hadn't regretted it for one moment. No. It was the idea of spending two whole days with him. The sharing of a bed and a bathroom, the laughing at jokes, the waking up in the morning. The domesticity, the proximity, the intimacy. It was what couples did. What she used to be with Idriss. 

The elevator chimed and opened on the last floor interrupting her thoughts. She tightened her grip on her bag despite the nervous anticipation tingling through her hands and walked, with more determination than she felt, down the carpeted corridor floor.

It was almost noon when Tom finally heard a knock on the door. He had been waiting the whole morning and with growing impatience for Aïcha to arrive. Opening it with a big grin on his face, he caught her by the hand and pulled her gently in. Without a word, he took her in his arms and put a kiss on her lips. A slow, intimate and gentle kiss.

He smelled and felt good. Smelled like Tangerine and Citrus. Summer in a Mediterranean village. Felt warm, strong, safe.

Aïcha closed her eyes and enjoyed the proximity, the intimacy. And she was not nervous anymore.

Soon the gentle embrace became urgent, their breathing raspy and fast. Clothes were getting in the way and quickly left on the floor.

She said his name, over and over.

His thin threads of control snapped at the urgency and the passion in her voice.  

They ended in bed, sheets rumpled and pillows missing, except for the one under his head.

"Well hello to you too," Aïcha said, her sun-kissed complexion rosy and flushed, her head resting on his shoulder. 

He kissed the top of her forehead and covered them both with the bed sheets. They lied there, exhausted, relaxed, sleepy, with no concept of how long they stayed like that.

Her stomach rumbled in a very unladylike manner breaking the stillness of the moment. It made him laugh while she hid her face from embarrassment. "Okay, I hear you loud and clear. Room service?"

"That's the second-best idea you had today."

Aïcha watched Tom as he read the menu out loud. She loved the sound of his voice. Deep yet smooth. Strong yet soothing. She felt helpless every time it whispered sweet nothings in her ears, wrapping her up and seeping through her defences. 

"Can I have the turkey club sandwich and a sparkling water s'il te plaît?" Aïcha asked as she put on her previously discarded t-shirt. "In the meantime, I'm gonna hop into the shower."

Tom called to order their lunch and followed her walk across the room with his eyes, drinking in the sight of her curvy hips. His body reacted in an instant. He shortly followed her into the bathroom. She was standing under the steaming hot water, lost in her thoughts, humming a song he didn't recognise, oblivious to his very naked presence.

He cleared his throat and joined her in the steamy shower stall, a huge knowing smirk on his face. "We have twenty minutes before lunch is brought up. Thought I'd give you a hand."

*****

Aïcha and Tom sat in comfortable silence on the plush carpeted floor. Wearing the hotel bathrobes, they had finished lunch and were sharing dessert, a small selection of mini éclairs. He had her feet on his lap, tenderly stroking it with his left hand.