Vice

38: Hotel Room

Natara expects the hotel to be grandiose, but somehow it still surprises her. Everything is bright, white, and clean. The walls are lined with smooth marble and the hardwood floors shimmer with gloss. Everyone walking into and working in the hotel is finely dressed. Someone even asks if there's anything Mr. Vice and Natara need carried in.

The accent lights cast pale yellow hues down on the front desk as Mr. Vice steps up to check in. Natara glances around the room but stops and looks directly at Mr. Vice when she hears he's ordered one room. It's not like he can't afford two rooms. 

Why did he only order one? She inwardly screams, looking up at him with a begging expression but Mr. Vice doesn't look over at her to see it. As soon as they're away from the front desk, she voices her question aloud.

"I don't want to sleep alone but I can get a room for you if you'd like." He shrugs. "You've slept in the same bedroom as me more than once now. When have I ever done anything you didn't want me to do?"

She looks down at the floor. He makes a good point, but the problem is Natara might decide she does want him to do something to her. So far she has a pretty bad track record of staying out of those kinds of situations with Mr. Vice, even though she tried to remind him in the car that she wasn't special and that their relationship wasn't appropriate.

But being in a room alone with him all night at a hotel - especially after they just made out in his office yesterday - is a recipe for trouble. Kissing him was pleasurable and she's already fantasized multiple times about doing it again...but what would happen if they actually had a chance to? And what if they had the opportunity to do even more without any interruptions?

"I suppose you make a good point..." Natara mumbles, feeling guilty as the words leave her lips. What would her parents think? She's barely eighteen. But for some reason she keeps thinking back to how good it felt having Mr. Vice touch her and how amazing his lips felt on hers. Would it really be so bad for them to spend one night together enjoying that feeling again? "I guess I don't need a separate one."

"If you do feel uncomfortable, let me know and I'll buy you your own room." Mr. Vice leads her through the elevator up to their room and opens the key lock. He offhandedly pushes the door open for her, not quite holding it for her yet not quite letting it close on her, either. He sets his bags down near the door and Natara does the same.

The hotel room is clean, furnished in black and yellow colors, with one large bed in the center and a window with a view of the city lights below. Natara hasn't ever seen so much neon lighting. It's gorgeous.

She hears a suitcase unzip behind her.

"Here," Mr. Vice says. Natara turns around and a bundle of clothes fall into her arms.

"What's this?" Natara asks, investigating the clothes. It's a matching dress and nightgown, both black and made of a silky material. She raises an eyebrow at Mr. Vice.

"Assumed you might need some nice clothes, unless you'd prefer to wear that same dress for the next twenty four hours," he walks to the other side of the room and lays with his arms behind his head atop the bed. "Suit yourself, but I know you gotta be sick of that tight thing."

"You couldn't have picked out anything a little less...um..." Natara wonders how she ever got herself into a situation like this. How can a girl who has never had a job before and hardly had a real romantic relationship end up in a hotel being handed a sexy nightgown from her boss? 

"A little less what? It's a nightgown and it looked lightweight and comfortable. I don't know what the hell women wear, so I did my best." He rolls his eyes. "I was trying to be thoughtful. If you hate it, don't wear it."

She feels like she's dreaming. And what terrifies her the most is that she isn't quite sure what type of dream she's having. She doesn't think it's a total nightmare, even if her boss himself might be one sometimes. 

"Well, no. I don't hate it. I just..." She shakes her head, clutching the nightgown to her chest. Is he just teasing her? Does he want her to have to spell it out to him? Well, she's not going to give him that satisfaction. "Nevermind."

Mr. Vice turns on his side, cocking an eyebrow. His green eyes look olive colored under the shadows of the hotel room as they drill into her. "Do you want me to not look at you while you're wearing it? Because I can look away."

She turns away, down-casting her eyes. If she put on this sexy nightgown and he didn't even look at her a little bit...would that bother her? "I...I don't know. You could maybe look at me, I guess."

A grin teases the corner of his soft lips. He leans forward on the bed, almost playfully. "Do you want me to not touch you while you're wearing it? I could avoid doing that, too."

"Well...no..." She furrows her brow, stammering, and his grin grows wider. "Y-You're a real nightmare, you know that?"

Mr. Vice huffs out a laugh. "Are you sure? Sounds like you might like it."

"Well, I don't! I definitely don't!" Natara escapes into the bathroom and slides the nightgown over her head. The smooth material slinks down over her body. She can't deny that it's airy and comfortable but Natara is also aware of the fact that nothing else was included with the gown. She takes it back off and puts her bra and underwear underneath. 

There's no way she's sleeping in just a nightgown with her boss. Because even though Natara feels like she hardly knows Mr. Vice, she feels like she knows him well enough to know what's going to happen when she steps out of the bathroom. 

She's going to end up crumbling and laying in bed beside him.