Friday, March 14, 2008

The Sauna Part 99

It was cold and damp outside when we reached the car and it had started to rain. The radio said there was a flood warning in parts of the Southern Tier and the thruway was closed because of a hurricane warning. The skyway was closed as well because of high winds and we decided to find a hotel for the night since the two routes home were out of commission.

There was a Marriott Courtyards just down the road and we pulled in there. We got soaked just running between the car and the lobby, but we were fortunate that they had rooms available. Jon got us a suite and the clerk eyed him suspiciously when he saw the charge card. Jon took off his baseball cap and shook his hair, but the clerk looked dubious still and called his manager. A slim woman in a black suit appeared and after a brief exchange with the desk clerk, she had us checked in.

“Welcome to the Marriott, Mr. Bon Jovi. Will there be anything else that you need?” she asked pleasantly.

“Could you send up a couple bottles of champagne and a fresh pot of coffee? That would be great” Jon grinned, flashing her that smile that usually discomfited most women.

“Right away, sir” she smiled back assuredly. “Do you have bags you need help with?”

“No, actually, we were just caught in the storm after shopping” Jon replied, acknowledging the bags from the costume store.

“Don’t hesitate to ring the desk if there’s anything else that you need, Mr. Bon Jovi” she added pleasantly, and a little flirtatiously, I thought.

“Thank you, we won’t” Jon replied pointedly, putting his arm around my waist as we headed toward the elevator.

“See? I’m invisible when you’re around” I said, jabbing my finger in his side to tickle him.

“Only to the women, not to the men; I seem to be invisible to them” he laughed, catching my hands in his.

He pulled me toward him and kissed me tenderly as the elevator dinged open and we stepped inside. Jon circled me with his arms and I rested my head against his shoulder, nuzzling against his warmth and protectiveness. The elevator arrived on the eighth floor and we walked down the hall, looking for our room.

“Here we are” he said as he slipped the card in the lock and turned the handle.

The suite was spacious, but not as big as the one where we’d stayed in New Jersey. But there was a hot tub off the bedroom and two large beds and a smaller sitting area. We set down our bags and removed our wet coats and Jon turned on the TV, searching for the weather station.

“Bath, babe?” I called, turning the water on in the hot tub.

“Yeah, that sounds great” he called back as he stretched out on the bed.

I had quite a chill from the rain and the dampness and the thought of soaking in a steaming hot tub was worth the cost of the hotel room alone. A few moments later there was a knock at the door and a bell boy arrived with our champagne and coffee. I poured us each a cup while we waited for the tub to fill and joined Jon on the bed. It was quite a storm coming in according to the news and we could hear the wind howling at the windows outside. The coffee hit the spot and I shivered.

“Cold, babe? C’mere” Jon said, sitting up and rubbing my arms as I nodded.

I leaned against him, appreciating his warmth and the steaming java. Hurricanes were unusual and I wondered if the weather report was exaggerated, but there were reports of trees down and a loss of power everywhere in the Southtowns and stranded motorists, so I was glad we were safe. I thought about the cats and I knew they’d be scared, but they’d be safe and we’d filled their food bowls before we left.

“I think the tub might be ready” I murmured sleepily and together we got up and went in the bathroom.

Jon helped me off with my sweatshirt and I unfastened my jeans and kicked them off. He turned on the jets in the tub and I placed a stack of towels nearby and climbed in. Jon stripped and joined me and the hot, bubbling water felt soothing. I floated over to where he had eased himself into the water and snuggled back against him as he spread his legs to make room.

“Oh, this feels so good. I really want a hot tub someday” I said dreamily, closing my eyes.

“I think I can arrange that, darlin’, but I’m not sure there’ll be enough room in the bathroom at your house. Maybe we can replace the garden tub with one back at my place” he said, thinking. “I’ll check into that next week.”

Despite the coffee, the heat from the tub was making me drowsy and I yawned. Jon felt relaxed too and his fingers played lazily with my nipples which stiffened automatically at his touch.

“Are you missing Jersey, Jon?”

“No, not exactly. But I miss the kids. I wonder how your kids and mine will react to each other” he said, laughing suddenly.

I turned around and smiled at him, realizing he’d accepted that my cats were just like my kids and that he was ready to have them move in with us when we were in Jersey.

“I think it might be harder on the cats, but they’ll get used to it” I purred.

“I know Jakey wants to meet them, but Romeo can still be quite a terror. We’ll have to play it by ear” he said, kissing my forehead.

The lights flickered, but came back on and we wondered if it was a power failure. At least the hotel was likely to have a generator. I stood up and held out my hand to Jon and helped him up from the tub. We wrapped ourselves in the big fluffy towels and dried the dampness out of our hair with the courtesy dryer in the bathroom.

“Baby, I’m so tired. Do you mind if we just go to bed and sleep?” I asked, just wanting to snuggle in his arms and close my eyes.

“S’okay, darlin’. The hot tub did me in and I’m ready too” he agreed and we climbed into bed, discarding the wet towels on the floor.

Jon stretched out onto his back and I curled up against him. He turned and folded me into his arms and tilted my chin up to kiss me tenderly on the mouth. The last thing I remember was the steady sound of his breathing as I laid my head on his chest and fell sound asleep.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love that you have them tired at the end of the day, all normal activities. Only makes the story more "real". Excellent!

Opester said...

Thanks so much for that comment, Sunstreaked- when I first began writing this story I was reluctant to even give my character a name because i truly wanted the reader to put themself in her shoes and feel as though it could be them- that's even why i wrote it in first person instead of third person! Eventually I had to give her a name, tho, LOL, as Jon needed to know! Seriously, tho, I really wanted this story to feel real and not be full of fantastic adventures and such, but be something where everyone could see a piece of themself in the character! Thank you so much!

Anonymous said...

I agree with Sunstreaked this story does feel very real. There are a few things that I've been thinking about and can't wait to see how they turn out. I'm enjoying this very much. Anna