The Things I Did in Room 123
I was sitting on the hotel bed, checking my Facebook account when the familiar tri-note jingle on my cell phone signaled a text message. Before I even looked at it, I knew who it was from. Mickey. I had flown 800 miles to see him, and last night he’d flaked out on me. Same old flakey Mickey. Never calls when he says he will, doesn’t show up when he says he will, changes his mind at the last minute, and he’s notorious for making promises he has no intentions of keeping. But there it was, the sound I’d been waiting for; my heart began to pound excitedly in my chest. I gasped and immediately wondered, was it going to say, “I can’t see you”, or “I’m on my way”? I grabbed my cell phone as fast as I could and nearly knocked it off the bed. “What room number?” was all it said, underneath the name, “Mickey”, in bold print. I felt my whole body smile and lighten as I realized he was really coming to see me!
Three long years of waiting coming to an end. Three long years since we’d seen each other; he had moved away and I had finally given up looking for his car around town. We had kept in touch off and on; his texts would usually come in the middle of the night, desperate, reaching out to me. I always loved hearing from him. I’d wash my car, and wonder if I’d see him drive up. At the store he used to work at; I’d secretly pray he’d suddenly be there, back in his uniform again just like he used to. Giving me hugs in the produce department. Grocery shopping just hasn’t been the same since Mickey left. So much hasn’t been the same since he left.
I couldn’t get a room at the hotel I had wanted to stay in. The one I wanted was completely booked; some sort of IT convention in town. Jeez, I was stuck at a Holiday Inn Express. No offense, Holiday Inn people, but it really was a piece of shit hotel in comparison. No room service, workers hammering away at all hours. It had all the charm of a pair of flip flops compared to a pair of Jimmy Choos. The room was so dinky and blaise in decor. No convenient little refrigerator with those cute little bottles of liquor. I’d chug one right now if there were any, I thought. Oh well, I was just glad to have a place to stay, since Mickey hadn’t invited me to stay with him.
I texted him back, simply, “123”. I stared at the phone, waiting for confirmation from him when he would actually be here. You never know with him. Yesterday he kept me waiting all day and never came through. That was Mickey. If you asked me what it was about him that made me keep coming back for more, I couldn’t tell you. Yes, he was good-looking, yes, he was sexy and good in bed, but that was about it. We weren’t really friends, we weren’t close, in fact I realize I don’t really know him very well at all. He is very good at keeping me and everyone else who cares about him at more than arm-distance length. The only way to be close to Mickey is to be physically close to him. And that’s what I’m here for. To get physically close to him once again.
“Doo-dle-doo”, another text beckons. “Going to shower and then on my way”, MIckey wrote. Oh my God, he’s really coming here! Time to get ready!!
Thankfully I’d already showered and hair and make-up done. It was just a matter of finding the right thing to wear. This was going to be difficult; I had on a great sexy dress last night with gorgeous heels to match. Damn that’s what I wanted him to see me in after the long dry spell apart! Now what?? And I hadn’t planned on seeing him in the middle of the day. I planned on drinks and dinner, going to a club or something fun, getting some time together in public to get re-acquainted, not sitting on a crappy hotel bed. He told me to be naked: somehow, after all the time apart, I felt too vulnerable to be naked. Damn! I should’ve gotten some wine. Maybe he’ll bring a bottle?
I tried on every piece of lingerie I’d brought. I wondered if I should’ve brought a particular skanky outfit I’d purposely left at home. Dammit! I was going for sexy, not skanky. Maybe I should’ve gone for skanky?! I quickly decided on a cute matching red bra and boy-brief panty set I’d chosen just for this man. Appealing without being whorish.
A few spritzes of my favorite perfume, a quick application of sexy, mint-flavored lip gloss, and I was ready. I’d actually been getting ready for about a month; with tanning, running 4 miles a day and getting my hair high-lighted. What I didn’t realize then was I’d failed to get emotionally ready.
It didn’t help that I was hungover from the night before. While Mickey kept me waiting, I had 3 lemon drop martinis, two beers, and two vodka tonics in three different bars. His infrequent texts alluded to him joining me at some point during the evening; by 11 pm, I’d given up and went back to my room. Horny and drunk and more than disappointed. Was he really at work like he said he was, or was he uncertain about seeing me? Who the hell knew. Mickey was an accomplished liar. He made sure he always protected himself first.
I fell asleep and didn’t hear my cell phone chime well-past midnight. I’d practically passed out, exhausted and frustrated. I had only one more day to spend with him and I was losing hope of him coming through with his promise to see me. “I’ll come by as early as possible”, the text said, followed by another: “I’ll text you when I wake.” I was ecstatic reading this upon wakening this morning; my head throbbing from the alcohol and excitement.
.........to be continued..........
