Extenuating Circumstances Ch. 01B

Looking at Henry in surprise, she was grateful when he stepped up and spoke to the clerk.

"Try checking under the last name Fuller," he told the clerk.

"Ah yes, here it is," the clerk told them, Suzanne immediately feeling relieved. "Mr. Henry Fuller, non-smoking with a king-sized bed," she said.

Henry's brow wrinkle in confusion as Suzanne looked at him as he said, "That's two rooms with king-sized beds," he corrected.

The clerk looked up from her computer saying, "I'm sorry sir. I only have one on the reservation."

Henry leaned over the desk in concern as he said, "No, check it again. I made one reservation about four weeks ago and the other about three weeks ago. You have the paper with the second confirmation number in your h and," he told her.

"I'm sorry sir," the clerk said politely, "but the second reservation was apparently canceled," she told him.

"Canceled?" Henry exclaimed, "By whom?" he asked.

"I'm sorry sir, we do not have that information. It would have been somebody with access to the confirmation number and reservation information to do so if that helps," she said.

Suzanne could see Henry's concern and aggravation, and not wanting to make a scene, she put her hand on his arm and said, "It's alright Henry. We'll just get another room," she told the man, who was clearly upset. "Just give us whatever you have available," Suzanne told the young clerk.

"I'm sorry ma'am," the told them, "but we're completely booked due to the convention—there are no more rooms available."

"What!" Henry exclaimed. "This is unacceptable, please call your manager," he told her.

"Sir, I'll be happy to get my manger, but he will tell you the same thing. There are no vacancies left due to the convention," she said.

Henry looked back and forth between the clerk and Suzanne with obvious exasperation. Finally in exasperation he said, "Fine, we'll just find another hotel," he said.

"Sir, you are welcomed to try," the young clerk told him, "but I'm afraid you are going to find the same thing at every hotel. The convention has pretty much filled up every hotel within miles," she told him.

The older man's anxiety was almost palpable, and Suzanne was afraid the elderly gentleman would have an aneurism or heart attack as she placed her hand on his arm to calm him down.

"It's alright Henry," she told him. "We'll just get a roll-away bed," she told him, looking at the clerk with a smile.

"I'm sorry ma'am," the clerk once again told them, "but those are all reserved as well," she said. Seeing Henry's face turn red in anger, the clerk quickly added, "How about I check you into the one room and flag your name for another room, as well as a possible roller bed. I am sure there should be some last-minute cancellations, and we can reserve you immediately when it happens," she told them.

Although Henry had been the calm one at first, his aggravation was obvious, so Suzanne took over, her neighbor obviously too upset to even think straight. Her husband was the same way when it came to small emergencies like this, so she simply smiled and told the clerk her suggestion would be fine.

Finally checked in, Henry calmed down as then entered the elevator, completely apologetic. The man was genuinely upset, and Suzanne simply told him it was alright.

"I am so sorry about this," he told her for what probably was the fortieth time.

Again she smiled at him, telling him it was no big deal, but Henry was insistent.

"Yes, it is a big deal," he told her. "I know you did not want to come to this convention in the first place. No, don't argue, David manipulated us both. I just don't want you to think I'm some sleaze-bag trying to get you into my room," he told her, his nerves so fraught with anger, he was visibly shaking.

Attempting to take his mind off the room situation, Suzanne did what she usually did to her husband in such situations.

Putting her arms around him and leaning against him, she said, "Hey, don't worry about it. It's out of our control and I don't blame you for this," she smiled, giving him a hug. "Let's just check in and enjoy the convention and we can check with the front desk later for any cancellations," she said.

If was not her words, then the physical contact had its effect, as Henry noticeably calmed down, putting his arm around her in return, although he still apologized.

Suzanne looked over to the bellhop who had watched the whole exchange as he carried their bags. She had seen him staring at her ass in the polished walls of the elevator and as she turned towards him, he quickly turned away in embarrassment, causing her to smile.

She felt a small thrill run through her at the inadvertent compliment, feeling another thrill run through her when Henry's arm lowered and came into contact with her bare waist, his hand lightly caressing her skin as the elevator doors opened to their floor.

********************

Suzanne smiled at her reflection in the hotel bar mirror, recalling how uptight Henry had been. She had been worried the man was going to have a coronary right there in the elevator at being so wound up, but eventually he had calmed down by the time they had dropped off their bags and went to the convention.

Suddenly her phone went off, and reaching for the small handbag she had brought, Suzanne felt her heart flutter seeing a text message from Raimon:

Client running late, B there 1 hour. U still up 4 this?

To which she replied back:

Am here, a deal is a deal, just remember your side of the bargain!

While her phone was out, she texted David, seeing him grab his phone as she told him what was going on.

Was she really going to do this, she thought? Had she sunk so low as to offer her body up to save her house and prevent it from foreclosure?

The answer was staring back at her through the mirror, dressed and primped up like a high-priced call girl. And that was exactly what she was tonight, Suzanne thought. Hell, she had actually given a price for her 'services' to Chad's friend!

At the thought of the intimidating college man, Suzanne looked over her shoulder at their booth. All of the guys were joking around except Eric, who was staring straight at her. Suzanne felt her panties practically melt at the almost electrifying gaze the young man gave her, wondering if he had been staring at her the whole time.

Feeing self-conscious, she turned back around, trying to act nonchalant as her heart continued to flutter erratically.

Again she tried to calm herself by reminiscing, thinking back to the convention and that momentous day...

********************

Surprisingly, Suzanne had a fun time at the expo, learning all sorts of things about gardening, agriculture, and lawn care in general. Henry was a wealth of knowledge, not surprising since he owned a landscaping company, but up until now, she had never talked to him about it.

She also felt a guilty pleasure at being Henry's arm-candy. There had not been one man at the convention center who had not taken third, if not fourth looks at her, giving Henry surprised, yet envious looks.

And Henry was aware of the attention they were both getting, actually walking straighter, his head held higher, while all the time keeping his arm around her or hooked into her own as they moved from display to display.

Due to all the people, the temperature in the convention center steadily rose, and finally she unzipped her cropped hoodie, revealing her sports bra and cleavage, drawing even more looks from the people at the convention. Although she had unzipped it due to the heat, Suzanne also felt empowered at the attention she received.

She had so much fun in fact, she was surprised when the intercom system announced the convention center closing, reminding everybody to join the cocktail party and dinner in an hour.

Henry escorted her out of the convention center, and they stopped by the front desk of the hotel. Unfortunately they were told there still had not been any cancellations, but the man behind the desk told them not to worry, as 'no-show' reservations were not cancelled until nine o'clock, and they were at the top of the list for available rooms and roller beds.

Once again Henry was more upset than Suzanne, and she once again had to calm him, the elderly man taking it as a personal affront for only one room being available. She continued to lean upon him, trying to take his mind off of the subject as she again assured him she placed no blame on him whatsoever.

"If anything, it's the hotels fault," she told him, as they entered the room. "Let's just get ready and go to the cocktail party," she told him jovially. "We can check the desk afterwards. I'm sure there will be something by then," she once more comforted him.

Henry was still grumbling and apologizing until she asked to see the dress he got her, his thoughts suddenly diverted. Immediately a smile came back to his face as he told her the shoes and dress he gotten her were in the bathroom.

Suzanne's eyes opened wide, realizing she had totally forgotten about shoes, thankful for her neighbor's thorough mind.

She was somewhat dreading what Henry—and undoubtedly her husband—had selected; however, every girl loves clothes, so it was almost with a Christmas-like anticipation she pulled out her make-up case from her suitcase and went into the bathroom, Henry telling her he would change in the room.

Closing the door, Suzanne found a garment bag hanging on the bathroom door, slowly unzipped it with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

The first thing she noticed was the material, a soft satiny texture that rippled like water as she unzipped the rest of the bag.

The next thing she noticed was the length—or lack thereof! Wondering what size of dress Henry had bought, she pulled it out of the bag and turned it around to look at the tag, realizing the entire dress was backless.

"So much for wearing a bra," she muttered, holding the soft dress in front of her.

Suzanne had to admit the dress was beautiful, even if it was a bit on the skimpy side. It was a 'slash' dress, common for clubbing and such where the front panel had an opened 'slash' going across the chest, and Suzanne wondered how much her breasts would be exposed.

No time to figure it out than the present, she thought, as she got undressed.

She again noticed how short the dress was, guessing it would barely go a quarter way down her thighs, showing considerably amounts of her legs, as well as probably hugging her body like a second skin—which mean regular panties were out.

For who knows how many times, Suzanne reached into her purse and gave a silent thanks to her sister as she pulled out a black thong. Jennifer had always told her, "You never knew when you needed a change of underwear!"

For a stripper, that was probably more true than anything, and Suzanne smiled to herself at her sister's words, as she set up her make-up on the counter.

Although she regretted not bringing any pantyhose along, she was thankful for at least shaving her legs that morning. She was tanned enough to not need them, but the thought of only the thin satiny material and a thong separating her from a convention hall of predominately men was both disconcerting and thrilling at the same time.

Also within the garment bag was a shoebox containing a black pair of high-heeled leather strappy platform sandals. The shoes were higher than she normally wore, but Suzanne had practice wearing her sister's stripper shoes every once. At the very least she would not be clunking around like a draft horse.

Between the short skirt and heels, her legs looked phenomenal, and she also applied another secret tip from her sister, rubbing in a healthy coating of leg and body oil.

When she was done and stepped out of the bathroom, she though Henry's eyes would pop out of his head, smiling in thanks to his silent approval of her look. Suzanne had been impressed with the outfit, which showed off her curves to perfection, glad for the thong she had brought.

Her only concern was the lack of bra. The dress already exposed more of her breasts than normal, and the completely opened back mean wearing a bra was impossible. She only wished she had some body tape or Band-Aids to cover her nipples, which would stand out like spotlights if she got cold, the dress hugging her like a second skin.

All wardrobe malfunction worries aside, Suzanne found to her delight she had fun at the cocktail party and dinner. Not only was the event itself well executed—even being a 'convention' type affair it had a formal flair to it—but also from Henry's, who truly was an old-schooled gentleman. Although his hands often strayed to her bare back and even her ass, it was something she was used to, and even though he did it in full view of people, it was done in a way that never made her feel cheap or sleazy. Most of the time his touches were only fleeting grazes, enough to appear accidental, although she was not fooled for a second.

Even being fondled by a dirty old man, it was fun to have the attention. In addition, every set of male eyes watched her all evening as she danced and socialized, never leaving Henry's side—although that did not stop several men from being bold enough to ask her to dance.

But she always declined, to Henry's pleasure.

All-in-all it was a wonderful evening, and Suzanne was glad her husband had suggested it, as she did need the time out.

The only 'bad apple' ruining the evening had been at its conclusion, when she and Henry— both buzzed from the continuous steady flow of drinks they had—had stumbled to the front desk and discovered there had been no cancelations.

Henry was ready to create a scene—the alcohol making him even louder than before—and it took all she could for Suzanne to calm him.

The clerk offered them a free 'platinum breakfast' delivered by room service for the morning, which Suzanne told her was fine as she steered her angry neighbor away.

"Look, it's a big enough room and it's only one night," she told him, leading him to the elevator. "We can share the room," she reasoned with him. With a grin she added, "Hell, it's what David would want anyways," she laughed drunkenly along with Henry.

As they entered the elevator Henry looked at her, his eyes growing wide as he said, "You don't think HE cancelled the reservation, do you?"

Suzanne looked at the elderly man in surprise and sudden comprehension, immediately sobering up as a sinking suspicion formed in her mind.

"That is exactly what that bastard would do!" she exclaimed.

Although not having any proof, Suzanne was suddenly pissed off at David. He had joked about her sharing a room with Henry, not to mention continuously telling Suzanne to 'thank' Henry after each party. This was exactly the bullshit type of stunt he would pull.

Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do about it until she got home tomorrow, wanting nothing more now than to crawl into bed and sleep off the effects of the alcohol.

Entering the room, Henry offered to sleep on the floor, but Suzanne would have none of it.

"Look, it's a huge bed and we are grown adults. I'm not going to have you sleep on the hard floor, so don't even think about it," she told him.

Although she had no innate desire to sleep in the same bed as her neighbor, these were extenuating circumstances, and she was not about to let somebody almost three times her age sleep on the floor!

They were two mature adults, they could share a bed for one night she knew.

Henry reluctantly agreed, and she let him have the bathroom first, as she kicked off her shoes and turned on the television, propping her feet onto the coffee table.

Suzanne smiled when she caught Henry staring at her long legs before going into the bathroom, feeling a flush of excitement run through her body from the older man's admiration before he closed the door.

Several minutes later he came out wearing nothing but a pair of black and white plaid boxer shorts and a t-shirt, apologizing for not having pajamas.

"I don't normally sleep in anything," he told her shyly, "and I wasn't expecting to share a room," he told her in way of apology.

Suzanne simply smiled at the old man's uneasiness, having a suspicion he normally did not wear boxers or a t-shirt either, touched by the man's chivalry.

She was now grateful for her own idiosyncrasy of always packing pajamas when staying in a hotel as she grabbed her overnight back and went into the bathroom, telling Henry she would be out in a few minutes.

At first she considered removing her make-up, but then remembered who was in the outer room. She did NOT want their neighbor seeing her like that, without make-up! They may be friends, but there were some vanities even she could not stoop to, she thought with a smile. Thankfully she was wearing extended wear make-up, and knew even overnight it would not smear, resigning herself to wearing it until she got home.

It was then she opened her suitcase to pull out her pajamas, staring in the bag for several moments before her anger got the best of her.

"Mother fucker!" she yelled.

"Is everything alright?" Henry asked from outside in the room, her exclamation heard through the door.

"Yeah, everything is fine," Suzanne said to him through the door, "other than I have a fucking asshole for a husband," she finished.

Looking back at her overnight bag, she was now positive of Henry's comment concerning it having been David who had purposely cancelled her room.

The proof was in her bad—or not within it as the case may be. Suzanne vividly remembered packing her fleeced short pajamas. Although they were not necessarily something she wanted to parade around in front of Henry, they were at least modest enough for her to have been comfortable putting them on and wearing in front of him.

However, there was no sign of her pajamas whatsoever in the small bag. Instead, the only clothing items packed was a white mid-length sheer top with puffy sleeves and pink ribbons on the front and a pair of skimpy lace trimmed panties and a lace ruffle with pink bows. The outfit was practically transparent, and definitely not something she would ever be caught wearing in front of their neighbor, being more appropriate for a kinky evening with her husband!

"I'm going to kill him!" Suzanne spat, angered at her husband for putting her in such a predicament.

Her only other choice was to wear the capris pants and top she had worn that day, but as comfortable as they were, they were not something she wanted to sleep in, particularly since she had already worn them on the trip up and was planning on wearing them on the trip back.

She stared at the tiny pieces of lingerie for several minutes, silently cussing her husband every which way possible.

Finally, completely exasperated, she whispered, "Fuck it. He wants me to show off my body to the neighbors? Then fine, I'll fucking show my body off," she said, completely fed up and livid at her husband as she put on the sexy lingerie.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she knew she looked good; however, that was not the point. Her body was clearly visible beneath the sheer outfit.

But again she had little choice, other than to go naked as she cracked open the door and asked Henry if he would mind turning out the lights.

"Is there a problem?" he asked, having already crawled under the covers on his side of the bed.

Suzanne smiled around the corner at the man as she said, "No, but like you, I wasn't planning on anybody seeing me in my sleeping attire," she lied, not wanting to tell him her husband had repacked her bag, or what a complete imbecile he was for doing it.

"Aw, I showed you mine, you should show me yours," Henry teased, but seeing she was in no mood, he said, "Fine, I'll turn off everything but your side of the nightstand," he said, getting up and turning off everything.