She Awakens Ch. 02

Victoria awoke to sunlight warming her face as she lay on a bed. Confused, she opened her eyes as she normally never felt this in her own bed.

Greeted with the unfamiliarity familiar look of a hotel room, her mind recollected all that happened yesterday. Angst turned to a sexy smile as she thought chronologically.

Rolling over, she was surprised to find her bed empty. Sitting up slightly, she listened and glanced at the bathroom door. Silence greeted her as she took stock of her situation.

She noticed a slip of paper with handwriting on her room's desk. Curious, she padded over and grabbed the slip of paper before curling back into bed.

Her eyes scanned the paper as she read the message contained therein.

'Victoria, I apologize for not greeting you this morning when you awoke. Unfortunately I was called away to attend some business I have early this morning.

With that said, please do not think that I would not rather be there in bed with you. Even now as you sleep while I write this, I wrestle with myself not to slip back against you.

I enjoyed last night, beyond what we physically did. You have a sharp wit about you and I am intrigued by you. I hope this feeling is mutual.

Please do not wait the supposed pre-requisite three days or so before contacting me if you're interested in me. Know this; if you are interested, then call or text me as soon as you want.

You will be well received, I promise. Hope this finds you well this morning and do look forward to seeing you again.

Nik'

She read the message twice and noted his phone number below his name. Her finger tapped the edge of the paper as she thought.

Her mind tried to wrap around the whirlwind that was last night. While part of her was aghast at the brazenness of her, she did enjoy herself. Atypical of her picking up a random guy at a bar, she found that it still felt right.

Glancing again at the paper, she set it down on the nightstand.

"Strong handwriting though," she thought to herself as she blushed to remembering his strong hands on her.

She again got out of bed, stretching as she walked to the bathroom. Her legs were sore in a good way she noted, smiling ruefully at herself due to the cause. It had been too long since she had felt this way.

As she finished up in the bathroom, she took stock of herself in the mirror. Her hair showed the effects of a wild night of sex and sleeping in bed. Still shaking off her morning drowsiness, she left the bathroom to walk over to the room's coffee maker and made her a cup of coffee.

Coffee made, she went back to bed and mulled over what to do. The slightly acrid taste of cheap coffee greeted her as she thought, making her wish for her favorite coffee shop.

Picking up the paper again, she reread it idly while her mind processed the events from yesterday. Nik felt unassuming to her, relaxed and unpressured to her. She liked that mentality as she had her own life goals that she was striving towards. Still, she was not sure if this was a good thing still.

Grimacing as she finished her coffee, she snuck into the bathroom again to start the shower. Victoria slipped into the shower as the tendrils of steam slowly fogged the mirror.

As she thought of the consequences of sleeping in a bed not her own, she was grateful for the warm water easing her muscles while she showered. She always hated mattresses that were not her own as she never felt fully refreshed after a night on them.

Slipping her soapy hands and fingers around her breasts flickered a slight pleasure in her as she kept washing herself.

As her hands moved down her body, she continued to mull over last night. She felt herself getting excited by remembering Nik's touch and kisses. How his hands held her open before he took her.

A soft moan escaped her as she washed between her legs. Each movement of her fingers softly stoked her excitement.

Regrettably she moved her hands on as she finished washing up. Finally as she turned off the water, she knew her hardened nipples were not from the cold of the air in the bathroom.

Stepping out of the shower, she dried herself off and walked back towards the bed naked. She sighed as she knew that she had to be responsible and take care of her house. All she wanted was to crawl back into bed and relive last night.

Victoria realized that she wanted to call Nik and express how much fun she had with him. She walked over to the suite's couch to inquire on her clothes as her mind was now made up on Nik.

Glancing at her underwear choices, she smiled ruefully. 'Sexy', 'very sexy' or 'uncomfortable but I'll look hot' choices greeted her.

Reaching for the sheer bikinis, she slipped them on. Feeling the diaphanous fabric slip around her sex was exciting even as she tried to stamp the feelings down.

"At least they're not crotchless," she thought to herself as she imagined walking around in a pair.

Grabbing her sheer bra from last night brought back the sexual thoughts. She blushed as she remembered that it was used to bind her wrists together.

She felt herself get slightly wet from the thought, surprising her. Even when Nik let her go from holding her like that, she readily accepted continuing to be bound.

Before she went down that rabbit hole, she mused, she better get some work done. Smiling though as the fabric settled against her breasts, she knew she'd never look at this bra the same again.

Grabbing her lone other dress, she slipped it along her head and down her body. Smoothing it out along her hips, she gave herself a long look in the mirror.

"A bit overdressed," she thought as she spun back and forth in the mirror.

Faint outlines of her underwear showed when she pressed on her dress but otherwise they were not too noticeable. Her nipples on the other hand continued to lightly peak against her bra and dress.

Shrugging, she decided to do the best she could with them. If nothing else maybe she could get a reduced price on her plumbing issues as she chuckled at the thought.

Gathering her purse, she straightened up the room enough for her piece of mind and headed out the door. She stopped and grabbed Nik's letter, folding it and placing it in her purse.

Calling the plumber, she spoke with the dispatcher and he told her that the plumber would be at her house in about a half hour. Confirming this meeting, she hung up and stared at her phone while waiting for the elevator.

Should she call or wait was her dilemma. Glancing at her phone, she felt it was too early to call.

"I'm not that desperate," she thought as the time was 9:18 a.m., laughing at herself.

As she stepped into the elevator, her mind naturally registered the man in the corner of the elevator. Glancing at him, they made eye contact which elicited the typical awkward smile at a stranger reaction.

Her mind registered his general handsomeness but no more. She was already remembering last night when she rode up this elevator with Nik, his lips pressed against hers as she lost herself in their kiss.

She squirmed slightly, rubbing her legs together and feeling the pressure against her clit. Trying not to be obvious, she tried to play it off by fiddling with her hair.

Victoria felt the man's eyes on her and glancing in the reflection she noticed her nipples against her dress. Blushing, she brought up her hand to tuck some loose strands of hair behind her ear, shielding her breasts from the man.

The ding of the elevator signaled relief and she graciously accepted the gentlemanly gesture of 'you first' from the man.

As she walked towards the front desk, she had a feeling he was probably staring at her ass. She slightly exaggerated her steps, knowing it made her hips swing a bit more as she walked.

Brazenly she did this, feeling confident in herself. While she knew that working out helped her maintain her figure, it was nice to feel confident about it.

As she reached the desk, the man stopped with her as they waited. Seeing the elderly couple ahead of her, she excused herself past the man and went and grabbed a quick cup of coffee.

As she slipped past him, she glanced down and saw the slight bulge in his pants. Blushing, she walked to the complimentary coffee and poured herself a cup.

Turning around, she glanced to the desk and saw the man quickly turn away like he was watching the TV behind her.

Hiding a smile behind her cup as she sipped it, she walked back to the line.

"Miss, you were ahead of me already," he said once again gentlemanly.

"Thanks," she smiled to him and slipped again in front of him.

"Sleep well?" He asked making small talk.

"Quite, had been a long day yesterday," she replied glancing back at his face.

They each passed pleasantries as they waited. Speaking with the concierge and confirming a late check in if she needed another night, she stepped away from the desk, a slight glance over her shoulder.

She walked out and waited for her car to be pulled up. As she did the man exited the hotel and like her, waited for his own car.

"Hey, if you're not doing anything....would you like to go get a cup of coffee or something?" he asked her smiling.

Normally, she would have accepted this gesture from a cute guy, but she thought of Nik at that moment and smiled.

"Sorry, I need to go meet someone now. Thanks though, I mean it," she smiled at him.

Smiling and nodding his head, he thanked her anyway.

As she slipped into her car and felt the door close, she glanced up and smiled at him. She could tell he was a bit bummed from her rejection by the slight forlorn expression. He easily tempered this by his smile, though.

Pulling away and heading home, she noticed him get into his own car in her rearview mirror. Turning right at the light, she watched him turn left and disappear into traffic.

Driving, she wondered why she dismissed his offer so readily. As she thought about this, a smile softly crossed her face as she realised that there was a number in her purse of the guy she did want to have coffee with.

Arriving home, she met the plumber at her driveway. Heavyset with strong shoulders, he followed her through the door as she let them in. A pleasant face, he had nice sparkling eyes that looked straight at her face as she explained what happened.

"I'll take a look and see what happened since the water has been turned off. Hopefully from what is already on the work order, it's not too bad," he said to her as he began working.

She stepped outside on her deck, enjoying the crisp morning breeze as it blew through her hair. Sitting down on her deck chair, she relaxed and finished her coffee.

Absently, she pulled the letter out from her purse and reread it. She heard her front door open and close and reopen again to the thump of random tools.

Victoria lightly bit her lip thinking of what to do. Twiddling her finger along the paper, she mulled over what she wanted to do.

"Screw it," She wanted to call him right away she decided. She grabbed her phone and started to dial.

"Ma'am?" the plumber asked as she was about to it hit send.

"Yes? Sorry, I was about to make a call. What's going on?" as she put down her phone.

After ten minutes of receiving a rudimentary lesson on home plumbing, even she realized that she was screwed. Not in the toe curling sense, either.

The plumber had sat down next to her as he talked, respectful so not to talk down to her. Victoria appreciated that, as she hated when men did that to her. Especially when talking about something she really did not understand.

Reviewing her options, she agreed to the plumber's idea of digging up the pipe under her house. Unfortunately as her house was on a slab, there was no easy way to get to the pipe unless by digging a hole and seeing what was found. To make matters worse, it was going to take most of the weekend.

"Ok, it isn't going to be too big, right?" referring to the hole before cringing inside at the unintended sexual innuendo.

He did not seem to recognize it and mentioned that he'd try to keep it as small and easy as possible. She idly wondered if he was playfully bantering with her and dismissed it.

Sighing, she agreed to this work and he told her that he'd start right away on it. He assured her that he could complete the majority of the repair outside of her home at least, to which she was grateful.

Staying all day at a home in which there was no water was not exactly how she wanted to spend her day. Confirming her number with him in case of anything else, she gathered her things to leave.

She opened her car door and closed it to the relative silence in her car. Closing her eyes for a moment, she contemplated what to do now. Victoria felt the butterflies in her stomach to the thought of calling Nik, yet she decided to do it. Her mind made up, she reached for her phone and completed the phone call she started to make earlier.

Nik glanced at his phone sitting on the nightstand as he was tying his shoe. Freshly changed out of his business attire, he relaxed in less professional attire of the typical male; jeans and a t shirt.

Not recognizing the number, he cautiously smiled at the chance of it being who he was hoping for..

Picking up the phone, he connected and said, "Hello?"

"Hi....it's Victoria. I hope I'm not bothering..."

He smiled and replied, "No, never. Was hoping you would call," meaning it.

"I do want to apologize for not being there this is morning. I had to take care of something unfortunately. Believe me, I'd rather have been there relaxing in bed with you.", he said chuckling.

"Thanks for calling, Victoria, I mean it," as he did.

Nik heard her laugh lightly with him, easing his own discourse about this morning.

"It's ok. I'm....glad that you wrote what you wrote. I don't think I would have called you otherwise. I mean, today! Umm besides, I'm dealing with my own stuff this morning."

He could hear the slight distress in her voice.

"If you're free of that, would you like to catch lunch or coffee later?", he asked inquiringly.

"Yes! I mean, sure if you're free. I would enjoy having lunch with you."

He could almost see her blushing in embarrassment to her emphasis of acceptance.

Still smiling, he replied to her, "Great. Like Italian? Do you know Rose's?" thinking of a quiet and relaxed place.

"No, but I'm open to new things."

He smiled at this, wondering if she realized what she said. Nik gave her directions and then referred to his phone for an address also for her.

"I'll see you say...," glancing at his watch, "in an hour or so? 12:30? I'll grab a table under my name."

Hearing her confirm, they each said goodbye and he ended the call. Still smiling at his phone, he walked back to his closet to change for the third time today.

Hanging up the phone, Victoria found herself smiling and then glancing in the rear view mirror.

She groaned out loud replaying the conversation.

"Really? New things?" she thought to herself as she realized what she said after it left her lips.

Still slightly embarrassed, she started her car and drove back towards the hotel to freshen up before meeting Nik.

Victoria pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant passing the small signed marked 'Rose's'. Tucked away outside of the city, it was not hurting from patrons as evidenced by the cars in the lot.

She never even knew this place existed, nor had even heard of anyone speaking of it. Still, the building was settled with large trees around it and an openness in the air that reminded her of a park, strangely.

A soft bell tinkled as she opened the heavy oak door to the restaurant. Surprised at the brightness of the restaurant, she noticed that the center of the building was open to the elements.

An old tree resided in this open area as it stretched above the ceiling, like the building grew around the tree. Tiled patios surrounded the courtyard, each table close but still easily covered from the roof.

She stood still taking it in, before stepping up to the maitre de.

"Hi, I am here to meet my party. It's Nik.", before she realized that she did not know his last name actually.

A slight blush came to her face as she realized that she slept with a man last night and still did not know his full name. The maitre de simply smiled and began walking away as she began following deeper into the restaurant.

She was led past the courtyard to a smaller oak door at the back of the building. As she stepped through, she noticed this opened to another patio open to the sky with a small number of tables.

Surprised at the high hedges beyond the patio, she continued to follow a waiter. She glanced around the patio, people watching.

She liked doing this as she liked to guess what they were talking about or who they were. Each table had slightly older couples with an occasional younger couple sprinkled in.

As she neared the hedges, she was slightly confused as she did not see a table ahead of her. Confused, she watched as the waiter stepped around the edge of a hedge and disappear.

Looking down, Victoria noticed a small tiled path and followed it around the hedge to a small entryway with hedges on either side. Stepping between them, she stopped as her eyes took in the view.

There before her was a small circular tiled patio upon which a table and chairs sat. A three quarter wall of high hedges surrounded the patio, lending an air of seclusion to the patio. A low rock wall was built out in front the hedges, inset with a comfy looking padded bench. The last quarter of the patio faced out to a nice view of a brook and willow trees growing along the banks.

Like an image out of a Robert Frost poem, she stopped and drank in the view. Peaceful, she felt strangely alone and relaxed, her earlier cares slipping away as a slight smile crept upon her face.

A slight cough brought her back to reality as she saw the waiter holding her chair for her at the table as Nik had stood from his own chair. Slightly embarrassed, she softly said thanks and sat down across from Nik.

After asking for a water, she watched the waiter almost magically disappear behind the hedge. Looking at Nik, she smiled at him as he was framed by the view.

"Don't feel bad, I do the same thing every time I come here," said Nik as he smiled at her.

"I didn't know this place existed," she said softly to him, almost afraid to break the soft silence of nature.

"I happened upon it from...a business acquaintance a couple years back. I always reserve this table, as I find it soothing."

She nodded as it was like that. Her earlier stresses seemed to fade away even more as she continued to take in the atmosphere.

For the next hour, they chatted and enjoyed a light lunch. She found herself continuing to stare at Nik, now openly as she relaxed with him.

As they finished their fruit sorbet, she decided to ask him something that was on her mind.

"Nik...umm, last night," she looked down, slightly embarrassed. "I don't normally do that, the one night stand thing."

He chuckled and she looked up sharply. "Me neither," he replied. "I wouldn't be here right now if I did."

She realized he wasn't laughing at her but at the idea of it. She relaxed her shoulders as she realized she had felt defensive.

"No, I mean...all of it. The drinks...the aggressiveness. The umm, bra thing," she said, whispering at the last part, feeling her face getting red.

She watched as he looked at her seriously now.

"Victoria, perhaps I should explain my intentions. I like you. You've got a mind to match, which appeals to me. If you could not have held a conversation, I would have graciously excused myself after our first drink.

"What we did last night, I enjoyed. We both were a bit...aggressive," smiling suggestively at her.

Victoria blushed at his look, while at the same time she felt herself getting aroused by this blatant flirting towards her. Replaying what happened last night wasn't helping either to maintain her calm.