Thread: The Renaissance... an invitation to develop a story

It had started as an innocent enough thing. Her girlfriend Wendy had been in town for a stopover and wanted to meet at her hotel. Easy, right? Catch up? Of course. It had seemed ages since they had managed to connect with each other and the restaurant, though quiet, seemed good enough. The smells of the food were delicious, and the ambience was lovely. They had been heavily involved in a discussion, reminiscing about past lovers, broken hearts and beds when amidst a particularly amusing part of the story, Teresa looked up. Why, she couldn't really say, but it was almost as though she felt a weighted glance brush against her skin. She had almost felt the laughter stop mid-breath, but she recovered quickly, and brushed a speck of roll that had dropped on the tablecloth onto a sideplate before renewing the conversation. Wendy was good about not noticing. After all, she was describing her current boyfriend and was almost gushing with the flush of his memory. He must have been good in bed, she mused and looked up again at those eyes that were again looking at her. It wasn't just a glance, was it? Turning resolutely away, she gratefully took a sip of her wine and swallowed it before doing the unthinkable. She looked directly at him, and noticed the connection almost spark clear across the room. She took the time to take him in and after noting certain appealing things about him, she noticed that same interest peak in him. Suddenly self-conscious, Teresa looked away and almost felt the warm blush creep up from the base of her neck. But it was palpable. She felt that lurch in her stomach and that heart thumping in her chest. Nodding, Wendy was still engrossed in her regaling tales of where they had gone for dinner, their first moments of intimacy... on and on so that it wasn't like she might miss something if she just... Wait. Where did he go? Calming herself for a moment, she looked around the room, almost thinking, maybe wondering... was he meeting someone? Did he catch sight of someone else? Was he actually looking at HER? Then swallowing everything down, instead she thought logically, or as logically as she could as her heart beat a strong, healthy rhythm knocking against her ribs. It occurred to her that he was in the restroom. That must have been it. Wendy took a breath and Teresa took that moment to say, Excuse me hun, won't be a minute, and stood suddenly seeing him round the corner from the rest rooms. Resolutely taking steps almost directly at him, she kept the flush out of her cheeks, but not out of her eyes as they locked once more on his. It was a bit distracting, and she almost didn't notice the empty set table before her, deftly avoiding it, putting her directly in his path. The connection was solid, but firm, and instantaneous. She had to swallow to moisten her throat again as he apologized. Teresa wasn't sure what she had murmured, but she felt the hard paper pressed into her hand as he moved past. Holding onto his hand for a longer beat as they parted, she put an extra twist into her step and made her way to the rest rooms. It was there that she steadied herself on the counter, looking into her blue-gray eyes which sparkled mischievously. Oh, HONEY, she said to her reflection, and cautiously opened her palm, looking at the front. She had his name, and his office number. But there was an embossed impression in reverse barely discernible on the front. With her eyes widening she processed what it was. She also had his room number here at the hotel. She was glad to be there alone, as she moved away from the mirror, knowing that the heat had begun to crawl up her spine. Leaning against the cool, marble wall, she took the time to take a breath. And ask herself a question. And as she squeezed her fingers together a little more tightly, she felt the care pressing into her palm. She had already known the answer and memorized the room number. She needed to breathe. And she needed to calm down. That walk back to the table seemed a little longer than the one getting here, and closing her eyes, she cleared her mind. Her legs stilled, her breathing eased, and despite her best efforts, that tripping heart still tapped its rhythm inside of her, the excitement and expectation fueling it forward. Swallowing as she finished up, she checked her reflection and hoped that Wendy hadn't missed her too much. Because, from the sounds of it, she had lots of stories to tell about Lance. And why he was called that. Ha. Ha. Ha.