Same Time Next Year by Jenna Bennett Page A

Adjoining.”
    “They met here. Must be almost ten
years ago now. At a seminar or conference or something. Those were the rooms
they stayed in then. I guess the connecting door got opened at some point.”
    Mrs. Dugan giggled. Elizabeth stared.
    “I think it’s romantic,” the older
woman said. “Every year they come back here, and spend one night in the rooms
they had then. And open the connecting door. And then they return home, to
their everyday lives, and wait a year for the next time.” She shook her head,
noting Elizabeth’s mulish pout. “When you get older, you’ll understand.”
    Elizabeth shrugged. And watched Mr.
510 get into the elevator. Just before the doors closed, she saw him slip his
wedding band off his finger and stick it in his pants pocket.
     
    Gina’s heart was already thudding by
the time she inserted the key card in the lock of room 512. The light turned
green and she pushed the door open, wheeling her overnight bag inside and
looking around.
    It looked just like it had last year.
And the year before.
    Perfect.
    It was always such a downer when
something changed. The first time they painted the walls a different color and
put up different artwork, it had taken all of... oh, three minutes at least, to
get in the mood once Ty arrived.
    Grinning, the first thing she did was
unlock the connecting door on her side. The other side was still locked, so she
knew Ty hadn’t gotten here yet. She hadn’t expected him to. He’d be here in the
next half hour, she’d bet. She waited all year for this, and he did too;
neither of them wanted to waste a moment. He’d probably leave work early today,
as she had.
    There was time to take a bath, so she
did. Dumping a ton of bath salts in the water and slathering herself with body
oil once she got out. Flavored as well as scented, because she knew Ty, and Ty
liked to take his time. He liked to kiss her. All over.
    Then she got dressed in the outfit
she’d stopped to buy on the way here, because she hadn’t wanted to keep it in
her lingerie drawer at home for even a day. Bright red lace, to match her mani/pedi . She hadn’t worn red lingerie for him before; it
was usually black or white. Green once, to match her eyes. Teal another time.
    The red might not go too well with
her hair, she admitted, as she inspected herself in the mirror inside the
bathroom door. It set off her pale skin rather well, though. And she didn’t
look too bad for being several years past thirty. Her figure was still slim,
even after two kids. Her breasts would never be small and firm again, but she
didn’t think Ty minded. And they filled the bra cups nicely. Bigger bra cups
than she’d needed the first time she’d come here. Although the red really did
clash horribly with her hair...
    Then again, only Ty would ever see
her. And not for long; he’d have her out of the skimpy pieces a few minutes
after he arrived. Sometimes she wondered why she bothered getting dressed up
for him at all, when he rarely paused to appreciate her effort before stripping
her naked. But it was part of the game. Even if she really just wanted to meet
him at the door in her skin.
    Maybe she’d do that next year. It’d
make for an interesting change.  
    Gina smiled as she curled up in the
middle of the bed, remembering. They’d met here at the Piedmont eight years
ago. Attending the same small business seminar. Had noticed each other right
away—how could she not notice Ty?—and had connected over drinks in the bar
later. Had gone up in the elevator together at the end of the night, and
realized they were on the same floor. On the same side. In adjoining rooms.
With a connecting door.
    She had tried to resist, she really
had. She’d had a boyfriend, Ty a business he wanted to grow. Neither of them
wanted it to happen, or so they said. But when the knock came on the door a
little after midnight, she’d still been awake, listening to the sounds from the
next room, and it hadn’t occurred to her