Her feet pattered swiftly up the stairs and I followed a minute or two later. As I walked past the bathroom, I could hear Claire turning the shower on, and the thought of the delights on display behind the door sent a shudder through me.
I somehow managed to walk past, back into the bedroom and picked up the shirt I had discarded so quickly the night before. I made no effort to get dressed of course. I certainly wasn’t going to give her an easy way out.
I had been sitting there for perhaps ten minutes when I suddenly heard the shower stop abruptly, and the bathroom door creaking open. In an instant, a five foot dervish had descended without warning. She was wrapped in a huge white towel, and was scrunching the two flapping edges of it in the small of her back. I was drawn to her tiny fist holding them like a dying man clings to life, but she was only partly succeeding in keeping that wonderful bottom covered. I just watched silently, in absolute heaven. She was still completely dry, and her hair was loose, flapping around her shoulders as she bounced around. Those calves again, those delicate little collar bones and that cheeky little rear all took their turn in teasing me.
‘Oh.. I thought you’d be ready to go by now’ she said mournfully.
‘No sorry- I’ll be finished in a minute’
Drawers were now being violently pulled open and wardrobe doors slammed shut, all while she struggled to preserve her modesty. A pair of tired jeans were thrown onto the bed and a range of blouses followed them in a vain attempt to find a suitable match. A fresh white bra and matching panties were sn*tched from somewhere, while a pair of court shoes fought hard to remain safe in the bottom of the wardrobe. Eventually the hurricane subsided, and she picked up an olive green bottle from the dressing table. She gave it a withering look of contempt before quickly placing it down again.
I knew just how it felt.
Silence returned as she began to gather her chosen items together, scanning the room for anything she might have missed. Clearly on her way to shower and get dressed, my hopes were sinking fast.
‘Claire’ I began, my fingernails sharp against my palms.
‘Could I… I mean.. could I just have…you know.. a moment?’
‘What?’ she looked up, her smooth brow furrowed for once.
‘A moment. Just one. Before I have to go. Please.’
‘No you can’t!’ she snapped back. ‘I don’t have time. Can’t you see I’m late already?’
It intrigued me that Claire used her lateness as the reason for not being able to give me my ‘moment’. She had surely understood what I was asking for, and didn’t seem to have any real moral objections. It was just that she was running late. This was certainly worth a final push toward the summit.
‘Ok. Well, thanks for a lovely night anyway’ I whispered back, my chin dropping toward my chest.
I watched her as she gathered up her clothes and began to make her way out, before pausing just short of the doorway. I offered her one last pathetic smile as she did so.
‘Oh God! You’re just not going to let this go are you? Honestly! I’m telling you now. If I let you see me, you’d better not tell anyone or there will be so much trouble.’
I thought my heart was going to simply combust, but I still managed to raise some words of reassurance.
‘Of course I won’t. It goes without saying. Haven’t I behaved myself all night?’
‘I suppose. I’ll have to have a think about it. Can you please hurry up and get dressed though? I’ll have to be gone soon’
She disappeared almost as quickly as she had entered, and I heard the bathroom door shut firmly behind her.
I sat back on the bed, shattered. If I was meant to be the one doing the tormenting, it certainly didn’t feel like it. I tried to remember exactly the phrases she had used. ‘If I let you see me’ and ‘I’ll have to have a think about it’ . She had never given a definite no, and allowed me to think that my plan just might work. Whether it did or not, it was clear our time together was short and she would have to make a decision very soon.
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