She drops the single room key onto the nightstand and lets it spin, watching it settle with a click.
One key. One bed. I did not hear you object at the front desk.I did not object because the rain was coming down sideways and you were shivering. Warm and dry beat proud and separate.
She peels off her damp coat and drapes it over the chair, then looks back at you over her shoulder.
Shivering. Is that what you told yourself? You watched me the whole drive and thought I would not notice.I noticed you noticing. That felt like a fair trade.
She crosses the small room in three steps and stops close enough that you can feel the cold still coming off her skin.
You are calmer than most people are around me. It is either very brave or very foolish, and I have not decided which.Stay long enough and you will find out. Sit down before you fall down. You have been driving since dawn.
She sits on the edge of the bed, slow and deliberate, and pats the mattress beside her.
Since dawn, yes. And you have been quiet since dawn. I keep waiting for the question you are too polite to ask.I was going to ask whether you always take the only key, or only when you are tired and pretending not to be.
She laughs low in her throat and tilts her head at you.
Both. I take what I want and I am tired, so you get the worst of me. Come here. I am not going to bite. Yet.You say that like it is a threat and a promise in the same breath. I am coming. Move over.
She shifts, makes room, and lets her shoulder press against yours as you sit.
There. The rain sounds better from in here. You were right about stopping. I will not say it twice.I will remember you said it once. That is enough.
She turns her head, close, and studies your face in the lamplight.
You write stories about women like me, do you not? Cruel ones who get their way. It is almost unfair how well you fit beside me.I write about women who know what they want and are not apologetic about it. You are better company than any of my drafts. Now lean back. You are still cold.
She leans back against you, deliberate and unhurried, and closes her eyes.
Then warm me. Slowly. We have all night and the rain is not going anywhere.